Standard Chartered Bank has today announced the restructuring of its loan facilities worth over Ksh8 billion to support key sectors in the economy that have been affected by COVID 19. Some of the key sectors supported include Tourism & Hospitality, Building & Construction, Trade and Manufacturing and SMEs which have experienced grave disruptions as a result of the pandemic.
“As a bank, we believe we have two priorities during this pandemic, protecting our staff, and supporting our clients and communities. In response to the impacts COVID 19, we have proactively reached out to our retail, commercial and global clients to understand the impact of the pandemic to their businesses and assess areas in which we can offer help. Access to funding and loan repayments was a key pressure point which is why we have restructured loan facilities worth over Ksh8 billion to support the aforementioned sectors,” Kariuki Ngari, CEO Kenya & East Africa, Standard Chartered Bank said.
Mr. Ngari noted that the Bank had since the beginning of the pandemic implemented a raft of measures to support their customers including a 3-month holiday for loan holders, 12-month extension on personal loans and mortgage and a 6 to 12 month credit card payment extension for its customers in bid to offer some relief during these challenging times.
The bank has also waived all its digital fees for clients amounting to Ksh5 Million monthly, a move that has since seen most clients prioritise mobile and digital banking for their banking needs.
Globally, the Bank has committed USD1 billion of financing for companies that provide goods and services to help the fight against Covid-19, and those planning to switch into making products that are in high demand to fight the global pandemic.
Mr. Ngari asserted the banks commitment to supporting COVID 19 fighting mechanisms by giving access to funding. “We are working with both our clients and non-clients who are at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 to secure preferential financing.
Kenya has so far registered 490 COVID-19 confirmed cases with the government’s intervention seeing 173 individuals recovering from the virus.