Kiwibank on business loans: 'Talk to us early'

Businesses struggling during the Covid-19 crisis will now be able to apply for a loan from a $6.2b scheme being backed by the government. Nine banks have been approved to offer the loans of up to $500,000 over a three year term, with the government guaranteeing up to 80 per cent of each loan. To qualify, businesses will have to have an annual turnover between $250,000 and $80m. As the scale of the Covid crisis becomes clearer, banks are increasingly being called on to help ease the potential burden on their customers. Nine to Noon will be talking to the heads of each of the major banks in the next week or so - and this morning Kathryn is joined by Steve Jurkovich, the chief executive of Kiwibank.