Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 4 September 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Fodder Shortages and Drought Issues: Discussion

2:30 pm

Mr. Eddie Cullen:

Ulster Bank has supported all the SBCI schemes so far. We were an early adapter and will continue to do that. Mr. Ashmore mentioned that the schemes come with guarantees. I think he used the phrase "effectively providing additional security" to the bank. From a bank's capital position, security is probably the most critical thing when it comes to pricing a loan. Therefore, we have been able to provide low-cost financing through the SBCI in those schemes. Dr. Byrne mentioned that we price based on a risk model and pricing starts at around 4%. That depends on the nature of the enterprise and the nature of the security. That is exactly how we price debt across all sectors, including in agriculture. We would be very open to engaging with the SBCI to look at what further schemes it will bring out.

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