BNM: Banks reaching borrowers to understand their needs

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today brushed off a perception that banks are more interested in protecting their profits and bonuses rather than providing additional assistance to businesses and individuals during an unprecedented event such as Covid-19.

BNM governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus (photo) said banks were proactively reaching their borrowers to understand their needs and how it would change post-Covid-19 as well as ensuring that their own funds were available to assist qualified individuals and businesses.

During the Covid-19 pandemic and the movement control order (MCO) imposed by the government since March 18, banks have agreed to provide six-month loan moratorium to help borrowers facing cashflows problems and have actively promoting special relief facility for qualified small and medium enterprises.

"What the public failed to note is that the banks have another equally important role, which is banks are the custodian of public deposits and play a role in protecting and providing returns to the depositors.

"Therefore, they must continue to practice risk management in providing credit. The banking system must remain strong and sound for it to support businesses and individuals in the face of economic recovery," she told reporters after announcing the country's first-quarter gross domestic product today.

Apart from that, the banking sector also provides support to fresh graduates through the Graduate Programme 2000 (GP2000) that was launched in April 2020.

The programme aims to provide training and working experience for up to 2,000 unemployed graduates with remuneration of RM2,000 per month throughout eight to 12 months duration of the programme.

Nor Shamsiah said the current economic challenges would go through several phases, which will require varying policy measures and priorities.

She stressed that measures need to be calibrated suitably to ensure the banking system could effectively play its role in each of the different phases of recovery.

This is also to ensure that the banking system does not become the source of risk that induced a much deeper and longer downturn.

"In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic shock, we focus on immediate relief to help the most affected especially in easing the cashflow problems. This is the first phase and the next phase for the economy to rebound and after recovery.

"The final phase is deeper reforms in terms of reskilling and adopting new technology that would ensure we are in the stronger post-Covid-19 new normal and we will remain competitive," said Nor Shamsiah.

She added that BNM is focusing to preserve the lending capacity of banks to support a swift economic recovery. - Bernama