Applications to defer credit card payments last month plunged 90 percent from June, suggesting a tapering of loan demand, Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) said yesterday, citing its own statistics.
Mega International attributed the rapid decline to a quick recovery in consumer activity after the public health situation stabilized in late July following a domestic outbreak of COVID-19 in May, allowing most businesses to resume operations.
The Financial Supervisory Commission in May asked domestic banks to provide interest-free moratoriums of three to six months to customers with credit card and loan payments due in June, Mega International said.
The move was intended to help people and companies hit hard by a level 3 COVID-19 alert that virtually halted all consumer activity except for purchases of daily necessities, the bank said.
Deferral applications in June surged 15-fold from May, but they subsided after the government on July 27 lowered the alert to level 2.
The slump in deferral applications shows that cash needs have eased further, the bank said, adding that its latest data on the nation’s inflationary gauge and tax revenue supported its observation.
The consumer price index grew 2.63 percent year-on-year last month, while tax revenue rose 13.1 percent to NT$302 billion (US$10.82 billion) as demand picked up, bolstering business and sales tax revenue, the bank said.
Mega International expects business to continue to improve, as major department stores are set to launch anniversary sale promotions and the government’s Quintuple Stimulus Voucher program would encourage spending.
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