Banks vs credit unions, the finance thread.

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: No quitten we're whelan on to chitchat 11.

Siamsa Sessions

I got a phone call Friday morning that’ll probably change what I’ll be doing for the next 20 years. For better or worse!

The Credit Union approved my €60k loan application and I’m going to drive on with the cows. Lots of work to be done but all going well I’ll be milking 32 beasts this time next year and 60-ish in 2026. I’ll probably do a quick video on it but wanted to let people know on here first.

I couldn’t recommend the Credit Union enough for a loan. Spoke to someone last Wed week, he emailed me a list of docs they needed, I got them all back to him last Fri, and he rang Fri just gone and said it was approved. Five working days and I got an answer.

Compare that with AIB. It’s 6 months since I first called into the nearest branch (15 miles away). The guy in Dublin I eventually got to speak to seems OK but he’s only gathering the paperwork. And the tin hat on it then was the letter I got from them in the post on Fri, the same day the Credit Union approved the loan

JustJoe7240

Best of luck with the decision, you'll have a busy year ahead

mr.stonewall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121987538#Comment_121987538

Congrats and the best of luck on this journey. As a few have said when they are running away from something slowly walk the opposite way. There will be a future in dairying but not at the extreme pushed limits of 220-250kgN/ha

whelan2

Aib are useless atm. No one is answerable to anyone else, a deadline doesnt mean a deadline. They could have rang you to say the above instead of sending snail mail

Castlekeeper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121987538#Comment_121987538

Best of luck Siamsa, a lot comes down to it in the finish, and let every one of those euros be a hostage.

FintanMcluskey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121987538#Comment_121987538

Well done.

I can't believe €60k took so much hassle, it's a loan amount for a decent car nowadays.

It's usually only a phone call obtain that much money with AIB, or any of the bigger lenders.

Or did you mean €600k?!

Grueller

Fair play Siamsa. I am not too dissimilar to the scale you are at. I have 75 to go through the parlour this year. Compared to beef there is a future there now on your farm in my opinion. As Fintan said above, €60k is only a car loan now.

Funny thing is, I looked for €25k in 2013 to build a shed for sucklers. BOI, AIB and Ulster Bank all declined me. The local credit union looked after me. When Ulster closed we were opening accounts with BOI again and all the questions came about the farm business. The last thing the lady said was, when you are expanding or upgrading give us a shout about finance. I told her that M****** F***** didn't want to hear from me a few years ago so unless the credit union aren't open for business I won't be back.

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121987866#Comment_121987866

Ah here, €60k is a big investment for me, never mind adding another zero onto it!

That €60k will get me up and running but I’ll be going back to them for more within 2-3 years as I’ll have to put up a calf shed and do a few more bits too. I reckon I could have €100k spent within 4-5 years. But I didn’t want to ask for so much in one go in case it was refused and I’d prefer to have a basic system up and running before I see where’s the best place to put a calf shed, add 100m of roadway, etc.

I’ll build what I need based on what I see in front of me rather than having a specific template - if that makes sense.

Thanks for all the good wishes. Ye’ll have to listen to me complaining now as and when things aren’t going to plan 😁

kk.man

Siamsa Sessions wishing you the very best.

Can't believe 60k is that much hassle. I'd be getting that amount for buying cattle most years in 2 to 3 days turn around from BOI and no security. I'm not advocating BOI here.

Base price

Best of luck Kieran. I think that I can add for most of us here on F&F that we all wish you the very best of success. It would be nice if you could document your journey via your youtube channel. I always enjoyed reading @davidk1394 similar journey here on F&F.

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121988859#Comment_121988859

The Credit Union is the only local bank now

minerleague

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121987966#Comment_121987966

Were they not right to refuse you?🤣 No money in sucklers!

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121988049#Comment_121988049

Of course it's easy to get it if you've been getting it that often, that's a different ball game altogether.

Base price

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121988049#Comment_121988049

Surely that's what I call a stocking loan with a substantially higher interest rate?

Grueller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121989387#Comment_121989387

They probably were to be fair but do you not know that we all put in our off farm income? Lads around here love hearing that.

ESetter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121989375#Comment_121989375

fully agree, banks wouldnt talk to me last year for a small loan like yours but the credit union stepped up..you can at least talk to the person making the decision in the cu,, best of luck

whelan2

The difference is the credit unions want the business the banks don't care anymore

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000150#Comment_122000150

We are only hassle to them......it feels like it anyway

whelan2

Rang bank yesterday to get something simple done. Cant be done in local branch as that's not a main branch anymore. Would need to write a letter...ffs this is 2024

Siamsa Sessions

Can't be a good sign when banks are essentially becoming like the civil service, with no local accountability and everything centralised in Dublin

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000205#Comment_122000205

It's a slow creep thing it's being going on for ages

_Brian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000222#Comment_122000222

Harder for older people or those not able to bank online, they are being left behind… There will be plenty to fill the gap from Credit Union up to the online likes of Revolute..

