ISLAMABAD: The Non-bank Microfinance Companies (NBMFCs) have reschedule loans of worth Rs36billion of total 2,244,605 individuals and micro-enterprises as of June 30, 2020, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said on Tuesday.
The SECP said that it had relaxed the regulatory requirements for non-bank finance sector allowing them to defer or reschedule the loan repayments of their borrowers during COVID-19 pandemic.
Out of these, 1,379,330 borrowers were facilitated through deferment of principal repayments of Rs27.778 billion by twelve NBMFCs, while 865,275 borrowers benefited through rescheduling of loans of 7.998 billion rupees by nine NBMFCs.
The SECP has already extended the time by three months for NBMFCs to accept deferment requests of borrowers till September 30, 2020.
Earlier, the SECP had urged the NBMFCs to adopt a considerate approach to accommodate their borrowers who belong to unprivileged segments of the society.
The SECP had also allowed NBMFCs to accept borrowers requests made through electronic means or phone calls. It is part of SECP’s efforts to provide relief for mitigating adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in slowdown in business and livelihood activity.