Rabobank to allow farmers to offset loans

Rabobank has become the latest bank to allow farmers to offset money put away during good times against loans.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has urged farmers to tell Westpac and ANZ to "jam it" over their refusal to help producers save for tough times.

It comes after Rabobank became the latest lender to let farmers offset money put away for the good times against loan interest.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud welcomed the decision by foreign-owned Rabobank, before ramping up the heat on two of Australia's big four banks.

He wants Westpac and ANZ to fall in line and offer farmers the option to use their farm management deposits as an offset against their loans.

"Farmers banking with Westpac and ANZ should be telling them to jam it and go somewhere else if they don't offer FMD offset," Mr Littleproud said on Monday.

He said Westpac and ANZ's donation to drought causes were too small to be calculated as a percentage of their multi-billion dollar profits.

"It's all very well giving a relatively small amount of money and getting your mug on the telly, but what would really make a difference to our farmers is an FMD offset product," Mr Littleproud said.

Rabobank Australia chief executive Peter Knoblanche said the bank had reviewed its offering in light of the drought sweeping large parts of Australia.

Commonwealth Bank announced last week it will offer a credit adjustment for customers with eligible farm management deposits and business loans.

NAB started to offer the mechanism last month, while Rural Bank was the first lender to allow offsets of farm management deposits.

Australian farmers have more than $6 billion in farm management deposits, with individuals allowed up to $800,000 in an FMD.

They could potentially save up to $24,000 a year if their bank offers an offset of three per cent interest.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the measure provided support for farmers' resilience.

Rabobank last week confirmed it would not charge drought-stricken farmers penalty interest on loan repayments, along with CBA, ANZ and Westpac.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world