Swaps settlements finalised, time to move on
Swaps settlements finalised, time to move on
Federated
Farmers is pleased the Commerce Commission has now reached
settlements with all three banks, ANZ, ASB and Westpac, over
the sale of interest rate swaps.
Federated Farmers President Dr William Rolleston says the agreements are a fair and equitable solution and it’s time to move on.
“Some rural people signed on for interest rate swaps as long ago as 2005 and so for many customers it has been a long running issue that now can be brought to a conclusion, with the three banks involved set to pay a total sum of $23.67 [figure corrected] million to approximately 256 eligible farmers,” Dr Rolleston says.
“While some farmers felt they were not adequately informed of the risks with swaps, it is important lessons are learned from this. Farmers must get independent advice and be sure they understand the implications of the contracts they sign on to. For their part banks must not take that understanding for granted. Trust between banker and client is paramount, it must be earned and can quickly evaporate.”
Dr Rolleston says banks are an integral part of the farming community and have played a critical support role in adverse events.
“The banks have all been doing a great job in supporting drought affected farmers this year, emphasising the importance of the relationship between farmer and banker.”
“This is a speedy resolution which could have been drawn out to the benefit of no-one and will put the matter behind us.” concluded Dr Rolleston
ends