COVID19 Overview on moratoria

Country

Are measures that provide for (1) a deferral of payments and/or (2) a freeze on enforcement (each, a "Moratorium") in place / planned?

Is the Moratorium (quasi-) voluntary or imposed by an authority/regulator?

Does the Moratorium apply to local creditors only or does it also affect creditors that lend cross-border?

Austria (last checked/updated on 10 March 2021)

There is a statutory moratorium set in place (the initial legislation back in April set the moratorium initially for three months; further legislation extended the moratorium several times). For loans taken out by consumers and micro enterprises before 15 March 2020, payment dates falling between 1 April 2020 and 31 January 2021 are (and the final maturity is) extended by 10 months.
During the Moratorium there is a ban on termination of loans due to delay in payment or material deterioration in financial circumstances.

Currently there is no (draft) legislation in place or undergoing parliamentary legislative procedure aimed at extending the statutory moratorium to payment dates falling beyond 31 January 2021.

The Moratorium is voluntary for borrowers and mandatory for banks, i.e. a borrower has the right to invoke the Moratorium if its ability to repay is materially adversely affected as a result of COVID-19. 

Not expressly spelled out but arguably also applies to foreign lenders if the loan agreement is governed by Austrian law.

Bosnia (FBiH) (last checked/updated on 10 March 2021)

Yes, a Moratorium on all (re)payments under bank loan agreements as a single measure for a period of six months, starting with approval by the bank, and for a period of 12 months when combined with other measures. The deadline for borrowers to apply for the measures, including moratorium, lapsed on 31 December 2020 and has not been extended so far.

Quasi-voluntary. Banks are obliged to define appropriate measures that will help their clients financially affected by the pandemic to establish a sustainable business model and to settle credit obligations; the Moratorium is one of the available measures. Voluntary for borrowers. Presumably applicable to non-bank borrowers only (no mention about banks as borrowers in the law).

Local banks only; however, it cannot be excluded that borrowers might try to invoke the Moratorium against both local and cross-border bank creditors.

Bosnia (RS) (last checked/updated on 10 March 2021)

Yes, a Moratorium on all (re)payments under bank loan agreements as a single measure for a period of six months, starting with approval by the bank, and for a period of 12 months when combined with other measures. The deadline for borrowers to apply for the measures, including moratorium, lapsed on 31 December 2020 and has not been extended so far.

Quasi-voluntary. Banks are obliged to define appropriate measures that will help their clients financially affected by the pandemic to establish a sustainable business model and to settle credit obligations; the Moratorium is one of the available measures. Voluntary for borrowers. Presumably applicable to non-bank borrowers only (no mention about banks as borrowers in the law).

Local banks only; however, it cannot be excluded that borrowers might try to invoke the Moratorium against both local and cross-border bank creditors.

Bulgaria (last checked/updated on 11 March 2021)

The public moratorium imposed by the Act on the Measures and Actions during the State of Emergency Declared by a Resolution of the National Assembly of 13 March 2020 and on Addressing the Consequences is no longer in force. From 13 July 2020 (two months following the repeal of the state of emergency), the statutory moratorium is no longer applicable.

Furthermore, there is a temporary private moratorium on bank loan payments currently expiring on 31 March 2021 applied by Bulgarian commercial banks concerning (i) deferral of payment of interest for up to six months, (ii) deferral of payment of principal and interest for up to six months, and (iii) deferral of payments applicable to revolving products.

Although not imposed by a law or an authority, the private moratorium on bank loans is adopted by the Association of Banks in Bulgaria and following approval by the BNB, becomes mandatory for the banks. The moratorium is, however, voluntary for the borrowers.

Local banks (members of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria) only.

Croatia (last checked/updated on 9 March 2021)

(1) No statutory measures regarding deferral of payments are in place that would defer payments or freeze enforcement by law. However, under the guidelines of the Croatian National Bank, banks may grant moratoria until 31 March 2021. Moreover, with regard to recent earthquakes which have hit Croatia's central region, local banks have agreed to suspend the initiation of enforcements against clients in the Sisačko-moslavačka county, until a systematic solution is found.

(2) Statutory measures ordering stays of enforcement proceedings expired on 19 October 2020. There are proposals to renew the stays of enforcement proceedings, but none have yet been passed. Also, public notaries accepted the Ministry of Justice's proposal for a six-month moratorium on issuing and dispatching enforcement writs to persons in earthquake-affected areas.

The measures regarding deferral of payments still stand on a voluntary basis only.

