Over 65,000 mortgage payment breaks and over 22,000 SME payment breaks granted over past six weeks
Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) members including the five main retail banks, together with non-bank lenders and specialist lenders, and credit servicing firms, have today confirmed that a further three-month extension to the current payment break will be made available to customers that continue to be directly impacted by the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. In light of the prolonged and deepening crisis, the extension will allow impacted personal and business customers a payment break of up to six months in total. The same extension arrangement will also be available to Covid-19 impacted customers who may yet apply for a payment break.
Announcing the measures today BPFI Chief Executive, Brian Hayes, said: “Today’s confirmation of an extension of the payment break for those customers directly impacted by Covid-19, is an important signal to those most affected, be they mortgage holders, those with personal loans or SMEs.”
“BPFI has had excellent engagement with the Central Bank of Ireland on behalf it its members and we appreciate the pragmatic approach being taken across the board to the challenges facing those impacted by Covid-19”, he added.
Mr. Hayes said: “BPFI and its members fully appreciate that people are going into a very uncertain period in the weeks and months ahead and our objective is to allay their worries by offering as much relief and certainty as possible in these unprecedented times.”
The BPFI CEO stressed that “All relevant BPFI member firms will be actively contacting customers who have availed of payment breaks over the coming weeks and months about the possibility of extending this break. Customers do not need to contact their lender. Providers will contact customers. All providers involved will be in communication with payment break customers in advance of the expiry of their three-month break, providing detail on the options available to them in the months ahead.”
The BPFI Chief Executive highlighted that detailed guidance and FAQs will be made available by the banks and the BPFI as part of a communications campaign.
Mr. Hayes said: “Over 65,000 mortgage payment breaks and over 22,000 SME payment breaks have been granted since the industry-wide payment breaks were announced on 18th March. The existing public health measures put in place by Government, aimed at mitigating the impact of COVID-19, have been extended since the original BPFI announcement of payment breaks up to three months. These measures may need to remain in operation for some time or may only be lifted gradually with an unknown impact on the economy going forward. BPFI members strongly appreciate the severity of the impact on families, individuals and businesses and it is for this reason, that we believe an extension of the existing payment break beyond three months may be required by many customers.”
The relevant BPFI Members are:
- AIB,
- Bank of Ireland,
- KBC,
- Permanent tsb
- Ulster Bank,
- EBS
- Finance Ireland
- Haven
- Investec Private Finance Ireland Ltd
- Dilosk/ICS Mortgages
- Lapithus,
- Link Group,
- Mars Capital,
- Pepper
- Start
Note: Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) represents the banking, payments and fintech sector in Ireland. Together with its affiliates, the Federation of International Banks in Ireland and the Fintech & Payments Association of Ireland, BPFI has 100 member institutions and associates, including licensed domestic and foreign banks and institutions operating in the financial marketplace here.
Contact: For further information contact Jillian Heffernan, Head of Communications, jillian.heffernan@bpfi.ie 087 9016880
