The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced that it is giving a one-year moratorium on all principal repayments for COVID-19 intervention loans. This is done through its participating Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) taking effect from March 1, 2020.
This was made known on Wednesday, in a circular signed by the Director, Finance Police, and Regulation Department, Kelvin Amugo.
The circular also stated that as part of the continued efforts of the apex bank to mitigate the coronavirus impact on household, businesses and regulated institutions, interest rates on its facilities have been reduced through the participating OFIs from nine percent to five percent per annum effective from March 1, 2020, for one year.
It stated, “The CBN intervention facilities obtained through participating OFIs will be given a further one-year moratorium on all principal repayments, also effective March 1, 2020.”
It added that the OFIs have also been granted leave for a temporary and time-limited restructuring of the tenor and loan terms for households and businesses affected by COVID-19. This is in line with the recent guidelines issued for restructuring affected credits facilities in the OFI subsector.
The Director of Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Isaac Okarafor hinted that the management’s approval for the restructuring of credit facilities in the OFI subsector is in line with the bank objective to alleviate strain on households, businesses and regulated institutions caused by the coronavirus lockdown.
According to him, the CBN would continue to monitor development and implement appropriate measures to ensure financial stability and support stakeholders impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the CBN for May 2020 would hold today, Thursday.
