As I write this, our new President is being sworn in just an hour away from me in Washington, DC. I don’t have to tell you that this is a historic day.
While it’s an exciting day for our new President, I’m sure it’s a little overwhelming as well. The hundreds of thousands of people who are packing the mall are just a fraction of the Americans who are anxious to see what he does…not just today, of course, but in the days to come. President Obama has a lot on his plate—the economy, homeland security, the war, the unrest in the Middle East, and on and on and on.
During his campaign, then-Senator Obama did a great job establishing his mission—to be a conduit for change. He reiterated his message points—change and hope—at each whistle stop, promising to give us hope, and to make a change.
I’m a big fan of mission statements. As you know, I reiterate our own mission statement here at MidAtlantic frequently (http://www.mafc.com/loans-mission-statement.asp?mapage=mission ). Each year, as we begin our strategic planning session, we ask ourselves if our mission is still relevant (and if it isn’t, we update it). When we make decisions throughout the year, we often look to our mission statement, and ask if our decision meets that test. It’s a helpful way to keep everyone on the same page, and focused on the promises that we’ve made to our members.
Farm Credit has stuck to its mission for more than 90 years, and it has helped us to create a strong resource for our stockholders. I hope that President Obama’s mission will serve our country equally well.
Bob
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Coming Home - January 9, 2009
A big thanks to all the staff members (both here and at AgFirst) who made our transition from two associations to one run so smoothly last week. I was thrilled that our systems combined as planned, and we were quickly back up to speed serving our customers.
I know that integrating our people into one cohesive, well functioning system will take longer than it took to integrate our loan files. But I also think that it will happen more quickly than you would expect.
As many of you know, I have spent much of my career with the Farm Credit System. But, for a few years there, I thought that the grass was greener on the other side of the fence, and I worked at a commercial bank.
It wasn’t the color of the grass that struck me when I made the move so much as it was the type of people that I was working with. They were nice people, and well meaning people, but they weren’t Farm Credit people.
What makes Farm Credit people? Commitment to our customers, for one. Commercial banks like their customers…because more customers, in general, mean more profits. But at Farm Credit, we LOVE our customers. We love them so much we want to see them succeed. That’s why we didn’t enter the subprime mortgage market…we cared too much to set our customers up for failure. That doesn’t mean that all of our loans succeed…but obviously, our percentages of failures are much lower than that of our commercial banking competitors.
Another difference is our knowledge of agriculture and rural folks. I know that ag varies within our territory, which is why we use a regional approach. But I also know that no one understands the local market better than our staff. Land prices may differ, markets may change…but we get those subtle variances. And we get them more than our competition.
One of the reasons we get them is because so many of us started our lives in agriculture, and in small and close-knit rural communities. Our borrowers know that. And I know that…it’s one of the reasons I like traveling throughout our association to talk to our employees—we all have a common background.
Finally, one thing we all have in common is a strong work ethic. We all want to do as much as we can (it’s part of loving our customers). No matter what office you work in, what region you call home, that desire to work hard is something that binds us all together.
I know it will take some time before we all know each other, and before we start to interact like one big team. But I’m confident that when that happens, it will feel like coming home.
Have a good weekend.
Bob
I know that integrating our people into one cohesive, well functioning system will take longer than it took to integrate our loan files. But I also think that it will happen more quickly than you would expect.
As many of you know, I have spent much of my career with the Farm Credit System. But, for a few years there, I thought that the grass was greener on the other side of the fence, and I worked at a commercial bank.
It wasn’t the color of the grass that struck me when I made the move so much as it was the type of people that I was working with. They were nice people, and well meaning people, but they weren’t Farm Credit people.
What makes Farm Credit people? Commitment to our customers, for one. Commercial banks like their customers…because more customers, in general, mean more profits. But at Farm Credit, we LOVE our customers. We love them so much we want to see them succeed. That’s why we didn’t enter the subprime mortgage market…we cared too much to set our customers up for failure. That doesn’t mean that all of our loans succeed…but obviously, our percentages of failures are much lower than that of our commercial banking competitors.
Another difference is our knowledge of agriculture and rural folks. I know that ag varies within our territory, which is why we use a regional approach. But I also know that no one understands the local market better than our staff. Land prices may differ, markets may change…but we get those subtle variances. And we get them more than our competition.
One of the reasons we get them is because so many of us started our lives in agriculture, and in small and close-knit rural communities. Our borrowers know that. And I know that…it’s one of the reasons I like traveling throughout our association to talk to our employees—we all have a common background.
Finally, one thing we all have in common is a strong work ethic. We all want to do as much as we can (it’s part of loving our customers). No matter what office you work in, what region you call home, that desire to work hard is something that binds us all together.
I know it will take some time before we all know each other, and before we start to interact like one big team. But I’m confident that when that happens, it will feel like coming home.
Have a good weekend.
Bob
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Being Thankful: November 26, 2008
Being Thankful
Earlier today, it was announced that our merger with Valley Farm Credit has been approved by our stockholders. Assuming we continue to meet our very aggressive schedule, the merger will be complete on December 31 and we will begin doing business jointly on January 1.
