Ag lending

On Dec. 31, 2016. Dollars in thousands.

The Rural Housing Service is expanding its manufactured housing loan guarantee program to include more refinancings of used or existing manufactured homes.

Pacific Premier in California has been firing on all cylinders when it comes to lending, but it needed low-cost deposits. Buying Heritage Oaks Bancorp will do just that.

The Farm Service Agency and the Small Business Administration seem to be taking longer to approve guarantees for loans to facilities that house livestock, creating another headache for bankers.

Betting the farm on record crop, livestock and dairy prices has turned into a losing investment for an expanding share of America's agricultural heartland. The level of debt to income is the highest in three decades, and growers are increasingly unable to make loan payments.

It's been a tough year for farmers, and lenders are looking for ways to help those borrowers offset sagging income.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed a housing reform bill that will open the door for welfare recipients to use federal rent vouchers to purchase manufactured homes and become homeowners.

The Senate approved a bill Thursday by unanimous consent that includes major reforms to the Federal Housing Administration condominium loan program and the Rural Housing Service loan program.

The management team at Bank of the Ozarks knows it has a dependency on commercial real estate. But they assert that sound underwriting, and efforts to diversify, are what really matters when assessing risk.

A group of CoBank ACB bondholders, including Capital Group Cos., are suing the farm lender after it repurchased $405 million of high-interest bonds over their objections.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has implemented a new rule that broadens the ability of lenders in rural and underserved areas to originate qualified mortgages.

American Banker Research's Index of Banking Activity, which had the lowest reading in its nearly four-year history in January, revealed that issues in oil-producing states are contributing to decreases in commercial loan applications and approvals.

Ag lenders enjoyed solid credit metrics and an increase in farms loans in 2015. Those results could come under pressure this year, requiring bankers to become more vigilant in talking to their agricultural clients.

A proposal issued two weeks ago by the FHFA calls on the two government-sponsored enterprises to identify opportunities to increase their purchases of small multifamily properties in rural areas, sparking some concern among lenders.

ChoiceOne Bank in Sparta, Mich., has appointed Bradley Henion chief lending officer.

Bankers need to show they are in control of relationships with outside vendors, must be ready to respond to M&A-related protests and should be as concerned about economic growth as interest rates, according to the St. Louis Fed's supervisory chief.

Suncrest Bank is hoping that its team of experienced executives, combined with organic growth and acquisitions, will help more than double its assets in the next few years.

First National Bank of Pana in Illinois has agreed to buy The State Bank of Blue Mound in Illinois.

Farmer Mac reported higher second-quarter profit, citing an increase in the value of financial derivatives and hedged assets.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service is raising the cost of its home-loan guarantees that enable borrowers to purchase homes in certain areas without down payments.