John Howard asks banks to help farmers yesterday. In his strongest and most emotive attack on banks, Mr Howard said farmers had contributed significantly to the banks' record profits and now it was payback time. The banks have got to help. They have got to realise that you have to take the bad with the good.
People expect the banks to play their part.
Banks, which had made handsome profits from the farming sector, had to contribute just as government was doing, he said. He said banks could defer interest payments or offer loan relief to those people hard hit. The governments agreed to waive conditions for farmers to qualify for exceptional circumstance funding to accelerate the process. The Australian Bankers' Association said individual banks would waive fees on new loans. But the banks were reluctant to consider issues raised by the NSW Farmers' Association, such as waiving interest payments on current debts.