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The recently announced inquiry is well placed to shine a bright light on parts of the rural banking system that, until now, have been allowed to operate in the shadows.
OPINION: Finally we have a government that is brave enough to tackle the big banks on how they treat their rural clientele.
For too long the farming sector has had concerns about the levels of competition, profitability and transparency in rural lending. Concerns about banking have consistently topped the list of issues in Federated Farmers' regular farm confidence survey.
The recently announced inquiry is well placed to shine a bright light on parts of the rural banking system that, until now, have been allowed to operate in the shadows.
Federated Farmers notes that any concerns they had about just how 'rural' this inquiry would be have been well and truly put to bed with these terms of reference.
Everything they hoped to see included is in there, including questions about rural banking competition, transparency mechanisms, credit risk models, and open banking. There are also some very specific questions about the return on capital banks are getting from rural lending and the level of interest rates charged to the sector.
There's also rural accessibility to digital banking services. Rural banking customers are being short-changed with regular bank branch and ATM closures making even basic banking tasks difficult - simple things such as cash withdrawals and deposits, access to personal banking services over loans and mortgages and small businesses having to travel long distances to bank their takings and maintain a cash float.
Figures from the Reserve Bank show that over the past 20 years there has been an up to 45% contraction of bank branch and ATM numbers across New Zealand, leaving 95 towns unbanked and underbanked.
While the trend is to push customers to do more of their banking online or on the phone, for many rural communities, poor digital connectivity remains a big impediment. Farmers have been crying out for a banking inquiry. Over the next four weeks, ensure your submission reaches Parliament. It's time to find some genuine, practical and rapid solutions on rural banking.
OPINION: Recent media commentary from Southland Federated Farmers has raised concerns among our rural communities, particularly around Environment Southland’s approach to winter grazing inspections and nitrogen reporting. But let’s be clear, much of what’s been said simply doesn’t reflect reality.
OPINION: Environment Canterbury's (ECan) decision recently to declare a so-called “nitrate emergency” is laughable.
A shameless political stunt is how Federated Farmers is describing the Canterbury Regional Council decision to declare “a nitrate emergency” on the back of its latest annual groundwater quality survey.
Federated Farmers say Environment Canterbury's decision to declare a 'nitrate emergency' is a shameless political stunt that won't help anyone.
Farmers want the Government to scrap controversial freshwater rules that "put river spirits and ideology ahead of practical water use", says Federated Farmers board member Mark Hooper.
BNZ says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through an innovative new initiative that helps make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking a little easier.
LIC chief executive David Chin says meeting the revised methane reduction targets will rely on practical science, smart technology, and genuine collaboration across the sector.
Lincoln University Dairy Farm will be tweaking some management practices after an animal welfare complaint laid in mid-August, despite the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) investigation into the complaint finding no cause for action.
A large slice of the $3.2 billion proposed capital return for Fonterra farmer shareholders could end up with the banks.
Opening a new $3 million methane research barn in Waikato this month, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay called on the dairy sector to “go as fast as you can and prove the concepts”.
New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.
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