Thank you for the chance to respond to the letter from ‘A Taxpayer’. Firstly, let me commend their eye for detail as they did identify an error in the numbers provided by Ministry of Finance and Economic Development previously.

The $821,507 in repayments were those from the June quarter of 2023 only, and the correct amount of total repayments to 30 June 2023 is $2.996 million.

This, along with the interest accrued on the loans which were offered in late 2020 as a means to help businesses stay afloat during the border closure, account for the amount referenced in the letter.

The release on the MFEM website has also been updated to correct this error, and thank you for bringing this to our attention.

This error was in reporting only, and has not impacted the loan balances or repayment schedules of the 123 loans still outstanding.

The key elements of the programme (as in the media release) are:

• Total amount lent by the Government - $6.904 million to 151 borrowers
• Total repayments (in principal and interest) by 30 June 2023 was $2.996 million (amended as previous reported figure was quarterly)
• There are 123 loans still being paid off by borrowers, with an aggregate balance of $4,369,556
• Of the 123 loans, 47 loans (38%) are in arrears (behind in their payments) - 27 companies are behind in their payments by more than 181 days. 
• The total amount in arears (late payments due) is $255,201 (22% of the value of those loans in arears)

Ministry of Finance and Economic Management Secretary Garth Henderson