ANZ's mortgage help for quake victims

Damage along the Kaikoura coastline from the 7.5 M earthquake that struck north Canterbury. Photo / Supplied

ANZ says it will help customers hit by the 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Monday night which may see some given leeway on their mortgage payments.

ANZ NZ's chief executive David Hisco said this afternoon that the earthquakes had made a "huge impact on the lives of many New Zealanders, damaging homes, businesses and local infrastructure".

"ANZ staff around the country have been working hard in recent days to assist our customers and communities where they can," he said.

ANZ says affected customers can explore options with their banker and apply for short term funding or adjusments to lending limits to help with unexpected costs.

Some customers will also be able to get help with their mortgages which ANZ says could mean they make no payments for up to three months.

They can also discuss a waiver of application fees associated with restructuring business and farm loans and waive minimum merchance service fees for businesses which have lost most, or all of their volumes over EFTPOS.

ANZ said they can discuss early access to term deposits.

"These are practical steps that we hope can lessen the burden on our customers affected bythe earthquakes and enable them to focus on their families and businesses, and on the
recovery effort," Hisco said.

The intiative takes effect from tomorrow.