The Country 13/02/26: Bruce Weir talks to Jamie Mackay

Rabobank’s general manager of country banking on rural interest rates, succession workshops, and positivity in the primary sector.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Bruce Ware is the GM of Country Banking for Rabobank,
which means you're the two icee, aren't you, Bruce Wow.
Sometimes you don't get paid quite as much as Todd charteris,
but you're well paid. Oh okay, yeah he's talking to
that one man. I just got a text through from
an old maid of mine, Graham Smith. Do you remember him? Yes?
I do. I do ask Bruce Ware if he was

(00:22):
fullback for the mighty Otago under sixteen's in about nineteen eighty,
big solid fallback from Manetoto I think was that.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
You No, And I've had this question before, but those
have seen me play. I've got two left feet. I'm
fairly intrans in the forts.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, well I was old Smithy. I don't think he
ever got his head out of the ruck either, Monjou.
He was sort of a manchild at sixteen. That must
have been how he made the team. Anyhow. Okay, so
today and I brought you in just to hear what
Bryce had to say about that. I'm talking about planets
and alignments. A few banks would just stop ripping us
off with your interest rates, brute, we would be living

(00:58):
in El Dorado.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, no, we actually haven't seen those planets aligned before,
and I think that's really played into the vibe of
the last few days. You know, farmers are really positive,
there's a lot to be positive about, but also interesting
they're very leveled about that positivity as well.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Yeah, so when when we're looking at the interest rates,
and that was in jest, of course, because they have
come down, they've come down a long way of the
high when the o CR was five points something percent.
It's now down to what two and a half or
too far? But we are effectively at the bottom of
the cycle, aren't we. It's up from here.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well you'd assume, so, yes, yep, yep.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
So what is And I know you won't to directly
answer this question, but if you're a farmer, you're a
rabobank client, for instance, are you telling them to lock?

Speaker 2 (01:47):
And now we're having a conversation around the appetite for risk,
So it's sort of just lining it up with their
the risk profile where they want to stay short or long,
what's what's on horizon where the succession planning, climate resilience planning,
just all those sort of top and.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
I guess the supplies to anyone with the mortgage whether
you're a homeowner or a business owner or whatever. But
you can still get some pretty attractive action. Sure, six
to twelve months.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Absolutely there's a real attractive buying at that level. But
again it all depends on your business strategy. What the future.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
I had a mate of mine who locked in a
long term borrowing deal at under five percent for five years.
That would be pretty smart, wouldn't it. I don't even
know whether you can get that anymore.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
I'd say that's good business.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah. Hey, And just briefly to finish on you mentioned
the succession workshops were down here in Southland, just outside
of Gore and thirty odd years ago when I first
started out on radio, one of my monitor dairy farmers
was a guy by the name of Lawrence Field, who
were along with his wife Marcella, with a I think
the nineteen ninety five New Zealand Sheer Milkers of the year.

(02:58):
Now Lawrence has gone on to great heights as a
farm accountant and advisor. But he's running your succession workshops,
Yeah he is.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Then he does a fantastic job. And like I say,
you know, the conversations I've had the last few days
here at WAYMUMO I think our succession workshops are going
to be well subscribed. Yep.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Succession's tough though, because you're dealing with telephone book numbers
in terms of you know, getting the next generation in.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Yeah, it is, and that's why you need good skill
set around that table. But tell you what, you know,
the vibe, the excitement in the industry now is certainly
making those conversations a lot easier.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Okay, A Bruceware, thank you very much for hosting us
in the Rabobank tent. You've got the you're big supporters
of National Lamb Day which is on on Sunday, right,
but we had the barbecue on Wednesday and Wellington and
if you're listening and coming to Southern Field Days, you
need to get your button too. Ravobank here because you've
got the Lamb lollipops absolutely and the outstand Oh brilliant.

(03:57):
I love it. There we go, Bruceware from Rabobank, Gem
of Country Banking