This change is expected to benefit up to 86,000 personal customers who may be suffering from financial hardship as a result of the outbreak.

All personal customers with existing overdrafts in place will not be charged interest during the months of April, May and June 2020. Customers who have already been notified about interest accrued during March and coming out at the end of April, will see the charge refunded to their accounts.

This will apply regardless of the amount of the customer’s current overdraft limit. The change will be applied automatically so customers do not need to take any action.

Existing customers without an overdraft on their personal current account and who may be experiencing difficulties in the current circumstances are eligible to apply for a new overdraft up to £500, which will also have no interest charged up to the end of June. New overdraft requests received will be subject to the Bank’s normal credit assessments.

Richard Caldwell, Managing Director of Personal Banking & Small Business at Danske Bank, said:

“We are working hard to ensure we are providing the right support to customers during the coronavirus crisis. As Northern Ireland’s biggest bank, we play an important role in supporting our customers, who are understandably worried about the impact of the current situation on their finances. We take this responsibility very seriously and are pleased to introduce interest free overdrafts for our existing customers today, adding to the other support measures we have already put in place. ”

The removal of overdraft interest follows a number of other support measures already introduced by Danske Bank. These include:

• Mortgage payment holiday of up to three months, including customers who are residential buy-to-let landlords
• Personal loan payment holidays of up to three months
• Dedicated telephone numbers for vulnerable customers and for NHS workers
• Proactive contact to vulnerable customers to offer assistance
• Setting aside the first hour of branch opening for vulnerable customers, including the elderly and those in need of immediate financial support.

All 40 Danske Bank branches across Northern Ireland remain open to support customers; offering greater branch availability, in terms of opening hours, than any other local bank.

Further information on support measures for both personal and business customers are available at our coronavirus webpage.