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
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.