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Bendigo & Adelaide Bank has grown its loan book by $1.7 billion after acquiring another lender.
Bendigo announced yesterday that it had bought the business and assets of Rural Finance Corporation of Victoria for $1.8 billion, including the $1.7 billion book.
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Rural Finance has about 115 staff and offers home loans, investment loans, business loans and equipment finance. It is estimated to hold a 13 per cent share of Victoria’s farm lending market.
The business also has a “track record of above-system growth” and “very low historical credit losses”, according to the bank.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in July 2014.
Bendigo managing director Mike Hirst said the deal united two lenders with long histories of serving farmers.
“Rural Finance will work together with our existing specialist agricultural business, Rural Bank, to serve more than 5,200 farmers across Victoria – with a loan book in excess of $2.4 billion,” he said.
“We are confident that bringing this business under our umbrella will result in a broader and more dynamic offering to Victorian farmers, and we look forward to continuing to invest in the agricultural sector and our regional communities.”
Bendigo also announced yesterday that the lender would undertake a $230 million equity raising.
