CoBank appoints Steven Wittbecker to lead Farm Credit Banking Group
DENVER (March 16, 2026) — CoBank, a cooperative bank serving agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, today announced that Steven Wittbecker has been appointed Executive Vice President and head of Farm Credit Banking. He will be responsible for CoBank’s funding relationships with its 16 affiliated Farm Credit associations as well as its commerce relationships with other institutions in the Farm Credit System.
Wittbecker currently serves as the bank’s Chief Sustainability Officer, with responsibility for advancing the bank’s sustainability strategy and related initiatives. Previously, Wittbecker served as CoBank’s Chief Audit Officer for 10 years, overseeing the bank’s internal audit and asset review functions. He joined CoBank in 2011, after serving as a director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Risk Assurance practice for eight years.
“As a member of the Farm Credit System, CoBank’s commerce relationship and partnership with the rest of the System is a critical component of our business model and essential to mission fulfillment at CoBank,” said CoBank President Eric Itambo. “Steve’s deep knowledge of Farm Credit and years of experience working with System institutions will be invaluable in his new role.”
Wittbecker succeeds Brenda Frank, who was recently appointed to serve as the bank’s Chief Transformation Officer and oversee technology investment and implementation. He will continue to lead the bank’s sustainability function in addition to the Farm Credit Banking Group , which includes Farm Credit Leasing and the bank’s mission investments. He will continue to serve on the bank’s Management Executive Committee and will report to Itambo.
About CoBank
CoBank is a cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving almost 80,000 farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country. CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture, rural infrastructure and rural communities. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore.