Farm Credit Bank issues $300M in stock

AUSTIN, Texas — Farm Credit Bank of Texas (FCBT), a cooperatively owned wholesale funding bank, issued $300 million of perpetual non-cumulative preferred stock Aug. 26.

The Austin-based bank reported $82 million of net income for the first six months of 2010, an 84.5 percent increase over the same period of 2009. FCBT loan volume totaled $10.6 billion at mid-year 2010. In July, both Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services affirmed the bank’s positive investor-grade ratings.

Farm Credit Bank of Texas is the source of funds for its owners — 18 rural lending cooperatives in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas, and four other financing institutions. It also participates with other lenders in the capital markets, providing loans to agribusiness, energy and rural telecommunications firms.

The bank is part of the $213-billion Farm Credit System, a network of rural financial cooperatives, owned and operated by the farmers, ranchers and rural customers they serve.