Local banks only.

Czech Republic (last checked/updated on 9 March 2021)

No, not anymore.

The Act on Certain Loan Repayment Measures in Connection with the COVID-19 Pandemic entered into force on 16 April 2020 introducing an opt-in moratorium for both individual and corporate borrowers, which enabled repayments to be deferred for three or six months. This option was available for consumer and business loans including mortgages that were concluded before 26 March 2020 but drawn down after this date.

The option to use the moratorium ended on 31 October 2020. The banks will deal with the individual requests for moratoria on a case-by-case basis. A new amendment to the act extending the period until 31 January (or 30 April) 2021 was proposed in October, but was rejected. There is no other draft legislation proposed at this time, although it cannot be excluded in the future.

Moratoria are now on a voluntary basis only.

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Hungary (last checked/updated on 9 March 2021)

(1) From 1 January 2021, lenders having a seat or branch office in Hungary may not terminate their loan, credit and financial leasing agreements until 30 June 2021 if the debtor is in default due to its financial difficulties. (ii) In addition, a moratorium has been introduced under all retail and corporate financings. Capital, interest and fee payment obligations under all loan, credit and financial leasing agreements, employer loans and guarantees are suspended until 31 December 2020. (iii) The moratorium has been prolonged until 30 June 2021.

(2) Auctions, onsite enforcement procedures and measures cannot be taken until the end of the state of emergency.

(1) Deferral of payments: (i) The prohibition on termination is mandatory for banks. (ii) The first moratorium is voluntary for borrowers (opt-out) and mandatory for banks, i.e. debtors may continue performing their contractual obligations if they would like to. (iii) The prolonged moratorium is voluntary for borrowers (opt-out for borrowers subject to the first moratorium and opt-in for borrowers that continued their payment obligations under the first moratorium) and mandatory for banks.

(2) Freeze on enforcements: mandatory.

(1) Deferral of payments: (i) The prohibition on termination is applicable in respect of lenders having a seat or branch office in Hungary.  (ii) As to the first moratorium, there is no distinction between domestic or foreign lenders providing financial services. Foreign lenders might be affected as well (irrespective of the law governing their agreement with the borrower), if we were to consider the rationale of the proposed moratorium, e.g. to act as an economic safeguard. (iii) The prolonged moratorium is only applicable in respect of lenders having a seat or branch office in Hungary. 

(2) The freeze on enforcements applies to both local banks and cross-border creditors.

Moldova (last checked/updated on 8 March 2021)

No measures with respect to the deferral of payments or a freeze on enforcement are in place or being discussed in Moldova. Commercial banks or non-banking payment service providers decide independently whether to apply such policies or not. 

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Montenegro (last checked/updated on 8 March 2021)

A Moratorium based on a decision of the Central Bank of Montenegro on all (re)payments under loan agreements applicable to:
(i) borrowers performing commercial activities threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic as categorised by the Central Bank of Montenegro and borrowers under loans for tourism development – can be used during the period between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021 by borrowers who are not past due on loan repayments for more than 90 days as at 31 December 2019 and whose loans have not been classified as non-performing assets;
(ii) natural persons whose employment was terminated from 31 March 2020 or at a later date as a result of COVID-19 – the moratorium can be used for a period of six months by borrowers who were not past due on loan repayments for more than 90 days as at 31 December 2019 and whose loans have not been classified as non-performing assets.
Banks may not initiate enforcement procedures.

The Moratorium is voluntary for borrowers and mandatory for banks, i.e. a borrower is free to invoke the Moratorium and the bank is bound by the borrower's choice.

Local banks only (according to an unofficial confirmation from the central bank); however, it cannot be excluded that borrowers might try to invoke the Moratorium against both local and cross-border bank creditors.

North Macedonia (last checked/updated on 10 March 2021)

The Macedonian authorities adopted a measure according to which Macedonian banks are obliged to offer and/or review offers made to them by debtors (natural persons and non-financial corporations) in relation to terms and conditions of credit arrangements not later than 30 September 2020.

The measure does not specify what the offer must consist of (nor whether the offer must include moratorium on debt payments) as the terms and the manner of changing the contractual terms are to be defined by the Macedonian banks themselves.

The latest and currently only offer that is in effect and that was made by the Macedonian banks for changing the terms and the manner of changing the contractual terms enables deferred repayment of monthly liabilities in the period from 1 October 2020 until 31 March 2021.

