Bank of Montreal allows flood victims to defer payments

Bank of Montreal’s agricultural clients will be able to defer payments on loans because of widespread flooding and crop damage in Western Canada this year. “This program will help alleviate the difficulties being faced by farmers in affected communities across Canada’s Prairies,” BMO vice-president Robert Hayes said in a statement.Producers directly affected by flooding and companies that depend on agriculture will be eligible for the financial flood relief program. “The crux of the program really is deferral of principal payment,” said David Rinneard, BMO’s national agriculture manager.For example, producers with large annual payments or several payments due this fall will be allowed to extend the duration of their loans.”What we’re talking about here is deferring that payment, so they would skip that payment this year,” Rinneard said.”That payment in essence gets tacked on to the end. So if they had a five year loan, now it’s a six-year loan.”Rinneard said the bank has offered similar deferrals in the past when flooding, drought and BSE severely affected the prairie economy.He expects the program will be the largest of its kind for the bank, given the extent and severity of flooding in 2010.The deferral program will run until Nov. 30, 2011.

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