Modalku, Investree and Akseleran Study Credit Relief Due to Pandemic

Banks and leasing companies relax loans due to the corona pandemic. Financial technology startups (fintech lending) such as Modalku, Akseleran, and Investree also review credit relief.

Co-founder and CEO Investree Adrian Gunadi said the company reviews credit relaxation following Financial Services Authority Regulation (POJK) No. 11 of 2020. The regulation contains OJK’s steps to provide loan stimulus from financial institutions to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the plague coronavirus.

“Until now we are discussing with several borrowers (borrowers), especially in the hotel and retail sectors. We see case by case,” Adrian said during a video conference on Wednesday (8/4).

Even so, he reminded that the fintech lending business model is different from banks and other financial institutions. Credit relaxation is a lender’s decision, while the company only facilitates.

So far, the relaxation studied by Investree has been given specifically to MSMEs that are truly affected by the corona pandemic. Even so, the company noted the ratio of bad loans or non-performing loans (NPLs) has not surged due to the corona pandemic.

“The NPL surge is almost certainly not happening at Investree amid the Covid-19 situation,” Adrian said. Until the end of March 2020, the success rate of 90-day loan repayments (TKB) on the Investree platform reached 99.03%.

There are Several Conditions for Borrowers to Apply for Credit Relief

Akseleran also examines loan relaxation. Several conditions must be fulfilled by the borrower if you want to apply for credit relief. First, it must be affected by Covid-19.

Second, the smooth payment before March 2, 2020. Third, the inability to pay due to temporary disruption. Finally, the borrower still has a source of funds to make payments. However, credit relaxation is optional.

“The decision to grant the restructuring is entirely the authority of the lenders,” said Akseleran’s Co-Founder and CEO Ivan Tambunan.

So far, only one borrower has applied for credit relaxation at Akseleran. Also, there are no Akseleran borrowers engaged in the tourism sector and only a few in the trade sector. In Modalku, some borrowers apply for credit relief.

“Under current conditions, we will discuss with related borrowers to find the best solution,” Modalku Co-founder and CEO Reynold Wijaya told Katadata.co.id, yesterday (7/4). The form of relaxation facilitated by Modalku is the adjustment of the loan limit and the extension of the tenor. “This adjustment will be made on a case by case basis,” Reynold said.

Start-up financial technology finance (fintech lending) UangTeman noted, loan applications increased 40% during this month. However, selective companies extend credit amid the corona pandemic.

This was done to mitigate the risk of bad credit, given that many sectors were affected by the pandemic. “The number of incoming loan applications has increased by 30-40% in a month,” UangTeman CEO Aidil Zulkifli said.

AFPI Has Asked Fintech to Mitigate the Risk of Jammed Credit due to Pandemic

Some borrowers have also applied for relief. However, this is a lender’s decision. There are several conditions for applying for loan relief. First, borrowers who are truly impacted co-19 in the tourism sector.

Second, in the productive sector related to international trade or export-import. Finally, it is engaged in the infrastructure sector.

Previously, the Indonesian Joint Funding Fintech Association (AFPI) encouraged fintech lending providers to mitigate the risk of a surge in bad loans. You do this by facilitating credit relaxation.

Head of the Institutional and Public Relations Division of AFPI Tumbur Pardede said one form of relaxation that could be facilitated by fintech lending with discounted interest and relief of late fines. Interest discounts are charged to fintech lending, not lenders.

Companies that bear interest discounts so that the value of the returns received by lenders remains or according to the contract. “Discounts on interest such as the ‘burn money’ promotion strategy provided by the organizers (fintech lending). This is specifically for potential borrowers affected by co-19,” said Tumbur, last week (2/4).