New Credit Union Option Important for Competition in Lending Market

IFA Farm Business Chair Rose Mary McDonagh said Credit Unions expanding their lending to farmers is important for competition in the market.

It has been reported that Credit Unions are planning to expand their Cultivate offering to agriculture with a new secured loan offering of up to €300,000 for 30 years with an APR of 5.49%.

“This is a timely development to add more competition in the Irish market for farmers who require long term lending after the recent departure of Ulster Bank and KBC,” Rose Mary McDonagh said.

“My understanding, from speaking to Credit Union officials, is that as with the original Cultivate offering which has been beneficial to many farmers all over the country this will be introduced to a small number of Credit Unions first and then rolled out to others over time,” she added. “I hope with more competition in the agri lending market that lending can be offered at the lowest rate possible. Farming, like everything else, is going through a period of spiralling costs and its imperative that farmers can access finance at competitive rates,” she concluded.