Banks and non-banks grew lending to farmers by NZ$161 million in February to NZ$44.069 billion, meaning growth from the same month a year ago was a stonking 22.3%, figures from RBNZ show. Farm lending has grown NZ$8.046 billion in the last year, which is 51% more than the extra NZ$5.325 billion lent to home owners in the last year. This will fuel fears of a bubble developing in farm property, although some of this will be financing for dairy inventory being built up by Fonterra at the peak of the season. Meanwhile lending to non-farm businesses fell by NZ$67 million in February to NZ$79.931 billion, which dragged the annual growth rate down to 10.9%. These figures suggest bank reassurances that their doors are open and they are lending to small businesses, manufacturers and medium sized businesses may be an exaggeration.
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