LONDON, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) proposed Thursday a range of targeted temporary measures designed as a stop-gap to quickly support users of certain consumer credit products who are impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
For those consumers facing difficulties with their finances, the financial watchdog proposed firms to offer a temporary payment freeze of up to three months on loans and credit cards.
For those who have been hit financially by coronavirus and already have an arranged overdraft on their main personal current account, up to 500 pounds (about 618.8 U.S. dollars) will be charged at zero interest for up to three months, the FCA suggested.
It further called for firms to make sure that all overdraft customers are no worse off on price when compared to the prices they were charged before the recent overdraft changes came into force, asking firms not to downgrade customers' credit rating for using these temporary measures.
Conducting a brief consultation on the above measures, the FCA asked all stakeholders to respond within a much shorter timeframe than normal, with a deadline of next Monday.
The regulator noted that the measures would come into force by April 9 if confirmed.
"If confirmed, this package of measures we are proposing today will help provide affected consumers with the temporary financial support they need to help them weather the storm during this challenging time," said Christopher Woolard, interim chief executive of the FCA.
The British government has pledged to offer self-employed people impacted financially by the pandemic with 80 percent of wages for at least three months up to 2,500 pounds (2,847.3 dollars) a month. For employees who are unable to work due to the outbreak, the government will cover 80 percent of their wages too, with a limitation of 2,500 pounds.
Prior to that, the government also announced a 330-billion-pound (375.9 billion dollars) package to help various scales of businesses to cope with the crisis.
