Moratoria established by law and by the banking sector up to 31 December 2020 (361 KB)

25.01.2021

Briefing note on application of moratoria established by law and by the banking sector up to 31 December 2020

To address the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, several support measures have been approved for workers, households and vulnerable groups. These measures include the introduction of legislative moratoria on mortgage debts1 and the temporary suspension of payment obligations deriving from non-mortgage loan agreements for individuals who are economically vulnerable as a consequence of the health crisis caused by COVID-19, in accordance with the criteria established in the regulations.2 Further, with the intention of allowing loan repayment deferrals on a broader scale, and in addition to the deferral measures initially envisaged in the legislative moratoria, a special system has been established for moratoria agreements between lenders and their customers through the banking sector associations.3 These banking sector moratoria relate to both mortgage and non-mortgage loans. Lastly, two new moratoria were approved in early July relating to the tourism sector and the public transport of goods and the charter bus sector.4

This briefing note updates that published just over a month ago5 and presents the information available on the application of the moratoria established by law and by the banking sector, with the data submitted by institutions to the Banco de España. The information may be summarised as follows (see tables attached):6

1. Initially, the moratoria only affected main residence mortgages, but the measures were subsequently extended to include property used by self-employed entrepreneurs and professionals for their economic activity, as well as rented housing other than the main residence in cases in which the mortgagor/lessor ceased to receive rent payments by application of the measures introduced to assist tenants as a consequence of the state of alert.
2. See, respectively, Royal Decree-Law 8/2020 of 17 March 2020 (last update, 11 November 2020) and Royal Decree- Law 11/2020 of 31 March 2020. The definition of economic vulnerability includes conditions prior to the pandemic (for example, having in general a level of income that is three times lower than the IPREM, a Spanish public income indicator) and other conditions ensuing from the pandemic (for example, becoming unemployed).
3. Royal Decree 19/2020 of 26 May 2020 includes special moratoria measures under a sectoral framework agreement, broadening the range of persons eligible for debt deferrals beyond the economically vulnerable and allowing the latter to extend their deferrals when the legislative moratoria come to an end.
4. The moratorium relating to the tourism sector is regulated by Royal Decree-Law 25/2020 of 3 July 2020 on urgent measures to support economic recovery and employment, whereas the moratorium relating to transport is regulated by Royal Decree-Law 26/2020 of 7 July 2020 on economic recovery measures to address the impact of COVID-19 on transport and housing. In contrast with the previous three moratoria, which relate only to natural persons, these two new moratoria also apply to legal persons.
5. Briefing note on application of moratoria established by law and by the banking sector up to 30 November 2020.
6. The number of applications received for several types of moratorium has declined compared with the number published in the previous briefing note because various institutions have revised the values reported, eliminating those applications in which customers ultimately did not submit the documentation required. Also, the number of applications granted for legislative moratoria on mortgage and non-mortgage loan payments has fallen compared with that reported in the previous briefing note. This decline owes to the adjustments made by some institutions as a result of reclassifying moratoria, updating the claims made and adjusting the required information received after verifying rejected operations or those cancelled by the customer.

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• More than 260,000 applications for legislative moratoria on mortgage loan payments had been received, of which 222,000 had been granted. The outstanding amount of loan

payments suspended stood at almost €20 billion.

• More than 411,000 applications for legislative moratoria on non-mortgage loan payments had been received, of which over 363,000 had been granted. The outstanding amount of

loan payments suspended totalled close to €2.7 billion.

• More than 815,000 applications for banking sector moratoria had been received, of which over 794,000 had been granted. The outstanding amount of loan payments suspended

totalled around €31.5 billion.

• For all three types of moratorium, the vast majority of borrowers and guarantors benefiting from these measures (over 70%) are wage and salaried workers.
• In the case of self-employed workers, the breakdown by sector of activity shows that, for all three types of moratorium, the main sectors benefiting from the measures are wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food service activities, and other services, followed at some distance by professional, scientific and technical activities, transport and construction. Together these sectors of activity account for almost 80% of the total moratoria for self-employed workers that have been granted.
• For the two most recently approved types of moratorium, related to the tourism and transport sectors, the number of applications received and granted is much lower. Specifically, a total of 1,570 applications had been received for legislative moratoria on mortgage loans for property used in tourism, of which 1,362 had been granted. The

outstanding amount of loan payments suspended stood at more than €2 billion. In turn, a total of 1,836 applications for legislative moratoria had been received from the transport sector, of which 1,661 had been granted. The outstanding amount of loan payments suspended stood at €125 million.

