Bank of Ireland Launches €100m Agri Assist Loan Fund

Eoin Lowry, Head of Agri Sector, Bank of Ireland, is pictured with the Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue TD, at the launch of the new €100m Agri Assist loan fund. Bank of Ireland is the first Irish bank to bring this new fund to market, which has been specifically designed to support farmers dealing with the rapidly increasing cost of farm inputs such as feed and fertiliser

Bank of Ireland has today announced the launch of a €100m Agri Assist loan fund, which has been specifically designed to support farmers dealing with the rapidly increasing cost of farm inputs such as feed and fertiliser.

Bank of Ireland, as part of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee established by the Minister for Agriculture, recognises the challenging environment many farmers across the country are now operating in.

To help farmers meet these challenges, Bank of Ireland is the first Irish bank to launch its own Agri Assist product to support farmers currently dealing with the rise in farm input costs. With the price of fertiliser tripling over the past number of months in tandem with feed grain prices doubling, the Agri Assist loan fund is now open to farmers looking to better manage their enterprises through a period of high input price inflation and ongoing supply pressures.

A key feature of the Agri Assist loan is that farmers can avail of additional working capital for their farm at a competitive 3.86% rate with extended repayment terms of up to 3 years.

With Bank of Ireland’s support farmers can also now apply to the Agri Assist Loan Fund to;

Finance the cost of growing grass, silage and tillage crops
Provide funding to pay merchant or co-op bills for feed or fertilizer
Avail of loans up to €100,000 under a discounted rate of 3.86%,
Set suitable loan terms ranging from 6 months to 3 years depending on need

Bank of Ireland’s dedicated Agri support team will continue to keep the issue under constant review, working with farmers as the situation evolves. A recent United Nations report revealed that world food commodity prices hit their highest ever levels in March, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine blocking off a major part of global grain supply. The Agri Assist loan fund is the latest in a line of Bank of Ireland supports in response to the fast-moving Ukraine situation, with the Bank already committed to;

Over 1,000 new bank accounts opened for recently arrived Ukrainians.
Refunding charges for anyone sending money to Ukraine and Moldova
Total Bank of Ireland donations supporting the Ukraine response now over €270,000
Applying all enhanced international banking sanctions
Supporting displaced Ukrainians through its Vulnerable Customer Unit.

Eoin Lowry, Head of Agri Sector, Bank of Ireland said: “Bank of Ireland currently provides more than 50% of new lending to the agri sector, and our primary role is to support and advise farmers on meeting challenges as they arise. There is no doubt that the increasing price of farm inputs, has placed extra strain on farm cashflows. Given that only one third of farmers currently have borrowings, we have launched the Agri Assist loan fund to ease some of this strain.”

“This new €100m fund provides an additional level of support to farmers so that they can ensure they have sufficient cash to manage their farms through the summer months. Bank of Ireland is proud to be the first Irish bank to bring this to market, and has worked as part of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee to devise our own practical solution that will help farmers, many of whom may never have taken out a loan up to now. I would encourage farmers looking for assistance to come and talk to us, so that we can explore the steps on offer to enhancing their financial wellbeing.”