Feds welcome rural banking inquiry

Federated Farmers spokesman Richard McIntyre says a lot of hard work needs to be done to ensure the rural banking inquiry results in real change for farmers.

Federated Farmers have “cautiously welcomed” the Government’s announcement of an independent inquiry into rural banking, but in a statement the Feds say questions remain about just how “rural” it will be.

Gisborne-Wairoa Federated Farmers supported the call and provincial president Charlie Reynolds said he had been getting an increasing number of calls from farmers here reporting banking issues.

“The announcement of an independent inquiry is a great first step towards a fairer banking system for farming families,” said Feds national spokesman Richard McIntyre.

“But it’s important to remember that it’s only the first step.

“There’s still a lot of hard work that needs to be done to ensure the inquiry results in real change for farmers.”

McIntyre said the terms of reference, and who ended up sitting around the table, would be what “makes or breaks” this inquiry.

“The Government need to make sure this inquiry is set up to succeed from day one, because farmers cannot afford for them to get it wrong.

“It’s absolutely critical that MPs are able to look under the right stones, speak to the right people, and ask the right questions that will allow them to get to the bottom of things.

“That means looking at more than just the level of competition in our rural banking, but also things like how Reserve Bank rules and regulations affect farm lending.”

Federated Farmers were also concerned that the issues farmers are facing might just get buried under a pile of problems with mortgages and personal banking.

“There is a very real risk here that rural issues end up playing second fiddle to wider concerns about general banking,” McIntyre said.

“That would be a total disaster for Kiwi farmers, who have been asking some very fair questions for a long time now and deserve some answers.”