Agribank is a bank, offering loans for agricultural equipment. It will be funded with fixed-term savings products sold to ordinary British households through independent financial advisers.
Frank Sekula, former head of high-yield capital markets at Barclays Capital, has set up the business with Matthew Smart, a former BNP Paribas banker who runs the agricultural finance broker Eastern Counties Finance.
Sekula, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, runs a 2,000-acre arable farm in the Cotswolds. His father-in-law, a former grain trader from Memphis, Tennessee, acquired the farm several years ago.
Smart’s family has been farming in the Cambridgeshire fens for generations. Since starting Eastern Counties 12 years ago, Smart claims he has never lost money on a loan to a farmer.
The bank has been set up in Malta and is lending into the UK through the European Union’s passport system. The savings bonds are not covered by any depositor guarantee scheme, but as a result, will pay interest rates about 10% higher than the rest of the market.
Sekula and Smart set up the bank with £6.5m of capital and own the business 50-50. They hope to lend about £60m in the first year, with most of the deals sourced through Eastern Counties.
Sekula said: “A lot of banks have pulled back from agricultural lending and from asset finance. We understand farming, and we know the risks.”
Farm Credit Organizations Donate $25,000 to Support Nebraska Disaster Relief
Contribution to American Red Cross Will Support Immediate Relief Efforts to Impacted Communities and has Agribank Service Under 501c3.
Omaha – (June 26, 2014) – Three Farm Credit organizations have committed $25,000 to support disaster relief efforts in Nebraska, where each serves rural communities affected by recent storms.
The joint contribution to the American Red Cross comes from AgriBank (St. Paul, Minn.), CoBank (Denver, Colo.) and Farm Credit Services of America (Omaha, Neb.) The Red Cross has provided temporary shelter for tornado victims, mobile food programs and first aid services, as well as emotional support. The Farm Credit funds help the Red Cross meet the needs of individuals and entire communities.
“We are grateful to Farm Credit for their generous gift and timely response,” said Tina Labellarte, Region CEO, American Red Cross. “The Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters in the United States every year. We couldn’t do what we do without the generosity of our donors.”
“All Farm Credit organizations share a common mission, which is to support agriculture and the other key sectors of the rural economy in good times and bad,” said Mike Hechtner, central region president for CoBank in Omaha. “Our hearts go out to the people who have been impacted by these storms, and we hope that this contribution will help to address some of the most immediate needs in the community.”
“Our employees have had the opportunity to work alongside storm victims as they clean up their homes, farms and communities,” said Doug Stark, CEO and president of Farm Credit Services of America. “The determination and can-do spirit shown by those whose lives have been upended is inspirational. But we also understand that it will take time and resources for affected communities to recover. Our hope is that these donated funds serve as a foundation for rebuilding.”
Keri Votruba, a cattle and grain operator in Hemingford, Neb. and a member of the AgriBank Board of Directors said the gift was personal for him: “The devastation is heartbreaking, he said. “And it puts the spotlight on rural communities – like mine – that often get overlooked because their populations are small. But their contribution is huge. These communities are the lifeblood of American agriculture. And we want to honor that contribution by being there for them in their time of need.”
