Pub. 1 2012 Issue 4

June 2012 25 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s FCS clearly is not. Then comes the most mysterious sentence in the letter: “This provision ensures that the flow of credit can continue between businesses and small to mid-size lenders and farm credit institutions,” which presumably means the FCS. The CFTC clearly got the mes - sage, loud and clear – find a way to exempt the FCS. Perhaps the CFTC will justify its reasoning when it publishes its final swap-dealer rule. George Beattie to FCSA: Pay your fair share of taxes George Beattie, president and CEO of the Nebraska Bankers Association, recently published an editorial taking Farm Credit Services of America (FCSA) to task for bragging about the huge dividends it pays to its borrowers while paying next to nothing in corporate income taxes. As Beattie noted, FCSA has been “running advertisements throughout [Nebraska] that make a big deal about the ‘dividends’ they are paying customers who borrow from them” while claiming that “they are the only lender who ‘shares’ with their customers.” FCSA brags on its website that it paid $130 million in dividends for 2011 and “more than $555 million” since 2004. Beattie correctly noted that FCSA“made $456.4 million in after-tax profits in 2011” after providing “for just $9.4 million in total federal and state taxes – just 2 percent of their pre-tax income!” Beattie also observed that according to FCSA’s annual report it “would have paid as much as $163 million in federal income taxes alone in 2011 if they were taxed like banks.” Even worse, in 2010 FCSA“paid just $308,000 in total taxes on income of $419 million.” Now that FCS associations have published their 2011 annual report bankers everywhere should point out how much FCS institutions are paying in dividends (really interest rebates) to their borrowers while paying next to nothing in taxes. Report FCS lending abuses to: green-acres@ely-co.com Bankers are continuing to send FCW reports of FCS lending abuses, such as FCS loans for rural estates, weekend getaways, and hunting preserves. Email reports of similar lending abuses in your market to: green-acres@ ely-co.com . Please provide as much detail as possible about any loan which violates the spirit, if not the law, governing FCS lending. To contact Bert Ely: Email: bert@ely-co.com; Fax: 703-836-1403; Phone: 703-836-4101 | Mail: P.O. Box 320700, Alexandria, Virginia 22320 AD INDEX ATM Maintenance Integrated Coating Systems .................................. pg 15 Banks Bankers Bank of Kansas (BBOK) .......................... pg 2 First Bankers’ Banc Securities, Inc ...................... pg 27 First National Bank of Hutchinson ....................... pg 26 Intrust .................................................................... pg 15 Certified Appraisers/Consultants Marketing Consultant Services, Inc ..................... pg 26 Core Processors DCI ....................................................................... pg 28 CPA/Accountants BKD ........................................................................ pg 3 EFT Networks Shazam ................................................................. pg 10 Financial Services Pulse..................................................................... pg 23 The Kansas Bankers Surety Company ................. pg 17 Integrated Services Diebold................................................................... pg 5 Bankers everywhere should point out how much FCS institutions are paying in dividends (really interest rebates) to their bor - rowers while paying next to nothing in taxes.