2008-04-07 23:52:47 -

- AgFirst Farm Credit Bank officials announced today the distribution of more than $241 million in patronage refunds to borrowers throughout their 15-state region.

The patronage program is a form of profit sharing. Because AgFirst and its affiliated Farm Credit associations operate as cooperatives, their borrowers--who are also their owners--get to reap the rewards of a strong year.

The refunds amount to an average of 20 cents on every dollar of loan interest accrued in 2007. Patronage refund checks are in the process of being distributed and should arrive in early April.

Since 1989, AgFirst has paid patronage refunds totaling $2.7 billion.

"Despite a severe drought in parts of our territory, crop and livestock farmers experienced a generally favorable year in 2007," AgFirst CEO F.A. (Andy) Lowrey said. Favorable factors include increased demand for corn and a rise in exports of U.S. meat products, he said.

Lowrey also noted capital expansion in agribusiness and a rural home market that remains relatively steady, bucking the national trend of falling home price and rising foreclosures. In addition to financing farming operations, Farm Credit associations also provide rural economic development and rural home loans.

Highlights of the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank & District Associations 2007 annual report include:

-- Loan volume reached a record $20.7 billion at year end. Loan portfolios increased more than $2 billion - up 11.3 percent over the previous year.

-- Credit quality remains high. The AgFirst district reported 95.89 percent acceptable loans at year-end, and delinquencies were only 0.31 percent of total loans, down from 0.79 percent the previous year.

-- Net income for 2007 totaled $412 million, up 0.4 percent over the previous year.

The year-end figures represent combined results from the bank and all 23 local cooperatives in the AgFirst district, which stretches from Miami to Philadelphia, New Orleans and Cleveland.

About AgFirst Farm Credit Bank: AgFirst Farm Credit Bank (www.agfirst.com) is part of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of agricultural and rural lending institutions cooperatively owned by their borrowers. AgFirst serves a 15-state region- Florida, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Mississippi, West Virginia, portions of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Louisiana - plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

AgFirst Farm Credit Bank
Media Contact:
Milo Ippolito
mippolito@freebairn.com
404-487-6194