Acting premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today urged banks to restructure their loans to help customers affected by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) and the war o­n Iraq.

According to a Bernama report, he said officials from the Ministry of Finance and Bank Negara governor Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz had recently discussed the matter with bank representatives.

The hospitality and tourism industries are among the worst hit sectors due to the war and the outbreak mainly because of the sharp decline in visitors from the Asia Pacific region.