Westpac committed to support customers

By DALE LUMA
WESTPAC PNG expects economic conditions to remain challenging in the second half of the year but it will continue to support its customers.
Responding to queries from The National, the bank, in a statement, said it had always been in its focus for the year.
“We will continue to assist customers,” the bank said.
According to the Bank of PNG (BPNG) monetary statement, for the past six months, overall lending for banks had declined due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The year 2020 is experiencing an unprecedented economic downturn brought on by a global health crisis,” BPNG said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic and measures implemented to contain it resulted in the largest contraction in global economic growth in decades.
“Papua New Guinea is also affected by the rising cases of the Covid-19 infections which led to the Government imposing a State of Emergency, lockdowns and various measures to contain the virus.
“These measures have constrained mobility of labour and resources, affecting supply chains and limiting business operations, thus adversely impacting on economic growth.
“To counter this, the authorities implemented a number of policy and stimulus measures.
“The Central Bank expects the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic to continue for the remainder of 2020 and in 2021.”
The Bank South Pacific (BSP) said its businesses had been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in areas dependent heavily on tourism.