Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 24 November 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Dairy Industry: Discussion (Resumed)

2:00 pm

Mr. Ken Burke:

We have given that at a 2% discount on our standard variable business loan rate. We estimated the SBCI benefit at 1% and we matched that and, in notional terms, decided that we would give another 1% discount. So it is an all-in rate of 4.5%. That rate is for longer-term investment capital for farms. Blended alongside that, we have the lowest working capital funding in the market, at just over 4%. We have the right armoury and suite of financial products to give real low-cost funding and we are seeing farmers proactively engage with us to refinance their merchant credit. The working capital facility is not just open to AIB customers. Customers of other banks can avail of that farmer credit line facility and blend it with their other bank facilities.