Government Stimulus and lender assistance

Across the board lenders are offering borrowers between three and six month moratorium on existing loan repayments. This is for business as well as home and investment loans. We understand these measures are being offered under extended hardship provisions now in place and you will need to apply yourself. Your  mortgage or finance broker may offer assistance to understand the process but you will need to apply directly with your lender through the lender website.

We recommend you all consider these options as one of your first financial priorities.

Due to the unprecedented demand for these relief provisions it is likely there will be  delays in processing requests so you should act sooner rather than later.

Below are some links to major bank websites detailing how they are able to support their customers and applications for relief.

Keep in mind that a pause on your home loan doesn’t mean the interest due for the month ceases – from what we are hearing the interest will be capitalised which means each month your mortgage repayment is paused, the loan balance will increase by the amount of interest owed for that month. Importantly, a deferral of your repayments will not be treated as a default on your repayments.

Each bank may also consider other relief measures for both business and non-business customers which you may wish to request, if relevant;

• Reduction on rates for overdraft facilities
• Merchant terminal rental fee waivers for a defined period
• Helping small and medium businesses take advantage of the increased instant asset write-off and accelerated depreciation provisions in the Federal Government stimulus package with no establishment fees for equipment finance.
• Increase rates on new term deposits
• Deferral of car loan repayments
• Credit card repayment deferrals and/or significant drop in interest rates
• New small business loans available through express credit assessment processes