"Financial institutions introduce measures to ease financial burden after call from civil society", 8 April 2021

Cambodian financial institutions announced … additional measures to ease financial burdens for customers affected by COVID-19, just one day after more than 100 civil society organizations called for a three-month, across-the-board period of borrower relief.

However, according to a … joint statement from the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) and the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC), the measures offered by financial institutions have more strings attached than what civil society had hoped for. Though the economic impacts of the pandemic have cut across most levels of society, the two industry groups set as their highest priority for debt relief those borrowers who have tested positive for COVID-19, as well as those placed in a 14-day health quarantine.

According to the joint statement, member institutions of CMA and ABC will waive some interest payments for at least one month, as well as lifting penalties for late payments and providing a three-month delay for repayment of loan principal for customers who have tested positive for COVID-19…

However, civil society organizations that had signed onto … collective letter say loan restructuring is not enough to help affected people, especially as the third and ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 in Cambodia has crunched household incomes…

Am Sam Ath is deputy director of monitoring of the human rights group Licadho, which led the … statement, said the response from financial institutions has maintained a case-by-case methodology. To address the full economic impact of COVID-19, Sam Ath called on financial institutions to widen the scope of borrower relief…