Australia’s biggest banks have reached out to the victims of the floods in the south-eastern region of the nation. Each bank is offering its own distinctive set of assistance in hope of providing relief for the victims.
Most generous of the group, the National Australia Bank will authorise home-owners to hold off on mortgage repayments for some months, and even offer the same treatment for credit card repayments in some cases. The company also stated they will work with their own retail banking customers and business customers to see what type of relief will work best. 

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group will put a halt to all loan repayments for three months for their customers in the region. The company is said to be currently considering which measures to apply to credit card payments.

Commonwealth Bank will also review its credit card procedures for victims, and the company will permit loan restructuring for business banking customers. In addition, CBA will also provide changes to mortgage repayment schedules or expansions of loans to home-owners.

Westpac stated the company will defer home loan repayments for three months while home-owners attempt to regain financial stability. The firm has already begun assisting three hundred customers who are applying through its emergency relief program, which increases limits on credit cards due to the emergency. Ten of Westpac’s branches have been affected by the floods.

Ending a long drought, Victoria has seen its worst flood in over a decade. In combination with heavy winds, torrential rains made the situation very much worse and hundreds of homes had to be evacuated as flood water rose. It is estimated the cost of the disaster will exceed hundreds of millions of dollars. According the Australian Bureau of  Statistics, the state had 5.4 million residents in 2009.

Source: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/ + http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0/