Who They Are
Farm Credit Bank of Texas, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is a cooperatively owned wholesale bank with assets of $13.7 billion. They are part of the nationwide Farm Credit System, established by Congress in 1916. Together with their affiliated lending cooperatives, they comprise the $17.4 billion Tenth Farm Credit District, the single largest rural lending network serving Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas.

What They Do 
They provide loan funds and services to 20 retail-lending co-ops and four Other Financing Institutions. These lenders make loans for rural real estate, agribusiness and agricultural production. They also are active in the capital markets arena, participating in large-loan opportunities with the food, agribusiness, rural utility and rural communications sectors.

Their Mission
Their mission is to enhance the quality of life in rural America by using cooperative principles to provide competitive credit and superior service to their customers.

Their Customers
Their customers are otheir owners—14 Agricultural Credit Associations (ACAs), which provide agricultural, agribusiness and rural mortgage financing; six Federal Land Credit Associations (FLCAs), which make rural real estate loans; and five Other Financing Institutions (OFIs). These lenders in turn provide loans and financial services to farmers, ranchers, agribusiness firms, country homeowners and other rural landowners—as well as to capital markets customers.

Their Source of Funds
They benefit from having a dependable source of competitively priced capital. Their funds come from the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation, which sells Farm Credit System bonds and notes to investors in the nation's money markets. As part of the $179.5 billion Farm Credit System, they enjoy an AAA rating on their long-term debt.

Their Management and Operations
The Farm Credit Bank of Texas is governed by a seven-member board of directors. Five directors are farmers or ranchers, who are elected by the customers of the 20 lending cooperatives that own the bank. The seventh director is appointed by the elected board members. Their senior management team is accountable to the board of directors and works with the board to set the bank's direction, goals and strategies. They are regulated by the federal Farm Credit Administration, whose board is appointed by the president of the United States.