Analytics, Covid-19, Estonia, Financial Services, Society

During the second month of the emergency situation, which ended on Saturday, a total of nearly 900 households required grace periods, which is 500 less than during the first month of the emergency situation, SEB said.

The distribution of payment leave by loan for private customers was unchanged -- about 60 percent of grace periods were requested in connection with housing loans and the remaining 40 percent in connection with small loans, credit cards and leasing payments.

"Although we are currently seeing a slight decline in the trend of applying for grace periods, it is too early to draw far-reaching conclusions from this, as the outlook is uncertain and market visibility is relatively low," SEB management board member Ainar Leppanen said.

"We hope that, as the restrictions gradually ease after the end of the emergency situation, the outlook for the economic environment will gradually become clearer in the future," he added.

"Our main message is to contact the bank as soon as it is apparent that there may be problems with payments, for example if pay has fallen sharply, you are about to lose a job or have lost it and more time is needed to find a new job," Leppanen said.