The Australian Banking Association (ABA) is the information source for the news media on the Australian banking industry, providing information, analysis and context on industry issues.
The ABA plays an active role in the public dialogue on banking and financial services, providing commentary on broader industry issues and facilitating access to other sources of information.
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COVID-19 Banking Timeline
see what’s happened in the Australian banking sector
options to defer loan repayments for up to 3 months for those customers affected by the flood disasters
More than 57,000 customers have received hardship assistance during recent lockdowns across Australia.
Since 8 July 2021, more than 14,500 home loans have been deferred, while more than 600 business loans have been deferred.
“Over the past year, banks have cushioned the blow for their customers. Through 2021, their priority is helping customers rebuild and get ahead”
“right at the height of COVID, when things were at their absolute worst, only 10% of Australian mortgage holders deferred the payments on those mortgages. 90% of those people are now back paying in full.”
“…banks can go back to their normal processes and that is working out what’s right for every single customer, on an individual tailored basis with a proper assessment. That is the best thing for the customer.”
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.
The number of deferred loans has fallen below 300,000 – a reduction of almost 70% since the peak earlier this year.
“we’ve seen a record high number of Australians switch their loans, either to another bank or gone to their own bank and got a better deal.”
Anna answered questions about the impact of COVID-19 on banks’ profits, how banks have responded to help customers during the pandemic and what’s happening next to customers who’ve deferred their mortgages.
Interview: Almost 45% of Australians who deferred their mortgages in June have begun repaying their loans.
Almost half of deferred loans are now being repaid again as Australians recover from the pandemic
Australia’s banks supported their customers as the country entered the COVID-19 pandemic and they continue to support them on the way out. As the initial wave of 6-month loan payment deferrals come to an end, banks have begun to contact customers for their 6-month assessment and to discuss the next stage of support and assistance. … Read more »
This new phase of support turns a cliff into manageable steps for Australians to get back on track.
Banking activity during the coronavirus pandemic. Between 14 May and 19 June the ABA published data on total deferrals member banks made to customers. These figures represented the sum total of deferrals made at the time of each data publication, and does not account for deferrals which had been reversed at the customer request. ABA’s… Read more »
Banks have deferred the repayments of one in fourteen mortgages totalling more than $150 billion to assist Australians through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australia’s banks deferred an extra 100,000 loans, this week, including approximately 50,000 home loans, to help customers through the COVID-19 Pandemic. Total number of loans deferred is now at least 643,000.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, banks have provided an estimated $6.8 billion of deferrals and more than $45 billion in new loans.
If a customer is granted a deferral on their mortgage and other credit products because of COVID-19, banks will report customers as not having missed a repayment.