Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has approved more than $555 million in loans for small and medium businesses through the Government-backed SME Guarantee Loan Scheme, helping more than 6,500 customers whose businesses have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Scheme, which the Federal Government launched on Sunday 22 March 2020, aims to provide small and medium sized businesses with timely access to working capital to help get through the impact of the coronavirus. Under the Scheme, the Government is guaranteeing 50 per cent of new loans issued by eligible lenders to SMEs.
CBA customers were able to apply for the loans from Monday 23 March 2020.
CBA Group Executive Business Banking, Mike Vacy-Lyle, said: “We want to help as many of our customers as we can through this challenging time – we know for many, these loans could be the make or break of a business.
“Getting funds quickly to our customers means they have the cash flow they need to pay for critical expenses like wages, supplier payments and other overheads.
“We are doing all we can to help. The sheer demand we are seeing means our teams are working around the clock to help as many customers as possible and our priority right now is to get funds into accounts as quickly as we can.
“We have now approved more than $555 million of loans to customers which is a vital step in providing support, and a future, for thousands of Australian businesses.”
Of the $555 million in loans approved, 42 per cent is for businesses in NSW, followed by Victoria (27 per cent) and Queensland (16 per cent).
Almost one in five of these businesses are in retail trade (18 per cent) with contruction (16 per cent), accommodation, cafes and restaurants (14 per cent) and business services (12 per cent) also represented.
Through the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme, CBA is supporting both new and existing customers with loans up to $250,000 for a three year period, with all repayments deferred for the first six months and all fees waived for the life of the loan (and interest rates from 4.5%). Businesses and not-for-profits with annual turnovers up to $50 million are eligible to apply.
For a full outline of the support available for CBA customers impacted by coronavirus, visit www.commbank.com.au/coronavirus.
