Changes Urged In Development Loans

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31780, 10 September 1968, Page 16

Changes Urged In Development Loans

The Hawarden-Waikari branch of Federated Farmers wants loans made to farmers by the State Advances Corporation to make development more attractive.

The branch wants interest rates to remain constant, capital repayments to be postponed until adverse economic conditions are over, the terms of table mortgages to be extended from 15 to 20 or 25 years, and farmers who already have loans to have the option of having these conditions extended to them subject to their development to date being up to the required standard. A remit from the branch came before a meeting of the North Canterbury Agricultural Advisory Committee yesterday. It was referred to the committee’s finance subcommittee after Mr M. H. Rogers, of the State Advances Corporation, told the committee that the interest rate on such loans came up for review every five years. Earlier, he said he did not know of any change in the rates of interest, which were 5f per cent on first mortgages and 6 per cent on subsequent mortgages. He said he did not think there was any intention to change these rates. A development loan was a personal thing, he said. In-

terest only was payable in the period of development and then repayments were generally on a long-term basis, which would be mainly from 15 to 25 years. Mr A. F. Wright said any proposal to have the rate of interest held over a period of, say, 25 years, overlooked the possibility that the date could come when interest rates might come down.