Westpac's stressed dairy loans tick up

Westpac's stressed dairy loans tick up
Jenny Ruth
Some heavily indebted dairy farmers are barely covering their interest payments despite relatively strong prices for several seasons, Westpac NZ chief executive David McLean says."The ones who've got more leverage, most of those are still covering their cost of production but some of them are close to the edge," he says."Their interest cover isn't that great – there are a lot of farmers who are doing it tough and there's not a lot of buffer."That's why although only 0.32 percent of Westpac's agribusiness portfolio was actually impaired at Sept....

More Finance

Port of Auckland to pay $45m special dividend to council
Finance

Port of Auckland to pay $45m special dividend to council

The divestment proceeds will be used to top up the Auckland Future Fund.

Oliver Lewis 27 Jun 2025
$600m in tourist spend at risk from regulation: Mastercard
Finance

$600m in tourist spend at risk from regulation: Mastercard

When Europe cut interchange fees, foreign card decline rates soared.

Pattrick Smellie 27 Jun 2025
Michael Lorimer exits Grant Samuel amid more sector change
Finance

Michael Lorimer exits Grant Samuel amid more sector change

Lorimer has sold his 80% stake in the corporate advisory firm.

Duncan Bridgeman 26 Jun 2025