KUALA LUMPUR, 28 March 2020 – United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia) today announced it will support the financial relief measures prescribed by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)1 by not compounding interest on loans and mortgages for all eligible individual and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers during the six-month moratorium period. For its Islamic banking customers, UOB Malaysia will continue to observe the Shariah principle of not compounding profit on Islamic financing facilities.
All individual and SME customers do not need to apply as they automatically qualify under BNM’s relief measures. Their loans and mortgages will not be charged compounded interest during the moratorium period. This means interest/profit accrued during the period will not be charged interest and the Bank will not impose late penalty charges on the deferred amount. Through this added relief measure that will take effect on 1 April 2020, the Bank hopes to help further its customers alleviate their financial burden. For individual and SME customers who choose to opt out from this automatic moratorium, they will just need to inform the Bank. Further details will be published on UOB Malaysia’s website.
For corporate customers, as they do not fall under the scope of BNM’s automatic moratorium measures, they can choose to opt in by submitting their request for a moratorium through their UOB Relationship Managers. This will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
In addition, UOB Malaysia will absorb the fees charged to customers when they use another bank’s automated teller machines (ATMs) to withdraw cash from their UOB bank account. This is part of the Bank’s further initiative to encourage its customers to stay at home or to move only within areas close to their homes during the government’s Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
Mr Wong Kim Choong, Chief Executive Officer, UOB Malaysia, said, "We have been proactively engaging and responding to our customers impacted by COVID-19. By not compounding the interest on our customers’ loans/financing and mortgages during the moratorium period, we want to provide additional relief to our customers and continue to give them adequate support through this difficult period. While we are happy to absorb the ATM cash withdrawal fees for our customers during the MCO period, we strongly encourage our customers to use our online and mobile banking services for their safety and convenience."
UOB Malaysia will continue to evaluate its relief measures in collaboration with BNM to provide sufficient financial assistance to both its conventional and Islamic banking customers.
For further information on UOB Malaysia’s COVID-19 financial relief measures, please visit www.uob.com.my.