Hand: we’ve got to support our farmers

To help customers through this difficult time, ANZ has announced a range of measures including reduced business interest rates and setting aside $A130 million for discounted loans for farmers.

"We've got thousands of staff who spend their time with customers out in the network.” - Hand

ANZ Group Executive Australian Business and Private Banking Mark Hand says this is not something ANZ has done out of the blue.

“We've been working with our farming communities for a long time in terms of helping them in situations like this,” he says.

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“We're all keen to have a short, medium and longer term benefit [for] customers to help them through this and any subsequent times where this arises.”

The measures will help make resources available for farmers so they can look after their cash flow and position for the next 12 months.

ANZ has also announced a solution for Farm Management Deposits as a tax effective tool for customers to utilise in tough times.

“We've got thousands of staff who spend their time with customers out in the network [and] understand that we're constantly reassessing what we've put in front and… we've got to be supportive,” he says.

According to Hand, ANZ will work with industry bodies to understand what it can do to help promote small, sustainable farming.

“It's in the interest of the farmers and it's in our interest to make sure we can help them make more sustainable and more resilient to shocks like this,” he says.

Watch the video above for the whole conversation.

Andrew Cornell is managing editor of bluenotes.