- “Banks will have different approaches to how they manage the process for customers to opt into a mortgage deferral – those details, including eligibility criteria, will be available on bank websites.”
- “Anyone opting into a mortgage deferral needs to be clear about what this means for them. While there are obvious advantages for people in need, repayment deferrals may extend the time it takes to repay the loan and will add interest cost. So it may not be for everyone.”
- “We know that some customers are already being financially impacted by Covid-19 and have an immediate need. That’s why the banking industry as a whole is stepping up with this further package.”
- Bankers Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said the banks can now offer to defer mortgage payments of principal and interest for up to six months.
- From Thursday, banks will keep some branches open for limited hours one day a week for customers who could not use ATMs, phone or online banking, said New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Roger Beaumont.
- The Bankers’ Association urged customers to speak to banks early and said support options included reducing or suspending repayments of home loan debt and instead only repaying the interest on the loan.
- Roger Beaumont, chief executive of the New Zealand Bankers’ Association, which speaks for member banks including ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, and Westpac, said: “The sooner you talk to your bank, the better placed they are to help you.”
- “I think it was a really well considered and pragmatic decision by the Reserve Bank which will mean that banks have greater capacity to support their customers, who are financially impacted by Covid-19, and work through those issues.”
- New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said customers financially affected by a coronavirus, particularly small to medium-sized businesses, were encouraged to contact their bank.
