Bank of Queensland, which was identified earlier this year as the authorised deposit-taking institution with the highest level of deferred loans, has reported a significant fall in deferral numbers over the past few months.

At the end of November, BOQ had 2500 home loans in deferral – down from 12,000 in June. The proportion of home loans in deferral fell from 11 per cent to 2.3 per cent over that period.

The total balance of home loans in deferral at the end of November was A$889 million – down from $4.5 billion in June. The proportion of home loan balances in deferral fell from 14 per cent to 2.9 per cent over that period.

In its SME loan portfolio, at the end of November BOQ had 3300 loans in deferral – down from 20,000 in June. The proportion of SME loans in deferral has fallen from 11.7 per cent to 2 per cent over that period.

The total balance of SME loans in deferral at the end of November was $390 million – down from $2.7 billion in June. The proportion of SME loan balances in deferral has fallen from 22 per cent to 3.2 per cent over the same period.

BOQ chief executive George Frazis said in a statement: “It is really pleasing to see the vast majority of our customers who accessed the banking relief package resuming repayments. We will continue to work with the remaining 3 per cent still accessing our relief packages to support them in their recovery.”

BOQ’s high deferral rates were a result of its exposure to Queensland tourist districts in its home lending business and to the property and construction sectors in its SME division.