Ivan Yates
Question:142 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the instrument which he will use in future to provide credit for the agricultural sector if the Agricultural Credit Corporation is privatised and sold as proposed.
Written Answers. - Credit for Agricultural Sector.
Agricultural credit is provided by a wide range of financial institutions including the ACC Bank, formerly the Agricultural Credit Corporation. ACC-Bank accounts for about 15 per cent of the agricultural credit market. Although there is no longer a restriction imposed on ACC-Bank that it must provide a certain proportion of its total lending to the agricultural sector, agriculture remains a core part of the bank's business and it is likely to continue to be an important supplier of credit to the agricultural sector should it be privatised.