The Monetary Authority of Singapore gave its stamp of approval to banks and insurers' recent efforts to provide some buffer for affected individuals and businesses.
The MAS expressed support for the efforts specifically highlighting announcements by banks to provide a moratorium on repayments, repayment extensions for trade finance facilities and additional financing for working capital. With regards to insurers, it underlined additional benefits such as lump sum or daily cash payments to infected policyholders alongside related coverage from integrated Shield Plans (IP), IP riders and most other personal and group health insurance policies.
«The various measures will help corporates and individuals facing short-term cash flow constraints and provide timely insurance coverage for policyholders affected by COVID-19,» the regulator said in a note. «Taken together, these measures should help to buffer some of the impact on corporates and individuals from the COVID-19 outbreak.»
Beefing Up Buffer
The regulator’s note follows a series of announcements made by major lenders to demonstrate financial flexibility and economic support for the city-state. HSBC was the latest bank to join the efforts with measures such as maturity extensions on S$600 million ($430 million) on current trade loans.
Other notable banks to announce support include UOB which set aside over $2 billion for SME relief; DBS which said it would provide six-month principal repayment moratorium on SME property loans and extend import facilities for up to 60 days; Standard Chartered which would offer loan extensions and principal repayment moratorium; and OCBC which would provide finance relief to clients across Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
