News: CBA Australia's CBA, other banks offer relaxations to businesses hit by lockdowns

July 8 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) said on Thursday it will offer three-month loan repayment deferrals to small businesses affected by COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, as the country grapples with a growing virus cluster.

Australia's largest city, Sydney, has been on a hard lockdown for two weeks to stamp out an increasing cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant. A further extension in restrictions is also being discussed as cases surge.

Australia had fared better than many other developed nations in keeping infections low until recently, and with its economy recovering strongly, most customers had returned to regular loan repayments before the latest restrictions.

However, slow vaccine rollouts and a tightening of already strict curbs on international travel have rapidly taken away some of that shine, and business and consumer tolerance for the restrictions and uncertainty is quickly evaporating.

CBA said eligible small business customers with a loan of up to A$3 million ($2.23 million) will be offered a repayment holiday of up to three months to provide cash flow relief if their business has been significantly impacted.

Other lenders, including Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) , National Australia Bank (NAB) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) , have also offered similar support measures for affected businesses and individuals.

Other support includes offering businesses deferred repayments and loan restructuring with no extra fees, while individuals are allowed interest rate reductions, credit card repayment options, home loan deferrals and fee waivers.

($1 = 1.3479 Australian dollars)