Consumers object to lack of support. Applications for post-moratorium assistance have already been opened for companies. The line Retoma intends to help the most affected.
Applications are now open for the Retoma line, which aims to help companies most affected by the pandemic in the payment of their obligations, at a time when the bank moratoriums have already ended. “This line of support, developed taking into account the needs of companies that need to restructure their capital, seeking to give them protection and power in negotiating with their creditors, is intended for companies of any size that develop in national territory , main activity in one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic and which cumulatively comply with the conditions and requirements for access to the line», says Banco de Fomento.
At issue are around 36.3 billion euros in loans under the public moratorium in August, even so, a number slightly below the one observed in the previous month, with more than 289 thousand families and companies benefiting from this measure to protect the credit that ended this Thursday.
Of this total, 14.1 billion correspond to loans to individuals – including families, IPSS and sole proprietors, of which 12.7 billion euros are household credits whose payment of interest and/or capital is suspended, according to the data released this Thursday by the Bank of Portugal – while the remaining 21.5 billion euros refer to corporate credit, of which 8.3 billion are from the most vulnerable sectors – accommodation and restaurants, commerce and transport – which will to benefit from the public guarantees granted by the State in the restructuring of contracts after the end of the moratoriums.
According to the Portal da Queixa, over the 18 months in which this unprecedented measure was in force, it received more than 200 complaints. Santander, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Millennium BCP are the banking entities with the highest volume of complaints. “The government decree-law, which came out in August, says that banks must be diligent in signaling customers in difficulty and present improvements in contractual conditions in credits of customers who benefited from public moratoria, facilitating their payment. In cases where difficulties were foreseeable, banks had until mid-September to present them with proposals for solutions. However, there are many consumers who say they have not received any contact or proposal from the bank and others complain about the lack of information or lack of response», alerts the portal.