World's Safest Banks 2017

CoBank, a leading cooperative bank serving agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, has been named to Global Finance magazine's list of the world's safest banks for 2017.

Global Finance, which covers the financial services industry, publishes its "World's 50 Safest Banks" list annually. Banks are ranked using a methodology that includes total assets and an evaluation of long-term ratings from major rating agencies. CoBank was first named to the list in 2011 and has been included every year since.

"CoBank's financial strength and stability is important to our customers and critical to our ability to fulfill our mission over the long term," said Tom Halverson, CoBank's president and chief executive officer. "We appreciate receiving this recognition, which reflects our membership in the Farm Credit System as well as the strong financial discipline we use in managing our business operations."

Dairy Processors Stretched by Milk Production Gains

Every year, U.S. dairy farmers produce 3 billion more pounds of milk than the year before. For the past few years, production growth has outpaced processing capacity growth and dairy processors are struggling to keep pace, according to a new report from CoBank's Knowledge Exchange Division.

As a result, "Dairy processors are faced with the challenge of handling an ever-growing milk supply, while anticipating the right product mix to meet consumer demand," said Ben Laine, senior dairy economist at CoBank. "An additional 27 billion pounds of U.S. milk processing capacity will be needed over the next 10 years if current trends persist."

Numerous new plants and plant expansion projects are underway or recently completed, but available capacity remains a challenge at times-especially in the Northeast and Mideast areas-and has strained the ability of dairy cooperatives to fill the role of market balancers. Since these co-ops largely bear the brunt of the near-term oversupply of milk, they are increasingly looking for ways to discourage producers from expanding production.

CoBank Commits More Than $350,000 to Hurricane Harvey And Hurricane Irma Relief Efforts

CoBank today announced it has committed more than $350,000 to support relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Irma in Florida and the Southeast. CoBank’s contributions are being made in partnership with customers, CoBank employees and other Farm Credit institutions and will support a number of organizations involved in the humanitarian response to the hurricanes.

“It is difficult to grasp the full scope of damage caused by these two devastating hurricanes,” said Tom Halverson, CoBank’s president and chief executive officer. “The impact of these disasters will be felt for a long time, but CoBank is committed to supporting our customers, our colleagues and our Farm Credit partners as they begin the process of recovery. CoBank stands with people in impacted communities and is proud to provide a helping hand at this difficult time.”

CoBank Announces Changes To Capital Plans And Patronage Programs For Customer Owners

CoBank announced changes to its capital plans and patronage programs for eligible customer-owners.

The changes, which take effect in 2018 for patronage distributed in 2019, include reductions in targeted patronage levels and the creation of a separate capital plan for rural electric and water customers. The changes are designed to strengthen CoBank’s long-term capacity to serve customers’ borrowing needs, enhance the bank’s ability to capitalize future customer growth, and ensure equitability among different customer segments.

"Our board has been working with executive management for close to a year to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the capital plans and patronage programs currently in place at CoBank," said Everett Dobrinski, chairman of the board of directors. "We believe strongly that patronage is a key component of the value proposition we offer our customers, and that these changes strike an appropriate balance between delivering strong patronage returns to our member-owners and maintaining financial strength to serve our customers for the long term."

Increase in Ethanol Production Likely to Outpace Near Term Demand

According to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division, the ethanol market will soon face worsening slim-to-negative profit margins, which could potentially push the industry toward consolidation. However, producers that are well-capitalized with strong balance sheets and cash reserves will be in the best position to weather the softening market. 

The report, “Ethanol’s Growth Path: Output and Export Uncertainties Both Rising,” outlines how an ethanol market fueled by corn prices at multi-year lows coupled with reinvestment into production capacity will push supply past demand growth.

“Forecasts indicate that total ethanol production by 2020 will have increased by approximately 850 – 900 million gallons, compared to 2017 levels,” said Tanner Ehmke, CoBank senior economist. “Without a substantial increase in domestic demand or exports to clear excess supplies, ethanol producers are facing a downturn over the medium term. Those who have access to multiple transportation markets and have invested in new technology will be leaner and more cost efficient enabling greater flexibility to endure prolonged periods of low prices.”