Most banks have offered relief to clients afflicted by COVID-19: OJK

Almost all banks and financing companies have offered loan restructuring programs to greatly help their clients in a harsh market environment as COVID-19 has disrupted virtually all business sectors, a senior official has said.

Financial Services Authority (OJK) chairman Wimboh Santoso said throughout a teleconference with House of Representatives Commission XI, which oversees financial affairs, that 56 conventional banks, 13 sharia-compliant banks, seven regional development banks, 64 rural banks and 110 financing companies had offered loan restructuring programs up to now.

“[These institutions] have demonstrated their commitment in offering restructuring options for customers experiencing financial difficulties as a result of impact of the coronavirus,” Wimboh said on Tuesday, adding that you see, the numbers could be higher because “there could possibly be banks which have done so but we've yet to receive the info”.

The relief provided by banks is in line with the OJK Regulation No. 11 of 2020, which instructs financial institutions to supply relief for borrowers afflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic

The regulation, which was issued last month, stipulates that your debt or financing could be restructured by lowering interest levels, extending repayment periods, reducing principal and interest arrears, adding debt or financing facilities or converting debt or financing into non permanent equity participation.

“The scheme can be different for each client. Banks and finance institutions can consult with their clients which scheme to select,” Wimboh noted, adding that he hoped the policy would supply the parties involved some breathing room. 

Through the House hearing, Wimboh said hundreds of thousands of borrowers had recently been included in the restructuring programs. At state-owned banks alone, the worthiness of restructured debt amounted to Rp 28.7 trillion (US$1.76 billion).

Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) has restructured debt of more than 130,000 borrowers with a complete value of Rp 14.9 trillion. Fellow state-owned lenders Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) and Bank Mandiri offered relief for some 6,200, 17,400 and 10,500 borrowers, respectively, for loans totalling Rp 6.9 trillion, Rp 2.8 trillion and Rp 4.1 trillion.

The OJK is wanting to increase knowing of the policy through its communication channels and so far has seen a substantial increase in traffic across its different communication platforms.

Tirta Segara, the OJK's commissioner of consumer protection and education, said during the meeting on Tuesday that the OJK’s WhatsApp communication, reachable at +6281157157157, had seen a surge in traffic. On a standard day, the OJK received up to 275 messages on WhatsApp, but because the restructuring program was announced, it had received up to 2,500 messages a day.

“We apologize to the consumers whom we can’t answer right away,” Tirta said.

Requests via email had also increased, rising to approximately 750 emails each day from the most common 250. At its call center, the OJK recently handled up to 600 calls per day, up from the most common 400 to 500.

The OJK recently released a list of banks and finance institutions that are providing relief. Alongside the release, OJK spokesperson Sekar Putih Djarot encouraged the public speak to their respective bank or financing company for further inquiries.