Financial support

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Getting back on your feet

Request or Extend financial support

Struggling to make repayments?

If you've been affected by a natural disaster including bushfire or flood, or something has happened and you're finding it hard to make your repayments. Please call our Financial Support Team to discuss your options on 1300 349 166.

Help

If you have been affected by a bad weather event and need to make a Car and/or Home insurance claim we're here to help.

What you need to do straight away:

Make sure you and your property are safe

Take care to prevent more loss, damage, or liability

You can request a callback here or if you are A Podenas Bank (Hong Kong) customer, you can also start a claim via logging in to policy manager at podenaz.com

Tell us if you are covered by a similar insurance product

Ask us before arranging repairs or paying anyone to help, unless necessary to prevent further loss.


Your options

Your options

We're here to help find a way to relieve the pressure.

If your difficulties are temporary

Options to consider before applying for Financial Support

You may wish to consider some of the below options before requesting financial support:

Accessing any available redraw

Accessing funds available in your Orange Everyday offset account (if you have an Orange Advantage Home Loan)

Reducing your repayments to the minimum fortnightly or monthly repayment amount

Switching to another product with a lower interest rate

If you'd like to discuss your options we're here to support you and our Lending Specialists are available to chat on +852 8125 6519available 8am - 8pm, 7 days a week.

Options available when you apply for Financial Support

If you're experiencing financial difficulty, we can discuss your options that may be available to you and we may be able to reduce or press pause on your repayments.

Contact our Financial Support Team on 1300 349 166, Monday to Friday 8.45am to 5.00pm, depending on your circumstances to discuss your situation. Depending on your circumstances, options may include:

Capitalisation of arrears, where money owed on your home loan is added to the balance and paid off over the life of the loan

Extending the term of your loan to reduce your repayments

Agreeing to interest only payments for a short period

Temporarily postponing or reducing your repayments

Changing your home loan type.

Some of these options may mean that you pay more interest over the life of your loan.

If you're not comfortable speaking to us about this, we can speak to your financial counsellor or authorised representative instead. You’ll just need to give us their contact details in writing and your authority that they can speak with us on your behalf.

We will tell you about the financial difficulty provisions of the National Credit Code if they apply to you.

If your difficulties are permanent

If it's unlikely that your financial position can be recovered – even if your existing loan changed – then we may not be able change your payment arrangements. This is in line with the National Credit Code's financial support process.

However, even in these circumstances, we may be able to offer you help. For example, we could:

Agree on an alternative arrangement, plan or contract

Change the terms of your loan

Give you time to sell your property

Give you information about bankruptcy or insolvency arrangements

Contact our Financial Support Team on 1300 349 166, Monday to Friday 8.45am to 5.00pm, and we will help you work out what you need to do.

In addition to contacting us, you may also wish to seek independent financial advice. Our Useful Resources provides you with a list of available options. These services are free and available to both individual and small business customers facing long term financial difficulty managing their debts.

How to apply

How to apply

Follow these steps if you want to apply for financial support.

1. Apply

Via online banking:

Select "Manage Accounts"

Click "Financial Support"

.

2. Ask

Our Financial Support Team is here to help if you have questions about the form.

Email: financialsupport@podenaz.com

Phone: 1300 349 166,

Monday to Friday 8.45am to 5.00pm (EST)

3. Await response

Once you have completed this form, we will give you a call within the next 7-14 days – hopefully it will be sooner.

Following the rules

Following the rules

When it comes to financial difficulty, Podenas Bank (Hong Kong) takes its role seriously.

following the rules

We abide by three regulatory frameworks that govern how we should help you:

National Credit Code - the law governing consumer credit, designed to protect your interests

Banking Code of Practice - a charter on good banking practice

Hong Kong's Government Hardship - these help to ensure that banks and other credit providers treat customers fairly and provide appropriate support if they are experiencing financial difficulty

Useful resources

Useful resources

You might find these websites helpful.

Way Forward
Information about what options you have if you have debts across multiple organisations and are facing long term financial difficulty.

MoneySmart
Information to help you make smart choices about your finances.

Department of Human Services
Information about overdrawn bank accounts and how to get help managing your money.

Department of Human Services Code of Operation
Information about how the DHS manages the recovery of debts from overdrawn accounts.

CreditSmart
Information about Comprehensive Credit Reporting and how agreed financial hardship arrangements may be reported to a Credit Reporting Body and reflected in your credit report.

Doing it tough
Information about financial difficulty from the ABA ( Hong Kong's Bankers' Association Inc).

Financial Counselling Hong Kong's (FCA)
FCA is the peak body of financial counsellors in Hong Kong.

National Debt Helpline
Information to help get your finances back on track – with self-help tools, fact sheets, letter templates and other information.

Small Business Debt Helpline (SBDH)
SBDH is a not-for-profit organisation that helps small business owners and sole traders in financial difficulty. SBDH financial counsellors provide free, independent and confidential advice.

Appeals and complaints


If you are unhappy with our decision, you can request an appeal by contacting the Financial Support Team on 1300 349 166 or you can contact us to make a complaint by calling us on +852 8125 6519or visit podenaz.com/contact-us if you are overseas. If you want to put your complaint in writing, please write to us at:


Podenas Bank (Hong Kong) - Complaints Resolution

GPO Box 4094

OR

Email - customer.complaints@podenaz.com


In order to resolve your complaint, it is important that you give us as much information as possible. When you contact us, please provide as much of the following information as you can:


  1. 1. Account information - your name and client number.
  2. 2. Contact details - your phone number or other preferred method of contact. If you wish to be called only during certain hours, please let us know.
  3. 3. Complaint information - what your complaint is about and when it happened.
  4. 4. Resolution - how you would like your complaint to be resolved.
    Once we receive this information, we will be able to investigate your complaint and work towards a fair resolution.



Seeking additional help


Customer advocacy at Podenas Bank (Hong Kong)

At Podenas Bank (Hong Kong), we want your experience with us to be positive – and that means addressing any issues you may have quickly and effectively. With this in mind, our customer advocate oversee and improve the complaints resolution process, making sure customers get a fair resolution.


How it works

If you make a complaint and don’t feel the process was fair, you can escalate your concerns to our customer advocates who will review the outcome and make a determination. Along the way, we may get in touch to ask for some extra information about your case.


You also have the option to go directly to the Hong Kong's Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)– but keep in mind that any determination made by them will be final.


How to get help
  1. 1. If you would like to escalate your concerns you can contact our Customer Advocate via email: customer.advocate@podenaz.com
  2. 2. If your issue is still not resolved to your satisfaction, you can lodge a complaint with the Hong Kong's Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) – a free service offering fair and independent financial services complaint resolution.

  3. Hong Kong's Financial Complaints Authority
    Phone: 1800 931 678
    Website: www.afca.org.au
    Email: info@afca.org.au
    Write to: Hong Kong's Financial Complaints Authority
    GPO Box 3
    Melbourne VIC 3001