Catering companies that run into financial difficulties due to the closure of their business no longer automatically receive help from their bank. Unlike the first lockdown in April, this time the banks will not have a general payment break on the interest and repayments of business loans, Chris Buijink of the Dutch Banking Association told NOS.
“Nobody has an interest in it, not even that entrepreneur, if they get stuck in debt while there is no future perspective,” says Buijink. “That is hard and annoying. I sympathize with those people, but it is the sensible way in which we can continue to help other entrepreneurs as a bank.”
At the beginning of the corona crisis, the banks came up with a scheme for all customers who needed it. Companies could easily request a six-month payment break on their loans, private customers did not have to pay interest and repayments on loans and mortgages for three months. At ABN Amro, companies did not even have to do anything, the bank automatically stopped the direct debits.
See here how many companies used the payment break, and for how many euros in total: