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Heritage launches new support loan for small businesses affected by COVID-19

20 Apr 2020
From

Peter Lock

Heritage Bank has launched its new SME Support Loan that’s now available for small businesses needing working capital to help get through the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The SME Support Loan can provide up to a three-year unsecured loan of up to $250,000, with no repayments for the first six months, for eligible Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The loans are 50% guaranteed by the Federal Government, under its Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme.

The loans will be available to both Heritage’s existing business customers and new customers.

The features of Heritage’s SME Support Business Loan are as follows:

  • Unsecured business loans from $20,000 to $250,000 on terms of up to 3 years;
  • No repayments for the first six months (with interest capitalised),
  • Principal and interest repayments will apply after the first six months;
  • No establishment or account keeping fees;
  • The loan has redraw capability, which means borrowers only pay interest on the drawn balance of the loan;
  • The loan must be for current and upcoming cash flow needs (including working capital, liquidity and operating expenditure);
  • Applications from both new and existing customers must be approved and made unconditional by 30 September 2020; and
  • Available for Australian businesses with less than $50 million annual turnover.

CEO Peter Lock said Heritage Bank was very happy that it could now offer smaller businesses a helping hand to better cope with the financial impacts of COVID-19.

“Heritage has always been a bank that specialises in meeting the needs of small businesses. Our Business Banking team is focussed on the SME sector, so we understand how small businesses work and the challenges they face,” Mr Lock said.

“That’s why we’ve been so keen to offer this new SME Support Loan, which gives small businesses an extra option they can draw on to get through the cashflow issues that the COVID19 has created.

“We want to help these smaller operators meet the challenges they now face and come out of our current situation in a good position to thrive in future.”

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