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Financial Planning
April 20, 2020

Nedbank delivers on its promise to do good for clients in need due to COVID-19

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<p><strong>By: Nedbank</strong></p>

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<p>Just over three weeks into the lockdown response to COVID-19, the financial impact of government's prudent efforts to protect the country from the virus is increasingly being felt by South Africans from all walks of life. Banks and other financial institutions have rallied to the aid of their customers, with an array of debt and payment relief offerings aimed at helping them deal with the personal and household budget challenges.</p>

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<p>And the need for assistance is vast, and growing. As indicated by the <strong>130 000</strong> Nedbank clients who had approached the bank for financial assistance and relief by 14 April - just over two weeks into lockdown. Of this number, relief has been provided to just under <strong>65 000, </strong>with no declines recorded. The remainders are Work in Progress or have been provided other relief measures due to not qualifying under COVID-19 relief.</p>

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<p>Instead of adopting a blanket relief offering, Nedbank took a slightly different stance and invited its clients to approach it if they needed assistance, so that it could customise the help it provides to the unique requirements of each individual client. According to Ciko Thomas, Managing Executiveof Nedbank Retail and Business Banking, the overwhelming response by clients points to the significant impact that COVID-19 and the lockdown are having on the nation.</p>

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<p>Our debt relief options are not restricted to certain products and include unique payment arrangement options, irrespective of the client’s standing with the bank. These could include entering payment arrangement options that are tailored to suit the client’s household cash flow at this time.</p>

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<p>"By choosing to not adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to our relief efforts, we have made it possible for all our clients to approach us for tailored assistance during this difficult time," Thomas explains, "but we could never have anticipated the massive extent of the response to this offer of financial help."</p>

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<p>Thomas points to the diversity of clients who have approached Nedbank for assistance as evidence of the non-discriminatory nature of the impacts of COVID-19 on South Africans. "The requests we have received for payment holidays and premium deferments have been across our product range, including home loans, vehicle and asset finance, personal loans, and credit cards," he says, "and we have had almost 3 000 engagements with our business banking clients, many of who have also requested help ranging from payment holidays to extensions on their overdrafts and other credit facilities."</p>

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<p>Thomas explains that Nedbank has assessed each of these client requests on a case-by-case basis, resulting in over <strong>4 500</strong> home loans and<strong>21 500</strong> vehicle finance agreements being restructured to deliver repayment relief. As at 14 April, the bank has also granted over <strong>33 400</strong> personal loans and 2 300 credit card payment holidays and extended temporary overdraft or overdraft extensions worth <strong>R3,4bn,</strong> to over <strong>2 000</strong> of its business banking clients.</p>

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<p>According to Thomas, the personalised approach by the bank to listening to the needs of each client, and providing tailored solutions to those individual needs has understandably put pressure on its staff and stretched its infrastructure significantly.  But he assures Nedbank clients that the bank remains committed to helping them cope with the financial impact of COVID-19 in whatever way it can.</p>

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<p>"Given that our call centres have had to be decentralised due to lockdown, we have faced obvious logistical challenges and call waiting times for some customers have been longer than we would have liked," he explains, "however, we remain 100% committed to assisting our clients on a case-by-case basis, and we ask them to be patient if they encounter delays in contacting us or getting a response to their requests for help."</p>

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<p>"Nedbank understands and embraces the responsibility we have to do all we can to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on our clients, the economy and our country," Thomas concludes," We encourage our financially stressed clients to contact us to discuss their individual circumstances, but we also urge those South Africans who are able to service their debt to continue doing so, as this will not only benefit them in the long-term, but also provide vital support to the economy as a whole."</p>

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