Agribusiness

Agribusiness: PPSR might offer lending security

Beef Central, 12/03/2013

 

A year on from the establishment of the Federal Government’s Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), a senior agribusiness banker foresees a time when the system may assist more people to get started in farming or grazing.

NAB Agribusiness head of Southern and Western Australia, Neil Findlay, says his bank often has people coming in with a good business case or idea.

“In the past, if they didn’t have the collateral to support the borrowing should something not go to plan, it wasn’t always easy to provide funding. The register allows a lender to record its interest in non-landed assets, and to protect these interests,” Mr Findlay said.

He said it was also important for all stakeholders to understand what the PPSR process meant to them, especially if they bought or sold anything with deferred payments.

“While the initial period has been complex for bankers and required a lot of changes in the way we register securities, it has also simplified things, as there were more than 20 old registers which have now been rolled into one.”

“For instance, the old REVS system for checking whether money is owed on a motor vehicle a person is thinking of buying is now part of the PPSR. And where people near state borders have land or stock in two states, there used to be different rules and registers,” Mr Findlay said.

“However, it can get complicated in some instances too, so we’re encouraging all our customers to check with their lawyers and other advisors to make sure they’re protecting their interests.”

Beef Central covered this point in detail in an earlier article warning of the risks associated with loss of ownership of stock on agistment on a second property, should that property fall into receivership, and the stock not be lodged on the PPSR. See prominent Brisbane lawyer, Bill Loughnan’s advice on the matter in this article, "Warnings about ownership risk with agisted stock."

NAB Agibusiness's Neil FindlayOn the positive side, NAB’s Neil Findlay said the PPSR legislation was also likely to provide people wanting to get into primary production for the first time, and those leasing land, with the ability to better leverage the assets they held.

“It’s not going to happen right away, but I can see a time when the PPSR will assist those putting forward a good business case to access working capital,” he said.

“They may want to buy more stock or machinery, or inputs such as feed or fertiliser, but don’t have traditional assets such as land to mortgage.”

 

 

  • Details about the Personal Property Securities Register are available at www.ppsr.gov.au

 

 

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