Friday, May 18, 2012

Promotion - Ken Nelson

I am pleased to announce that Ken Nelson has been promoted to Assistant Vice President/Branch Manager in our White River Jct. office. This promotion is effective 7/01/12 when Jeff Temple steps down from full-time employment.

Ken has 30 years of experience with Farm Credit. He graduated from UVM in 1974 with a BS in animal science. After farming for a few years with his father, he was hired in 1982 as a credit representative in the St. Johnsbury office. Ken began working out of the White River Jct. office in 1992 when the St. Johnsbury office was closed. From 1995 to 1998, he was an Association appraiser. Ken has been a senior loan officer since 2004.

Congratulations, Ken!

Please note that we are posting a loan officer position in White River Jct. Details on our web site: Career Opportunities.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Funding Corp. CEO Visits Yankee

Tracey McCabe, President and CEO of the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation, visited Yankee Farm Credit on May 10th. The Funding Corporation issues Farm Credit System debt to investors on Wall Street and all over the world. This is the primary source of funds for the Farm Credit System to lend to borrowers. The Funding Corporation is located in Jersey City, New Jersey, directly across the Hudson River from the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.

In order to sell bonds and other financial instruments to investors, the Funding Corporation has to be able to explain the risks inherent in that debt. Tracey was interested in how Yankee Farm Credit analyzes risk: how we capture and report data relative to risk, and how we use that data. Several staff members demonstrated various software systems and analyses to Tracey, including Credit Analyst April Smith and Senior Loan Officer Ken Nelson from our White River Jct. office, and Chief Financial Officer Greg LeDuc and VP/Operations John Peters from our Williston office.

Following discussions in the office, Tracey visited a nearby farm – Conants' Riverside Farm in Richmond, VT. This 430 cow dairy farm in the Winooski River Valley has been in the Conant family since 1854. Dave and Deb Conant, with their son Ransom, currently manage the farm. Dave’s mother, Gloria, who passed away earlier this year, was a past Farm Credit director. From 1976 to 1983 Gloria Conant served on the board of one of the associations that preceded Yankee Farm Credit, and from 1983 to 1987 she was the first woman on the board of directors of the Springfield Farm Credit Banks.

The Conants belong to Agri-Mark, which makes Cabot Cheese, hence the Cabot sign on the barn in the photo below. They also grow sweet corn, pumpkins and squash for roadside sales. Left to right in the photo below are Tracey, Deb, Ransom and Dave.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Q1 2012 Financial Results

Quarterly net income for Yankee was $2.1 million, an increase of $66 thousand over 2011. Net interest income increased 2.1 percent to $3.0 million, up from $2.9 million in 2011. The most significant factor driving the increase in net income was the provision for credit losses; which was $76 thousand lower in 2012 due to an improvement in credit quality. The decrease in the provision for credit losses was offset by a decrease of $17 thousand in other income and an increase in other expenses of $88 thousand.

Quarter-end loans held by the Association at March 31, 2012 were $337.4 million, up 2.7 percent from the prior year. The loan portfolio continues to be concentrated in the dairy industry, with 56.5 percent of the loans invested in dairy businesses. The second largest concentration is timber, with 12.5 percent of the loan volume at quarter-end.

Credit quality across Yankee’s loan portfolio improved slightly during the quarter and remained well within the risk-bearing capacity of the Association. At quarter-end 1.6 percent of the Association loans were classified as nonperforming, unchanged from the end of 2011. There were no loan charge-offs, but recoveries of $6 thousand in the quarter. The Association’s permanent capital ratio at quarter end was 20.7%, up from 20.6% at the end of 2011.

The 2011 patronage refund to members in the amount of $3.7 million was paid 100% in cash on March 23, 2012.

The complete quarterly report is available on our web site.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Rob Guay - Appraiser

I am pleased to announce that Rob Guay has earned the status of Certified General Real Estate Appraiser in Vermont.

The requirements to become a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser are daunting. They include 300 classroom hours in a rigorous training program developed by the Appraisal Qualifications Board, a board of The Appraisal Foundation, and administered by the individual states. Another requirement is 3,000 hours of supervised appraisal practice. The applicant must also pass a comprehensive final examination, in addition to tests in the various training sessions.

Rob completed his course work last fall and passed the comprehensive exam in January. On April 4th he completed the final step in the process, which was the acceptance of his appraisal practice hours by the Vermont Board of Real Estate Appraisers.

Rob started working for Yankee Farm Credit in the summer of 2008 and became an appraiser trainee in November 2008. He worked hard to become a licensed appraiser in just over three years.

Rob joins Liz Bayne and Geoff Yates as licensed appraisers in Yankee’s Appraisal Department. Special thanks to Vice President/Director-Appraisal Services Geoff Yates for mentoring Rob during his appraiser trainee period.

Congratulations, Rob, on this significant accomplishment!