Banks and building societies have agreed with regulators and HM Treasury to extend the provision of mortgage payment deferrals of up to a maximum of 6 months in the light of the tightened Covid-19 restrictions announced by the Prime Minister this evening.

Customers seeking to access this support do not need to contact their lenders yet. Lenders will provide information after 2^nd November on how to apply for this support.

UK Finance and the BSA will continue to work with the FCA on the details with a further announcement to follow.

Eric Leenders, Managing Director of Personal Finance at UK Finance, said:

“Banks, building societies and lenders are providing unprecedented levels of support to help customers through the Covid-19 crisis and lenders stands ready to deliver ongoing assistance to those in need. The industry is working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority to ensure customers impacted by the new lockdown measures announced this evening will be able to access the support they need”

Robin Fieth, Chief Executive of the Building Societies Association (BSA) said:

“Building societies and credit unions recognise the financial pressures on some households and will continue to work hard to support customers in the coming months, working closely with the FCA.”   

Press Contacts

BSA Press Office
07741 984 042
hilary.mcvitty@bsa.org.uk

UK Finance Press Office
020 7446 6750
press@ukfinance.org.uk

Notes to Editors

The industry has put in place a clear plan to help Britain through the Covid-19 crisis:

• Two and a half million mortgage payment deferrals
• 27 million interest-free overdrafts offered
• 1.13 million payment deferrals on credit cards and over 793,000 payment deferrals on personal loans
• £57.3 billion of lending to over 1.4 million businesses through government Covid-19 lending schemes
• Protecting customers from scams and fraud
• Higher limit for contactless payments

UK Finance is the collective voice for the banking and finance industry. Representing more than 250 firms across the industry, we act to enhance competitiveness, support customers and facilitate innovation.

The Building Societies Association (BSA) is the voice for all 43 building societies and 6 of the larger credit unions.  Between them these organisations serve over 25 million consumers across the UK.

FCA Announcement made on 31 October 2020 

HMT Announcement made on 31 October 2020