“Perpetuating” credit defaults is “negative,” defends Centeno.

“NWe do not view loan defaults as permanent measures because they are negative. […] We cannot stay with this idea of ​​perpetuating the credit moratorium process, ”defended Mario Centeno at a press conference on the Financial Stability Report for June this year, published today by Banco de Portugal (BdP).

According to the governor of the Portuguese central bank, 50,000 companies and 282,000 families had defaulted loans in April, and in the case of companies not belonging to the sectors most affected by the pandemic, they only have a moratorium on capital, that is, they are already paying interest.

“We have to look at the end of September and identify the sectors where economic activity has not yet recovered from the end of 2019, and for these sectors, provide temporary measures to support the resumption of debt service payments, because this is exactly what needs to be done now, ”said Mario Centeno, stressing the need“ together ”to find an answer to the post-moratorium.

Mario Centeno pointed out that the accommodation and catering sectors may need additional support for transitional measures if economic activity has not yet recovered in September.

“We have to be very focused on the European issue of looking at the Portuguese financial system in a European context, because that is where it fits where it develops. We cannot risk isolating institutions or isolating the system from what it is. “The main European trends and therefore banking institutions in Portugal will of course adapt to this evolution, and politics will of course adapt so that there are no systemic problems in the euro area on this issue,” added Mario Centeno.

On Friday, parliament approved an extension and extension of the banking moratorium, which ended at the end of September until December 31, regarding capital refunds for individuals and companies in sectors particularly affected by the covid-19 pandemic.

The final text submitted by the PCP by the Committee on Budget and Finance was approved in a final global vote, with PS abstaining and voting in favor of PSD, Left Block, PCP, CDS-PP, PAN, PEV, Enough, Liberal Initiative. and the unregistered MPs Joacine Qatar Moreira and Cristina Rodriguez.

However, the expansion of this regime applies only to “individuals and companies that develop their activities in sectors particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as provided for in the annex to Decree-Law No. 10-J / 2020 of 26 March. in its current version, as in particular with respect to the sectors of accommodation, food, culture and transport. “

Read also: Centeno emphasizes that the confidence indicator has recovered “in just 14 months.”