Where are Canadian Banks?

[TOM4CWB]

http://www.farmwide.com.au/viewarticle2.asp?artid=289

Banks promise drought aid for farmers

Major Australian banks have undertaken to make special financial arrangements for embattled farmers facing one of the worst droughts in 100 years.
They promised Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson, yesterday that they would help farmers rearrange their affairs to cope with the drought.

The banks said they would not impose penalty fees on farmers affected by lack of rain, and provide assurance that financial arrangements put in place before the drought still applied if farmers needed to rearrange their affairs.

Commonwealth Bank chief executive, David Murray, is quoted in the Australian Financial Review as saying that the banks would not apply penalty interest rates in financial restructuring, so that the effects of the government assistance package did not get swallowed up in bank fees.

Mr Murray is also chair of the Australian Bankers Association.

National Australia Bank’s agribusiness general manager, Mike Carroll, said the bank would spend about $3 million adding 35 people to its 480-strong agribusiness section, according to the Review.

He said this would enable quicker and more flexible response to clients’ needs.
Mr Carroll said the bank would continue to offer loan fee concessions where customers were suffering from dry conditions.

The Government has already announced an additional $368 million three-year drought assistance package that included interest rate subsidies for farmers, with about $200 million available this year.

And Prime Minister, John Howard, during a recent visit to drought-stricken areas of NSW, announced new drought aid measures.
These include changes to the use by farmers of farm management deposits, personal counselling, environmental funding, pest animal management funding and emergency funding to be provided though the Country Women’s Association.

The new measures will cost $4 million.

The drought is expected to slash 17 percent off Australian farm output in 2002-03, and help cut economic growth from 3.75 percent to 3 percent, according to official forecasts released by Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello.
- Le Gras News
Publishedecember 17, 2002

The Canadian banking sector has been so quiet... you would think the 2002 drought had not even happened.

[ValueChainFX]

Our Canadian Banks are showing some true colors to the agriculture communities now as much as I do not like to send out negative, I have to say we have tried working with the banks to put together packages that would be win / win for the agriculture community. In the end (so far) we were told that each case was decided on the merit of the producer. However, off the books I was told that Government backed loans or tough agriculture times dictated the directions the banks take. Most times no talk just take!!
Pretty sad by that sector of our Agriculture community at the moment. You would think the banks would want to look at something that would help them help us! Whatever!!! Guess when it comes down to it, we are going to end up helping ourselves. As for the banks ... sorry I give them a thumbs down on their performance!

[carebear300]

I have one little bit of accompanying information to add for what it is worth. Last year when I went to negotiate for my operating line of credit I was trying to get it as cheap as possible just like everyone else does, that is only good business. In the course of these discussions the loans officer slipped up and told me that just because I was a farmer I was penalized a certain amount of points compared to if I was involved in some other similar small business. So I would have to pay a higher interest rate than a comparable small business. It sure makes you feel good to be such an esteemed segment of our society.