Newcastle Permanent has announced additional relief measures for customers through the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting small businesses and personal banking customers.
Chief Executive, Bernadette Inglis, said she recognised that Newcastle Permanent customers were seeking support during this challenging time.
“Last week we announced our offer for home lending and small business customers to request a pause in loan repayments for up to six months and have had a significant response in requests for this assistance,” Inglis said.
“In response to the rapidly changing financial landscape, our customers are clearly in need, so we are expanding our relief package to support more small business and personal banking customers.
“Our expanded measures are designed to help our small business customers adjust their cash flow through this challenging period and help them prepare for recovery.
“Interest rate reductions on variable business loans and fixed home loans and a fast track process for overdraft limit increase requests up to $50,000 for existing overdraft customers are among a range of measures being offered to provide some relief,” Inglis said.
“As a proud member of the community for 117 years, we hope these measures can offer relief and hope to our customers who feel the financial strain of the economic downturn from this pandemic,” Inglis added.
Here’s the full breakdown of what Newcastle Permanent is doing to support small business customers: Reducing business lending variable interest rates by 1 per cent per annum; Customers can request a pause in repayments for up to six months (including a three month checkpoint) for small business loans, with interest capitalised; and fast-tracking customer requests for increases to existing business overdraft facilities up to an extra $50,000.
Support for personal banking customers includes: A pause (available on request) in home loan repayments for up to six months for home loans (including a three month checkpoint), with interest capitalised, with this measure also extended to credit card and personal loan customers; Increasing the 11 month Term Deposit interest rate to 1.70 per cent per annum; and, reducing interest rates for new fixed rate home loans across most terms, by up to 0.70 per cent per annum, available to new and existing customers.
Standard variable home loan rates will remain unchanged.
Source:
Press release, Mar 27
Ashleigh Killingly, Newcastle Permanent