Press Release: Washington, D.C. (May 22, 2024)—Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on tomorrow’s House Agriculture Committee farm bill markup.

“ICBA and the nation’s community banks — which make roughly 80% of the banking industry’s agricultural loans — appreciate the hard work invested into developing a new five-year farm bill. The farm bill is an important tool that helps community banks work with farmers, ranchers, and rural communities in ensuring economic prosperity and sound planning for the future. We applaud Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Scott and other members of the House Agriculture Committee for their efforts, though several important issues remain unresolved.

“ICBA appreciates stronger commodity price protections and improvements to the crop insurance program, which are important for enabling producers to repay their loans. We also note that several enhancements have been made to the USDA guaranteed farm loan programs, including an important increase in loan limits and quicker turnaround times, as advocated by ICBA. These and other changes will allow easier access to credit for producers in amounts necessary to sustain their farms and ranches.

“However, we remain concerned about expansions of Farm Credit System authorities, which could allow this government-sponsored enterprise to undercut community bank lending activities. Providing an exemption for FCS to evade the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 1071 small-business data collection and reporting rule is unfair and inequitable to community banks. Potential amendments favoring the FCS, such as increasing population limits on home lending, would further disadvantage community banks and the communities they serve.

“We look forward to working with members of the committee to address our concerns and urge lawmakers to collaborate in a bipartisan manner as work on the farm bill continues.”

About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.

As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.

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