Farmers will also be able to defer loan principal payments for up to six months

The Financial Sector Association, in cooperation with its members, has continued to work on developing support instruments for bank customers who have experienced short-term financial difficulties due to COVID-19. In addition to the moratorium for individuals, a moratorium has also been developed for companies, which provides for the possibility of postponing the repayment of the principal amount of the loan for up to six months. The moratorium has been coordinated by the Financial and Capital Market Commission and has also been reviewed by the Competition Council after consultations with the European Commission.

A financial institution may apply a moratorium to one or both types of credit services – loans and/or leasing. It should be noted that the moratorium applies to credit agreements with a fixed repayment schedule. The moratorium applies to legal entities and other economic operators who are not self-employed. The moratorium provides for changing the payment schedule of the principal amount of the loan, if the loan agreement provides for repayment of the principal amount in installments. At the client's choice, repayment of the principal amount of the obligation in whole or in part is postponed for a period specified in the moratorium of up to six months. During this period, the client must continue to pay interest, insurance premiums and other payments provided for in the loan agreement that are not the principal amount. Financial institutions cannot request additional collateral or increase the interest rate.

The loan principal repayment can be postponed once in accordance with the terms of the moratorium. If the client has postponed the loan principal repayment between March 12, 2020 and the date of entry into force of the moratorium, the financial institution has the right to change it in accordance with this moratorium at the client's request. The commission fee for drawing up contract amendments within the framework of the moratorium is applicable only in the amount necessary to cover the preparation of amendment documentation.

The moratorium provides that a company will have the opportunity to receive a deferral of the principal amount of its obligations if it has not experienced financial difficulties before March 12, 2020 or there are no insurmountable obstacles to loan repayment.

A company may qualify for the moratorium if the company's equity is positive at the end of the last closed financial year, and loan payments have not been delayed for more than 30 days during the year from March 12, 2019. The client must indicate to the financial institution the reason for the deterioration of the financial situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The moratorium comes into effect on May 5, 2020 and is in effect until the Association announces its termination. The customer must apply for principal deferral by June 12, 2020 and the financial institution must make a decision by June 30, 2020..

At this moment, Swedbank, SEB banka, Luminor, Citadele, ALTUM, BlueOrange Bank, OP Corporate Bank, AS “Industra Bank”, Regional Investment Bank, AS Expobank, Signet Bank have expressed their readiness to join the moratorium.