Financial Co-op Reports Growth in Loan Volume, Income and Members’ Equity
OMAHA, NEBRASKA (March 3, 2015) – Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica), a financial cooperative, today announced annual net income of $536.5 million for the 2014 calendar year. This compares to $514.6 million in 2013.
Other 2014 financial highlights for FCSAmerica include:
- An increase in loan volume of 9.3 percent to more than $22 billion;
- A 10.5 percent increase in members’ equity to $4 billion;
- $160 million recorded for distribution as cash-back dividends to customer-owners.
“Our financial strength is good news for agriculture,” said Doug Stark, CEO and president of FCSAmerica. “Our cooperative serves more than 50,000 farmers and ranchers. In 2014, grain producers faced lower commodity prices and tighter margins, while some livestock sectors experienced record-high commodity prices. FCSAmerica has the financial strength to help producers on both ends of the spectrum meet their business needs, now and into the future.”
A strong 2014 also allowed the FCSAmerica Board of Directors to approve the cooperative’s 11th consecutive cash-back dividend. The record $160 million cash-back dividend brings the total amount of net earnings returned to farmers and ranchers since 2004 to nearly $1 billion.
Each year, the share of earnings retained by FCSAmerica is reinvested in the cooperative and enables additional investments in services to agricultural producers. In 2014, FCSAmerica deepened its financial commitment to young, beginning and small producers; introduced new and enhanced digital tools to help customers do business with their cooperative and manage their operations; and expanded its community involvement program to donate 6,000 hours of employee volunteer time and $2.3 million to community projects across a four-state region.
About Farm Credit Services of America
Farm Credit Services of America is proud to finance the growth of rural America, including the special needs of young and beginning producers. With assets of more than $23 billion, FCSAmerica is one of the region’s leading providers of credit and insurance services to farmers, ranchers, agribusiness and rural residents in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Learn more at www.fcsamerica.com.
