The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) supports a 60-day reprieve for bank loans as a good compromise under the proposed Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, its president Francis Lim said yesterday.
Lim in a statement yesterday said while the MAP supports the 30-day moratorium under the Senate version of the bill, 60 days will be a good compromise if 30 days is not doable.
However, Lim said the reprieve should just be a one-time and non-extendible payment moratorium.
He added the moratorium should also exclude insurance and pre-need companies which may find it difficult to service claims, especially for deaths related to the new coronavirus disease (COVID) 2019.
“Pre-need companies have to service the medical and hospitalization claims of COVID patients and the tuition and other educational needs of our children as school opening is just around the corner,” Lim said.
He cautioned though the moratorium may adversely affect the financial viability of the smaller enterprises, most of which are Filipino companies.
The MAP earlier slammed the 365-day loan moratorium under the House version of the Bayanihan 2 saying this will put to risk banks’ ability to service the withdrawals of their clients and adversely affect public confidence in the banking system.
The bicameral conference committee on Friday agreed to reconcile the versions by adopting 60 days as the period of moratorium.
The Bankers Association of the Philippines similarly endorsed a 30-day grace period “to ensure the stability and robustness of the banking system.”
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas earlier said a longer moratorium will impact the liquidity of the financial system and may put certain banks at risk.
