Continued Strong Net Income and Loan Credit Quality ST. PAUL, Minn., May 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, St. Paul-based AgriBank announced financial results for the first quarter of 2024, with strong profitability, credit quality, and liquidity and capital. Highlights: Profitability: Net income remained strong at $211.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. AgriBank's year-to-date return on assets (ROA) ratio of 49 basis points was just below the target of 50 basis points. Credit quality: Total loan portfolio credit quality remained strong, with 99.5 percent of loans classified as acceptable at March 31, 2024. Liquidity and capital: End-of-the-quarter liquidity was 165 days, well above the regulatory requirement. Capital also remained well above the regulatory minimums and company targets. "The Farm Credit lenders we support continue to excel at meeting the needs of farmers, ranchers and other rural customers, which translates into strong financial performance for AgriBank," said Jeffrey Swanhorst, AgriBank chief executive officer. "We have begun the year just as we completed the last one—with strong profitability and credit quality, and capital and liquidity that are well above regulatory requirements. Borrowers have sound reasons to depend on Farm Credit." 2024 Results of Operations Net interest income was $235.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, an increase of $12.5 million, or 5.6 percent, compared to the same period of the prior year. Net interest income increased, primarily driven by the continued positive impact of the rise in interest rates on the benefit on non-interest bearing funding and growth in the retail portfolio when compared to the same period of the prior year. These factors were partially offset by decreased spread income on investment securities. Non-interest income was $28.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, an increase of $2.0 million, or 7.5 percent, compared to the same period of the prior year, mostly related to an increase in mineral income due to a rise in gas and oil production, a result of added wells during the first quarter. Non-interest expense was $51.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, an increase of $6.1 million, or 13.4 percent, compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was mainly due to increases in loan servicing fees related to expansion in AgriBank's asset pool programs in the second half of 2023. Loan Portfolio  Total loans were $149.3 billion at March 31, 2024, an increase of $616.6 million, or 0.4 percent, compared to December 31, 2023. This increase was primarily attributable to wholesale loan growth. AgriBank's credit quality reflects the overall financial strength of District Associations and their underlying portfolios of retail loans. AgriBank's portfolio was composed of 99.5 percent acceptable loans at March 31, 2024, compared to 99.4 percent at December 31, 2023. Loans classified as acceptable represent the highest-quality assets. The credit quality of AgriBank's retail loan portfolio increased slightly to 96.5 percent classified as acceptable at March 31, 2024, compared to 96.2 percent acceptable at December 31, 2023. Agricultural Conditions On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) released its initial forecast of the U.S. aggregate farm income and financial conditions for 2024 and updated its 2023 forecast. The revised 2023 nominal net farm income (NFI) forecast of $155.9 billion represented a $29.7 billion decline from the record-high 2022 level, down 16.0 percent, following three-consecutive years with substantial increases. Although down, when adjusting for inflation, the 2023 real NFI forecast is $41.1 billion, or 34.8 percent, above the 20-year average (2003-2022) net farm income in 2024 dollars. The initial 2024 nominal NFI projection of $116.1 billion would represent a decline of $39.8 billion, or 25.5 percent, from the revised 2023 NFI forecast. Although NFI is forecast to decline ...