I see towns like Killeshandra in Cavan, bank branch was closed, then credit union was closed and finally the post office closed… Its gone from a busy wee town to a shell of its former self, businesses closing and buildings falling into terrible disrepair.. A scene repeated across the country sadly

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000205#Comment_122000205

Probably to do with the government bailout. The civil service have a say in how the banks are run. Coupled now with politicians seeing their opportunities in how they can leverage banks decisions in who gets loans or not.

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000545#Comment_122000545

All control is being pulled back into the centre.

I think it's called 'kingdom building' in the civil service (or any large organisation). You try to take on more control and more staff to expand your importance and buffer yourself against any future cuts.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000222#Comment_122000222

And it shows no sign of slowing down. Technology is putting more power in fewer hands. All the more reason to shop local and buy from independents rather than franchises. I give the young lads this lecture when they want McDonalds and I want something from the local chip-shop 😀

V6400

anyone using the credit union for their farm account?

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000754#Comment_122000754

Not yet, but I've been thinking about it. I'll have a chat to them when I call in to draw down the loan.

These are the fees and charges from the Credit Union I deal with: https://www.cairdecu.ie/images/library/documents/08032024-161013.pdf

I'm assuming they're similar or maybe slightly less that the banks' fees.

whelan2

Milkman left a leaflet for the credit union here this morning

Odelay

I see the credit union are actively advertising their ‘cultivate” load specifically.

Kevhog1988

What would % interest be in Credit union?. i got a pop up from revolut offering me a loan today

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000150#Comment_122000150

So True - AIB in particular seem to be a joke shop, I'm the Chairperson of a local Conservation Group and after our previous Chairperson passed away I and a board member have twice gone into the branch to sign documents authorising a change of address for correspondance on the account. They are still sending documentation to the old address nearly 3 years on!!🤬 - Plus a close family member recently took up a position in their HQ and is shocked by how outdated and uncoordinated their current systems and senior management are!!

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001776#Comment_122001776

It's 6.5 - 6.9% for up to €75k over 10 years.

I think the banks are just over 4-ish%.

I try to pay off loans early to reduce the interest paid. The Credit Union don't charge for that. Maybe the banks don't either?

whelan2

This is the leaflet I got

20240410_151514.jpg

whelan2

After moving from ulster to aib you realise how good we had it while they were here

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001878#Comment_122001878

I paid off a loan yesterday, a good bit before it was due to be paid, just paid the interest on top of the balance owed and account is closed

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001874#Comment_122001874

My brother works up in aib hq too. It's laughable, my 2 brothers work for aib...

Tileman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001905#Comment_122001905

that must be a nice feeeling . Have one big loan here and having being making a couple of lump sums over the past years to reduce it. Another couple of years and it will be done . Will be great to have it off my shoulders.

Tonynewholland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001878#Comment_122001878

You can pay off any variable loan early if you want. Should be no charge

_Brian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001883#Comment_122001883

damn.
Essentially €30k interest on a €75k loan 😮

You’d want to be getting a serious returns on whatever the €75k is spent on.

kevthegaff

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122002505#Comment_122002505

Switched from milkflex to boi this year, big savings. Loans started with BOI inherited from the farm, moved them to AIB 10 years ago, then to ulster 5 yrs ago(best of the banks), then to milk flex 3 yrs ago and now back to BOI again!!

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122002566#Comment_122002566

Was it not alot of hassle moving banks so much?

FintanMcluskey

Does the credit union still lend you your own money back?

Dealt with them a few years back and they wanted about 40% of the loan required to be held in savings which couldn't be touched.

whelan2

It says on that leaflet no need to be a credit union member

whelan2

Our local credit union charged 10% interest before they amalgamated with the crowd on the leaflet

kevthegaff

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122002624#Comment_122002624

Yes

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122002936#Comment_122002936

Nearly killed me transferring from ulster to aib last year, you must love hardship

DBK1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122003000#Comment_122003000

Same as that changing from Ulster to BOI. It didn’t help I suppose that Ulster were so easy to deal with compared to all of the rest so it was always going to be difficult to change.

kevthegaff

One was ulster bank closing and last one was incorporating also so new accounts etc too. In partnership with herself also so more accounts set up at aib during covid was a nightmare. The last restructuring I done was last year boi lad rang me

Packrat

A lot of love going on here for the Credit Unions.

A word of warning:

After the 2008 to 2011 crash, there was no other institution who chased so long, so hard, or so viciously as the Credit Unions.

Their interest rates were always sh1t which is why I never did any real business with them but I've plenty friends with horror stories, some still going on long after every other finance house took their beating and moved on.

kk.man

I'd have my boi stocking loan paid off well before the year be up. No charge for that. It was explained to me that its cheaper than an overdraft.

Dozer1

Maybe I'm lucky but I've always been AIB here for multiple loans and they've always been v good to reply to email or phone calls. I don't go to the branch that often but its probably helped by the fact that there is BOI, big credit union and tsb in the town also so maybe it keeps them on their toes.