CMA says member institutions have restructured $1.38 billion of loans

CMA says member institutions have restructured $1.38 billion of loans

The Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) has announced that as of Jan 3, CMA members have provided loan restructuring worth $1.382 billion. The total number of restructuring requests stood at 303,593 with 285,234 having been granted.

The CMA also stated that requests for loan restructuring over the last four months have remained steady at more than 1,000 applications per week.

The association membership includes four banks, six micro-development institutions (MDIs), 69 microfinance institutions (MFIs), 11 financial leasing institutions and 19 rural credit operators. The four bank members are Hattha Bank, Phillip Bank, SBI LY HOUR Bank Plc and AEON Specialized Bank Cambodia.

PRASAC Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer Say Sony said the number of requests they are receiving for loan restructuring has declined, with most of those being made coming from tourism-related businesses.

He noted that as of Dec 31, PRASAC’s total outstanding loans reached $3.03 billion, with only 0.99 percent falling into non-performing status. Deposits reached $2.061 billion by year’s end.

“Most business activities are coming back and the microfinance sector [continues to perform well] in both quality and quantity,” Sony added.

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has allowed banks and microfinance institutions to continue restructuring loans for their pandemic- and flood-affected customers until mid-2021. The regulator allows the restructuring of loans up to three times. The worthiness of loan restructuring requests is based on actual evaluations made by the financial institutions.

The NBC has said it continues to strengthen the supervision of the banking sector and is prepared to issue any prudent measures and other supports necessary to maintain the sustainability, resilience and level of trust in Cambodia’s banking sector. It added that the banking and finance sector continue to play a key role in supporting the country’s economic activities as well as contributing to the maintenance of sound macroeconomic and finance principles.

The NBC added that the banking system continues to provide credit responsibly, to raise awareness of financial literacy and to ensure inclusion of the public, while strengthening consumer protection and boosting the quality and transparency of the credit information-sharing system. These factors will contribute to the maintenance of financial stability and the avoidance of over-indebtedness among people. Khmer Times