SBI simplifies EMI moratorium process, starts notifying eligible borrowers via SMS

Mumbai, May 27 () SBI on Wednesday said it has simplified the equated monthly instalment (EMI) deferment process for eligible borrowers who want to avail moratorium on term loan repayments.

It has reached out to all its eligible loan customers to obtain their consent to stop their standing instructions (SIs) / National Automated Clearing House (NACH) mandate for the EMIs falling due in June, July and August 2020, the State Bank of India (SBI) said in a statement.

"For this, we have simplified the process of stopping the EMIs by initiating a SMS communication to nearly 85 lakh eligible borrowers asking about their consent to stop EMIs," the country's largest lender said.

The borrowers have to reply with a 'Yes' to a designated virtual mobile number (VMN) mentioned in the SMS within five days of receiving the message, if they wish to defer the EMIs.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed banks and other lending institutions to extend the moratorium on term loans till August 31, 2020.

In March, RBI had announced a three-month moratorium on payment of all term loans falling due between March 1, 2020 and May 31, 2020 to help borrowers cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.

SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar had last week said that close to 20 per cent of the bank's borrowers have availed the moratorium on term loans. HV ABM ABM