by TMR / pic by BLOOMBERG

AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank) has stepped up its ongoing efforts in providing relief to customers, both individuals and SMEs who are affected by the reimplementation of the movement control order (MCO 3.0).

The bank’s efforts are in line with the Government’s Targeted Repayment Assistance initiative, which was announced under the Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy Plus financial aid package.

“We welcome the government’s call for banks to provide further assistance to those who are severely impacted by the pandemic. AmBank will continue to assist customers through the Repayment Assistance packages and the rescheduling and restructuring plans that meet their respective needs,” AmBank Group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said in a statement yesterday.

“To this end, as at March 31, 2021, we have extended approximately RM15.2 billion in repayment assistance for loans and financing for all customer segments and have approved close to 100% of these applications. We aim to extend this service further, up to Dec 31, and are also conscious of the need to review the potential of granting further extensions, if need be, in light of MCO 3.0.”

AmBank will be engaging with customers to extend their trade bills by one cycle to further cushion the impact on cashflow.

“We would like to urge customers to reach out to us to discuss repayment assistance and at the same time, the bank will also continue to engage with our customers especially those in the affected industries,” Sulaiman added.

The Repayment Assistance will be extended to all AmBank customers who have experienced the loss of employment, the Bottom 40% who are recipients of the Bantuan Sara Hidup or Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat and any micro-enterprise (with approved loan/financing facilities of less than RM150,000), SMEs and micro-enterprises that are not allowed to operate during the MCO (locked-down sectors), with the choice of a payment deferment for three months or a reduction of monthly instalments by 50% for six months.

In addition to this, all individual loan/ financing customers who have suffered a reduction in income will be offered a lower monthly instalment payment plan, which corresponds with the reduction in their income.

For customers who are not eligible for any of the aforementioned schemes or would require other forms of assistance, the bank is also providing repayment assistance which suits the financial needs and circumstances of these customers, as part of its initiative to help alleviate the financial burden of customers in need.

For more information on repayment assistance, visit https://www.ambank.com.my/eng/repayment-assistance.