Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 13 October 2021 – UOB Malaysia’s COVID-19 Relief Assistance1 has benefitted more than 33,000 individual, microenterprises and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As at 24 September 2021, more than RM23.8 billion worth of relief assistance have been extended to these customers to overcome the financial impact caused by the prolonged movement restrictions.
UOB Malaysia has been proactively assisting affected customers under its assistance programme through various forms of financial repayment moratoriums and targeted repayment assistance since the initial stages of the pandemic in March 2020. The Bank has also revised its repayment assistance in support of the various initiatives announced by the government throughout 2020 and 2021. In July 2021, UOB Malaysia further enhanced its COVID-19 Relief Assistance programme in line with the Government’s PEMULIH aid package2.
Mr Wong Kim Choong, Chief Executive Officer, UOB Malaysia, said, “The Bank saw a 120 per cent increase in the number of individual, microenterprise and SME customers applying between June and September 20213. Amid the jump in the number of applications for the past three months, we continued to maintain close to a 100 per cent approval rate of total loans and financing applied under the Bank’s COVID-19 Relief Assistance programme. We will continue to offer support to customers requiring financial assistance to safeguard their lives and livelihoods during these trying times, even as we are seeing a gradual reopening of the economy.”
UOB COVID-19 Relief Assistance applications are still open for individuals, microenterprises and SMEs. Under the PEMULIH aid package, customers can opt for a six-month moratorium of instalments or a 50 per cent reduction on monthly repayment instalments for six months, as an alternative. Businesses whose financial situation continues to be impacted by the pandemic may contact their respective relationship managers for more details.
¹ Eligible for Individuals, microenterprises and SMEs with loan and financing facilities that were approved before 1 July 2021 and have not been in arrears exceeding 90 days upon application.
² Please refer to UOB Malaysia news release “UOB Malaysia fully commits to providing ongoing relief assistance, offers six-month opt-in moratorium to customers”, 9 July 2021.
³ Source: UOB Malaysia internal data from 25 June to 24 September 2021.
Customers who wish to opt in for UOB Malaysia’s COVID-19 Relief Assistance programme can still submit their request by simply completing an online contact form on the Bank’s website at https://www.uob.com.my/default/covid-updates/covid-relief-assistance.page. Alternatively, customers can call the UOB COVID-19 Relief Assistance’s dedicated 24-hour hotline at 03-2612 8019. No upfront documentation is required to ensure an easy and seamless application.
