The Syrian Commercial Bank issued a circular allowing the repayment of due loan installments or the repayment of the loan closure in Syrian pounds, by exchanging the equivalent amount in US dollars in cash, from bank accounts, or via bank transfer.

The circular, of which Enab Baladi received a copy today, Wednesday, April 23, grants branch managers the authority to process payments for amounts that equal or are less than 1,000 US dollars (for each due installment or a group of due installments or the value of the debt due for loan closure).

If the value to be paid exceeds 1,000 US dollars, the request is elevated to each Credit Directorate for review, and to the Foreign Relations Directorate for approval.

In cases where debts are in default, the client may submit a request to pay them in cash or from their accounts funded in cash or by means of a bank transfer, and the request is raised to the Credit Directorate for reviewing the debt status and to the Foreign Relations Directorate for approval.

The branch commits to execution according to the price list issued by the Central Bank of Syria (purchase price) on the date of repayment.

The Central Bank of Syria issued decision No. “1699” on December 30, 2024, which included postponing all due loan installments starting from December 1, 2024, for one time for three months from that date, in case the client wishes to postpone the due installments.

The Central Bank clarified in a circular to financial institutions, of which Enab Baladi obtained a copy, that the postponement does not require the client to repay all installments in one go after the period ends.

Contractual interests are the right of the bank, and it is an option available to the client to either pay the due installments on time or bear the value of these interests for the postponement period, provided that the necessary procedures regarding the payment of these contractual interests are taken by the clients in a manner that ensures they are not added to the loan amount and compounded on it.

Banks must clearly announce through all available means, especially to clients with limited income, that the postponement will be automatic and that the borrower will bear additional contractual interests, as stated in the statement.

Government banks in Syria had stopped granting personal loans during the last quarter of 2024, citing reasons related to a shortage of lendable liquidity and the disparity between income levels (which declined due to the collapse of the pound’s value) and the amounts of installments due on loans.