Employers call on banks to postpone loan payments for individuals and legal entities requesting it

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The Association of Employers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina warns the banking sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina that in the conditions of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, they cannot and must not prioritize their own profit by neglecting the interests of clients. Employers question whether banks in BiH can be trusted, when instead of allowing a moratorium on loan payments for all individuals and legal entities that request it from the banks, they reserve the right to decide who will be allowed not to pay loan installments in times of crisis.

The moratorium on loan payments must apply to ALL who submit a request not to pay loan installments during the crisis and until at least a minimum of normal operations is established. In times of crisis, everyone must bear their share of the burden to overcome the crisis as painlessly as possible, including banks. So far, banks have not shown that they are interested in preserving jobs and the economy, even though economic entities are their most significant clients. Their actions so far have exclusively prioritized their own interests and concern for their own profit.

This is best illustrated by the current decision of the Management of Raiffeisen bank dd Bosnia and Herzegovina to increase the fee for transaction account management by 100 percent from March this year, in the midst of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Clients were not informed about this in advance. The UPFBiH points out that they are aware that Raiffeisen bank BiH will argue that this was a previously made decision, but they remind that due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, much more important decisions related to companies and the state as a whole have been postponed to a later period.

Therefore, Raiffeisen bank BiH could and should have made a decision to postpone the increase in fees for transaction account management.