Agrobank will not be imposing additional profit charges on fixed-rate loans during the six-month moratorium period. Agrobank is one of the first banks to declare this waiver following the recent announcement by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) that hire-purchase loans and fixed-rate Islamic financing could now be charged interest during the 6-month moratorium.

According to Agrobank, its individual and small-medium enterprise (SME) customers will pay the same monthly repayment amount from October 2020 onwards, with the financing tenure extended by 6 months to accommodate the automatic moratorium’s deferment period.

“Agrobank is committed to relieving our customers’ distress during these trying times,” said covering chief executive officer Khadijah Iskandar. “Therefore, for our Fixed Rate financing customers especially the micro financing customers, there would be no change in the current amount of outstanding and profits borne by our customers.”

Agrobank does not offer hire-purchase loans, but the interest deferment for fixed-rate loans will apply to its personal financing facilities like AgroCash-i. The bank also added that the payment deferment is still automatic for its customers with no additional steps needed to be entitled to the automatic moratorium. However, those who wish to opt out from the moratorium now are still able to do so by filling up a form on their website and resuming scheduled payments.

BNM’s announcement that hire-purchase loans and fixed-rate Islamic financing could be charged interest during the automatic 6-month moratorium caused something of a storm when it was announced on 30 April. The new statement was at odds with a previous version of the central bank’s moratorium FAQ dated 30 March and similar FAQs of banks in Malaysia; it had been indicated that customers with flat-rate loans would enjoy an interest-free payment holiday from April to September.

Following the major outcry by the Malaysian public on this matter, Finance Minister Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz came forward to say that Malaysian banks should consider waiving the accrued interest during the moratorium period – as has been done by Agrobank now.

(Source: Agrobank (Facebook))

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• Agrobank
• Bank Negara Malaysia
• Moratorium