Products and Services

An agricultural business account is simple to use and allows you to manage your finances without visiting a branch. Once opened, you can do your banking through the Internet and our Auto Bank network.

• It gives you the most flexibility and convenience for all your banking transactions.
• It is your key to simplifying your banking and opens doors to our other agricultural banking products.
• A cheque book is an integral part of your Agricultural business current account, with most packages offering guaranteed cheques.

As a leader in online business banking, we offer you free access to* Internet banking with a Business AutoBank card.

An overdraft is the ideal way to finance your working capital and cash flow. It is linked to your current account and you can use as much as you need up to your limit.

• It is quick and easy to arrange
• Cash is available when you need it
• Interest is paid only on the money you use, not on the full amount at which your limit is set.

A Business Revolving Credit Plan gives you a line of credit within the agreed limit for additional working capital or asset finance. It is paid off over two to five years. Like an overdraft, you only pay interest on what you use. You don't have to use the whole amount at once. Once you have repaid 25% of the loan, you can withdraw funds up to the original limit, without affecting your monthly repayments.

• The loan can be linked to your business account, so you can transfer funds electronically;
• You can redraw up to the original amount without having to reapply, as long as you have repaid 25% of what you owe on the original amount;
• It enables easy cash flow planning because of fixed monthly payments.

A Medium-Term Loan (MTL), which can be paid off in monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual installments over 2 to 10 years, is suitable for capital expenses such as fixed assets and land.

• Interest is linked to prime rate*;
• The amount of the loan, the interest rate and your repayment plan depend on how much security you have and the value of the assets you want to buy;
• You can agree to a repayment plan that suits your business' cash flow based on seasonality;
• We will not ask for repayments earlier than the terms agreed to, provided our terms and conditions are being met.

An Agricultural Production Loan (APL) is short-term credit that lets you pay for your agricultural input costs. This product is suitable for grain farmers cultivating on either dry land or on an irrigation basis. Loans are provided to individual farmers, groups and legal entities in the agricultural sector, including commercial farmers and agri-businesses. Input costs that qualify for production credit include:

• Seeds and fertiliser
• Fuel, oil and lubricants
• Herbicides and pesticides
• Repairs and maintenance
• Crop insurance premiums

Loans are granted for between 6 and 24 months with repayment needed at the end of the term.

Vehicle and asset finance is the ideal way to finance all your farming vehicle and implement needs. We have a wide range of packages to suit your business' cash flow and tax requirements. Vehicles and assets we finance include:

• Tractors
• Harvesters
• Centre pivots
• Solar panels

Whatever your investment needs, we offer you a wide choice in terms of access to your money and the interest you earn. We offer a range of fixed-term savings accounts.

• Call deposit accounts
• 32-day notice deposit accounts

Fluctuations in agricultural commodity prices create substantial risk for producers, processors and traders in managing revenue and the cost of future production and consumption. Prices are influenced by a number of external factors, including variations in domestic supply and demand, international prices, exchange rates, and climatic, economic and political conditions.
Our agricultural commodity teams develop solutions for you to manage these risks, from price risk management tools and finance to a range of services and products in the marketing of grain commodities.

Soft commodity trading consists of derivative brokering (the provision of derivative trade services for your account), Market Risk Solution Provider (the provision of over the counter trade services for client's your own account), physical brokering (the provision of a physical brokering service for a fee), buying and selling (buying of spot commodity and simultaneous forward sale) and physical position taking (forward buy/sell with anticipation of basis price improvement).

World trade volumes are outpacing the growth rate of the global economy causing businesses to increasingly participate in cross-border trade. Our extensive network across Africa and emerging markets globally, is uniquely positioned to provide financial solutions throughout the commodity-related trade value chain, facilitating trade flows between Africa and the rest of the world.
Structured trade is composed of:

• Back-to-back payment instruments
• Discounting/refinancing of payment instruments
• Discounting of receivables, invoices, and contracts
• Pre-shipment financing
• Post-shipment financing
• Inventory financing
• Tradable silo certificate financing
• Untradeable silo certificate/warehouse receipt financing
• Tolling
• Collateral monitored structures
• Collateral managed structures

Rainfall index
Cover is offered against uncontrollable loss of average revenue income from the crop in the insured region caused by too little rain (excludes crops being irrigated) or too much rain.

Crop insurance
We have expanded our crop insurance offering to include all crops. Fruit and vegetable farmers can now insure their crops against loss or damage caused by hail, wind, fire, while in transit and against riot damage. Any farmer who grows crops on an area of 50 hectares or more is eligible for crop insurance. This cover is offered to small- and large-scale farmers, from a single type of crop to a number of different types of crops.

We offer a range of wealth creation products through:

• Standard Bank Limited Investment Services (Stanlib)
• Standard Bank Offshore products and services

Estate planning* (Namibia only)

Optimal succession and estate planning is a complicated legal matter, needing the advice of estate planning, legal and financial experts. Our financial consultants will advise you on what is best for you. You qualify for the service if you have assets of more than N$350 000. You pay a once-off consultation fee to have your needs assessed and a will drawn up. The unit also specialises in setting up secure trusts for your assets.