The Bank of Maldives has extended the application deadline for loan deferment and announced a second moratorium.

In a statement, the country’s national bank revealed that it will be giving customers that opportunity to defer loan repayments until the end of November.

The bank noted that it had received 17,700 applications for loan deferment including for personal reasons, housing and business finance by July, when the moratorium was announced the first time round, due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

While the six-month period for the deferments has expired, BML extended the deferment period as well as the period for loan deferment applications until December 31.

Customers who are required to make loan payments between September and November have the opportunity to apply for deferments.

BML will be accepting loan deferment applications between September 8 to November 30 through the portal.

In March, BML announced the moratorium of loan repayments for customers as part of the government’s Economic Recovery Plan to minimize the impact on individuals and businesses due to the outbreak, which has struck the country’s economic growth, hard.

The moratorium allowed a freeze on monthly principle and interest repayments for a period of six months and the tenor of the loan was extended for this period, this allowed more time to repay the accumulated interest and principal repayments.