BNZ gears up to support more kiwi businesses as Business Finance Scheme Loan criteria expanded

Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is encouraging customers to get in touch and discuss whether a Business Finance Scheme Loan is right for them following lending criteria for the government-backed loan being expanded today.

The government announced that it was extending the loan maximum to $5 million (previously $500,000) and loan terms would increase from three to five years. Businesses with revenue up to $200 million can apply.

Paul Carter, BNZ Chief Customer Officer, says, “We welcome today’s announcement and encourage Kiwi businesses to contact us to discuss if the Business Finance Scheme is right for them.

“We have already supported more than 18,000 businesses with a range of measures as they look for ways to adapt, manage and grow their businesses, and we are ready to help more.

“Loans through the Business Finance Scheme, consolidation and restructuring loans and temporary overdrafts, have all played an important role in supporting businesses through these uncertain times. We’ve also seen a huge shift to digital platforms for many of our customers so providing online digital platforms like mybusinesslive and QuickBiz to support Kiwi businesses has been important, even more so with the recent re-emergence of COVID,” Mr Carter says.

Businesses can apply here: https://www.bnz.co.nz/contact/covid-19-update/business-finance-scheme or contact BNZ on 0800 269 763 (small business) or 0800 273 916 (medium and large businesses).