Number of Applications to Temporarily Reduce Residential, Commercial and Industrial Property Loan Repayments under MAS Relief Scheme

5 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Prime Minister how many individuals have applied to temporarily reduce their residential, commercial and industrial property loan repayments under the MAS relief scheme.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam (for the Prime Minister): As of end-November 2020, financial institutions (FIs) had received 2,070 applications. They had processed 1,590 of these applications and approved 85% of them.

Most of the unsuccessful applications were rejected because the applicants did not meet the eligibility criterion where their incomes are significantly impacted¹. As individuals taking up the reduced instalment plan will pay down their property loan over a longer period and thus incur higher interest costs, the income impact criterion had been put in place to ensure that individuals take up this option only if they really need to. Nonetheless, FIs will review each case and work out loan repayment options with individuals, even if they do not meet the income impact criterion.