Home Loan Moratorium Package

The loan moratorium which has been announced is optional and you can avail the same only if you want to do so. It is not compulsory. There are a few things which you should be mindful of before you avail a loan moratorium. These factors are being listed below:

1. It is not a waiver of your EMI: It should be kept in mind that a moratorium is just the deferment of the instalment payment and not a waiver. If you avail the moratorium, your loan repayment tenure will be extended by 3 months.
2. No waiver on interest rate: The interest rates will be applicable as per the general proforma. There will be no waiver on that. In case you avail the loan moratorium, you will still be required to the interest payable on the deferred instalments.
3. Moratoriums are optional: The moratorium must be availed by you manually. It is not compulsory on your part to avail or obligatory on the bank's part or offer the moratorium. You will have the option wherein you can choose to defer the payment or pay it on time as per your existing loan repayment schedule.
4. Accrued interest payment: The accrued interest for the deferred instalments will be recovered by the lenders as per their own policies. The accrued interest can either be spread across the loan repayment tenure or can be collected in the form of a bullet repayment.
5. Impact of the moratorium on your credit score: The central bank has already notified in their guidelines, that the deferred payment of credit card dues and other instalments will not be considered as a default or a missed payment. Thus, the moratorium will not affect your credit history and your credit score will not take a hit.
6. Banks offering the option: The moratorium is optional and the availability of the same will differ from lender to lender. Most of the major lenders in the country have already notified their customers about the moratorium through email and SMS. Some lenders have left it on their customers to choose whether they want to avail the moratorium or not. Others have directly rolled out the deferment for the customers. If a customer wants to opt out of the same, they will be required to get in touch with the bank.

What are Different banks offering?

After the circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India in regard to the loan moratorium was issued, all the major banks have started notifying their customers about the same through email and SMS. They have intimated them on how they can avail the moratorium.

The benefits being offered by some of the major banks across the country can be summed up as follows:

State Bank of India (SBI) EMI Moratorium

For all the term loan repayments which have been extended till 1 March 2020 by the State Bank of India (SBI), it will offer a complete moratorium and the final call in regard to the same can be taken by the borrowers. The bank is offering the following options to its customers:

1. For customers who do not want to avail the moratorium: In this case, the borrowers do not have to do anything. The instalments or EMIs will be paid as per the usual course.
2. For customers who want to avail the moratorium: The payments are usually made through the following two methods:
   1. National Automated Clearing House (NACH): The customers will be required to submit a duly filled application form (Annex-I) and a mandate for NACH Extension (Annexure-II) to pause the NACH clearance for the scheduled instalments. This has to be done by sending an email to the mail ID specified in Annexure-III. This will be applicable for all the collections of instalments and EMIs which are made through NACH.
   2. Standing Instructions (SI): If the payment of such instalments and/or EMIs goes into effect through standing instructions given to the bank, the customers will be required to submit a duly filled up application form (Annexure-I) through the specified email ID as per Annexure-III.
   3. Effects of availing the moratorium: State Bank of India (SBI), being the largest lender in the country has drawn some examples to make the whole idea easier for its customers. In the case of an auto loan of Rs.6 lakh with a remaining repayment period of 54 months, a borrower will have to pay an extra interest amount of about Rs.19,000 (which is about 1.5 additional EMIs). On the other hand, in the case of a home loan of Rs.30 lakh with a remaining loan repayment period of 15 years, a borrower will end up paying an additional interest amount of about Rs.2.34 lakh which is as much as 8 EMI amounts for the same loan.

To Calculate Loan EMI Use:

SBI EMI Calculator

HDFC Bank EMI Moratorium

HDFC Bank has announced that all its retail customers will be eligible for the moratorium which has been announced by the Reserve Bank of India. However, the bank also clarified that since the moratorium is a voluntary benefit, if a customer wants to avail the same, they have to get in touch with the bank. Any HDFC Bank customer who has availed a retail instalment loan or any retail credit facilities before 1 March 2020 will be eligible for the moratorium. If you do not want to avail the moratorium, you do not need to do anything. The instalment will be paid off as per the usual repayment schedule.

If a customer wants to avail the moratorium, he or she has to notify about the same and accordingly, the bank will not ask for any payments in respect to instalments or EMIs till 31 May 2020. However, the interest will be accrued on the outstanding principal for the 3 months of the moratorium. The loan repayment tenure will also be extended by 3 months.

