Leading financial institution and insurance provider ASB has announced its support to recent changes to the government’s Business Finance Guarantee Scheme.
Last week, Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced that the government has revised the criteria for the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme, removing the requirement for a General Security Agreement for unsecured loans and extending the scheme to agricultural businesses.
The $6.25 billion scheme was announced in March and was designed to help eligible businesses affected by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic access working capital.
In a statement, ASB said that the “simplification of the scheme rules will help us to help businesses keep moving forward with their efforts to restart the economy.”
“We’re pleased that access to the scheme has been simplified to allow increased participation of Kiwi business customers impacted by the economic effects of coronavirus (COVID-19),” said Tim Deane, executive general manager business banking at ASB. “This complements our existing ASB customer support packages that have already been widely accessed by many.”
According to Deane, the country’s move to Alert Level 3 has brought a “greater sense of reality to many business owners as they work through the real impacts on their business following the lockdown period.”
“ASB is here to help our customers get through and to be part of re-opening New Zealand’s economy,” he said. “We’ve been impressed by how many of our customers have rapidly changed how they operate their businesses. This has involved some tough decisions for many and has highlighted how well Kiwi businesses respond to new challenges.”
