Wage subsidies extended; business loans, mortgage support coming

Wage subsidies extended; business loans, mortgage support coming
Pattrick Smellie
The government has scrapped the $150,000 upper limit a business can claim under the covid-19 wage subsidy scheme as part of a wider package of new initiatives to make credit available to viable firms and take the pressure off home mortgage payments.Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced the change, which will blow the cost of wage subsidies out from an estimated $5.1 billion to $9.3 billion.The rules of the scheme are also being tweaked to deal with companies that had been experiencing strong revenue growth before the covid-19 crisis hit.La...

More Economy

Otago a lukewarm jewel of economic temperature: survey
Finance

Otago a lukewarm jewel of economic temperature: survey

An economic thermometer reveals a cool-to-cold mood hanging over NZ, with Otago lukewarm.

Reserve Bank to ease mortgage loan-to-value ratios
Economy

Reserve Bank to ease mortgage loan-to-value ratios

The bank is relaxing LVR settings from the start of December.

Rebecca Howard 14 Oct 2025
Growth in new home loans eases in H1 2025: NZ Banking Association
Finance

Growth in new home loans eases in H1 2025: NZ Banking Association

Growth in new home loans eases in H1 2025 as NZ emerges from difficult economic climate.

Staff reporters 13 Oct 2025
When the Hopium wears off
Opinion

Dileepa Fonseka: When the Hopium wears off

Whatever happened to all those green shoots?

Dileepa Fonseka 13 Oct 2025