This year Unicaja Banco has been again the leading bank in CAP subsidies in Castilla y Leon, managing the direct payment of 14,347 dossiers, of the 67,709 registered at the Junta once the campaign ended, amounting to 21% of the region’s overall. These figures reflect the confidence of the farming professionals in Unicaja Banco, the bank of reference in the region.
In the present campaign, Unicaja Banco offered its customers the possibility of receiving the advance payment of the aids through loans, as well as advice and personalized management in the processing of their application dossiers. For that purpose, the bank established a pre-granted loan facility for €342 million for customers in Castilla y Leon, Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha and Extramadura, which will be available until the end of October.
At the same time, Unicaja Banco has enabled a credit line of €600 million in pre-granted loans for intensive cultivations. This amount will cover the financing demands both from the farming campaign itself and for investments to be carried out by farmers. The term to apply for this credit line expires in April 2021.
The bank has also joined the initiatives promoted by the Junta de Castilla y León to take funding to farmers affected by the COVID-19. Among those measures, the modifications introduced in the so-called Instrumento Financiero (Financial Instrument) created by the regional government and by the institutions operating in the region, deserve special attention. Those changes have made it possible to cover the demands from farmers, establishing the possibility of granting financing for working capital and investments.
Furthermore, Unicaja Banco has joined the MAPA-SAECA Line 2020, promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which provides funding without the need of a guarantee, up to 40,000 euros to be repaid in five years, with the possibility of one year of interest-only repayment and without notary intervention up to 25,000 euros. The application period, both for legal and natural persons, is open until 14 August.
Support to farmers
The bank has been providing support over the last months to farmers with different measures, especially in view of the health crisis caused by the coronavirus, which makes farming to be considered as a strategic sector.
The bank has continued processing the CAP dossiers, adapting to the current circumstances to provide service to customers while maintaining the bank’s staff safe.
The participation of Unicaja Banco in the CAP campaign of subsidies (Basic Payment Scheme, Green Payment, Young Farmers Scheme, Farming Associated Aids and Agri-environmental Measures) falls within the Institution’s historic commitment to support agriculture and farming, which materialises in the provision of financial, protection and advisory services, in the development of specific agreements and in shareholdings in companies of the sector.
Unicaja Banco is committed, through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) protocols, to the promotion and development of environment-friendly activities, and it is aware of the importance of the farming sector to achieve it. Therefore, as a part of its commitment to sustainable finance, it supports funding for investments in agricultural farms to improve the energy efficiency and irrigation systems, therefore contributing to reduce the environmental impact and the effects of the climate change.
*Further information: Unicaja Banco
