Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Mark Hooper: Federated Farmers Banking Spokesperson on Heartland buying TSB

Transcript

Mark Hooper: Federated Farmers Banking Spokesperson on Heartland buying TSB · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Right. Heartland Bank has announced it and wants to merge
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: with tesB. Heartland will take its knowledge of the rural
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: and farming sector and combine it with tsb's everyday banking services. Combined,
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  Speaker 1: they think they can take on the Big four. Mark
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  Speaker 1: Hooper is the banking spokesperson for Federated Farmers and he
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  Speaker 1: joins me this morning. Good morning, Mark, good morning. So
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  Speaker 1: what do you think a merger like this? Foreral people
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  Speaker 1: would mean.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's quite an intriguing prospect. Actually, you know, if
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  Speaker 2: you stand back and you look at the big picture,
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  Speaker 2: you'd say that it's possibly a little bit ambitious, given
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  Speaker 2: that our major banks hold about ninety seven percent of
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  Speaker 2: the rule.
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  Speaker 1: We've lost him again. We seem to be having a
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  Speaker 1: little bit of a problem keeping Mark on the line,
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  Speaker 1: but we will try and track him down because we
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  Speaker 1: are keen to hear whether this is going to be
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  Speaker 1: an attractive proposition for farmers. Love to hear from you. Actually,
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  Speaker 1: if you're a farmer, or you live rurally or regionally,
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  Speaker 1: whether this news sounds interesting, would you change banks? As
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  Speaker 1: Mark was kind of commenting on there, ninety seven percent
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  Speaker 1: of farmers banking is with the big banks.
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  Speaker 2: Mark you're back. I'm back.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome. You were just explaining how big a role Heart
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  Speaker 1: Bank has already in rural farming.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, So there's a number of things here which
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  Speaker 2: are quite significant. I think. You know, if you look
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  Speaker 2: at those those big numbers in terms of the real
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  Speaker 2: debt market, then it seems very small and in a
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  Speaker 2: difficult challenge to break into that market. But remembering that
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  Speaker 2: rural communities have suffered quite a bit from you know,
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  Speaker 2: poor service I guess, the loss of facilities and services,
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  Speaker 2: and so here's an opportunity I guess to take the
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  Speaker 2: strength of these two banks and make sure that real
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  Speaker 2: communities are well supported. So that's an important aspect. It's
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  Speaker 2: also important to realize that there's a lot of opportunity
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  Speaker 2: at kind of an entry level, say with our share farmers,
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  Speaker 2: stock purchases, plant and machinery, things like that that are
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  Speaker 2: really important that are smaller lump sums, but are just
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  Speaker 2: as vital to the you know, the the productivity I
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  Speaker 2: guess of a lot of businesses, and particularly at the
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  Speaker 2: entry levels. So there's a huge opportunity there, I think
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  Speaker 2: for a good, strong New Zealand based bank to get
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  Speaker 2: into the market in that way and really make a
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  Speaker 2: good contribution.
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  Speaker 1: So what specific expertise does Heartland have that would be
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  Speaker 1: a benefit at scale.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think it's that it's that local community focus
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  Speaker 2: and it's also the other intriguing thing about it.
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  Speaker 1: Is no, we've got to get I don't know what,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm not sure where markets, but gosh,
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  Speaker 1: we're really having problems keeping him on the line today
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  Speaker 1: or try again. But as I would say before, really
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  Speaker 1: key to hear from you. If you are a farmer,
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  Speaker 1: you literally is this you know? Are you likely to
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  Speaker 1: back a bank like this that has come together? I
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  Speaker 1: think we're very We're not good in New Zealand, aren't
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  Speaker 1: we at changing banks? We get a little bit lazy? Mark,
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  Speaker 1: welcome back again. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: So my other role with Federated Farmers is on real
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  Speaker 2: connectivity and it's just bizarre that we're having trouble with
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  Speaker 2: real connectivities.
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  Speaker 1: Well look you've just put something on the to do
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  Speaker 1: list today.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Look what I'm what I'm keen to know is is
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  Speaker 1: this a bank farmers are likely to back?
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  Speaker 2: Well? I think, as I say, I think it's going
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  Speaker 2: to have a lot of appeal. What we've got to
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  Speaker 2: remember is that even three percent of the market is
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  Speaker 2: still significant and so so that's important that those customers
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  Speaker 2: looked after. I think there is going to be an
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  Speaker 2: element of appeal in terms of that New Zealand own
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  Speaker 2: entity that's sharp, sort of regional focus and community service,
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  Speaker 2: and so I think it's got a huge potential and
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  Speaker 2: it offices offers a real alternative.
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  Speaker 1: Mark, thank you very much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate that that was Mark Hooper, the banking spokesperson
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  Speaker 1: sin Federated Farmers. For more from early edition with Ryan Bridge,
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: listen live to News Talks at Me from five am weekdays,
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio