Westpac increases cyclone relief donations to $4 million

Thursday, 23 February 2023

‘We’re hearing stories of unimaginable loss,’ says Westpac chief executive Catherine McGrath.

Westpac has increased the sum it will donate to cyclone relief, with a further $2 million in cash grants to small business customers.

Westpac NZ chief executive Catherine McGrath said the bank earmarked $1m to make $2500 grants to customers with small businesses hit hard by flooding in Auckland, and parts of the North Island in late January.

But after Cyclone Gabrielle, the bank had increased the amount available to make grants to $3m.

“Every day we’re hearing stories of unimaginable loss and seeing images of communities that have been devastated,” she said.

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“There is clearly a need for further support, and we are also widening eligibility for the cash grants to include farmers and growers, who have been hit particularly hard,” she said.

The bank was also donating $1m to a range of organisations assisting with immediate flood relief and recovery in the worst hit areas, she said.

It included giving money to iwi and community groups, mayoral relief funds and rural support owrganisations.

The bank Westpac could work with individual customers who were struggling, and could make emergency interest-free loans to them, or restructure some of their existing loans.

“We know the support needed by many customers will only become apparent in the weeks to come, and may change over time,” McGrath said.

“We have a range of options, including discounted lending, to help alleviate the pressure for customers who have been materially impacted.”

Like its rivals, Westpac has been working to get all its branches and ATMs open, and make sure there was enough cash in cyclone-hit regions.

McGrath said most Westpac branches and ATMs were now open and operating.

“We know cash has been more important than ever due to the power and communication outages that affected card payments, so the restoration of ATM services has been one of our highest priorities.

“We’re continuing to focus on restoring our remaining services that are not yet back online.”

Westpac and Kiwibank, which has announced cyclone relief donations of just over $300,000, are the latest banks to reveal how much they are giving to cyclone relief efforts.

ANZ said on Thursday that it would donate $3m to communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

The move follows $5m of cyclone-related donations from ASB, and $250,000 from the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ).