Media Appearances

Stuff - Reserve Bank prepares to axe loan-to-value restrictions for home-buyers

April 21, 2020 - “This proposal would also add to the range of support our banks are already offering affected customers to help them get through. For example, banks have to date allowed around 100,000 customers reduce repayments on loans worth $33 billion, and completely defer repayments on loans worth $17 billion.”  

NBR - Firms urged to go back to banks for loans

April 21, 2020 - “The fact that banks have lent $5.5b to businesses since we went into lockdown clearly shows they’re lending where they can. They still need to be responsible lenders and not everyone looking for a loan will meet the lending criteria,” Beaumont said. None of that $5.5b loaned by banks since March 26 forms part of the... Read more »

NZ Herald - Covid 19 Coronavirus: Banks to charge as little as 0.8% on govt-backed business loans

April 21, 2020 - Data released by the New Zealand Bankers’ Association yesterday showed that since the lockdown began on March 25, the nation’s trading banks had provided 13,559 businesses with new loans totalling $5.5 billion, moved to either interest only or reduced principal repayments and interest on $17.4 billion of existing loans to 13,549 businesses, and that a... Read more »

NBR - Reserve Bank to drop LVR loan limits

April 21, 2020 - The New Zealand Bankers’ Association welcomed the move, and said it lined up with other Reserve Bank initiatives to free up the financial system at this extraordinary time.

Stuff - Loan repayment ‘holidays’ top 100,000, but home loan ‘discounts’ disappear

April 20, 2020 - Banks have collectively agreed to a massive programme of loan repayment “holidays” for customers, and have so far allowed over 100,000 household and business borrowers to make reduced repayments on their loans, or temporarily stop making repayments altogether.

NZ Herald - Banks made $7.5b in new loans during lockdown

April 20, 2020 - New Zealand’s trading banks have provided businesses and consumers $7.5 billion in new loans since the country went into lockdown, with 13,559 business customers lent $5.5 billion and the balance going to 21,772 consumers.

Newshub - Coronavirus: Business leaders urge innovation in post-lockdown economy rebuild

April 20, 2020 - Banks so far have loaned an extra $7.5 billion to businesses and consumers during the lockdown. They’ve also allowed customers to pay only interest for almost $33 billion worth of loans, and allowed them to pause all repayments on $17 billion worth of loans. 

Interest.co.nz - Finance Minister warns we’re in for a long haul; Says the govt is considering extending the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme

April 18, 2020 - Meanwhile banks had allowed 41,436 borrowers to reduce their loans to interest-only, or made other principal and/or interest repayment reductions. The value of these customers’ outstanding balances was $14.6 billion.

NZ Herald - Covid 19 coronavirus: Payments on more than 80,000 loans reduced or deferred

April 17, 2020 - The NZBA said that across its membership, payments had been lowered on 41,436 loans worth $14 billion, while repayments had been deferred entirely on 40,918 loans worth $14.5b.

NZ Herald - Covid 19 coronavirus: Reserve Bank urges banks to consider ‘social responsibility’ in business lending

April 16, 2020 - New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said the group would be publishing aggregated data “which will show how banks are supporting both business and personal customers in practical ways”.