Farm Foreclosures Worry Rural Bankers
The Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI) released each month by Creighton University is a survey of ag bankers in a 10-state region. Although October’s number showed outlooks being on the rise, it’s the struggling farm economy due to stagnant crop prices that’s acting as a wet blanket on the overall RMI.
“As a result of weak farm income and low agriculture commodity prices, approximately 9.5% of bank CEOs expect farm loan foreclosures to pose the greatest threat to banking operations over the next five years,” says Ernie Goss, RMI author.
The survey showed almost one in 10 bankers expect farm foreclosures to be the greatest challenge to banking operations over the next five years.
“I don’t think the bottom is in in terms of, for example, foreclosures and delinquencies and bankruptcies,” Goss says. “I think still we’ve got a bottom there ahead of us.”
