United Bulgarian Bank (UBB) introduces specific measures for deferral of credit liabilities in line with the COVID-19 pandemic. Clients, who have been impacted by the pandemic or the restrictions, introduced with the Measures and Actions during a State of Emergency Act and want to use relaxed terms and conditions should fill out a Declaration Statement form, available on the Bank’s website https://www.ubb.bg/en/covid19, not later than 22.06.2020. Individual clients will not owe any renegotiation or other fees, related to UBB’s offer. Over the period, during which there is state of emergency on the Republic of Bulgaria’s territory, penalty interest for all loans with past due payables and the early callable ones will not be accrued.

Clients with mortgage and consumer loans may defer due principal or interest amounts, or only principal ones by their choice, over a period of up to 6 months, however not later than 31.12.2020.

A new repayment plan will be prepared, covering the full outstanding debt amount, including the unpaid principal during the grace period, as the repayment plan period will be extended with the same number of months, with which the loan repayment has been deferred.

Should the client choose to defer the repayment of only the principal, then over the months of the grace period he/she is going to pay only the due interest for the regular debt on the present principal.

Should he/she choose to defer the repayment of the principal and of the interest, then the accrued and non-repaid interest for the regular debt on the present principal during the grace period will be distributed in equal portions and added to the monthly installments over a maximum period of up to 12 months for consumer loans and up to 60 months for mortgage loans.

Individual clients with revolving credit cards may use the debt deferral option for utilized amounts from their credit limit for purchases at merchants, cash withdrawals and annual fees, within a period up to 6 months, with effect not earlier than 01.02.2020, however not later than 31.12.2020. Over the deferral period what will be fully due are fees and monthly installments for deferred purchases, if any, as these will be included in the minimum monthly payment in the monthly statement. After expiry of the deferral period the due amounts for purchases, cash withdrawals and annual fees will continue to be repaid as per the manners, negotiated in the agreement and the minimum amount of the partial repayment installment.

Proposed measures can be used by UBB clients, who experience financial difficulties, triggered by the coronavirus crisis and who as at 01.03.2020 were repaying their loans on a regular basis with not more than 90 days past due. For the purpose clients need to file a Declaration Statement according to a sample form of the Bank. The easiest way to do so is fill out the form at https://www.ubb.bg/en/covid19. A filled-out form in advance will facilitate the quicker processing of your request, after which a Contact Center official will call the client to further discuss the deferral details. The other alternatives for clients to express their willingness to defer liabilities is by calling the dedicated hotline *6777 on business days from 8.30 h. until 17.30 h., emailing contact_center@ubb.bg or visiting a branch of UBB.

Business clients of UBB, whose business is directly impacted by the introduced state of emergency and the imposed measures in line with the spread of the COVID-19, may refer to their client relationship officials at the Bank for discussing their needs and the possibilities for overcoming the negative impact on their commercial activity. The standard scheme for deferral of liabilities over a period of up to 6 months will also apply to business clients.

„Being an international and systemically important financial institution we are responsible before society for supporting the seamless functioning of the economy and for protecting the well-being of our clients“, said Peter Andronov, Chief Executive Officer of UBB and Country Manager of KBC Group for Bulgaria. „The measures we introduce target our conscientious clients – accurate payers for years, who presently experience financial difficulties because of the pandemic-related crisis. We fully understand their difficulties and we are going to support them to go through those“, added he also.

According to the Bank’s projections, regardless of the indications about the onset of an economic crisis, about 90% of its clients are going to continue repaying their liabilities on a regular basis.

These measures have been elaborated in compliance with the adopted by the Association of Banks in Bulgaria and approved by the Bulgarian National Bank Procedure for Deferral and Settlement of Callable Liabilities towards banks and their subsidiary companies - financial institutions, in line with the state of emergency, introduced on 13.03.2020 by the National Assembly because of the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as with the issued by the European Banking Authority Guidelines on legislative and non-legislative moratoria on loan repayments, applied in light of the COVID-19 crisis.