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A major bank has outlined how it plans to enhance debt support for its farm finance borrowers, following high-profile comments from a government minister.
The move comes after agriculture minister David Littleproud accused Commonwealth Bank of “falling short” on its support for rural and farm finance customers. He made headlines last week when he instructed farmers to tell their banks to “take a running jump”.
In a statement released on Friday, CBA stated it will “make a credit adjustment for customers with eligible FMDs and business loans.”
The amount of the adjustment will be calculated based on the relative balances of the FMD and the business loan for FY18 with the credit made pending customer acceptance of this offer.
The bank will be writing to customers with eligible FMDs to inform them of changes that will be made in light of new government’s rules regarding FMD offset arrangements.
The statement continued, “We believe this will benefit those farmers with eligible FMDs, especially those who are in need because of the worsening drought.”
Grant Cairns, executive GM of regional and agribusiness banking, said: “Our priority is helping farmers who are doing it tough because of the drought. We are pleased to extend our package of drought assistance measures to include this new offer for farmers with eligible FMDs and business loans, which we believe will give them additional peace of mind.”
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