Banks are provided with relief from credit risk rules envisaged under the Decision on Methodology and Management of Credit Risk in regards to credit arrangements which are subject to the offer.

The Moratorium is voluntary, given that it may be offered but the banks are not obliged to offer it.

It may be understood that the measures relate only to local banks as they provide for regulatory relief which is applicable only for local banks. However, it cannot be excluded that borrowers might try to offer / request offers from cross-border bank creditors in relation to the terms and conditions of their respective credit arrangements.

Poland (last checked/updated on 10 March 2021)

Currently there are no official plans by the Polish government to introduce a general mandatory deferral of payments and/or freeze of enforcement.
The Polish Banking Association has suggested some steps to be taken by Polish banks (e.g. the suspension of the payment of loans, leasing, factoring, facilitating the contact by electronic means of communication, etc.), but these are voluntary.

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Romania (last checked/updated on 10 March 2021)

The emergency ordinance passed on 26 March 2020 by the Government has been amended starting with 1 January 2021 (the "Ordinance"). Per the latest amendments, a Moratorium of up to nine months  is applicable for loans granted until 30 March 2020 and is available to virtually any type of borrower directly or indirectly affected by COVID-19 (except for credit institutions), who do not register overdue payments at the date of the request / whose loan was not accelerated until 31 December 2020. For legal persons, there are two additional criteria to be met: (i) the entity declares through a sworn affidavit that its revenues / average monthly income from the last three months prior to the request have decreased by 25 % compared to the 2019/2020 similar period; and (ii) the entity is not subject to insolvency, as evidenced by the commercial registry online database.

Debtors having been granted deferral of payments based on the Ordinance prior to its prolongation and amendments (i.e. the initial version of the Ordinance provided 31 December 2020 as the deadline for the Moratorium) may continue to benefit from the Moratorium if the total granted deferral period does not exceed nine months (irrespective of whether these nine months have been granted based on a legislative or non-legislative Moratorium). Thus, debtors having benefited from a deferral of less than nine months are entitled to request an additional period of deferral up to a total of nine months.

Debtors who have not requested deferral based on the initial version of the Ordinance are entitled to submit such a request according to the recent amendments.

Under the Ordinance, the Moratorium is voluntary for eligible borrowers (opt-in), who will have to submit a request with their lender until 15 March 2021 and the lender must issue its decision by 31 March 2021. Application norms detail the processing of such requests by lenders. Interest will accrue and be capitalised during the suspension period, to be repaid in equal instalments for the entire duration of the loan, after the Moratorium ceases. By way of exception, interest accruing on consumer mortgage loans will not be capitalised, but will be repaid in 60 equal monthly instalments, after the Moratorium ceases. The state also guarantees payment of interest on such mortgage loans via guarantees issued based on bilateral conventions entered into with the lenders.

The Ordinance is silent on this topic, but arguments can be raised in support of both options (i.e. that the Moratorium applies exclusively to local creditors or also to cross-border creditors). In practice, it might be expected that Romanian courts will extend protection to any eligible Romanian borrower even if the lender is foreign.

Serbia (last checked/updated on 11 March 2021)

The initial Moratorium imposed by the National Bank of Serbia expired on 30 September 2020.

Instead of prolonging the same Moratorium, on 14 December 2020, the NBS prescribed an obligation for banks and leasing providers to approve debt repayment reliefs to debtors (natural persons, farmers, entrepreneurs and companies) who due to the conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have or may have difficulties in the repayment of liabilities, at their request. When it comes to corporate clients, the NBS prescribed that repayment reliefs should be offered in particular to debtors who experienced in 2020 a fall in business revenue, and/or turnover of at least 15% relative to 2019 or a shutdown lasting minimum 30 days in continuity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reliefs envisaged by the NBS involve rescheduling and refinancing of loans and financial lease liabilities, as well as a six-month grace period and appropriate extension of repayment term so that the debtor’s monthly liabilities are not higher than those envisaged by the repayment schedule prior to the approval of relief.

The new NBS measures and reliefs are voluntary for debtors and mandatory for banks / financial leasing providers: the NBS prescribed measures and activities to be applied by banks and financial leasing providers in order to ensure adequate credit risk management, which implies timely identification of debtors faced with potential difficulties and taking of appropriate steps, including approval of debt repayment reliefs to certain affected debtors, at their request.

Local banks only; however, it is possible that borrowers might try to invoke the NBS measures against cross-border bank creditors as well, especially to avoid or delay the enforcement proceedings.