As you may have heard, we have decided to close our offices to the general public on January 2 so that we can test our systems and make sure that the technical part of our merger is complete and perfect. Our first priority in this merger, as with any project that we undertake, is to put the needs of our customers first. By closing our offices, we can ensure top-notch customer service on the following Monday (if there are any glitches, we’ll have the weekend to fix them).
Of course, I’m optimistic that there won’t be any glitches…and we’ll be back to business as usual by the afternoon of the 2nd, serving our customers. My goal when it comes to members is always to under-promise and over-deliver—as stockholders and owners, they deserve that. So, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that everything goes as planned during the system transition.
Speaking of transitions, this is the week that I typically transition into “holiday mode.” I may not be ready to put up my own decorations (I never am), but I’m ready to enjoy looking at them on other people’s lawns.
This is also the time that I start thinking about all of the things that I’m thankful for. Here’s my list: I’m thankful that I work for an institution that puts its members first. I think that’s a great key to success—and it’s something that our fellow financial institutions are just figuring out now, as they’re looking at bailouts and buyouts. I’m thankful that we’re not in that boat.
I’m thankful, too, that I work with a great group of individuals who are committed to customer service. When I visit with customers, or see them at events, I hear great feedback on that commitment. I gave a presentation last week to one of our dealers—Binkley and Hurst—and one of the participants came up to me to rave about the great job that we do. This new member mentioned his growing anxiety with the reliability of the commercial bank he deals with...and saw us as a more stable provider. He made special note of saying that he appreciated the way we "hustled" for his business. I hear that a lot…and I probably don’t pass it on enough. So, please accept my deepest thanks for everything that you do to make Farm Credit a critical partner for our customers. Whether that means working on holidays, or staying late to finish a project, I am thankful for your commitment.
Finally, I’m thankful for the strong leadership that we have, on all levels. We have a strong leadership team here, as well as a thoughtful and enthusiastic board of directors that pushes me to challenge myself. I’m also thankful for the system leadership that we have right now, from the Funding Corporation to the Farm Credit Council. The financial market is challenging right now (did I just say that I like to be challenged? Maybe not quite this much!), and it looks like it’s going to continue that way through 2009. We’re all working together to do the right thing—and the right thing is to serve our members consistently.
I hope that your list of things to be thankful for is long, like mine (I didn’t even get into all the things I’m thankful for at home!!!) If you’re so inclined, feel free to share them with me. Because that’s something else I’m thankful for—the day-to-day interaction with all of you. Sometimes I get pretty busy with travel, and conference calls, but I’m never too busy to talk to someone from my team.
Best Thanksgiving wishes, to you and your family. If you’re traveling, travel safe.
Earlier today, it was announced that our merger with Valley Farm Credit has been approved by our stockholders. Assuming we continue to meet our very aggressive schedule, the merger will be complete on December 31 and we will begin doing business jointly on January 1.
As you may have heard, we have decided to close our offices to the general public on January 2 so that we can test our systems and make sure that the technical part of our merger is complete and perfect. Our first priority in this merger, as with any project that we undertake, is to put the needs of our customers first. By closing our offices, we can ensure top-notch customer service on the following Monday (if there are any glitches, we’ll have the weekend to fix them).
Of course, I’m optimistic that there won’t be any glitches…and we’ll be back to business as usual by the afternoon of the 2nd, serving our customers. My goal when it comes to members is always to under-promise and over-deliver—as stockholders and owners, they deserve that. So, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that everything goes as planned during the system transition.
Speaking of transitions, this is the week that I typically transition into “holiday mode.” I may not be ready to put up my own decorations (I never am), but I’m ready to enjoy looking at them on other people’s lawns.
This is also the time that I start thinking about all of the things that I’m thankful for. Here’s my list: I’m thankful that I work for an institution that puts its members first. I think that’s a great key to success—and it’s something that our fellow financial institutions are just figuring out now, as they’re looking at bailouts and buyouts. I’m thankful that we’re not in that boat.
I’m thankful, too, that I work with a great group of individuals who are committed to customer service. When I visit with customers, or see them at events, I hear great feedback on that commitment. I gave a presentation last week to one of our dealers—Binkley and Hurst—and one of the participants came up to me to rave about the great job that we do. This new member mentioned his growing anxiety with the reliability of the commercial bank he deals with...and saw us as a more stable provider. He made special note of saying that he appreciated the way we "hustled" for his business. I hear that a lot…and I probably don’t pass it on enough. So, please accept my deepest thanks for everything that you do to make Farm Credit a critical partner for our customers. Whether that means working on holidays, or staying late to finish a project, I am thankful for your commitment.
Finally, I’m thankful for the strong leadership that we have, on all levels. We have a strong leadership team here, as well as a thoughtful and enthusiastic board of directors that pushes me to challenge myself. I’m also thankful for the system leadership that we have right now, from the Funding Corporation to the Farm Credit Council. The financial market is challenging right now (did I just say that I like to be challenged? Maybe not quite this much!), and it looks like it’s going to continue that way through 2009. We’re all working together to do the right thing—and the right thing is to serve our members consistently.
