ANZ announces drought farm repossession moratorium
The ANZ Bank has announced a 12-month moratorium on farm repossessions in Northern and Western Queensland and North-West New South Wales.
ANZ CEO Australia Philip Chronican noted some of the worst drought conditions in a generation in the announcement which was the first of the big banks to respond to growing calls for Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey to intervene.
Queensland vet Dr David Pascoe; the Katters, the Queensland independent politician father-son team; Longreach-based Father Matthew Moloney; federal agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce and 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones have been among those putting pressure on the banks to stop the current spate of repossessions ahead of the wet season.
"We are acutely aware of the impact this is having on farmers, their families and on farming communities," Philip Chronican noted.
“The aim of these measures is to ease financial concerns of farmers and to demonstrate ANZ’s commitment to working with them through the cycle,” he said.
The new package includes:
- Moratorium on new farm repossessions until December 2015.
- 12-month commitment not to increase interest rates on distressed farms and interest rate relief in cases of extreme distress.
- Financial assistance to support farmers choosing to relocate off the land.
- Increased funding for rural counselling focussed on towns hardest hit by drought.