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NatWest has announced increased support for agricultural customers in response to the severe flooding across England and Wales.
NatWest’s agricultural team are offering individual financial solutions to any customers impacted, with support available for those hit by adverse weather conditions both in the “short, medium and long term”.
Ian Burrow, head of agriculture at NatWest Group, said: “We are here to support our customers in the farming sector through this difficult period.
“Our agricultural managers have in-depth knowledge of the sector, including being able to offer individual financial support, where needed, to help customers navigate the recent flooding.
“We would urge affected customers to get in touch with their local agriculture relationship manager to discuss how we can help.”
The range of measures introduced to support NatWest agriculture customers include:
- Loan repayment holidays
- Interest rate reduction
- Temporary emergency loans with no fees
- Overdraft facilities
- Working capital support
- Helping with financing strategies via access to specialist bank staff.
The adverse weather means that farmers may struggle to get onto the land to lift or harvest crops. Forage crops and winter fodder stocks may also be compromised.
Cropping and feeding decisions may have to be changed resulting in additional costs to the business, including any decisions to re-plant.
For crops that are unable to be harvested or additional feed that has to be purchased, businesses will have a bottom-line impact in the short to medium term. Additionally, there may also be additional costs associated with the remediation of land and buildings.
NatWest said today’s announcement builds on the bank’s “strong commitment” to the agricultural sector.
NatWest Group has previously confirmed an additional £1.25billion lending package for farmers, taking its total lending capacity to the agricultural sector to £6.7billion.
This lending package supports the industry in dealing with a variety of cost pressures and aims to aid farmers in making the transition to more sustainable practices.
Mr Burrows said: “As always, we are also here to support our customers in the long-term. The disruption caused by the flooding has the potential to significantly impact planting and crop rotations.
“This is why we encourage customers to discuss the impact on their own individual business with their manager to establish if it might be appropriate to consider altering the bank facilities currently in place.”