I hope that your list of things to be thankful for is long, like mine (I didn’t even get into all the things I’m thankful for at home!!!) If you’re so inclined, feel free to share them with me. Because that’s something else I’m thankful for—the day-to-day interaction with all of you. Sometimes I get pretty busy with travel, and conference calls, but I’m never too busy to talk to someone from my team.
Best Thanksgiving wishes, to you and your family. If you’re traveling, travel safe.
Trust Issues: October 13, 2008
Last week, I met with a group of grain farmers here in Maryland. It’s always nice to get out and talk with the folks that we serve.
As you can imagine, this meeting was full of tough questions: questions about the economy, and questions about Farm Credit. With everyone painting the financial industry with the same ugly brush, there was some concern about our stability, and whether or not we’ll be able to continue to help farmers in the future.
I’m sure I’m not the only one getting these questions, so I thought I’d share with you some of my answers.
The issue today is an easy one to define—the issue is trust. It seems like no one trusts financial institutions anymore—not the brokers on Wall Street, not consumers, not even other banks. That lack of trust has a direct impact on us—when our Funding Corporation looks for an investor to buy our bonds, there are fewer bids. Fewer bids means money is more expensive (because those bidders only want very profitable, very safe investments right now). The good news is that we still have access to capital .
What do we tell our borrowers? We tell them the truth. The truth is that Farm Credit was not the cause of the current credit crisis, but the crisis is so large that it is affecting financial institutions both good and bad. The truth is that we’re one of the good ones—as both a System and an association, Farm Credit has strong capital reserves, strong earnings and strong credit quality. That’s not to say that we haven’t felt some stress as well; we certainly have borrowers who have been affected by the downturn of the general economy. But that’s why we have diversity in our portfolio—so that we can handle a downturn as well as an upturn. That’s also why we’ve made some of the decisions that we’ve made recently—changes like retaining capital so that we are strong, building our allowance for loan losses, and challenging our ALCO committee to look at our products, fees and rates so that we can continue to strike a balance between being strong financially and serving our membership in good times and bad.
Trust got our industry into trouble. We are very lucky to have the trust of our stockholders, and we don’t want to lose that. We plan to help by explaining the current situation to our customers, giving them honest and open answers, and continuing to work to help them find the right package to finance their farm or home. That will go a long way towards helping to rebuild trust in our industry, and towards helping them keep their trust in Farm Credit.
We’re lucky that we have a great relationship with our borrowers, but we can’t take that for granted. Stay tuned though, as I plan to tell you about some of the things we’re doing as a System to build on that relationship, and continue to foster trust.
(By the way, I saw all my kids Friday night...and they're just shaking their heads at the thought of me doing a blog. You know the look...it's the "what are we gonna do with him/ain't he cute" look you give your crazy uncle!)
Bob
As you can imagine, this meeting was full of tough questions: questions about the economy, and questions about Farm Credit. With everyone painting the financial industry with the same ugly brush, there was some concern about our stability, and whether or not we’ll be able to continue to help farmers in the future.
I’m sure I’m not the only one getting these questions, so I thought I’d share with you some of my answers.
The issue today is an easy one to define—the issue is trust. It seems like no one trusts financial institutions anymore—not the brokers on Wall Street, not consumers, not even other banks. That lack of trust has a direct impact on us—when our Funding Corporation looks for an investor to buy our bonds, there are fewer bids. Fewer bids means money is more expensive (because those bidders only want very profitable, very safe investments right now). The good news is that we still have access to capital .
What do we tell our borrowers? We tell them the truth. The truth is that Farm Credit was not the cause of the current credit crisis, but the crisis is so large that it is affecting financial institutions both good and bad. The truth is that we’re one of the good ones—as both a System and an association, Farm Credit has strong capital reserves, strong earnings and strong credit quality. That’s not to say that we haven’t felt some stress as well; we certainly have borrowers who have been affected by the downturn of the general economy. But that’s why we have diversity in our portfolio—so that we can handle a downturn as well as an upturn. That’s also why we’ve made some of the decisions that we’ve made recently—changes like retaining capital so that we are strong, building our allowance for loan losses, and challenging our ALCO committee to look at our products, fees and rates so that we can continue to strike a balance between being strong financially and serving our membership in good times and bad.
Trust got our industry into trouble. We are very lucky to have the trust of our stockholders, and we don’t want to lose that. We plan to help by explaining the current situation to our customers, giving them honest and open answers, and continuing to work to help them find the right package to finance their farm or home. That will go a long way towards helping to rebuild trust in our industry, and towards helping them keep their trust in Farm Credit.
We’re lucky that we have a great relationship with our borrowers, but we can’t take that for granted. Stay tuned though, as I plan to tell you about some of the things we’re doing as a System to build on that relationship, and continue to foster trust.
(By the way, I saw all my kids Friday night...and they're just shaking their heads at the thought of me doing a blog. You know the look...it's the "what are we gonna do with him/ain't he cute" look you give your crazy uncle!)
Bob
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