A-G Tells Home Loan Help Plan
Banks agree to extend repayment holiday until March 31, 2021. FNFP members can access 50 per cent of their preserved account to repay loans.
Thursday 10 December 2020 | 11:13
A big home loan relief plan was announced in Parliament yesterday when Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum tabled the COVID-19 Response (Home Loan Assistance) Bill of 2020.
Once passed, the Bill will apply to mortgages in effect during the COVID-19 relief period and repayment holidays for home loans.
After several meetings with banks, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum told Parliament they had agreed to extend the home loan repayment holiday until March 31, 2021.
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Also, after discussions with the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF), Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said from March members could access up to 50 per cent of their preserved account to repay their home loans.
“We have come up with an agreement where we had discussions with the Fiji National Provident Fund also and the banks have agreed to extend the holiday until 31st March 2021,” he said.
“What we have also done in the law is that we have said the banks should continue even after 31st of March. In the event they cannot and there is a huge financial indication on the banks in their accounts, those members would be able to access their FNPF funds to continue to do some payments for their loan, so there is no mortgagee sale taking place.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Government wanted people to continue owning their homes, adding that the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) would have an oversight over the accounts.
Members can access their FNPF account, even though they may have accessed it years back to provide equity for the purchase or construction of their homes.
As a buffer, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said FNPF would have a charge over the property. For example, if the property owner faces further financial difficulties even after the pandemic is no longer an issue, but the borrower cannot complete payments and the property does eventually get sold, the money which was paid out of the FNPF Preserved Account would need to go back to the Fund.
The Bill will be debated tomorrow among six other bills – the Income Tax Amendment Bill, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service Bill, Ozone Depleting Substances Bill, Telecommunications Amendment Bill, Environment Management Amendment Bill and the Customs Tariff Amendment Bill.
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