ANZ wins major agri award

ANZ wins major agri award
CANSTAR releases annual agribusiness award today.

In a recent speech the Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, described New Zealand as a nation of over 4 million that feeds around 40 million. The primary sector accounts for approximately 70% of New Zealand’s traded exports; agriculture, forestry and fishing (excluding mining) adds approximately $7.85 billion to our annual gross domestic product (GDP). The wellbeing of the primary sector influences, directly or indirectly, the wellbeing of all New Zealanders. It is a sector that faces challenges though, including geography, staff retention and fragmentation. Then there are the seasonal fluctuations, including the current well-documented North Island drought.

“The specialized nature of farming enterprises requires a banking approach that differs from standard retail,” says CANSTAR General Manager - New Zealand, Derek Bonnar. “Targeted rural products and specialist agribusiness expertise are essential. So too is an understanding of both the importance of the industry, the overall challenges and the specific issues, such as climate, that can affect individual businesses. This year in our research of New Zealand agribusiness providers, ANZ really stood out with a dedicated and informed focus on rural customers. This commitment to the sector is a real boon for farmers, particularly those currently staring down the drought.”

The past twelve months have seen changes to the agribusiness landscape due to the merging of last year’s CANSTAR Agribusiness Award winner, The National Bank of New Zealand, with ANZ Bank New Zealand. This merger has enabled the newly-branded ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd (ANZ) to retain the best products and services of each institution and to create an agri-banking powerhouse. In terms of drought-related assistance, ANZ Bank provides benefits that are available in all Government-declared drought areas. The package is designed to help farmers meet short-term cash requirements and re-establish their farms to full performance when conditions improve.
“As New Zealand’s largest rural lender, we’ve been alongside our farm customers during good weather and bad for over a century,” says Graham Turley, ANZ Bank’s Managing Director Commercial & Agri. “As with any serious weather event that impacts on dairy and meat production, the effects of the drought won’t just be felt locally, but right through the economy. At the farm gate, the priority is to ensure that individual farms and the entire rural support network survives the impacts, and production is restored when the drought ends.”
For the annual agribusiness award, CANSTAR compared banking products and services valued by farmers, including transaction and savings accounts, credit cards, term loans and working capital/overdraft products. They also considered each institution’s agribusiness banking capabilities in terms of the number of agribusiness relationship managers, the range of additional products and other specialist services, online banking functionality and information and education resources. In addition to specialist agribusiness managers, support for agribusiness needs to be evident across the entire organization.

“The ANZ/NAB merger has given ANZ a strong competitive advantage,” says Mr Bonnar. “They have a wide suite of products as well as 148 dedicated agribusiness managers across sixteen regions. There are a number of agri-sponsorships are available across DairyNZ, Beef and Lamb, Meat Industry Association and Federated Farmers and they produce some excellent publications and seminars available free of charge for their clients. We congratulate ANZ on their outstanding result.”

Consumers can download this report on www.canstar.co.nz

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