These FAQs will provide you with information relating to Covid-19 Payment Breaks. They also provide information on how to go about contacting us to find out more about the supports that are available to you, whether you’ve had Covid-19 Payment Breaks before, are coming to the end of a Covid-19 Payment Break or are concerned about the repayments on your loan or you just want some information on what supports may be available to you.
Please note: If you availed of any Covid-19 Payment Breaks it will mean that for the duration of the Covid-19 Payment Breaks, the “Date of Next Payment” on your Central Credit Register (CCR) profile will be recorded as the date that your monthly payment ordinarily falls due on your Credit Facilities although no payments are required during the Covid-19 Payment Breaks. However, Covid-19 Payment Breaks will not be marked as a missed payment and will not be reported to the CCR as “Payments Past Due”.
However if you availed of an Alternative Arrangement we will provide this Alternative Arrangement under the SME Regulations* and it will be recorded with the Central Credit Register (CCR) which may impact your ability to access credit in the future.
If we amend the terms of the loan we must report that to the (CCR) as a Restructure Event. A “Restructure Event” means an arrangement put in place to help a borrower manage or avoid arrears or other financial difficulty. We will also report the arrangement as one to help you manage or avoid arrears or other financial difficulty to any other credit reference agency/register if appropriate.
If you fall behind with the payments on your loan, by law we must report that to the CCR. We will also report it to any other credit reference agency/register if appropriate. The report to CCR will show the number of payments you have missed.
Generally, we do not notify you separately before we make a report on any arrears or an arrangement to the CCR or any other credit reference agency / register.
Banks and other financial institutions can have access to reports of arrears and arrangements of this kind on CCR or any other credit reference agency / register. This could have a negative effect on your credit rating, making it more difficult for you to borrow from us or other lenders in the future. For example, you may have difficulty getting a new loan or other credit.
*Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48) (Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) Regulations 2015 (as amended).
Please note the term credit facilities, loans and business loans are used interchangeably.
- 1. Are Covid-19 Payment Breaks still available and when were the closing dates for Covid-19 Payment Breaks?
No, Covid-19 Payment Breaks are no longer available.
- The closing date for applying for a First Covid-19 Payment Break was 30th September 2020.
- The closing date for applying for a Second Covid-19 Payment Break was 31st January 2021.
However if your First or Second Covid-19 Payment Break ended after these closing dates due to your repayments being made less frequently than monthly, e.g. quarterly or annually you should contact us to discuss the options that may still be available to you as you come towards the end of your Covid-19 Payment Break.
It is important to remember that you will receive a letter from us before the end of your First and Second Covid-19 Payment Break describing your options. We have provided contact details below if you would like to get in contact with us to discuss what supports are available to you whether you are coming towards the end of a Covid-19 Payment Break or if you would just like to get more details around what supports are available to customers.
- 2. Who should I contact if I would like to talk to someone about Payment Breaks or the supports that are available?
- If you have a dedicated Business Relationship Manager please contact them directly.
- If you don’t have a dedicated Business Relationship Manager please make contact by phoning us on 0818 882 961 or 00353 1 4883035 (Lines open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays).
- 3. If I have a dedicated Business Relationship Manager what options did I have available to me at the end of my First and Second Covid-19 Payment Break and what supports are available after Payment Breaks?
On the expiry of your First Covid-19 Payment Break the options available to you were as follows:
- You could return to full capital and interest repayments if you did not need another Covid-19 Payment Break
- If you were still experiencing a temporary reduction in your income you could apply for an additional three month Covid-19 Payment Break
- If you did not need another Covid-19 Payment Break and wanted to clear the balance within the original term we could have amended the terms and conditions of your loan to reflect this
- You could have explored additional supports to help you to pay your Credit Facilities if you were concerned that you may experience longer-term financial pressure
On the expiry of your Second Covid-19 Payment Break the options available to you were as follows:
- You could return to full capital and interest repayments
- If you wanted to clear the balance within the original term we could have amended the terms and conditions of your loan to reflect this
- You could have explored additional supports to help you to pay your Credit Facilities if you were concerned that you may experience longer-term financial pressure
Although Covid-19 Payment Breaks are no longer available we still have a number of supports available, please contact your dedicated Business Relationship Manager directly to discuss the options that are available to you.
