Loan repayments deferred six months for small businesses affected by COVID-19

If your small business is being affected by the coronavirus your loan repayments will be deferred for six months, says the Australian Banking Association (ABA).

ABA CEO Anna Bligh today announced a small business relief package from Australia’s banks.

“Small businesses can rest assured that if they need help, they will get it,” Ms Bligh said.

The assistance package will apply to more than $100 billion worth of existing small business loans and, depending on customer take-up, could put as much as $8 billion back into the pockets of small businesses.

“This is a multi-billion dollar lifeline for small businesses when they need it most, to help keep the doors open and keep people in jobs,” Ms Bligh said.

Ms Bligh added that banks were putting in place a fast track approval process.

“Banks are already reaching out to their customers to offer assistance and packages will start rolling out in full on Monday [23 March],” she said.

Government to invest up to $15 billion in support of SME lending

The ABA loan deferral announcement came one day after the federal government announced a $15 billion commitment to enabling smaller lenders to continue supporting Australian consumers and small businesses.

The government said it hoped that the investment would enable customers of smaller lenders to continue to access affordable credit as the world deals with the significant challenges presented by the spread of coronavirus.

The government announcement came shortly after the RBA cut the cash rate to a record low of 0.25% following an emergency meeting due to coronavirus.

But wait, there’s more.

Earlier in the week the federal government announced a range of measures to stimulate SME spending via tax incentives and other initiatives.

One measure included changes to instant asset write-off provisions – the threshold was increased from $30,000 to $150,000 (ex GST) and write-off provisions were opened up to businesses with an annual turnover of up to $500 million (the previous cut-off was $50 million) until June 30 2020.

Get in touch

It’s fair to say there has been a lot of news to get your head around this week.

And while it can seem overwhelming during these uncertain times, rest assured that we’re keeping on top of the announcements that matter to you.

So if you’d like to explore any of the changes outlined above – including the six-month loan repayment deferral – please get in touch. We’re here to help you any way we can.

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