6 May 2020
COVID-19 Timeline
What’s happened in the Australian banking sector during the coronavirus pandemic.
February 14: coronavirus assistance offered
February 14: ABA COVID-19 assistance hub created
March 11: Government announces first stimulus package of $17.6B
March 20: small business relief package announced featuring 6 month deferrals
March 20: mortgage relief announced – 6 month deferrals available for homeowners
March 22: Government announces second stimulus package of $66B
March 25: COVID-19 FAQs published
March 30: business relief extended to landlords and renters
April 3: contactless payments to increase from $100 to $200
April 5: banks support JobKeeper – credit available to bridge gap till payments begin in May
April 6: credit scores secured – COVID-19 deferrals will not affect credit ratings
April 8: SME loan guarantee begin – 50% govt-guaranteed loans, no repayments for 6 months
April 24: dedicated JobKeeper business hotlines open
April 26: Bank CEOs support COVIDSafe app – will download app and encourage staff to do same
April 29: voluntary debit cards for passbook holders announced
April 29: COVID-19 anti-scam hub updated, fact sheets in 12 translations
May 8: 100,000 extra COVID-19 loan deferrals in a week – brings total to 643,000
May 16: 1 in 14 mortgages have now been deferred – 429,000 in total
June 18: Call for temporary COVID improvements to be made permanent
June 19: Phase One banking activity statistics
June 25: Temporary changes to Banking Code of Practice
July 1: Open Banking begins
July 8: Banks enter Phase Two of COVID support
July 20: Phase Two SME Loan Guarantee announced
July 24: Increased SME lending – “green shoots”
Sep 7: 6-month loan assessments begin as Australians begin repayments
Sep 29: A new digital plan to modernise the Australian economy will make banking faster and easier
Oct 15: Repayments have resumed on almost half of deferred loans
Oct 20: Flow of credit to small business remains strong
Oct 30: Record rates of refinancing during COVID-19
Nov 17: Majority of deferrals back on track
Latest news
Op-Ed
Efficient and Responsible: Getting the Lending Balance Right
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25 November 2020
Access to credit opens up opportunities and fulfills aspirations. Getting it right requires the right balance between consumer protections and the flow of credit.
Transcript
TRANSCRIPT: ABA CEO Anna Bligh on ABC Radio’s AM 18 November “a chance to get back on their feet”
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18 November 2020
Interviewed by AM’s Peter Ryan, ABA CEO Anna Bligh talked about the substantial drop in loan deferrals since their peak during the pandemic, falling from 900,000 to 300,000.
Media Releases
Majority of deferred loans back on track
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17 November 2020
The number of deferred loans has fallen below 300,000 – a reduction of almost 70% since the peak earlier this year.
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