Farm Credit Bank of Texas reports steady growth

Farm Credit Bank of Texas (FCBT) reported increased volume and net income for the second quarter of 2012.

The bank’s gross loan volume at June 30 totaled $10.98 billion, an increase of just over six percent from Dec. 31, 2011. The increase was mainly attributed to growth in the bank’s participation loan portfolio, offset by a decrease in direct loans to its affiliated financing cooperatives.

“We are very pleased with the progress achieved in the area of credit quality and our very positive earnings performance,” said Larry Doyle, FCBT chief executive officer, in an FCBT news release. “Our earnings allow our affiliated lending cooperatives to fulfill our mission to extend competitive financing to rural America.”

The Austin-headquartered FCBT is the source of funds for 17 rural financing cooperatives in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. These lenders, which own the bank, in turn make loans to their owners—farmers, ranchers, agribusiness firms, rural landowners and country homeowners.

The institutions in the Texas district reported $126.6 million in combined net income for the quarter that ended June 30, 2012, a 26.8 percent increase over the same quarter of 2011. District net income for the first six months of this year totaled $222.6 million, up 16.8 percent from the same period last year. District loan volume was up 4.9 percent at June 30, 2012, from year-end 2011.

“Rains have made a welcome return to much of our territory, improving pasture and growing conditions significantly since last year,” said FCBT Board Chairman Jimmy Dodson in the news release. “While ongoing effects of the drought and volatility in commodity prices remain concerns for many of our customers, risk mitigation tools, such as USDA loan guarantees and crop insurance, continue to provide stability to the district portfolio.”

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