SBI COVID Loan: State Bank of India opens emergency credit line to help borrowers fight Coronavirus

SBI COVID Loan: Amid businesses getting affected due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has opened an emergency credit line to meet any liquidity mismatch for its borrowers. The ad-hoc SBI COVID credit line will be called ' COVID 19' and it will be available up to 30 June 2020. SBI will charge 7.25 per cent interest rate on the SBI COVID 19 loan.

All standard accounts as on March 16, 2020 and till the date of sanction are eligible for the SBI COVID 19 loan. However, standard accounts classified as Special Mention Accounts - SMA 1 (overdue between 30-60 days) and SMA2 (overdue between 61-90 days) are not eligible for availing credit facility.

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The maximum loan that that could be availed under this SBI's emergency credit scheme is capped at Rs 200 crore. This special loan facility shall be made available as Fund Based Limits only, SBI said. The maximum brunt of COVID19 fallout is being faced by business establishments.

Communicating to its all branches, SBI said the borrower can avail the sanctioned amount in one go. The facility will be considered as an exposure on the borrower. Bank will adhere to Reserve Bank of India’s Prudential Norms and market mechanism for granting these ad-hoc loans. The loans will have to be repaid in six equated monthly installments after a moratorium period of six months from the date of disbursement of the SBI COVID 19 loan. 

While the SBI bank has introduced ad-hoc loan to help SBI customers combat Coronavirus spread, SBI Card is also not behind. SBI Card in a communication to customers has said it is ensuring that services remain uninterrupted.

"With the situation escalating with every passing day, SBI Card has taken proactive measures to ensure uninterrupted services. Safety protocols across all our offices and touchpoints have been enhanced to fight this notified disaster," it said in an email to its customers on Saturday. (With inputs from PTI)