Bank of Ireland to support farmers impacted by Covid-19 crisis

Supports include emergency working capital and payment flexibility

Bank of Ireland is asking farmers who may be worried about the impact of Covid-19 to make contact and review its range of supports. The Bank has a broad range of supports available to farmers including the provision of emergency working capital and payment flexibility on loan facilities.

The impact of coronavirus is being felt in many ways across different business sectors, but the impact on the agricultural sector has been particularly strong over the past week. Many large food service companies have temporarily closed and the latest restriction on restaurants, cafes and marts has a knock-on impact on the sector and has led to a significant increase in calls from farmers with concerns over finances.

Discussing the impact from Covid-19, Eoin Lowry, Head of Agriculture, Bank of Ireland said: “We are acutely aware of the issues which farmers are facing, and those challenges have ramped up considerably in recent days. We want to reassure farmers that we understand the challenges and we are committed to supporting farmers across the country. We have the supports in place to alleviate some of the challenges and impact being felt from Covid-19.

“We are prioritising Covid-19 requests during this period of uncertainty, and I would encourage any farmer with concerns to contact us. We will work with them to identify what supports they need, including options such as emergency working capital and payment flexibility.”

We have set up a Business Hub on our website with a range of supports for business customers during the COVID-19 crisis. These include a repayment break option and the deferral of business current account fees.

For more information on these supports, please click here.

Farmers concerned about the impact of coronavirus are encouraged to review the supports above or contact their Relationship Manager or the Bank’s Agri Business Managers