Beneficiaries of the moratorium approved by the Government will be able to supplement it with the sectorial moratorium

• The sectorial moratorium is complementary to the legal moratorium approved by the Government and expands both the beneficiary groups and the payment deferral periods

• Once the period in which the most vulnerable families have been able to benefit from the legal moratorium has ended, they will be able to access the sectorial moratorium successively

The legal moratorium adopted by the Government allows families affected by COVID-19 to defer their loan or credit payments for three months.

On April 16, credit institutions approved voluntary sectorial commitments through the associations AEB and CECA, offering a complementary moratorium to that of the Government to help alleviate the negative consequences of the pandemic, under the guidelines published by the European Banking Authority (EBA).

This sectoral banking agreement offers customers the deferral of the principal of their loans or credits for a period of up to 12 months for mortgage-backed loans and up to 6 months for personal loans. Banks have extended the deadline to apply for deferral until September 29.

With this voluntary moratorium, the banking sector has increased both the number of families that can access payment deferrals and the duration of these compared to the legal moratorium approved by the Government.

The sectorial moratorium is complementary to the legal moratorium, as established by both the Sectoral Agreement and Royal Decree-law 19/2020. Once the period in which the most vulnerable families have been able to benefit from the legal moratorium has ended, they will be able to access the sectorial moratorium successively.

In addition to assuming this moratorium commitment, most credit institutions have adhered to the Code of Good Practices for mortgage debts on housing. This Code includes deferrals and restructuring of mortgage debts for particularly vulnerable families.