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Minister of state at the Department of Finance Michael D'Arcy has said he found it easier to deal with vulture funds rather than banks when attempting to resolve cases.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Tuesday, the Minister said: “I can only give you some anecdotal evidence from my own dealings with banks and with funds. I found it easier to deal with a fund than a bank to try and get a resolution with cases I’m dealing with myself.”
The comments come in the wake of Ulster Bank's decision to sell up to 5,200 non-performing loans to the US vulture fund Cerberus. In a statement to the Irish Farmers Journal Ulster Bank confirmed no farm or agri-loans were included in the portfolio worth €1.4bn.
Faceless funds
In a statement, the IFA president Joe Healy slammed the D'Arcy's comments saying this was not an experience shared by the IFA in cases they have dealt with.
He said: “The faceless funds which have no understanding of farming are hellbent on destroying families while feeding on the carcase of the family farm.”
Farm families should be given the time to repay their debts over a longer term to keep the farm intact
Healy acknowledged that while it was difficult to deal with banks, they were at least regulated and would be mindful of how they treated existing customers due to their interest in new business.
“It’s a cop-out to say vulture funds don’t need to be regulated. They do, and the Government needs to make it happen,” he said.
IFA farm business chair Martin Stapleton concluded: “Farm families should be given the time to repay their debts over a longer term to keep the farm intact. It is not acceptable for vulture funds to force a sale of land and cash in debts they have bought from a bank when there is a viable alternative.”
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