- 4. If I don't have a dedicated Business Relationship Manager what options did I have available to me during the Covid-19 Payment Break periods and what supports were available after Payment Breaks?
On the expiry of your First Covid-19 Payment Break the options available to you were as follows:
- You could return to full capital and interest repayments if you did not need another Covid-19 Payment Break
- If you were still experiencing a temporary reduction in your income you could apply for an additional three month Covid-19 Payment Break
- If you did not need another Covid-19 Payment Break and wanted to clear the balance within the original term we could have amended the terms and conditions of your loan to reflect this
- You could have explored additional supports to help you to pay your Credit Facilities if you were concerned that you may experience longer-term financial pressure
At the expiry of your Second Covid-19 Payment Break the options available to you were as follows:
- You could return to full capital and interest repayments
- You could choose a 3 month payment moratorium with a 3 month term extension
- If you wanted to clear the balance within the original term we could have amended the terms and conditions of your loan to reflect this
- Further financial support was required: If you were concerned that you would continue to experience on-going financial pressure due to financial difficulties you could have chosen to explore additional supports to help you to pay your Credit Facilities with either another form of short-term support or longer-term financial support.
If an Alternative Arrangement was put in place upon expiry of your Second Covid-19 Payment Break, the options available to you upon expiry of the Alternative Arrangement were as follows:
- You could return to full capital and interest repayments
- If you wanted to clear the balance within the original term we could have amended the terms and conditions of your loan to reflect this
- You could have explored additional supports to help you to pay your Credit Facilities if you were concerned that you may experience longer-term financial pressure
If you availed of the moratorium at the end of your Second Covid-19 Payment Break or if you availed of additional supports under the options mentioned above we will provide these supports as Alternative Arrangements under the SME Regulations* and it will be recorded with the Central Credit Register which may impact your ability to access credit in the future.
*Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48) (Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) Regulations 2015 (as amended).
Upon expiry of your Covid-19 Payment Break(s) or your Alternative Arrangement, if you did not avail of any of the other options outlined above, upon expiry of your Covid-19 Payment Break(s) or your Alternative Arrangement your loan will have reverted to capital and interest repayments. If you are concerned that you cannot meet the capital and interest repayments on your loan please contact us directly at the earliest opportunity on 0818 882 961 or 00353 1 4883035 (Lines open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays).
Although Covid-19 Payment Breaks are no longer available we still have a number of supports available, please contact us on the numbers stated here and we will discuss the options that are available to you.
- 5. Who was eligible for a Covid-19 Payment Break and what were the qualifying criteria?
Businesses with Credit Facilities in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) who had experienced temporary impacts as a result of Covid-19 and who satisfied the criteria set out below could have applied for a Covid-19 Payment Break(s) on their business loan.
Qualifying criteria:
Covid-19 Payment Breaks were available to business customers with Credit Facilities in ROI who were impacted by Covid-19 and met the following criteria:
- Prior to the 1st of March 2020 there had been no arrears on any loan or any other BOI business or personal loan.
- The request had been precautionary (no cashflow reduction had occurred but a safety net was required) or it had reflected a temporary reduction in your cashflow.
- You were not in financial difficulty at the time of the Covid-19 Payment Break request and/or were not concerned about your ability to meet future repayments before Covid-19. You were not in a forbearance arrangement with the Bank or if you were, you had met all the terms and conditions for a minimum of 12 months.
- Your loan had to be approved or drawn down prior to the 17th March 2020 to avail of a Covid-19 Payment Break.
- 6. What affect did taking a Covid-19 Payment Break have in relation to additional costs of credit, Tax relief at source (TRS), interest rates, Life assurance or payment protection cover and arrears?
Additional costs of credit:
You were not required to make repayments to your Credit facilities during your Covid-19 Payment Break(s). By taking a Covid-19 Payment Break(s), you will have to pay more than if you had not taken a Covid-19 Payment Break. Interest will still have been applied during the Covid-19 Payment Break(s) period. As a result, your loan balance will have increased by the amount of the interest and the monthly payments that were not made during the Covid-19 Payment Break(s) period.
