Malaysia’s banking industry continues support for borrowers

URUS is the brainchild of a partnership between Malaysia’s lenders and Credit Counseling and Management Agency (AKPK or Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit). 

A joint statement released by the partners in this initiative indicated that “the scheme will see banks setting aside an estimated RM1 billion (US$240.5 million) to fund the cost of the reduction in interest/profit costs, including interest/profit waiver for these vulnerable B50 customers.”

The scheme will be of direct benefit to individual customers who are under an existing repayment assistance programs. Some of these programs include Targeted Repayment Assistance, PEMERKASA Plus, PEMULIH.

The criteria outlined for those who wish to benefit from this scheme are as follows:

• The beneficiary must be from the B50 income segment. These, according to the standards set by the Department of Statistics of Malaysia (DOSM), are customers with a gross household income of RM5,880 (US$1,414) or lower.
• They have suffered a job loss or any other circumstance that has cut gross income by at least 50%.
• Their loan/financing is still performing (not in arrears exceeding 90 days) as of the date of their application.

The various repayment reliefs offered by the AKPK include interest waivers for a period of three monthsbeginning the month after onboarding, reduced installments for a period of up to 24 months in total.