On 6 February 2026, an exceptional moratorium regime came into force to support bank customers and borrowers of credit agreements who were affected by the impacts of Storm Kristin and other recent hydrological phenomena. This regime was approved by Decree-Law No. 31-B/2026 of 5 February.
What it consists of:
Bank customers who access the moratorium will benefit from the following measures for a period of 90 days, starting on 28 January 2026:
- The credit lines contracted and the loans granted cannot be revoked, either in whole or in part;
- All loans with capital repayment at the end of the contract will be extended, including interest, commissions, fees and guarantees, namely those provided through insurance or credit securities;
- For credits with instalment repayment of capital or with instalment maturity of other monetary instalments of the capital payment, rents and interest due until the regime ceases to be in force are suspended. The contractual payment plan is automatically extended for a period identical to that of the suspension.
Who can benefit:
Consumers can benefit from the moratorium on credit agreements for the purchase or construction of their own permanent residence, of which they are borrowers, and on financial leasing agreements for their own permanent residence.
Legal persons and sole traders who are borrowers can also access the moratorium on credit agreements if they:
- Have their professional domicile or headquarters or carry out their economic activity in a municipality referred to in paragraph 2 of Council of Ministers Resolution No. 15-B/2026 of 30 January or in paragraph 2 of Council of Ministers Resolution No. 15-C/2026 of 1 February (municipalities covered by the state of calamity);
- Have, as of 28 January 2026, their situation regularised with the Tax and Customs Authority and Social Security, respectively, under the terms of Article 177-A of the Code of Tax Procedure and Process, approved by Decree-Law -Law No. 433/99, of 26 October, and Article 208 of the Code of Contributory Regimes of the Social Security System, approved in the annex to Law No. 110/2009, of 16 September;
- With reference to 28 January 2026, are not in arrears or default on financial payments for more than 90 days with institutions or, if in arrears or default, do not meet the materiality criterion set out in Bank of Portugal Notice No. 2/2019 and Regulation (EU) 2018/1845 of the European Central Bank, of 21 November 2018, and are not in a situation of insolvency, or suspension or cessation of payments, or are not subject to judicial enforcement by any institution with which they have credit agreements.
How do you access the scheme?
To benefit from these support measures, you must send an email to clientes.empresa@baieuropa.pt, or contact your manager, sending the following documents:
- Declaration of adherence to the moratorium, signed by the credit holders;
- Declaration of regularised tax status of all credit holders;
- Certificate of regularisation of the tax situation of all credit holders.
BAIE will apply the protective measures provided for in Decree-Law No. 31-B/2026 of 5 February within a maximum of five working days after receipt of the declaration and the above-mentioned documents, with effect from 28 January, unless the conditions set out in the aforementioned Decree-Law are not met.
Please contact us to learn more about these support services.
