CBA to woo small business

Commonwealth Bank is moving to restore its image among small-business customers.

Commonwealth Bank is promising to streamline small business lending. Picture: AFP

Commonwealth Bank is moving to restore its image among small-business customers.

In a “commitment to small business” announcement to be made today, the nation’s biggest bank will state its intention to “listen to our customers, put their needs first and become a simpler, better bank”.

The changes include same-day decisions on simple business lending, removing business banking fees, better support for businesses in financial hardship and increasing the availability of small business specialists.

It comes after CBA chief executive Matt Comyn said last week he intended to implement several of the Hayne royal commission’s landmark findings earlier than required.

Of Commissioner Kenneth Hayne’s 76 recommendations, Mr Comyn said the bank could move early in a string of areas such as farm debt mediation, changing the definition of a small business and not deducting advice fees from lower-cost MySuper accounts.

Despite the measures being announced by Mr Comyn today CBA isn’t yet changing the definition of a small business.

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The Hayne royal commission’s final report called on the industry to amend the definition of small business in the Banking Code so it applied to any group employing fewer than 100 full-time equivalent employees, where the loan applied for is less than $5 million.

From March, CBA will be rolling out its “same-day decisioning capability” for simple business lending applying to unsecured business loans up to $250,000 for eligible existing customers.

It also established a business financial assistance team to help businesses get back on track if they experience financial difficulty, with solutions to include reviewing repayments.

On agricultural loans, CBA will be supporting farmers affected by drought or other natural disasters by removing default interest charges from business term loans.

CBA will also be “progressively removing the banking fees our customers find frustrating”.

In the past 12 months it has removed 10 business banking fees to simplify business banking.

“While we’re making good progress, there is still more work to do,” Mr Comyn will say.

“We are determined to restore respect and trust among our customers and communities. Our customers can expect us to continue listening, making changes and providing the best possible experiences.”