Statement from Westpac Group Acting CEO, Peter King

“Westpac welcomes the Federal Government’s economic support measures.

“Australia is going through an extraordinary and challenging time.

“We all have a role to play and we all have to put our shoulder to the wheel. Westpac over its 202 year history has assisted its customers through many crises. We are a strong bank and are determined to assist our customers through these extraordinary times.

“Westpac will be a participant in the Government’s small business loan scheme. We believe it will provide significant support for small to medium businesses.

“We are also supportive of allowing those suffering financial hardship to access their superannuation. This scheme will have minimal impact on superannuation in the medium to long term and will provide much needed support for many Australians during these unprecedented times. At the same time, it is a sensible measure to halve the draw down rate of superannuation to 2 per cent for those retirees who don’t need to access their full superannuation pension allocations.”

/Public Release. View in full here.