Postponement of loan installments ...Abu Salim: misleading the citizen and al-Mahrouq: without fines

Al Anbat- sabaa Al Sokar

Translated by Deema Alkhateeb 

Under the current circumstances and in an effort by banks to alleviate citizens and based on their social responsibility before the country, banks  postponed loans for individuals for the month of December for the third time this year. This postponement raised many questions about the existence of interest or commissions on the process of deciding to defer instalments.

Former banker Khalil Abu Salim commented that: "The information that always comes out of the government and the banking sector; is misleading information for the borrower ", interpreting the deferral of the loan instalment; Extending it for another month after the expiration of the original loan period to extend its life of the premium value for one month.

He continued, as if the bank had given the customer a loan in the amount of the deferred instalment, which would be repaid at the end of the loan's life; It carries interest, and this interest exceeds the amount of the premium, given the length of the period ", noting that banks are talking about not meeting any commission to defer loan instalments.Previously, instalments were requested to be deferred and a commission of ten dinars was taken, while individuals were now exempt from it, while interest was still programmed on the systems and borrowed by the individual, advising those who had the capacity to borrow; reimburse the current instalment without deferring its subsequent interest.

For his part, the General Manager of the Banking Association Maher Al Mahroq stressed that the deferral of instalments for this month, as in previous transactions, the borrower does not incur any fees and fines. The amount of the premium is deported according to the end of the loan life, stressing that individuals who do not wish to defer instalments can arrange with their bank.

In a special talk to Al-Anbat, he said that the volume of loan repayments deferred to all individuals was about 250 million JD during the month, where loan repayments were deferred due to the current economic conditions experienced by the citizen; and to provide more liquidity in markets.