However, while you were not required to make repayments to your Credit Facilities during your Covid-19 Payment Break(s) you could have made full or partial repayments to your Credit facilities during your Covid-19 Payment Breaks if you wanted to do so. If you did make some repayments to your loan during the Covid-19 Payment Break(s), it will mean that you will not pay as much interest as you would if you did not make any repayments at all. There were no additional charges / costs to making full or partial repayments during the Covid-19 Payment Break(s).
Tax relief at source (TRS):
If you are eligible to receive Tax Relief at Source, your TRS is calculated based on the amount of interest you pay. For months where no interest was paid on the mortgage loan, there will be no related TRS payments. As TRS payments operate one month behind, you should see the TRS impact in the subsequent month. For example, if you didn’t make mortgage repayments for the three months of April, May and June, you will not receive TRS payments in May, June and July.
Interest rate:
Your interest rate will not have changed due to availing of Covid-19 Payment Break(s). If you have a fixed rate loan, the term of the fixed rate period will have been extended in line with the Covid-19 Payment Break(s) period, there are no additional charges for this.
Life assurance or payment protection cover:
If you have life assurance or payment protection cover in respect of your Credit Facilities, you should review it in line with Covid-19 Payment Break(s) that you availed of to ensure that you continue to have the appropriate cover in place. If you availed of Covid-19 Payment Break(s) and opted to have the term of your Credit facilities extended, this could mean that your cover needs to be adjusted to ensure that you continue to have enough cover in place for the extended term of your Credit Facilities as a result of the Covid-19 Payment Break(s).
Arrears:
Your Credit Facilities will not have gone into arrears as a result of availing of Covid-19 Payment Break(s). If you were in arrears already before taking Covid-19 Payment Break (s), these arrears will not have increased as a result of availing of Covid-19 Payment Breaks.
- 7. Did a business loan Payment Break effect my Credit record?
Under the Credit Reporting Act 2013 we are required to provide personal and credit information for credit applications and credit agreements of €500 and above to the Central Credit Register (“CCR”). Covid-19 Payment Break(s) will not have been marked as a missed repayment and will not have been reported as ‘Payments Past Due’. However, for the duration of the Covid-19 Payment Break(s), the ‘Date of Next Payment’ will have been recorded as the date that your monthly repayment would have ordinarily fallen due on your Credit Facilities, although no repayments were required during the Covid-19 Payment Break(s).
You can insert a statement of 200 words or less relating to any information relating to your credit agreement/s on the CCR. Further information is available at www.centralcreditregister.ie.
- 8. How much would taking Covid-19 Payment Breaks have cost me?
You can use the Covid-19 Payment Break Calculator to get an idea of the cost to you of having availed of Covid-19 Payment Breaks, you can access the calculator by clicking here.
If you would like to enquire further about the cost of credit or the impact of availing of Covid-19 Payment Breaks please contact your dedicated Business Relationship Manager if you have one. Otherwise please contact us by phoning 0818 882 961 or 00353 1 4883035 (Lines open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays).
We have provided you with some information below to show you how much additional interest could be applied to your business loan as a result of taking a Payment Break. The information below is for illustrative purposes only and will vary on the amount of interest that will be applied to your business loan as a result of taking a Payment Break:
The below examples represents what a three and six month Payment Break will cost you if you return to capital and interest payments after the Payment Break and we extend the term. There are also some examples that show what a three and six month Payment Break will cost you if you return to capital and interest and you do not extend the term.
The first 2 examples below illustrate what could be paid by you if you take a 3 month Payment Break on a loan of €50,000 depending on how you choose to repay your loan after the Payment Break ends, ie, either by repaying your loan with a term extension, or by repaying your loan within its original term.
Illustrative example 1: You avail of a 3 month Payment Break and extend the term of the loan by 3 months.
Term Remaining Interest Rate Outstanding loan balance Monthly repayments due prior the Payment Break Monthly repayments due after the Payment Break Total amount to repay with no Payment Break Total amount to repay with a Payment Break Increase to the Cost of Credit 60 months Capital & interest payments 6.48% €50,000 €977.03 €977.03 €58,621.64 €59,737.36 €1,115.72 Important notice: The above example illustrates that for a loan with an outstanding balance of €50,000 you could have to repay an additional €1115.72 in interest as a direct result of taking a COVID-19 Payment Break and extending the term of your loan.
