Flexible payment options for Great Southern borrowers

Yesterday's Supreme Court approval of the Great Southern  settlement means 2000 people who borrowed money from our bank now must repay it  in the same way all our other borrowers do.

Media reports have speculated that the bank will now start  throwing people out of their homes if they can't repay us immediately. That's  not right.

The court  decision confirms that borrowers must repay the principal and interest due on  their loans. The bank agreed with the Judge's request to delay any action to  recover loans until 2 February 2015.

Many  borrowers will be able to repay us immediately and will do so to clear their  debt and move on.

Some  borrowers won't have the money to do that, and although we are entitled to  demand immediate repayment, we won't be doing so. Instead, we'll be happy to  discuss options including restructuring loans over longer periods to provide  borrowers with flexible options.

Our aim is  to work with people to ensure they don't suffer hardship. Legal action or  foreclosure is the last thing we want, but as we have always said, we do expect  the money to be repaid.

The best  thing borrowers can do is contact us immediately on 1300 677 885. The sooner  they talk to us, the sooner we can agree arrangements that will provide them  with certainty about their finances.

Borrowers  will next week receive a letter from us explaining the situation.