Australia’s biggest home lender, Commonwealth Bank, had 174,000 home loans on deferral arrangements at the end of August (7.4 per cent of loans in the portfolio) – down from 182,000 in July and 210,000 in June.

CBA chief executive Matt Comyn said in a statement: “As we approach the end of the initial deferral period, we have been contacting all customers with deferred loans to talk with them about their options, including returning to full or part payment, or converting their loans to interest only.

“Many of those contacted will be able to recommence their repayments. For customer who are facing financial hardship, we are reaching out to offer solutions tailored to their individual needs.”

The value of CBA home loans on deferral is A$59 billion (9.8 per cent of total balances) – down from $62 billion in July and $67 billion in June.

A third of the home loans on deferral (32.6 per cent) are investment loans, 14.6 per cent are interest only and 13.5 per cent have an LVR of more than 90 per cent.

SME loan deferrals have come down from 19.4 per cent of the number of loans in the portfolio (and 28.4 per cent of the balances) in June to 15.5 per cent of the number and 24.1 per cent of the balances of the portfolio at the end of August.