Slovenia (last checked/updated on 10 March 2021)

Yes. Deferral of payments for eligible borrowers of bank debt (not automatic) for nine months starting with approval by the bank. The option to apply for a deferral has been extended to 26 February 2021. Deferral of payments is available for liabilities which have not yet matured by 19 October 2020 (date of second official declaration of COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia) and for payment obligations under new loans concluded during the validity of intervention measures. Banks have until 31 March 2021 to approve deferral applications.

Borrowers who were granted a deferral of payments are prohibited from paying (i) dividends, (ii) performance bonuses to the management and employees, and (iii) other financial liabilities to parent or affiliated companies and owners. Violations of the prohibition are a reason to terminate the moratorium.

As of 31 December 2021, provisions on deferral of payments will also apply to obligations affected by a confirmed compulsory settlement or confirmed financial restructuring agreement (final maturity date in accordance with the confirmed compulsory settlement is extended for the duration of the payment deferral).

The Moratorium is voluntary for eligible borrowers (opt-in) and quasi-voluntary for banks. A bank which denies a justified application by an eligible borrower risks a considerable penalty (up to EUR 250,000). Presumably, the Moratorium does not apply to bank borrowers (although it must be said that the law is not sufficiently clear).

Local banks (and local branches of EU banks) only.

Slovakia (last checked/updated on 10 March 2021)

A new so-called Lex Covid entered into force on 1 January 2021. Lex Covid prolongs the possibility for the companies to be granted temporary protection from bankruptcy and enforcement proceedings that was introduced last year and modifies its terms to a certain extent. 

The moratorium is not automatic, it can be granted by the court based on an application of a debtor. Unlike previous (almost automatic) granting of protection, under the new Lex Covid, creditors of the applying debtor will be involved in the proceedings and an approval by a majority of the creditors will be required. The majority will be calculated in proportion to the amount of their claims, while creditors with affiliated claims and creditors whose claims together exceed EUR 100,000 are excluded (except for certain entities such as entity of public administration, bank, insurance company, entity registered in the registry of public partners, etc.). In addition to the approval of the creditors, other statutory conditions must be fulfilled (e.g. no profit distribution in the past 12 months, the debtor has not been granted a moratorium in the last 48 months, etc.).

The moratorium may be granted for a maximum period of three months, which can be prolonged by additional three months subject to the fulfilment of similar obligations as for the granting of moratorium. In addition, a declaration of the debtor that it is negotiating a change of the obligations or a partial waiver of the claims or loan financing with creditors is required. The debtors will be able to apply for the moratorium until 31 December 2022.

Natural persons, self-employed persons and small businesses (max. 250 employees and annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50,000,000 or total amount of assets not exceeding EUR 43,000,000) ("Clients") will still be able to request deferrals of payments as follows:
- up to nine months deferral of instalments of loans provided by banks; and
- up to three months deferral of instalments (with a possibility to request three additional months) of loans provided by other companies providing loans to Clients as their line of business (e.g. consumer loans providers without a banking licence).
Such a deferral due to the COVID-19 outbreak must be provided by these entities to each Client upon written application prescribed by law, with the only conditions being that the Client must not be (i) in delay in repaying the loan for more than 30 calendar days as of the date of receipt of the application, or (ii) as of 29 February 2020 was not in delay with an amount of at least EUR 100 with respect to another loan with the same bank/company, (iii) in default, i.e. the bank considers the Client to be unlikely to pay or the Client is otherwise in default within the meaning of Article 178 of the Capital Requirements Regulation.

Mandatory if granted.

Freeze on enforcement – both local banks and creditors that lend cross-border.
Deferral of payments – only local banks.

Turkey (last checked/updated on 10 March 2021)

(i) On 8 December 2020, the Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Authority ("BRSA") announced an extension of the terms of the measures taken to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 over financial transactions:

• The qualification for non-performing loan was temporarily extended from 90 days to 180 days until the end of 2020. This measure is now extended to 30 June 2021.

• Restructured debts whose payment is delayed for more than 30 days during the monitoring period of one year or restructured once more within this monitoring period will continue not to be classified within delayed receivables until 30 June 2021.

(ii) The Presidential Decree dated 26 March 2020 and the Decree regarding its extension dated 30 April 2020 froze the enforcement proceedings until 15 June 2020. Since that date, however, enforcement proceedings continue as normal.

Deferral of bank loans is voluntary.

Only local banks are subject to the recommendations of the Banking Regulatory Authority.