14 February 2020
Help on offer for small businesses financially affected by coronavirus
Australian small businesses financially impacted by the spread of the coronavirus are being urged to contact their bank to access assistance on offer which can include deferred loan payments, waiving fees and restructuring loans.
Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh said any small business should not tough it out on their own if they are financially impacted by the effects of the coronavirus.
Anna Bligh, ABA CEO
“Any business financially impacted by the effects of the coronavirus, such as tourism operators, growers and exporters of fresh produce and those reliant on international education should contact their bank to access the assistance on offer.”
“Thousands of businesses have had a horror start to the year with drought, bushfires and floods. Now the coronavirus having a severe impact on both their ability to create products and also export them to markets overseas,” Ms Bligh said.
“Banks have hardship teams in place to walk businesses through the assistance on offer if they have been impacted by events outside of their control.
“Any business financially impacted by the effects of the coronavirus, such as tourism operators, growers and exporters of fresh produce and those reliant on international education should contact their bank to access the assistance on offer,” she said.
The type of assistance offered will depend on individual circumstances, but can include:
- A deferral of scheduled loan repayments
- Waiving fees and charges
- Interest free periods or no interest rate increases
- Debt consolidation to help make repayments more manageable.
Get details of your bank’s hardship team.
ENDS
Contact: Rory Grant 0475 741 007
Latest news
E&OE Radio Interview FiveAA Breakfast with David Penberthy and Will Goodings 17 March 2026. Topics: Tax paid by Australian banks; RBA Powers to regulate big tech David Penberthy (Host): Well, it’s a big amount of money, $16 billion that’s how much tax Australia’s biggest banks paid last year. And at the same time, organisations like Apple, Google and Meta, you think about the ease with which and the frequency with which we… Read more »
This opinion piece by ABA CEO Simon Birmingham originally appeared in the Australian Financial Review. In an attempt to avoid domestic regulatory scrutiny, large foreign multinationals have developed a curious rhetorical strategy. The larger their footprint in Australia’s financial system becomes, the more strenuously they insist they are marginal, incidental or merely technical intermediaries. For years, Apple has… Read more »
The ABA acknowledges APRA’s proposed capital and liquidity changes. Australian banks share APRA’s commitment to maintaining a strong and resilient banking system. ABA CEO Simon Birmingham said banks will work with APRA to ensure any enacted changes lead to real benefits for the economy and Australians. “Banks will carefully review the liquidity proposals and will… Read more »