RURAL CREDITS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 223, 19 April 1933, Page 6

RURAL CREDITS

Reduction of Interest on Loans Press Association —Copyright Wellington, April IS. —The amount of reduction to be made in the rate of interest on loans made by the Rural Intermediate Credit Board and by co-operative rural intermediate credit associations will be one-half per cent. The present rate on all classes of loans made under the board's lending methods is per cent, and from the beginning of next month the rate on existing and new loans will be 6 per cent.

The board's three methods of financing are through the rural intermediate credit associations, by the granting of loans direct to fanners, and by the discounting of promissory notes. The latest annual report available, that for the year ended June 30, 1932, showed that loans made under all headings from the inception of the board to that date amounted to £937,999. The exact amount of loans made since the beginning of July was not known to-day, but the total sum lent to date was stated to be about £1.000,000. A certain amount of this money has been repaid but the great bulk of it is still on loan. A reduction of one-half per cent, on £1,000,000 represents a saving of £SOOO.

In financing farmers through the rural intermediate credit associations the board has been lending to these associations at the rate of 6 per cent., the associations re-lending to farmers at per cent. The lending rate to associations will now be 5A per cent.