Generation after generation of farmers have relied upon a strong banking sector to provide finance.
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However, long gone are the days of the local bank manager who knew clients intimately and often made decisions on trust, where the customer trusted the bank in return.
Now decisions are made by faceless people with absolutely no idea of the character of those they deal with.
Unconscionable behaviour in the rural sector was highlighted at the Banking Royal Commission but so far the only rural recommendation seems to be that penalty interest should not be charged on defaults during drought.
But what about those that drove farmers to despair? Surely they are not going to escape prosecution, penalty or industry censure.
What is needed now is a dedicated rural bank offering finance at concession rates that takes into account fluctuating seasons and export market volatility.
In Victoria the state government-owned Rural Finance Corporation established an enviable record of lending for farm purchase and expansion until a state Liberal government sold it to the Bendigo Bank.
Also before becoming a public company the federal government-owned Commonwealth Bank controlled the Commonwealth Development Bank which gave assistance to farmers in a variety of ways.
The Rural Investment Corporation set up by Barnaby Joyce has limited scope offering $2 billion in drought or farm investment loans valued up to $1 million at a 3.58 per cent variable interest rate. But it is a start.