It wasn’t just toilet paper: Shock figures show Australians started hoarding CASH as corona panic struck - with some withdrawing MILLIONS
- The RBA said people rapidly started withdrawing cash in the later half of March
- As a response it sent truck-loads of cash to make sure banks had enough
- It said the economy is in good shape to absorb the impact from the coronavirus
Panicked Australians have withdrawn millions of dollars from their bank accounts amid the coronavirus crisis, forcing banks to truck in more cash.
Figures released by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) show there was a sharp increase in cash withdrawals as soon as infection rates started to rise.
Writing in their bi-annual Financial Stability Review on Thursday, the bank said rich customers were taking precautions and taking their money out.
'Over-the-counter withdrawals of cash from banks were elevated over the second half of March as some customers with large balances sought to hold precautionary funds,' the report said.
'This included a small number of customers making very large withdrawals (more than $100,000, and in some cases into the millions of dollars).'
Figures released by the Reserve Bank of Australia show how there was a sharp increase in cash withdrawals as soon as infection rates started to rise
The RBA said the volume of withdrawals accelerated to such a degree that it had to increase the amount of cash being trucked to banks to fix currency shortages.
It said Australia had entered the coronavirus pandemic with a strong financial system that enabled it to absorb much of the impact.
'The regulatory authorities have been working closely together to minimise the economic harm caused by the pandemic, to avoid the impairment of household and business balance sheets and to support financial market functioning,' it said.
'These measures, along with the strong starting position of the banking system, increase the financial system's ability to absorb, rather than amplify, the effects of the pandemic.'
The RBA said the volume of withdrawals accelerated to such a degree that it had to increase the amount of cash being trucked to banks to fix currency shortages
The RBA noted banks had healthy cash reserves to meet any demand for withdrawals.
'It is important that financial institutions remain strong so that they are able to support households and businesses during this difficult period and during the recovery once the health crisis has passed,' it said.
It comes as panic buying continues to cripple some supermarkets.
Stock of popular products such as cake mix and cleaning products have been depleted but purchase rates vital supplies such as pasta and toilet paper have slowly returned to normal.
Vital supplies such as toilet paper and pasta have slowly returned to shelves as purchase rates return to normal. Pictured is a Woolworths in Stud Park Shopping Centre, in Melbourne's south
Coles has also rolled back restrictions on mince and fresh milk as it doubled its supplies to reach the relentless demand.
Woolworths boss Brad Banducci recently wrote in a letter to customers
'We're doing our best to keep up with the extraordinary demand for cleaning wipes, including securing extra supply from alternative sources in the short term, much of which will start to arrive in stores in the coming weeks.'
He also said the supermarket sold 21.5 million rolls of toilet paper in the past week and is putting 500,000 new packs of loo rolls and pasta on the shelves every week.
