SBI to charge additional 0.35% interest on rejigged retail loans

State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday launched a portal to administer the restructuring scheme to retail borrowers hit by Covid-19-related stress. The country’s largest lender will be charging an additional interest of 0.35% per annum over and above the current pricing for the remaining tenure of the restructured loans, “in order to offset partial cost of additional provisions required to be made by the bank.”

Customers can check their eligibility for the restructuring of their loans through the portal. Upon logging in, they will be asked to key in their account number. After completion of OTP validation and inputting a few other details, the customer will come to know their eligibility and receive a reference number. This reference number will be valid for 30 days, within which period customers can visit the branch to complete the required formalities. The restructuring process will be completed after verification of documents and execution of some procedures at their branch.

According to a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) released by SBI, borrowers will be eligible under the scheme if their salary/income in August 2020 has got reduced as compared to February, 2020 or if there has been a reduction/suspension in salary during the lockdown period. Borrowers who have experienced job loss, closure of business or reduced activity at their establishments will also be considered for the scheme. The loans covered under the framework are housing and other related loans, education loans, auto loans (other than loans for commercial use) and personal loans. Only those accounts that existed in the bank’s books as on March 1, 2020 are eligible for consideration under this framework.

The relaxations that may be sanctioned under the framework are a moratorium of upto a maximum of 24 months or rescheduling of instalments and extension of tenure by a period equivalent to the moratorium granted subject to a maximum of two years. The maximum age up to which the tenor of the loan can be extended will depend on the product. For instance, in case of home loans, the tenure of the loan can be extended upto a maximum of 24 months or till the primary borrower attains 77 years of age, whichever is earlier.

Under the resolution framework laid down by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), borrowers whose loan accounts were not in default for equal to or more than 30 days as on March 1, 2020 are eligible. The last date for SBI borrowers to apply for recast is December 24.