ANZ has announced the creation of a dedicated hotline to support small and medium business customers eligible for the Federal Government’s Job Keeper payments. The bank plans to identify which customers require assistance and will prioritize their funding requests until the government payments commence in early May.
"This is a challenging time for some of our business customers as they try to make ends meet while supporting their staff members and their businesses," said ANZ Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott. "ANZ is committed to helping those customers who need to fill an urgent short-term funding gap while they wait for extraordinary financial support from the Government’s Job Keeper program."
In addition to establishing the hotline, ANZ has already increased overdraft accounts by 10% for more than 6,300 small and medium enterprise (SME) customers. Loan repayment deferrals have been provided to about 15% of SME clients as part of efforts to alleviate financial pressure.
ANZ is also offering loans up to $250,000 that are 50% guaranteed by the Federal Government as another measure to assist businesses during this period.
For further information, ANZ encourages affected businesses to contact the hotline at 1800 571 123 or visit anz.com/covid-19 for additional resources.