As the Deputy is aware as Minister for Finance I have no role in the commercial decisions made by the banks, including the nature and structure of any forbearance measures. This applies equally to the banks in which the State has a shareholding.
EBS has provided me with the following statement:
"The EBA Guidelines on legislative and non-legislative moratoria on loan repayments applied in the light of the COVID-19 crisis , state that “the Covid-19 payment break does not apply to new loans granted after the launch of the moratorium. It has to be ensured that the moratorium addresses a specific issue arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and is not used for new lending granted after the outbreak.”
"If a customer finds themselves in financial difficulty, EBS urges them to make immediate contact, as a range of solutions under our well established forbearance process is available on a case by case basis."