BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. (“the Bank”) has a comprehensive offer for the food and agro segment, including accounts, deposits, loans and farmers insurance (both voluntary and mandatory).
As regards loans, the Bank offers a wide variety of working capital and investment loans to farmers and Agro enterprises. Such products as the Agro Ekspres overdrafts collateralised with mortgage, and the Agro Progres investment loan for financing agricultural holdings as well as subsidised loans. Preferential loans are mostly utilised for the purchase of agricultural land, for the construction and modernisation of buildings, as well as the purchase of machinery and equipment and the establishment of perennial crops. This offer is dedicated not only to farmers, but also to companies from the agri-food processing sector.
Apart from its own offering, the Bank provides additional services addressed to farmers, developed in cooperation with third parties.
The Bank as an Agent of Generali T.U. S.A. offers a wide range of insurance to farmers. Gross written premium in 2021 amounted to PLN 51.7 million (growth dynamics +122% y/y).
The main insurance products offered by the Bank are:
The Bank continues to provide guarantees from the Agricultural Guarantee Fund (hereinafter: FGR) implemented on the basis of the agreement concluded in 2019 with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (hereinafter: BGK). This guarantee can serve as collateral for a loan granted to a farmer or agri-food processor and is completely free of charge for the customer.
Customer benefits resulting from the new form of security:
Working capital loans with the FGR guarantee and BGK subsidy were originally only to be granted until the end of 2020. Since then, the Bank has concluded three annexes to the agreement with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. Currently, the offer is available until the end of June 2022.
In addition to the extension of the term for granting BGK guarantees and subsidies, a possibility has been introduced for SME and Corporate Banking customers to cover with FGR guarantee and BGK subsidies the existing revolving working capital loan in credit account in case of renewal of the loan for another period or increase of the loan amount. The renewal of the loan may take place in the form of both revolving and non-revolving loan.
From 1 March, for a non-revolving working capital loan with an FGR guarantee and interest rate subsidy, the lending period has been extended to 4 years. This is the maximum period allowed by the agreement with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.
In Q4 2021, the loan amount was increased in the SME segment (from PLN 300 to 500 thousand) for which the FGR guarantee can be the only security.
From 1 March 2021, the possibility of applying a “0” own contribution in transactions for financing new and used agricultural machinery and equipment has been introduced. The changes applied to both the Agro Progres Loan and the Unia+ Loan.
In February 2021, the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARiMR) renewed the line of investment loans with partial repayment of capital for the purchase of agricultural land by young farmers, i.e. persons who, on the day of submitting the loan application, are not older than 40 years, have professional qualifications in agriculture or undertake to complete them within three years of signing the loan agreement. The product is dedicated to farmers who start their agricultural activity or who run their farms for no longer than 24 months.
The ARIMR applies aid to loans up to a maximum of EUR 20,000 and no more than 60% of the loan granted, payable in two instalments: 80% of the aid immediately after realisation of the investment, and 20% after 5 years from the date of granting the loan. The loan may not exceed PLN 5 million, own contribution – minimum 10%, interest rate – commercial, commission – up to 2% of the loan amount.
In 2021, employees of the Agro Expert Department took part in a number of pro-sales tasks improving the quality of the handled portfolio. Over 900 meetings were held with the Bank’s existing and potential clients and nearly 530 expert opinions were prepared – for new transactions and in support of reviews of the current Agro portfolio (verification of the condition of farms and recommendation of the direction of cooperation).
The following tasks were carried out, among others, which are necessary for decision-making in crisis situations in the Agro segment:
As part of the activities in the area of risk management, the following were developed:
As part of the ongoing work for the Sales Network, training courses were prepared and delivered:
In 2021, the Agro Offensive sales campaign took place in 2 parts: spring and autumn.
The campaign was dedicated to both micro and SME customers. The aim of the campaign was to attract new customers and increase sales of credit and leasing products in this segment.
The promotional offer applied to loans: Agro Ekspres, Agro Rzeczówka light and Agro Progres. For new customers a promotional offer was prepared to run a current account within Konto Otwarte na Agrobiznes for PLN 0. As part of the cooperation with BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, attractive pricing conditions were also offered for leases and lease loans.
Spring edition (from 1 February to 31 May) under the motto „Gain more reasons to be proud”.
The spring edition of the campaign introduced a bonus for recommendation. To encourage recommendation of our services during the campaign period, advisers could issue a „Promotional Certificate”. It entitled the client to a reduced commission for encouraging his fellow farmers to use the Bank’s offer (0% until the end of the year). Also, for the first time, free access to Premium tools on the Agronomist.pl portal was presented as a bonus to the said promotion.
The autumn edition (from 20 September to 30 November) with the motto „The world needs you in your best role”.
The promotion for Konto Otwarte na Agrobiznes was combined with the Money Back promotion – a 2% refund on each non-cash transaction for payments made with a Debit Mastercard Business debit card in PLN issued to a newly opened account.
In addition, an EKO bonus was introduced to support sustainable agricultural production activities. This is an additional 0.2 p.p. reduction in loan margins for farms certified in sustainable production or EKO, as well as those in conversion.
The campaign was supported by dedicated marketing materials, a campaign in traditional media (e.g. newspapers, ATMs) and online and social media campaigns.
Agronomist is a comprehensive and modern web portal created with the participation and for the needs of entities operating in the agri-food sector value chain. It is a unique solution which in one place gathers sector knowledge, provides information on the current situation in the agri-food sector and gives access to a wide range of professional IT tools useful in business.
In 2021, new tools and functionalities unique to the market were made available on the portal, which respond to the needs of entities operating in the agri-food sector:
At the end of December 2021, the number of portal users increased by 70% compared to the same period of 2020, (the number of registered users increased by 38% y/y). The number of visits to the portal in 2021 was over 727,000.
The Bank has been supporting food producers for years, not only by selling tailored banking products, but also by conducting educational campaigns, pointing out new opportunities for development.
The Bank established cooperation with the Allegro Locally portal, which is part of the Allegro Group – the largest sales platform in Poland. As part of the cooperation, the #local tastes action was carried out, during which farmers who joined the action and produced healthy, organic or regional food could sell their products without commission. The aim of the action was to convince farmers to use the Internet as a new sales channel and to draw the public’s attention to the benefits of eating healthy food. The action was supported by an educational campaign.
The Bank has been involved in financing the agro market for many years and is constantly observing this market and the changes occurring therein. Recently, the Bank has noticed a deterioration in the economic situation of farmers, resulting in an increase of their interest in taking out loans. This, in turn, triggers a response to the above demand from various financial institutions, offering credits and loans, often not adjusted to the specific nature of farms’ functioning and leading to their indebtedness.
As a leader in agro banking, knowing the specifics of this business, we know what to pay attention to in order to make the use of external financing by agricultural business as safe as possible and serve its development. In 2021, the Bank continued its information and education activities, adjusting them to the current challenges brought by the market. These included: