During Victoria’s Stage 4 lockdown, banking has been classified by the Victorian Government as critical, enabling banking services to continue, with work-related travel (such as restocking and servicing of ATMs) permitted.
As customers approach the end of their six-month loan deferral, banks will implement a new phase of support to assist customers to return to repayments
Those who can restart repaying their loan are urged to do so. Banks are working with customers still financially impacted by COVID-19 to restructure or vary their loan. During this time, some of these customers may be eligible for a further 4-month deferral period. This will assist in staggering deferral exits, helping to avoid the so-called ‘cliff’.
Customers still experiencing financial difficulty at the end of their deferral will be required to work with their bank to find the best solution for them. More details
Oct 1: SME Loan Guarantee Scheme expanded
From October 1, the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme is being expanded. 50% backed by Government, these loans to small and medium sized enterprises can be secured, used for wider purposes, for a longer term (now up to 5 years) and have gone up from a maximum of $250,000 to $1 million. More details
‘Green shoots’: new SME lending jumps by a third
Lending to small businesses increased by nearly one third between May and June 2020. New lending grew from $2.7b in May to $3.6b in June.
The increase in new lending was mostly for the purposes for plant and equipment finance, and lending to medium size businesses returned to levels not seen since August 2019. More details
“These figures show there are some green shoots emerging in our economy and that’s a positive sign,” said ABA CEO Anna Bligh.
ABA’s submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry Into Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence
Initial data holders consent requirements issues discovery paper
Seniors can learn online banking with Squirrel Bank
The eSafety Commissioner has released an interactive introduction to online banking to help seniors begin to bank online. 'Squirrel Bank' is a safe, realistic step-by-step guide to online banking that’s a welcome resource as more and more people adapt to COVID restrictions and bank online.
