Farm Credit Bank of Texas Reports Loan Volume on Track for Steady Growth
For Immediate Release May 1, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas – Farm Credit Bank of Texas (FCBT), a cooperatively owned wholesale funding bank, reported loan volume growth and sound asset quality in the first quarter of 2014.
The Austin-based bank’s gross loan volume was $12.03 billion at March 31, 2014, compared with $11.78 billion at Dec. 31, 2013. Its loan portfolio includes direct notes to its affiliated lending cooperatives and other financing institutions, as well as capital markets loans that provide capital and liquidity for regional, national and multinational food, agribusiness, energy and rural infrastructure companies.
Total assets reached $16.45 billion at March 31, 2014, compared with $16.21 billion at year-end 2013, and asset quality continued to improve. At quarter-end, 98.4 percent of the bank’s loan portfolio was classified as acceptable and special mention, compared with 98.2 percent at year-end and 97.8 percent at March 31, 2013. Provisions for loan losses decreased approximately $898,000 during the first quarter of 2014 compared with the first quarter of 2013, reflecting a modest level of nonperforming loans as of March 31, 2014.
“Our volume of loans to our affiliated rural lenders is on track to match the steady growth we saw in 2013, much of which is driven by demand for rural land in our five-state territory,” said Larry Doyle, FCBT chief executive officer.
Farm Credit Bank of Texas is owned by 15 rural financing cooperatives in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas, which in turn are owned by their customers — farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, country homeowners and other rural landowners. Together, the Austin-based bank and its affiliated lenders comprise the Texas Farm Credit District, the largest rural lending network in the five-state region.
“Agricultural producers are entering the busy spring season, when their needs for financing increase,” said Jimmy Dodson, FCBT board chairman. “Our stability, steady earnings and access to low-cost funding support our mission to remain a sound and dependable source of credit for agriculture and rural America.”
The bank reported net income of $44.8 million in the first quarter of 2014, compared with $53.8 million and $34.2 million in the same periods in 2013 and 2012, respectively. It continued to hold a sound liquidity position, maintaining cash and a portfolio of high-quality liquid investments that at March 31, 2014, provided 260 days of liquidity coverage.
Collectively, the district lenders reported loan volume of $17.96 billion at March 31, 2014, up from $17.73 billion at Dec. 31, 2013. District assets totaled $22.59 billion at March 31, 2014, compared with $22.37 billion at year-end. District net income for the quarter was $106.2 million, compared with $115.8 million and $96.0 million for the same periods in 2013 and 2012, respectively.
The results discussed herein are preliminary and unaudited. The bank’s financial statements and the combined statements of the Texas District for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, are expected to be available on or about May 9, 2014.
The district is a part of the Farm Credit System, the nation’s largest source of financing for agriculture and rural America. Nationally, the System reported combined net income of $1.15 billion for the three-month period ended March 31, 2014, compared with $1.14 billion for the same period in 2013.