Customers from areas affected by a state of natural disaster will be able to benefit from the suspension of loan installments in some banks. PKO BP and BNP Paribas have announced such a solution so far. These are not the only forms of aid for flood victims. At Bank Pekao, however, work is underway on solutions for affected customers.
As reported in the announcement PKO Bank Polskicustomers of this bank from areas affected by a state of natural disaster will be able to apply for the suspension of loan repayments for three months.
Three months without installments
“PKO Bank Polski is offering free solutions to individual and corporate clients from areas affected by a state of natural disaster, which are aimed at suspending the repayment of financial liabilities. People with mortgage, cash and corporate loans, among others, will be able to apply for a 3-month repayment suspension from Monday,” it was announced in a statement. The bank emphasized that it is currently analyzing the possibility of proposing further solutions or extending those already proposed.
To use this solution, all you need is a statement and a customer order. Applications can be submitted at branches from September 23 to the end of October this year. The bank is working on the possibility of submitting such an application in remote channels – in the IKO application or the iPKO service.
It was reported that talks are underway to also extend the suspension of instalment repayments to people repaying the 2% Safe Credit and the Family Credit.
“The bank also offers companies a simplified way to extend a loan in a business account. These loans will be automatically renewed for another 12 months or extended by a maximum of 6 months. In turn, customers who use leasing can suspend the repayment of capital installments,” it was reported.
In addition, affected PKO BP employees can apply to the bank for non-refundable benefits. Justified, fully paid absences from work for people from flood areas have also been introduced.
Suspension of installments in other banks
We asked the largest banks in Poland if they would offer similar solutions to their clients. By the time of publication, we had received a response from Bank Pekao and Bank BNP Paribas.
Spokesperson Pekao Bank Paweł Jurek informed the business reaction of tvn24.pl that the bank is “in the process of preparing appropriate solutions for clients”. “We will inform about the details soon” – he announced.
“A client affected by the flood may report to the bank the difficulty in repaying the loan. After assessing the situation, we will be able to propose an adequate solution, e.g. a periodic change of the schedule or suspension of installment repayments,” explained PR specialist Michalina Słupska-Benesz from BNP Paribas.
“Similar solutions may be used in situations where the client is already in arrears with an installment. Each case is considered individually,” the bank representative noted.
“Additionally, from 16 to 29 September, the bank will not charge a commission for withdrawals from all domestic ATMs, which will be made with debit cards issued to accounts held in the indicated Customer Centres. During this period, the bank will also not charge a commission for withdrawals at bank cash desks made in the indicated Customer Centres. The list of selected branches will be available on the bank's website,” she explained.
“At the same time, we are launching a fundraiser for the victims, which can be joined via the GOmobile application, GOonline electronic banking or through direct payments. The funds collected will go to local organizations providing humanitarian aid on the spot. We are constantly monitoring the situation to be able to react on an ongoing basis and direct funds to where they are most needed,” we read in the response sent to us.
“As a bank, we are donating 500,000 PLN to start the collection, including 300,000 PLN to the Polish Red Cross, 100,000 PLN to the Śnieżnik Massif Local Fund and 100,000 PLN to the Tratwa Association,” said Michalina Słupska-Benesz.
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