In keeping with its corporate ethos to create a better tomorrow for the community, Union Bank continued its commitment to support and empower the Bank’s customers impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Bank took measures to immediately roll out the financial relief scheme recommended by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in March 2020, in a bid to help communities to recover from the financial impacts of the medium term. As an immediate measure, the Bank announced extensions for credit card dues in the month of March/April along with extensions for other personal borrowing such as loans and leases.
The financial relief package which places focus on the Bank’s corporate, SME and retail banking clientele include a three-month debt moratorium for all personal loans of value less than Rs.1 million. The maximum interest rate applicable for credit card transactions up to 50,000/- was reduced to 15% p.a and the minimum payment was reduced to 2% from 4% which was applicable before. Late payment fees have been waived for all credit cards and loans until 30th September 2020. In addition the Bank tied up with Pickme.lk to offer 20% savings to its credit cardholders on essential items purchased via the app during the month of April.
Self-employed personnel, Foreign currency earners (both individuals & businesses), Small and Medium Enterprises (in the Agriculture, Manufacturing, Services, Construction & Trading sectors) and Corporates in Tourism, direct and indirect export related businesses including apparel, plantation, IT and related logistic services industries and others are eligible for loan repayment moratoriums of capital and interest from Union Bank up to 6 months. Furthermore, with the intent of providing immediate relief to SMEs, small scale traders etc., charges on cheque returns and stop payments have been waived until 30th September 2020 while the validity period for issued cheques below Rs.500,000/- of value has been extended until 15th May. In line with the CBSL directions, Pawning interest rates have been revised with effect from 27th April 2020 for the benefit of those who wish to avail such services from the Bank.
Further, Union Bank is geared to support Corporate and SME Banking customers who seek working capital loans at low-interest rates to revive their business operations; while extending its continuous support to ensure timely processing of salaries, remittances and international trade transactions in a bid to support business owners to keep their enterprises progressing amidst a challenging landscape.
Commenting on the initiatives, Union Bank Director/ Chief Executive Officer Mr. Indrajit Wickramasinghe said, “We are deeply appreciative of the work carried out by local authorities to control the spread of this pandemic in the country. We are determined to do our part first by complying with all the guidelines issued by the authorities and secondly by contributing to the economic recovery of our customers affected by Covid-19. As an essential services provider during this time of uncertainty, we are doing our best to keep our services up and running while also ensuring that the safety of our staff and customers is given utmost priority. We have made a number of arrangements at our work premises to ensure that stringent levels of hygiene and safety are practiced. Our branch managers and relationships managers have consistently kept in touch with the customers to ensure that they are well informed on the relief measures and are able to avail the facilities being offered. We will overcome this challenge together and Union Bank remains committed to support our customers during this difficult period.”
Amidst the prevailing curfew situation which has been implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Union Bank has continued to provide its customers with uninterrupted banking convenience via strategically located branches that have remained open for limited hours. The Bank’s network of on-site and off-site ATMs island-wide, supplemented by over 4500 ATMs connected via LankaPay have been instrumental in providing easy access to customer accounts at times of emergency. The Bank’s Online Banking portal and Mobile Banking app are geared to facilitate a wide range of banking transactions for users enabling contactless banking from the safety of their homes.
Union Bank’s corporate website www.unionb.com and the 24-hour customer service hotline 011 5800 800 also remain open for customer queries and assistance. Union Bank’s dedicated Covid-19 relief portal has been open since 1st April 2020 and the Bank’s customers are requested to submit their requests for financial relief in writing to the respective branch/relationship managers on or before 15th May while more details can be obtained via the dedicated portal https://www.unionb.com/covid-19-relief/
