Individuals and enterprises that can't repay loans because of the May 12th earthquake will get more time, the country's central bank and banking regulator said on Thursday.

Individuals who borrowed from Chinese banks before the quake will be given a grace period of another six months to repay the money. The new deadline is June 30 of this year, according to a joint statement by the People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Corporations will get a longer grace period of another 12 months. Repayment is now due at the end of 2009.

Previously, quake victims were told to repay borrowed money by the end of 2008.

The two agencies also urged banks not to push for loan repayment if debtors in the quake-hit regions fall behind in payments. They said lenders should not levy fines for defaults or add default notices to borrowers' credit records during the extended grace period.

The May 12 earthquake, left more than 87,000 people dead or missing. Millions more are homeless.

(Xinhua News Agency January 1, 2009)