BANKS are keen on granting the business sectors longer loan payment moratoriums especially to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), a bank executive said.

On March 18, the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) asked all banks to "declare a 60-day moratorium on all loan payments regardless of type, including credit card payments, waiving penalties, and surcharges" and to restructure the loans.

The chamber said it is to enable the businesses and individuals to help them cope up with their losses brought about by the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) situation.

Earlier, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Southern Mindanao Business Council (ECCP-SMBC) called on formal financial institutions to ease their loan guidelines for MSMEs to enable them to pay for their financial obligations.

"Definitely, it will be granted," Davao City Bankers Association Inc. (DCBAI) president Raymond Nonato said.

"I believe most banks are flexible enough to grant moratoriums on loan payments especially to MSMEs. It is just that we have different policies and approaches," he added.

Nonato, branch manager of the Philippine Business Bank, said they have asked their clients to write to them to request for a moratorium of their loan payments, which is usually for two to three months.

He said five of their clients have already requested for a moratorium.

"Definitely naa (there is) because most businesses now are in a halt due to the implementation of the community quarantine," he said.

Meanwhile, ECCP-SMBC chair Antonio Peralta has also previously noted that several banks have already extended their credit payment deadlines for the business sector.

On Tuesday, March 31, Nonato bared that the DCBAI members had presented the loan moratoriums and restructuring programs they currently offer to the DCCCII.