By extending the term of the loan by 3 months to allow for the 3 month payment period, an additional payment will be needed to clear the extra interest that results from the Payment Break. By referring to the above illustrative example, the figure of €1,115.72 is representative of this additional payment.
Illustrative example 2: You avail of a 3 month Payment Break and do not extend the loan by 3 months, instead you repay it within the original term of the loan.
Term Remaining Interest Rate Outstanding loan balance Monthly repayments due prior the Payment Break Monthly repayments due after the Payment Break Difference in the monthly repayment due Total amount to repay with no Payment Break Total amount to repay with a Payment Break Increase to the Cost of Credit 60 months Capital & interest payments 6.48% €50,000 €977.03 €1,037.18 €60.15 €58,621.64 €59,119.33 €497.69 Important notice: The above example illustrates that for a loan with an outstanding balance of €50,000 you could have to repay an additional €497.69 in interest as a direct result of taking a COVID-19 Payment Break and repaying the loan within the original term.
Result: For the above 2 examples you can see that repaying your loan within the original term will cost you less than if you choose to repay your loan over an extended term. The above examples demonstrate that you could pay an additional €618.03 in interest which is the difference between the cost of credit figures above.
The next 2 examples below illustrates what could be paid by you if you take two consecutive 3 month Payment Breaks (6 month Payment Break in total) on a loan of €50,000 depending on how you choose to repay your loan after the Payment Break ends, ie, either by repaying your loan with a term extension, or by repaying your loan within its original term.
Illustrative example 3: You avail of two consecutive 3 month Payment Breaks (6 month Payment Break in total) and extend the term of the loan by 6 months.
Term Remaining Interest Rate Outstanding loan balance Monthly repayments due prior the Payment Break Monthly repayments due after the Payment Break ( if your loan term is extended ) Total amount to repay with no Payment Break Total amount to repay with a Payment Break Increase to the Cost of Credit 60 months Capital & interest payments 6.48% €50,000 €977.03 €977.03 €58,621.64 €60,872.49 €2,250.85 Important notice : The above example illustrates that for a loan with an outstanding balance of €50,000 you could have to repay an additional €2250.85 in interest as a direct result of taking a COVID-19 Payment Break and extending the term of your loan.
By extending the term of the loan by 6 months (two consecutive 3 month Payment Breaks) to allow for the 6 month payment period, an additional payment will be needed to clear the extra interest that results from the Payment Break. By referring to the above illustrative example, the figure of €2,250.85 is representative of this additional payment.
Illustrative example 4: You avail of two consecutive 3 month Payment Breaks (6 month Payment Break in total) and do not extend the loan by 6 months, instead you repay it within the original term of the loan.
Term Remaining Interest Rate Outstanding loan balance Monthly repayments due prior the Payment Break Monthly repayments due after the Payment Break Difference in the monthly repayment due Total amount to repay with no Payment Break Total amount to repay with a Payment Break Increase to the Cost of Credit 60 months Capital & interest payments 6.48% €50,000 €977.03 €1,104.78 €127.04 €58,621.64 €59,619.97 €998.33 Important notice: The above example illustrates that for a loan with an outstanding balance of €50,000 you could have to repay an additional €998.33 in interest as a direct result of taking a COVID-19 Payment Break and repaying the loan within the original term.
Result: For the above 2 examples you can see that repaying your loan within the original term will cost you less than if you choose to repay your loan over an extended term. The above examples demonstrate that you could pay an additional €1252.52 in interest which is the difference between the cost of credit figures above.
The next 2 examples below illustrate what could be paid by you if you take a 3 month Payment Break on a loan of €1,000,000 depending on how you choose to repay your loan after the Payment Break ends, ie, either by repaying your loan with a term extension, or by repaying your loan within its original term.
Illustrative example 5: You avail of a 3 month Payment Break and extend the term of the loan by 3 months.
