Tasmanian financial institution Bank of us has joined a group of eligible lenders under the federal government's coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme.
Under the $40 billion scheme, the government will provide a 50 per cent guarantee of unsecured loans for small and medium enterprises.
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Bank of us chief executive Paul Ranson said the bank would be able to use the scheme to support local businesses.
"As an eligible scheme lender, we can help Tasmanian SME businesses access additional funding to support them through the upcoming months," he said.
"The loans will be subject to our normal credit assessment processes, but we understand that these are challenging times and can work with SME businesses to determine the best way we can support them through this crisis."
Loans can be up to $250,000 for SMEs or sole traders with a turnover of $50 million or less, and have terms of up to three years with a six-month initial repayment pause.
The federal government announced the scheme last month as part of its economic response to coronavirus.
Source : https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6719975/bank-of-us-joins-federal-sme-scheme/?cs=12