Relief as Central Bank of Bahrain defers loan installments for further six months

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Booster doses are not just the end of Bahrain’s fight against the pandemic.

It’s just the beginning.

While boosters enhance people immunity to fight the pandemic, the Kingdom has also rolled out another measure to help reduce its impact on the economy and people’s lives, especially as concerns grow over the new Omicron variant.

To help people here cope with the unprecedented financial stress, Bahrain is now introducing another option to defer loan payments of individuals and companies to six more months.

As directed by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Central Bank of Bahrain has ordered all retail banks and financing companies to defer loan instalments by six more months to the 30th of June 2022.

The latest decision also extends the previous decision to defer loans of all individuals and companies until the 31s of December 2021.

The move is to continue supporting economic sectors — especially those worst hit by the pandemic.

The timely move also complements the efforts of the coordinating committee headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

Bahrain’s top banker also confirmed that the deferral imposes no extra cost on consumers.

Bahrain has given directives not to impose any deferral fees, increase instalments, interest or profit rates, provided that the interest rates applied by banks will remain in place on these loans during the deferral period.

Commenting on the new decision, Rasheed Al Maraj, the CBB Governor, said that providing people with the option to postpone the outstanding loan instalments forms part of continuing efforts to support economic activities in light of the continuation of the Global exceptional circumstances caused by Coronavirus.

The decision, Al Maraj said, was made after consultation and coordination with the banking sector.

“Their cooperation with individual and corporate clients contributed to strengthening the support for economic sectors with necessary liquidity in the past period.”

Al Maraj added: “These actions contributed to maintaining the growth path of economic activities and stability of various financial and commercial activities.”