Public Bank continues to provide full support for its customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Public Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Tay Ah Lek.
“With the gradual reopening of the economy, Public Bank understands that there are still customers who continue to require assistance. We are committed to supporting all our customers during these challenging times,” he said.
Proactively ensuring the financial needs of its customers are attended to, Public Bank had been offering financial assistance which includes moratoriums and targeted repayment assistance to suit their changing financial needs.
Public Bank has offered a moratorium to about 1.5 million customers with over RM210 billion loans during the first six-month automatic loan moratorium between April and September 2020.
On top of that, Public Bank has offered various flexible targeted repayment assistances to assist its customers. As of the end of Sept 2021, over 429,000 customers with more than RM76 billion loans continue to receive these targeted repayment assistance.
A multipronged approach to assist SMEs
Public Bank has also continuously supported the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which play an important role from generating employment to contributing to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Apart from repayment assistance, ensuring SMEs’ continuous access to financing is vital and despite the tough operating environment, Public Bank has approved more than RM12.7 billion of financing to more than 50,000 SMEs since the beginning of the pandemic.
On top of that, Public Bank had also participated in various Government and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) schemes with an approved amount of RM3.4 billion which has assisted more than 17,000 SMEs.
Having access to finance by SMEs leads to creating employment, supporting livelihoods and contributing to the nation’s economy.
As one of the leading SME financiers with about 22% market share, Public Bank remained dedicated to this mission which can be seen in its annualised growth of 4.6% with total financing of RM68.3 billion as of June 2021.
Another aspect that Public Bank looks at is assisting SMEs in capacity building.
“It is very important that SMEs understand the fundamentals of running a business, particularly during unprecedented times as this. We have organised roadshows to keep them abreast with the options that they have as the pandemic continue to present us with uncertainties,” he said.
Public Bank had also been organising roadshows prior to the pandemic to deliver quality advisory services and address the information asymmetry issues faced by the SMEs.
Drawing large crowds from the SME community nationwide, these roadshows help to elevate their awareness and knowledge on the availability of funds and financing schemes. The pandemic did not stop these roadshows, which are usually held in hotels.
Instead, it continues with a virtual roadshow which showed a rise in SME attendees, with the next one scheduled on late October 2021 for customers in Sabah and Sarawak.
SMEs also continue to receive guidance from the Bank’s SME Helpdesk and SMEs may contact the Bank via email or telephone and for further information, they may visit the Bank’s website at https://www.pbebank.com.