In addition to this, HDFC Bank is also offering the benefit of availing the moratorium on a later date. For example, if you made the payment of your instalment which was due for the month of March 2020 but skipped the next one, i.e. the instalment for the month of April 2020, the bank will consider that you have a requirement for the EMI moratorium and roll it out till the end of May 2020.

An HDFC Bank customer can simply visit the link circulated by the bank through SMS and email in order to avail the moratorium. Alternatively, he or she can also call the following numbers and follow the voice instructions - 022-50042333 and 022-50042211.

In addition to all these benefits, HDFC Bank is also offering the moratorium benefit for credit card dues till 31 May 2020. To make it simple for the customers, the bank will calculate the interest on simple interest basis for credit card dues. A customer will be eligible to avail this benefit if he or she has made regular payments of credit card dues in the past before 1 March 2020. If a customer skips the payment of a due during this period, the bank will consider that to be a requirement for the moratorium and automatically extend the benefit.

HDFC Ltd. EMI Moratorium

HDFC Ltd. is offering loan moratorium on their home loans as well. Customers of HDFC Ltd. who have availed home loans can avail the moratorium by 7 April 2020. The following benefits can be availed by the customers who have borrowed home loans from HDFC:

1. They can extend the loan repayment tenure and have the same EMI amount rolling.
2. They can increase the EMI amount and retain the same loan repayment tenure.
3. They can opt to pay the total interest amount at the end of the moratorium period directly.
4. They can continue making the repayment of the instalments as per the usual loan repayment tenure.

Customers can simply visit the link sent by the bank through SMS and email and avail the moratorium. Alternatively, they can also visit the official website of HDFC Ltd. And opt in for the moratorium. If you do not want to avail the benefit, you do not have to opt in or opt out. By default, you will be opted out of the moratorium. In case a customer has multiple loan accounts, he or she will be required to opt in for the moratorium option individually for each account.

To Calculate Loan EMI Use:

HDFC Ltd Loan EMI Calculator

Kotak Mahindra Bank EMI Moratorium

Kotak Mahindra Bank is also offering the loan moratorium as per the directives of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). As this is a voluntary benefit, the bank has asked its customers to notify them about the same. In case a Kotak Mahindra customer wants to opt in for the moratorium, he or she will be required to send an email from their registered email ID to the following email ID - pay.later@kotak.com. In the email, the customer will be required to mention their loan account number or APAC number. The email has to be sent within 7 days of the due date of the instalment. The loan repayment schedule will be shifted accordingly and the Loan EMIs will be recalculated along with the accrued interest for the moratorium period.

Check for Current: Kotak Bank Home Loan Interest Rate

Borrowers will be able to avail this feature for the instalments falling due between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020. If a borrower has already paid the instalment for the month of March, he or she can avail the moratorium for the month of April and May.

IndusInd Bank EMI Moratorium

IndusInd Bank has one of the biggest auto loan borrowers and microfinance borrowers in its customer base. On the basis of the recent RBI guidelines, the bank has notified its customers that it has offered an automatic moratorium for all the retail and small business borrowers across the country. Based on this decision, the request for instalment will not be raised between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020. The loan repayment tenure of the customers will be extended accordingly.

For all instalments and EMIs which are falling due between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020, the bank will automatically enrol the customers for the moratorium. However, if you have already paid off the instalment for the month of March, the deferment of payment will be applicable for the month of April and May 2020. In such cases, the customer will not be required to raise a separate request.

If a customer does not want to avail the moratorium benefits, he or she will have to make the payment towards the instalments on or before the usual due date. This amount will be adjusted against your outstanding principal amount as a pre-payment and it will not attract any pre-payment charges. However, as the ECS and standing instruction facilities are not active during this period, the customers will be required to make the payment towards these instalments manually. This has to be done through the digital payment gateway of the bank.

To Calculate Loan EMI Use:

IndusInd EMI Calculator

Citibank EMI Moratorium

Citibank has rolled out the moratorium benefit for its customers and has sent out SMS and emails notifying them about the same. The bank is offering the deferment in the payment of credit card dues and EMIs. However, it should be kept in mind that the customers with no record of previous defaults will be eligible for the moratorium.

