Australian banks will defer loan repayments for six months for small businesses who are suffering financial difficulties due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus.

Loan repayment deferrals will apply to more than $100 billion of existing small business loans, putting up to $8 billion back into the pockets of small businesses.

Australian banks have already begun reaching out to businesses to offer assistance, with roll-out of deferrals to begin from Monday 23 March.

Learn more about gaining access to the Australian Banking Associations small business relief package here.

Update: Monday 30 March

The ABA has announced that its members have agreed to extend the six-month deferral of loans to businesses with total business loan facilities of up to $10 million. With this extension, the loan deferral measures now applies to 98 per cent of all businesses with a loan from an Australian bank.

During this period, banks have agreed to not enforce business loans for non-financial breaches of the loan contract (such as changes in valuations).