“The long term strategy of Bank of Ireland is to increase market share in the agri sector” William Thompson, the bank’s Agri Manager in Northern Ireland told a meeting of the NI Grain Trade Associatin.
William stated that a dedicated £50 million investment fund was open to new and existing customers involved in agri related businesses and he noted that since the launch of the bank’s Agri Fund in October 2011 over £20 million in funding to agri businesses has been approved.
Commenting on the agri sector William agreed that all sectors are facing challenging times in the short term, but he was optimistic about the long term view, and emphasised that efficiency is key now more that ever.
Planning ahead is crucial and scale is not always the best option unless the farmer has profit – get better before getting bigger!
William went on to say that the weaker euro will impact farm income, make exports less attractive and imports more attractive. The exchange for the Single Farm Payment is due to be set at end of Sept, with a drop anticipated of 10% on 2011 equating to a 30million reduction, spread across the agri sector !
He added “Bank of Ireland is open for business and will assess each client on an individual basis„ we are committed to growing our presence in the agri sector.”
NIGTA Bank of Ireland Meeting September 2012
