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Just three out of four banks are offering the Future Growth Loan Scheme (FGLS) to farmers, despite the Department of Agriculture contributing part of the seed money to fund the scheme.
KBC has been allocated €50m of the overall €300m scheme, but said it is focusing its lending to “eligible professional businesses and SMEs”.
Ulster Bank has also been allocated €50m but has set aside part of the fund for farm customers.
Brexit
The scheme aims to provide long-term, low-cost loans to businesses and farmers to help deal with the repercussions of Brexit.
The overall loan fund has been increased to €300m, with almost €120m available for farm customers.
To date, farmers have shown strong demand for the loan scheme with an expectation that it would have been oversubscribed before the announcement of increased funding.
Banks have the option of being able to lend 48% of their allocation to farmers.
Under its allocation, AIB can lend up to €43m and Bank of Ireland can lend €52.8m to farm customers.
If KBC were lending to farmers, it would mean farmers could have access to an additional €24m.
SHARING OPTIONS: