Scotland Times

Saturday, Feb 22, 2025

Royal Bank of Scotland defers mortgage payments for customers hit by coronavirus

The Royal Bank of Scotland has vowed to defer mortgage and loan repayments for up to three months for customers affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
RBS says it will also waive early closure charges on fixed savings accounts and provide refunds on credit card cash advance fees to help affected customers access much needed funds. Customers will be able to ask for an increased cash withdrawal limit of £500 to help them cope with the outbreak as well as higher temporary credit card limits.

The bank has followed the lead of the Italian government, who said it will suspend mortgage repayments and other household bills across the nation as the whole country is put on lockdown. Emergency measures in the country will see tax and small interest payments halted for an indefinite period of time.

Attempts to keep businesses and households ticking-along come as European markets suffered some their heaviest losses since the devastating 2008 financial crash, as employees fall sick, border checks are tightened and consumers stay inside.

An RBS spokeswoman said: ‘We are monitoring the potential impact of coronavirus across all our customers to ensure we can support them appropriately through any period of disruption.’

Meanwhile Natwest has promised £5 billion in funds for small and medium sized UK businesses who are losing out from coronavirus-related disruption.

It has also vowed to allow overdrafts beyond existing limits and credit card as high as £500,000 to help people with their cashflow.

The bank, which is part of the RBS group, says the money is an extension of its current £6 billion growth funding package firms who could struggle with the fallout of Brexit. The new funds will be used to provide temporary no-fee loans and to cover repayment holidays of up to six months.

Natwest said it would contact small firms experiencing short-term trading issues due to coronavirus and offer them support.

The state-backed bank’s CEO Alison Rose said: ‘This is a priority for NatWest and we will remain proactive, continuing to listen to our customers – we are here to support and can help businesses manage any short term disruption.’

Meanwhile Lloyds is offering relief on fees and loan repayments to small firms hit by the disease, which has now infected 319 people in the UK, killing five patients.

Britain’s biggest domestic bank said it would offer £2 billion of finance with no fees to affected small firms with a turnover of up to £25 million.

The funding is part of its expected 18 billion pound of business lending this year.

Lloyds has itself been impacted by the virus, shutting a call centre in Northern Ireland that employs 1,000 people after a member of staff tested positive for the virus.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Scotland Times
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Island Orkney council to look at proposals to become territory of Norway
Woman Awarded Over £100,000 After Being Fired for Transgender Tweet
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
A Real woman
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
China's foreign ministry branch in Hong Kong urges British gov't to stop the biased and double standards Hong Kong report
Double standards: UK lawmakers attack EU chief over Ireland claims
Democracy? Not for UK. UK PM rejects Scottish independence referendum, cancel democracy in BVI
UK urged to brace for economic storm
Women's own body dissatisfaction appears to influence their judgment of other women's body sizes
Prince William To Move Family Into Cottage Near Queen Elizabeth II
BOOOOOOS: Tony Blair receives royal honour
Captured Britons sentenced to death in Ukraine
Barbados PM Mia A. Mottley among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People
Today's headlines
"Just One Of the Boys In School:" Years That Shaped Prince Charles
BVI Premier Rubbishes Claim Of Causing COI Delay
Comments on "Human Intelligence in a Digital Age" - A brilliant Speech by MI6 Chief Richard Moore, and the elephants neglected in the room
Bitcoin: BoE Deputy Gov wants to cancel democracy and protect the banks with regulations which infringe on people’s freedom, independence and benefits they get from their own money.
What are the Pandora Papers?
Taiwan-China relations at their 'worst in 40 years'
The attempt to hold Epik.com accountable for the content of its clients' websites is like blaming Gutenberg for the NYT's fake news that dragged the US into the pointless war against the nuclear weapons Iraq never had
×