Unicaja Banco joins one more year the Junta de Castilla y León to try to mitigate the damages caused by inclement weather in the farming and livestock sector. The bank participated today in Valladolid in the signing of an agreement with the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development to process subsidy payments to alleviate the effects of the drought on farms in the region.
The signing of the agreement was attended by the Regional Minister of Agriculture, Gerardo Dueñas, and representatives of eleven financial institutions present in the Community. Unicaja Banco has been represented by the Territorial Manager of Regional Banking in Southern Castilla y León, Manuel Rubio.
Under this agreement, the Junta de Castilla y León will promote aids for approximately 60 million euros in interest subsidies on loans that farmers request from the collaborating financial institutions, both to cope with the effects of drought and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, as well as to face the next sowing season with greater liquidity and guarantees.
In this line, Unicaja Banco, together with the rest of the entities that have subscribed this agreement, will offer to its clients, holders of farms located in Castilla y León, preferential loans, which will benefit from interest subsidies, under the provisions of Order AGR/1022/2023, of 21 August.
Under the agreement, subsidies will be applied to loans of up to 60,000 euros per farm, for five years (with a first year of interest-only and four years of constant repayments), with a variable rate, with reference to the value of the Euribor on 15 September 2023 plus a spread of 0.5 percentage points. The subsidy will reach 100% for professional farmers and up to 40% for the rest.
To access this aid, farmers must apply to the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development for the recognition of this right before 29 September. Subsequently, Unicaja Banco customers must submit to the financial institution the granting of such right, a document necessary to subscribe the credit policy, until 15 February 2024.