Locally established bank service, the Greater Bank has announced a range of measures to support the financial wellbeing of customers who will be impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In addition to the hardship packages that are already available, the customer-owned bank will make available the following financial relief initiatives for some of the more vulnerable customer segments impacted by the pandemic.
These include:
- Small business customers to be supported with: a reduction of up to 1.00 per cent p.a. for 12 months on their current variable rate business loans;
- More flexibility to restructure existing lending facilities to ensure the viability of their business
- Ability to request up to six months repayment holiday on their current business loan with interest capitalised (reviewed three-monthly).
- All other current customers to be supported with:
- Ability to request flexible repayment options on their current home or personal loan with interest capitalised subject to individual circumstance.
Greater Bank Chief Executive Officer, Scott Morgan, said the health and wellbeing of customers and employees is paramount and the business is committed more than ever to support its people, communities and businesses to get through this period of uncertainty.
“There is no doubt that we are experiencing unprecedented times due to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic. We understand that a number of our customers have already been impacted and there will be more who will face hardships as the full effects are felt,” Scott said.
“Over the last few weeks, we have proactively implemented a range of protocols for our employees such as social distancing practices and self-isolation as directed by the Australian Government and health authority advice.”
“Across our 59 branches throughout NSW and South East Queensland we’ve implemented more frequent cleaning of branches and common touch points like ATMs and will also be providing hand sanitiser that we encourage our customers to use before entering,” he continued.
The Contact Centre remains open with staff being redeployed across a range of locations to ensure continuity of this service and minimise the risk to employees.
For those customers that need to self-isolate or simply prefer to bank from home during this period, they can still access a wide range of transactional services via Greater Bank’s Internet Banking and Mobile App.
“As one of the largest customer-owned banks in Australia, we have long lived by the principle of supporting the people and communities that support us and our customers will continue to be at the heart of all decision making,” Scott said.
IMAGE | Greater Bank head office in Hamilton
