Free Malaysia Today
14 October 2021
Banks set aside RM1 billion for Urus to help borrowers
The financial management and resilience programme (Urus) is offered to affected B50 borrowers – those with a gross household income of less than RM5,880 a month. (Bernama pic)
KUALA LUMPUR: The banking sector has allocated an estimated RM1 billion for the financial management and resilience programme (Urus) to assist loan repayments of those in need, said the finance ministry.
Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the ministry welcomed Urus, a loan repayment assistance programme jointly designed by the banking sector and the Credit Counseling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK), as announced by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday.
“In total, the banks are estimated to have allocated RM1 billion to finance the cost of this programme. Applications for Urus will open from Nov 15 to Jan 31, 2022,” he said in a statement today.
Urus, he said, complemented government initiatives to help affected groups, in line with the reopening of the economy, national recovery and measures to reduce long-term effects of Covid-19 on the economy.
The programme will be managed by AKPK, which will also provide personal financial plan assistance, as well as access to financial management education packages to borrowers.
Urus is offered to affected B50 borrowers, i.e. borrowers with a gross household income of less than RM5,880 a month. Benefits include a three-month interest waiver, reduction in instalment payments for a period of up to 24 months and reduction in interest rates.
During this period, customers with unsecured personal financing and credit cards can benefit from reduced interest rates to help ease their financial burden.
Tengku Zafrul said borrowers who are not eligible for assistance under Urus but still in need of repayment assistance can contact their respective banks to discuss loan repayment options.
At the same time, the government is also looking at other methods to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which will be unveiled in Budget 2022.
“To assist the cash flow of the affected SME segment, Bank Negara Malaysia has allocated more than RM7 billion through (various) financing facilities being channelled through commercial banks as loans for working capital, capital expenditure and loan refinancing.
“To further facilitate loans from banks, the government through Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan has provided an additional guarantee of RM20 billion under the Pemulih assistance package to guarantee 80% of the loans taken by SMEs,” he said.
Under the Pemulih and Pemerkasa packages, he said there were also initiatives such as grants and loans with low interest rates for micro enterprises affected by Covid-19.
(Web source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/10/14/banks-set-aside-rm1-billion-for-urus-to-help-borrowers/)