Pub. 5 2016 Issue 6

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 24 ©2016 Bert Ely FCS PUSHES BACK AGAINST LEONARD WOLFE’S HOUSE AG TESTIMONY BERT ELY’S FARM CREDIT WATCH ® SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE FARM CREDIT SYSTEM, AMERICA’S LEAST KNOWN GSE A S FCW REPORTED last month, Kansas banker Leonard Wolfe testified on ABA’s behalf at the May 19 oversight hearing the Senate Agriculture Committee held on the FCS and its regulator, the Farm Credit Administration (FCA). After he testified, Leonard wrote an opinion article for Agri-Pulse, titled: “It’s time to reform the Farm Credit System,” summarizing his testimony. Todd Van Hoose, president of the Farm Credit Council, the FCS’s trade association, then fired back with a response, titled: “Make no mistake: The bank lobby wants to kill farm credit.” I encourage bankers to read both articles, and especially Van Hoose’s, as his article is an excellent example of the way in which the FCS tries to defend its lending practices and the competitive advantages it has over its taxpaying bank competitors. Speaking of articles, Ralph Nader has weighed in with this criticism of the FCS, The Funny Business of Farm Credit. Even those not traditionally involved in agriculture see that the FCS is not fulfilling its mission. Three large FCS associations plan merger; more are on the way Last month, three large midwestern FCS associations announced that they had “begun exploring a merger,” stating that their “organizations are in the process of evaluating this potential collaboration with the guidance and assistance of staff and industry experts.” They are AgStar Financial Services, which serves eastern and southern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin; 1st FCS, which serves northern and western Illinois; and Badgerland Financial, which serves southern Wisconsin. As of March 31, 2016, they were, respectfully, the fifth, tenth, and twelfth largest FCS associations. If they merge, which is more likely than not, the merged association, with $18 billion of assets, would