Rural Bank offers varied assistance

Press, 21 May 1982, Page 9

Rural Bank offers varied assistance

Farmers who are seriously affected by the drought can receive help from the Rural Bank in a number of ways, according to Mr Stewart Wright, district appraiser of the bank for Canterbury.

"Any assistance from the bank will be based on the requirements of the individual farmer, taking into account his over-all financial position and feed requirements,” said Mr Wright. The Canterbury offices have received a lot of inquiries from farmers about assistance. Mr Wright urged farmers who were having difficulty coping with the effects of the drought to contact their local office of the Rural Bank. "Two very important aspects that require careful consideration by farmers are the maintenance of recently completed development and the present level of feed reserves for stock,” said Mr Wright. . “The bank can help existing mortgagors to obtain sufficient financial relief by postponing principal repayments on existing loans. "However, further assistance may be required with additional funds to improve the over-all financial position of farmers and allow them to make a reasonable and confident recovery from the drought.

“These funds,may be utilised in the purchase of essential feed, topdressing and other items of farm expenditure. “Farmers who are involved in a livestock incentive programme in conjunction with development, and who are unable to meet their livestock increase commitments this year should contact their local office of the Rural Bank with a view ,to having the programme postponed for a further year,” said Mr Wright. Seasonal requests from farmers for assistance have always been a high priority of the Bank of New Zealand, according to the bank’s district manager for Canterbury (Mr W. J. Lancaster). The drought had accentuated farmers’ problems this year. "The over-all assistance that the bank gives to farmers has increased considerably during the last couple of years and with the advent of the tight liquidity position the bank has to consider each request on its merits in order to ensure the available funds are used to their best advantage,” said Mr Lancaster. Branch managers have been asked to discuss requests for assistance with their farming customers as soon as possible, said Mr Lancaster.