Bank steps in to help flood victims
Members of the emegergency services evacuate residents from flooded house by boat after the River Taff burst its banks in Nantgarw, south of Ponypridd in south Wales on February 16, 2020, after Storm Dennis caused flooding across large swathes of Britain. - As Storm Dennis sweeps in, the country is bracing itself for widespread weather disruption for the second weekend in a row. Experts have warned that conditions amount to a "perfect storm", with hundreds of homes at risk of flooding. (Photo by GEOFF CADDICK / AFP)
NatWest Bank has today announced that they will be introducing measures to help support personal and business customers who have been affected by the serious flooding across England and Wales. Storm Dennis has affected hundreds of homes and businesses in Wales this week, with hundreds of families forced to evacuate their homes and businesses, and more bad weather is forecast for later this week.
The bank are introducing the following measures to support their customers:
For personal customers:
• Mortgage and loan repayment deferral for up to three months
• Customers can close fixed savings accounts to access cash with no early closure charge
• Refunds on credit card cash advance fees
• Customers can apply for increased temporary credit card limit
• Customers can request an increased cash withdrawal limit of up to £500
• Insurance teams have deployed field personnel in branded vehicles to the flooded areas to give immediate response & advice to customers
• Insurance teams have identified and made contact with vulnerable customers
For business customers:
• Loan repayment holidays
• Interest rate reductions
• Temporary emergency loans with no fees
• Overdraft facilities
• Working capital support
• Helping with financing strategies via access to specialist bank staff
• Customers with deposit balances in Notice and/or Fixed Term products have immediate access to cash before 31st March, with no penalty for immediate access, and credit interest will accrue to the date of balance withdrawal
Alison Rose, CEO NatWest Bank, explains that customers should get in touch to access the bank’s support:
“We are helping customers and business owners affected by the recent flooding by providing additional credit or access to finance where needed, so they can concentrate on getting their homes or businesses back to normal. We would urge affected customers to get in touch with us, either by phone or in a branch, to discuss how we can help.”
Customers should call the following numbers, or visit a branch to talk to a member of staff or their Relationship Manager:
NatWest personal banking 03457 888 444
RBS personal Banking (with accounts in England) 0345 900 0400
NatWest Business Banking 03457 114 477