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Table 1. Information on legislative mortgage debt moratoria, total system

APPLICATIONS	Number
Moratoria applications submitted	261,320
Moratoria applications granted	222,000
LOANS SUSPENDED	€m	Total system loans
(€m)
Outstanding amount of loans suspended	19,970	469,643
BORROWERS BENEFITING FROM MORATORIA MEASURES*	Number	Percentage
Wage and salaried workers	265,878	72.2
Self-employed (entrepreneurs or professionals)	102,410	27.8
GUARANTORS*	Number	Percentage
Wage and salaried workers	71,812	91.1
Self-employed (entrepreneurs or professionals)	7,012	8.9
BREAKDOWN OF SELF-EMPLOYED BORROWERS BY CNAE
(Spanish National Classification of Economic Activities)	Number	Percentage
A Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,629	1.6
B Mining and quarrying	66	0.1
C Manufacturing	4,788	4.7
D Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	152	0.1
E Water supply	83	0.1
F Construction	5,649	5.5
G Wholesale and retail trade	19,616	19.2
H Transportation and storage	7,079	6.9
I Accommodation and food service activities	19,756	19.3
J Information and communication	1,036	1.0
K Financial and insurance activities	478	0.5
L Real estate activities	1,528	1.5
M Professional, scientific and technical activities	7,967	7.8
N Administrative and support service activities	2,894	2.8
O Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	41	0.0
P Education	2,168	2.1
Q Human health and social work activities	2,687	2.6
R Arts, entertainment and recreation	2,775	2.7
S Other service activities	22,018	21.5

• The number of borrowers benefiting from the suspension measures does not coincide with the number of moratoria applications granted because one loan may include more than one borrower. Similarly, the number of guarantors benefiting from the suspension measures does not coincide with the number of moratoria applications granted because they do not all include a guarantor.

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Table 2. Information on legislative suspension of payment obligations deriving from non-mortgage loan

agreements, total system

APPLICATIONS	Number
Payment suspension applications submitted	411,038
Payment suspension applications granted	363,176
LOANS SUSPENDED	€m	Total system loans
(€m)
Outstanding amount of loans suspended	2,684	181,245
BORROWERS BENEFITING FROM MORATORIA MEASURES*	Number	Percentage
Wage and salaried workers	305,080	73.2
Self-employed (entrepreneurs or professionals)	111,702	26.8
GUARANTORS*	Number	Percentage
Wage and salaried workers	13,055	78.0
Self-employed (entrepreneurs or professionals)	3,682	22.0
BREAKDOWN OF SELF-EMPLOYED BORROWERS BY CNAE
(Spanish National Classification of Economic Activities)	Number	Percentage
A Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,355	1.2
B Mining and quarrying	56	0.1
C Manufacturing	4,165	3.7
D Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	128	0.1
E Water supply	102	0.1
F Construction	5,008	4.5
G Wholesale and retail trade	20,326	18.2
H Transportation and storage	11,172	10.0
I Accommodation and food service activities	22,160	19.8
J Information and communication	1,309	1.2
K Financial and insurance activities	635	0.6
L Real estate activities	1,228	1.1
M Professional, scientific and technical activities	6,702	6.0
N Administrative and support service activities	2,801	2.5
O Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	55	0.0
P Education	2,280	2.0
Q Human health and social work activities	2,275	2.0
R Arts, entertainment and recreation	3,234	2.9
S Other service activities	26,711	23.9

• The number of borrowers benefiting from the suspension measures does not coincide with the number of moratoria applications granted because one loan may include more than one borrower. Similarly, the number of guarantors benefiting from the suspension measures does not coincide with the number of moratoria applications granted because they do not all include a guarantor.

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