Citi rolls out relief measures for APAC customers

The bank is offering waivers for credit card clients and commercial clients.

Citi has launched a series of measures across Asia Pacific to assist its retail and institutional customers, which include credit card and loan relief, the bank announced in a press release.

The bank is offering fee waivers for loan extensions, reduced financing rates for eligible clients programs, and additional retail and small business support.

Qualified credit card clients may apply for a waiver on late charges in several markets across APAC. Meanwhile, in consumer banking, mortgage clients with good repayment records in the past 12 months are eligible for a principal moratorium for up to six months.

In Hong Kong, commercial bank clients are offered a one-month maturity extension on existing and new import trade loans, and may be extended for up to two months on a case-to-case basis.

Clients in the city will also have the flexibility to convert a portion of the unutilized trade lines into a revolving line for 6 months.

Successful applicants under the new Hong Kong SME Financing Guarantee Scheme will be granted premium waiver for the first two years of up to HK$100,000. A concession interest rate of 1% per annum (p.a.) for the first six months is to be offered.

Account opening fees for new Citi Commercial Bank clients in Hong Kong will also be waived.

In Korea, borrowers may avail of additional loans up to KRW500m at an interest rate of 1% p.a. The bank is also waiving mandatory payment obligations and extending repayments on a case-to-case basis for loans that will reach maturity in the next three months.

For borrowers directly damaged by the virus with defaulted loans, late fees will be reduced/ waived for up to three months, and borrowers living in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province will be allowed to roll over existing debt via digital channels.

In Singapore, eligible clients may also receive interest and fees waivers, tenure extensions, alternative settlement arrangements, options to restructure borrowing and trade credit facilities, and extension of liquidity and loan payment reduction programs among others. For small business owners with a servicing loan, late fees may be waived for up to three months whilst credit card and unsecured lending customers have the option to elect a debt restructuring program at a lower interest rate and up to 60 months’ tenure.

In Malaysia, individual and commercial banking SME customers will have an automatic
moratorium on loan/financing repayments and payments excluding credit card balances for a period of 6 months beginning 1 April 2020.

Citi has also waived all PesoNet fees in the Philippines.

In China, Citi has offered suppliers in its Supplier Chain Finance program reduced rates to ease working capital constraints during this time. With Citi Supplier Finance, Citi’s corporate clients can help their suppliers (in many cases SMEs and MMEs) turn their receivables into cash faster.