ANZ confirms support available for customers affected by Cyclone Gabrielle

With a National State of Emergency now declared, ANZ Bank New Zealand (ANZ NZ) is reminding customers that financial support is available to all those affected.

Lorraine Mapu, ANZ Managing Director of Business, said: “It has been a tough few weeks for those affected by severe weather events across the North Island, and our thoughts are with those dealing with damage and destruction to the community and their businesses, and their family homes.

Ms Mapu said the damage to roading infrastructure would mean many communities are likely to be cut off and supply chains impacted for weeks to come.

“With the effects of this likely to be felt for some time, we want to reassure our business and personal customers we are here to help and there is a range support options available to them.

“We’ve also been working closely with our insurance partners to ensure our customers are clear on how they can submit a claim.”

Ms Mapu says targeted assistance is available for business customers.

“This includes temporary overdraft facilities and the ability to defer loan repayments, to take some of the financial pressure off so people can focus on the bigger issues they are dealing with right now.”

The bank would continue to contact its business customers to see what further support was needed.

“We also encourage personal and home loan customers to talk to us if they need to relieve pressure on their financial situation.

There are a range of ways we could help, such as restructuring their home loan repayments, or providing access to additional credit,” Ms Mapu says.

In the last week the bank has simplified processes for things like temporary overdrafts for customers with pending insurance claims, and for those applying for a KiwiSaver significant hardship withdrawal for amounts up to $5000.

“There are also a number of fee waivers in place, as well as the ability for customers in hardship to break Term Deposits.”

Ms Mapu said customers experiencing financial strain shouldn’t hesitate to get in touch, however the bank’s call centre was experiencing a larger than usual volume of calls and people were urged to be patient.

“We’ve closed a number of branches across the Upper North Island for the safety of our customers and staff. This includes all Auckland, Northland, Coromandel and Gisborne branches.

“However, this is putting pressure on the Call Centre so we ask that people to be patient and our team will get to you as soon as possible.”

Information about branch closures, and the financial support available, can be found on our website.

For those insured through ANZ, here’s how to get in touch with our insurance partners:

· Personal insurance: call Vero on 0800 269 252, or for non-urgent claims complete a Vero online claims form.
Find out more about Vero flood support.

· Business and farm insurance: call Crombie Lockwood on 0800 252 461, or for non-urgent claims complete a Crombie Lockwood online claims form.

For media enquiries contact Kristy Martin 021531402

Download PDF