Term Remaining Interest Rate Outstanding loan balance Monthly repayments due prior the Payment Break Monthly repayments due after the Payment Break ( if your loan term is extended ) Total amount to repay with no Payment Break Total amount to repay with a Payment Break Increase to the Cost of Credit 60 months Capital & interest payments 4.00% €1,000,000 €18,410.54 €18,410.54 €1,104,632.33 €1,116,825.27 €12,192.94 Important notice: The above example illustrates that for a loan with an outstanding balance of €1,000,000 you could have to repay an additional €12,192.94 in interest as a direct result of taking a COVID-19 Payment Break and extending the term of your loan.
By extending the term of the loan by 3 months to allow for the 3 month payment period, an additional payment will be needed to clear the extra interest that results from the Payment Break. By referring to the above illustrative example, the figure of €12,192.94 is representative of this additional payment.
Illustrative example 6: You avail of a 3 month Payment Break and do not extend the loan by 3 months, instead you repay it within the original term of the loan.
Term Remaining Interest Rate Outstanding loan balance Monthly repayments due prior the Payment Break Monthly repayments due after the Payment Break Difference in the monthly repayment due Total amount to repay with no Payment Break Total amount to repay with a Payment Break Increase to the Cost of Credit 60 months Capital & interest payments 4.00% €1,000,000 €18,410.54 €19,479.30 €1,068.76 €1,104,632.33 €1,110,320.27 €5,687.94 Important notice: The above example illustrates that for a loan with an outstanding balance of €1,000,000 you could have to repay an additional €5,687.94 in interest as a direct result of taking a COVID-19 Payment Break and repaying the loan within the original term.
Result: For the above 2 examples you can see that repaying your loan within the original term will cost you less than if you choose to repay your loan over an extended term. The above examples demonstrate that you could pay an additional €6505.00 in interest which is the difference between the cost of credit figures above.
The next 2 examples below illustrates what could be paid by you if you take two consecutive 3 month Payment Breaks (6 month Payment Break in total) on a loan of €1,000,000 depending on how you choose to repay your loan after the Payment Break ends, ie, either by repaying your loan with a term extension, or by repaying your loan within its original term.
Illustrative example 7: You avail of two consecutive 3 month Payment Breaks (6 month Payment Break in total) and extend the term of the loan by 6 months.
Term Remaining Interest Rate Outstanding loan balance Monthly repayments due prior the Payment Break Monthly repayments due after the Payment Break ( if your loan term is extended ) Total amount to repay with no Payment Break Total amount to repay with a Payment Break Increase to the Cost of Credit 60 months Capital & interest payments 4.00% €1,000,000 €18,410.54 €18,410.54 €1,104,632.33 €1,129,149.19 €24,516.86 Important notice: The above example illustrates that for a loan with an outstanding balance of €1,000,000 you could have to repay an additional €24,516.86 in interest as a direct result of taking a COVID-19 Payment Break and extending the term of your loan.
By extending the term of the loan by 6 months (two consecutive 3 month Payment Breaks) to allow for the 6 month payment period, an additional payment will be needed to clear the extra interest that results from the Payment Break. By referring to the above illustrative example, the figure of €24,516.86 is representative of this additional payment.
Illustrative example 8: You avail of two consecutive 3 month Payment Breaks (6 month Payment Break in total) and do not extend the loan by 6 months, instead you repay it within the original term of the loan.
Term Remaining Interest Rate Outstanding loan balance Monthly repayments due prior the Payment Break Monthly repayments due after the Payment Break Difference in the monthly repayment due Total amount to repay with no Payment Break Total amount to repay with a Payment Break Increase to the Cost of Credit 60 months Capital & interest payments 4.00% €1,000,000 €18,410.54 €20,667.19 €2,256.65 €1,104,632.33 €1,116,028.30 €11,395.97 Important notice: The above example illustrates that for a loan with an outstanding balance of €1,000,000 you could have to repay an additional €11,395.97 in interest as a direct result of taking a COVID-19 Payment Break and repaying the loan within the original term.
Result: For the above 2 examples you can see that repaying your loan within the original term will cost you less than if you choose to repay your loan over an extended term. The above examples demonstrate that you could pay an additional €13,120.89 in interest which is the difference between the cost of credit figures above.
Bank of Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland