Banks defer repayment of 429,000 mortgages due to COVID-19

Banks have deferred the repayments of one in fourteen mortgages totalling more than $150 billion to assist Australians through the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian Banking Association today released new figures which showed 429,000 mortgages had been deferred totalling $153.5 billion. The figures take the total number of loans deferred to 703,000, worth a value of $211 billion. Banks have also hired 1500 new staff and redeployed over 2200 staff to frontline areas such as call centres to help meet the historic surge in demand for support over the last few months. Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh said that banks stood shoulder to shoulder with Australians who were suffering as a result of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. “Banks are here to support customers throughout the crisis and help the economy on the other side as we recover from the devastating effects of this pandemic,” Ms Bligh said. “Since this crisis started banks have deferred the mortgage repayments of 429,000 Australian families or a staggering one in fourteen of all home loans. “Australian families who are financially affected by this crisis have had the breathing space they need with a six month deferral on their home loan repayment while they chart a path through to the other side of this downturn,” she said.