Cork Co-op Marts chief accuses banks of squeezing farmers for credit

BANKS were accused yesterday of bouncing farmers’ cheques despite their accounts being only marginally overdrawn.

Cork Co-op Marts chief executive Sean O’Sullivan, who made the accusation at the IFA-organised Economic Forum of Irish Farming and Food Industry leaders, said the banks might say they were open for business, but that was not the experience on the ground.

“There is a severe deficiency in the levels of support given by the banks and we know about it on the ground in the last six to nine months. There is a severe credit squeeze,” he said.