Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has launched a support package for small and medium business (SMBs) and home loan customers impacted by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The bank said that its home loan and SMB customers have the potential to pump in A$6bn in the Australian economy and help in recovering from the on-going global crisis.
Covid-19 support package
The package includes decreased variable interest in small business and home loan rates effective from 27 March 2020.
Effective 3 April 2020, the interest rates for SMB loans up to $1m will reduce by 0.80%. As a result, the new two and three-year fixed rate is 2.59% annually.
The home loans fixed interest rate stands at 2.19% yearly for owner-occupiers paying principal and interest.
The impacted customers can avail a six-month deferral on loan repayments for term loans.
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By GlobalDataThe payment deferrals are expected to free up nearly A$2.5bn for businesses to continue operating and employing staff during the crisis.
The bank has also decided to temporarily increase the overdraft offerings for 12 months.
ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott said: “Our package supports Australian business and the people who work for them.
“We have been working with both the Federal Government and our regulators to keep money flowing through the economy and we’ll do all we can to keep businesses afloat and Australians employed, as well as reducing the financial pressure on households.
“Our decision to reduce variable home loan and small business rates is the right thing to do for our existing customers, particularly the significant number of our home loan customers who are self-employed and managing the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on their own businesses.”