WASHINGTON — As ag bankers continue to seek ways to help their producer clients work through difficult economic conditions in rural America, the American Bankers Association invites bankers to join their peers in the ABA Ag Bank Network. The network is an online forum, available only to ABA members, that allows participants to share questions, concerns, documents and other information related to agricultural lending.
“We wanted to bring the success of our other groupsites to our ag banker members,” said Steve Apodaca, senior vice president, ABA’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Banking. “It’s an opportunity for bankers to compare notes with their peers, ask questions and bring real solutions back to their bank.”
“Because of my close involvement with ABA, I’ve built relationships with colleagues I can turn to with questions and ideas,” said Joe Kessie, chairman of ABA’s Agricultural and Rural Bankers Committee and senior vice president, Lake City Bank in Warsaw, Ind. “Now, bankers across the country – through our ag banker network – can have the same experience. Recently, I called one of my fellow committee members to see what normal payment frequency terms were on custom feeding cattle, because I had a client that was going to start doing this. Now with the network, I can pose questions like this to a broader group.”
ABA also hosts popular groupsites for bank marketers and compliance professionals.