HSBC Singapore is the latest to join other Singapore banks in announcing a slew of relief measures to help businesses and retail customers tide through the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak.
HSBC announced on Friday its set of support measures for Singapore clients, joining DBS, Standard Chartered, OCBC who already pushed out their relief packages on Thursday. UOB had announced mid-week it would set aside S$3 billion to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME).
The bank's set of support measures aims to ease Singapore’s flow of commercial trade, which includes maturity extensions to SGD$600 million of current trade loans and 1-hour turnaround on the issuance of shipping guarantees. «Trade underpins Singapore’s economy and society. The measures that we have introduced today aim to facilitate the continued flow of trade by easing the cashflow and operational pressures faced by businesses tackling supply chain disruptions. We are committed to supporting our customers,» said Tony Cripps, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Singapore.
Enhanced Support
In addition, it is waiving amendment fees on Letters of Credit impacted by delays, plus providing enhanced support to enable customers to shift towards digital processing.
On Thursday, DBS provided details of its liquidity relief packages to address their customers' «most urgent cash flow needs» after the lender announced its year-end results. In particular, it will provide a six-month principal repayment moratorium for SME property loans.
Available Upon Application
In addition, DBS will offer an extension of import facilities of up to 60 days to act as immediate cash-flow support for businesses coping with disruptions from the Covid-19 situation. These relief packages will be available to customers with good repayment histories when they apply, it added. Assistance for affected retail customers will be shared on DBS/POSB's website from 17 February.
Standard Chartered is looking to offer loan tenor extensions and principal moratoria of up to 12 months for affected clients with business banking installment loans upon request. Other forms of support could include bill maturity extensions of up to three months for clients with trade facilities who face delayed trade payments, waivers of business banking late fees and related charges such as restructuring costs for up to six months, and extra loans or overdrafts against their property for clients with commercial mortgages.
Targeted Approach
For OCBC, it will offer targeted support to customers across its core markets which include Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Measures include letting customers restructure their loans, providing a moratorium on principal repayment for loans, extending the due date of affected trade finance bills, and extending bridging loans in the form of additional working capital financing.
The bank will not limit he help it will extend to customers, noting that the scale of the virus outbreak is «different from that of previous challenges» due to increased connectivity in the region, said OCBC chief executive Samuel Tsien in a media statement.
