Ninety per cent of its deferred home loan customers are back on their feet again
As Australian borrowers transition away from repayment pauses, NAB customers are already in good stead. NAB Broker acting general manager Nicole Triandos told MPA that out of more than 110,000 home loans that were paused in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 90% of customers are now back on their feet or have indicated they won’t need to defer repayments in future.
“This has shown the value of providing time for customers to adjust, to speak to their broker and take stock from the severe impacts of the external environment,” she said.
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She attributes NAB’s success in transitioning customers out of repayment pauses to its clear communication with borrowers, adding that mortgage brokers have been crucial in the process.
“Educating our customers and keeping clear lines of communication has been critical to the success of the home loan deferral program and transitioning customers back to regular repayments again,” she said. “Mortgage brokers have been essential in this transition and continue to work tenaciously to guide their customers through the process.”
During the repayment pause, NAB borrowers were given the option to make one-off or partial repayments, allowing them to reduce the amount of interest charged as a result of pausing loan commitments, she said.
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“At the end of a repayment pause period, customers have been returning to their standard repayments payable under their contract,” she added. “At some stage after the repayment pause, if the loan balance is higher, we may need to increase the repayment amount to ensure customers repay their loan within the loan term.
“As the bank behind brokers, NAB has been collaboratively working with broker partners and customers to communicate these changes as customers transition out of repayment pause periods. At NAB, we are committed to supporting mortgage brokers as the trusted advisers to their customers.”
Despite the positive signs that most of its deferred customers are now back on track, Triandos said borrowers who were “not yet through the worst,” wouldn’t be left in the dark.
“For any customer struggling to pay a loan, we’ll offer clear and simple options to help,” she said.
