BOQ Announces Rebuilding Communities Program

Wednesday, 19/01/2011

BOQ has today announced a Rebuilding Communities Program to help many of the communities impacted by the floods get back on their feet. 

In announcing the program, BOQ Managing Director said the Bank would donate $285,000 across a number of sporting groups, charities and community groups in affected areas.  This is in addition to the Bank’s $250,000 donation to the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal. 

“Through our Owner-Managers, Branch Managers and Business Banking Managers, we have close ties with many of the community groups that are the heart and soul of these local communities. 

“We want to help these towns and suburbs get back on their feet and think giving a helping hand to the groups that support the whole community is the best way we can help. 

“Through our Owner-Managers and Branch Managers we will be identifying the local community groups, be they sporting, business or charitable, that really represent the people in those areas, and finding a specific need we can help with. 

“We think identifying specific needs and allocating the $285,000 accordingly will have the biggest impact.  

“So we will be looking to donate, for example, $500 to buy the local footy club a new lawn mower or $6,000 to help with new carpet for the local youth group. 

“These communities are what make our country great, and they have supported our people – our Owner-Managers and Branch Managers – in growing their business. 

“We really want to give back to the communities in which we operate, and look forward to seeing real results in getting them back on their feet. 

“This is the greatest natural disaster on Australia’s east coast and it has been heart-breaking to watch the news footage of people who have lost everything. 

“But hopefully we can make a real difference in getting life back to normal in many of these communities as quickly as possible. 

“We have also made our branch network available for donations to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. 

“So far we have raised $1,111,500 through our branch network.  Add in the Bank’s $250,000 donation to the Appeal and we are now at $1,360,500. 

“We would love to hit the $2,000,000 mark so would encourage those who haven’t yet donated to dig deep.“ 

Overall, the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal has so far raised $103,325,414. 

Financial assistance for flood victims
A special relief package has been established for customers requiring financial assistance as a result of the major floods events and a special Flood Hotline has been set up for customers needing assistance - 1800 079 866. 

This is the worst natural disaster on Australia’s east coast and we genuinely want to help all BOQ customers who need financial assistance to get back on their feet. 

Key features of the special relief package include:

Personal customers
• Opportunity to suspend Home Loan and Personal loan repayments for a period
• Waive Home Loan and Personal Loan monthly fees for a period
• Access to discounted interest rates on Personal Loans taken out for the purpose of purchasing replacement goods
• Waive early withdrawal fees for those customers wishing to access money from their Term Deposits to get back on their feet over the next month
• Credit card repayment relief where appropriate
 
Small Business Customers
• Opportunity to suspend business loan repayments for a period
• Opportunity to vary business loans and waive the establishment fees on these variations where appropriate
• Opportunity to defer repayments on Equipment Finance facilities for a period
• Refund merchant fees for a period
• Access to a priority replacement service for damaged EFTPOS terminals
 
Insurance Enquiries
• If you have a Mortgage or Personal Loan protected with St Andrew’s Credit Protection Insurance, depending on the level of protection chosen, you may have cover for Life, Accident or Illness, or Involuntary Unemployment. St Andrew’s have set up a dedicated crisis centre to assist BOQ policyholders with any queries they have in relation to their policy. Please contact 1300 653 751 for further assistance.
• If you have a Vero Home & Contents policy, your policy includes automatic cover for flood damage. Please call the Vero Claims team on 1300 888 073 to lodge a claim. We encourage affected customers to lodge their insurance claims as soon as possible.