National Australia Bank shuns ‘sensitive’ live exports sector

National Australia Bank stands accused of appeasing sensitive shareholders by a prominent live exporter who says it wanted to exclude his income on a loan application.

A PROMINENT live exporter says National Australia Bank wanted to exclude his income on a personal loan application – because it comes from the controversial trade.

It’s led the exporter, who asked not to be named, to question the bank’s approach to agribusiness, accusing NAB of “bending over” to appease shareholders concerned about “even a skerrick of social backlash”.

“If their stand is they’re not going to include any income stream from the live export industry, how can they finance all these producers across northern Australia?” he asked.

“If that’s the attitude they’re going to have, they need to rethink if they’re going to be in agribusiness or not.”

NAB has come under fire recently over its approach on social licensing issues, after it moved to shut down bank accounts of customers in the firearms industry, deeming them too great a risk.

The bank introduced an animal welfare policy in November last year, and has an undisclosed list of sectors it deems high-risk or sensitive – which a NAB spokesman confirmed included live exports.

The exporter – who has been in the industry for more than a decade and has held a number of industry board roles – and his wife were seeking finance for their personal farming venture earlier this year.

The couple are long-time customers of NAB, but suddenly found the bank hesitant to include his income on the application, and were told it was due to it coming from live exports.

An email, seen by The Weekly Times, confirmed the bank had concerns “in regard to any business that deals in the live export market, either directly or indirectly”.

“Primarily these issues include welfare concerns for animals, particularly sheep and beef, during transport and post-arrival in overseas jurisdictions due to handling and slaughtering in overseas markets,” the email read.

The bank sought evidence from the exporter’s employer of its animal welfare policies.

The couple did not end up needing the finance, but the experience shook their confidence in the bank.

“It’s one thing the industry has had to endure animal activists but to have a big bank – and what we consider a business partner – take that stance is another,” his partner said.

“It’s fairly insulting and I worry about where that goes for the rest of the industry.”

A NAB spokesman confirmed live exports was deemed a “sensitive” sector that was now subject to “environmental, social and governance risk assessment as part of enhanced due diligence”.

This included making sure customers were complying with all relevant regulations and industry standards, he said.

“As Australia’s leading agribusiness bank, we understand the agricultural industry is a fundamental part of Australia’s economy and note that Australia is the world’s largest exporter of livestock,” he said.

“NAB’s commitment to lending and supporting growth in the agribusiness sector has not changed.”