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More than 6,500 business customers hit by COVID-19 shutdowns have made the most of a government-backed SME loan scheme through the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).
The bank has so far approved more than $555 million in new loans - which are 50 per cent guaranteed by the Federal Government - for small and medium businesses.
The bank says its customers were able to apply for the loans from Monday, 23 March.
"We want to help as many of our customers as we can through this challenging time we know for many, these loans could be the make or break of a business," says CBA group executive business banking, Mike Vacy-Lyle.
"Getting funds quickly to our customers means they have the cash flow they need to pay for critical expenses like wages, supplier payments and other overheads.
"We are doing all we can to help. The sheer demand we are seeing means our teams are working around the clock to help as many customers as possible and our priority right now is to get funds into accounts as quickly as we can."
Shortly before the SME Guarantee Loan Scheme was announced on 22 March, CBA pledged $10 billion towards six-month loan deferral arrangements including an auto-enrolment feature for businesses.
Updated at 12:10pm AEST on 7 May 2020.
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