March 18 (SeeNews) - Serbia's central bank has introduced a 90-day moratorium on loan repayment by clients of commercial banks and financial leasing companies in order to alleviate the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the country's economy, it said.
The moratorium applies to individuals, farmers, entrepreneurs and companies who wish to use it, the central bank, NBS, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Financial stability is necessary in regular as well as in extraordinary circumstances in the country. The central bank, in coordination with other state bodies, will do whatever is necessary to protect stability and, in exceptional circumstances, facilitate the position of citizens and the economy of Serbia," NBS governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic said in the statement.
Banks and financial leasing providers are obliged to post a notice about the postponement of repayment obligations on their websites and clients will be able to reject the offer in a period of ten days afterwards, the central bank said.
Moreover, banks and financial leasing providers will not charge default interest on delayed loan repayments and will not initiate enforced collection, nor will they take any other legal action to collect their receivables from clients during the period of the moratorium.
Serbia has confirmed 65 cases of the coronavirus infection so far. A state of emergency was declared in the country on March 15.