On 16 March 2020 the Polish Bank Association (ZBP) published a bulletin on the measures agreed on by Polish banks to assist borrowers affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, which are to be promptly taken.
The measures can be divided into four groups. The first group concerns granting customers payment holidays comprising a grace period for the repayment of facilities, leasing instalments and amounts payable under factoring agreements. The second group concerns the renewal of existing financing. The third group of measures is to make short-term liquidity facilities available. The fourth group relates to increasing the possibility of concluding cashless transactions.
We set out below the issues we believe to be key concerning the first and second groups of assistance measures announced by the ZBP, i.e. those concerning payment holidays and renewal of financing. Short-term liquidity facilities will be key, too, but their scale and format will depend on the government programme that is yet to be announced.