Victoria to sell off Rural Finance Corporation for $400m in state budget

VICTORIA’S Rural Finance Corporation will be sold in tomorrow’s state budget for a net return of about $400 million.

VICTORIA’S Rural Finance Corporation will be sold in tomorrow’s state budget for a net return of about $400 million.

The Napthine government has signed a heads of agreement for the sale of RFC with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.

The government hopes to reap a further 15 per cent from the sale via the commonwealth’s asset recycling initiative.

Proceeds from the sale will be returned to rural and regional Victoria via infrastructure.

The government said rail in the west and northwest of the state would benefit.

There will be no forced redundancies, the government said.

RFC now has 11 shopfronts in Victoria and customers will soon have access to the Bendigo Bank branches.

“It has been factored into tomorrow’s budget,” Treasurer Michael O’Brien said.

The government defended its decision not to put the business out to tender, arguing it had secured independent advice on the sale process to maximise the return.