Eligible customers who are unable to pay their credit card dues on their Citibank credit card till 31 May 2020 will be not be charged with extra late payment fee and returned payment charges. The EMIs running on the credit cards will also be deferred during this period and the deferred payments will not be considered as defaults by the credit bureaus. However, the interest will be accrued on the outstanding amount over the period and will be payable after the end of the moratorium. If a customer does not want to avail the moratorium, he or she can just make the payment towards the credit card bills in due time.

Axis Bank EMI Moratorium

Axis Bank has rolled out automatic moratorium for all its borrowers. For customers who have instalments, credit card dues, interest for working capital facilities, and interest payments for various term loans falling due between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020, the bank has automatically enrolled them for the moratorium.

In order to proceed with the moratorium, customers have been asked to visit the official website of the bank and click on the 'Avail Now' button under the Key Updates tab. The customer will be required to enter his or her registered mobile phone number and generate an OTP for verification.

Axis Bank has also asked its customers to opt out of the moratorium if they have sufficient cash flow to clear off their dues. In order to do so, customers will be required to send an email or visit their nearest Axis Bank branch office. If there are no written communication from a customer, the bank will assume that the customer wants to avail the moratorium and will treat the loan account accordingly. It should be kept in mind, that the interest will be accrued on the outstanding principal amount in case a customer opts in for the moratorium.

To Calculate Loan EMI Use:

Axis Bank EMI Calculator

IDFC First Bank EMI Moratorium

The moratorium feature is being offered by IDFC First Bank. However, it will be extended to the customers only after the bank ascertains the eligibility of the borrower for the same. By default, the customers will be opted out of this program. However, if a customer feels the need to enrol themselves for the same, they will be required to get in touch with the bank and notify them about the situation.

The bank has also started reaching out to its rural and semi-urban customers to make them aware of the provision that is being offered by the bank as per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Check for Current: IDFC First Bank Home Loan Interest Rate

YES Bank EMI Moratorium

A notification was published by YES Bank on its website about the moratorium as per the RBI guidelines. The notice also mentioned that the customers of the bank will receive an SMS on their registered mobile numbers soon and they can opt in for the moratorium if they wish to. The customers who want to avail the benefit will be required to visit the link provided in the SMS and opt in for the deferment. It should be kept in mind that the YES Bank customers have been directed to enroll themselves before 15 April 2020.

The interest will continue to be charged on the outstanding principal amount and will be payable after the moratorium ends. However, the bank has also urged its customers to pay off their debts if they have sufficient cash flow during this period. This will help them avoid paying extra interest. If a customer opts for the moratorium scheme, he or she will not be required to submit any fresh auto debit, NACH, or standing instruction mandates. The loan repayment tenure will be extended accordingly.

Other PSU Banks EMI Moratorium

Some of the other Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Banks which have rolled out the moratorium as per the directives of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can be listed as follows:

1. Canara Bank: The bank has sent out SMS notifications to its customer base which comprises of 1.3 million retail borrowers. Customers will be required to reply to the SMS with a 'NO' to avail the moratorium. With this, all standing instructions, ECS payments, and post-dated cheque clearances will be stopped for the next 3 months.
2. IDBI Bank: IDBI Bank has also enrolled all its customers under the moratorium for 3 months. Customers who are not willing to avail this benefit will be required to write an email stating the same on the following email ID - moratorium@idbi.co.in.
3. Punjab National Bank (PNB): Punjab National Bank (PNB) has announced the availability of the moratorium for its term loan borrowers and working capital loan borrowers on its website. However, the customers who are capable of repaying their instalments as per their existing loan repayment schedule will be to opt out of the moratorium.
4. Bank of India (BOI): Bank of India (BOI) has also announced that it is offering the moratorium facility for all its term loan customers as per the directives of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The bank made the announcement through its Twitter handle.
5. Central Bank of India: Central Bank of India has announced the moratorium for 3 months for its customers on the official website of the bank. The interest will continue to accrue for such cases, and it will be payable at the end of the moratorium.

Find Loan EMI Use: EMI Calculator

Should I avail the loan moratorium?

Before you decide to avail the moratorium option, consider all the moratorium pros and cons and check your current cash flow. If you are in a financial state wherein you have enough cash flow to make the usual payments for your EMIs and instalments, it is wiser to pay them off. This will not only help in clearing off the debt within the stipulated loan repayment period, it will also help you avoid the burden of accrued interest. Unless your cash flow is being affected due to the current situation, the best way forward to is to pay off your instalments as per the existing schedule.

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