Farm Service Agency Loan Guarantee Limit Increase May Provide a Boost to Selected Bank Stocks

February 19, 2019

Kevin Reevey is a Managing Director, Senior Research Analyst for D.A. Davidson & Co. covering banks headquartered in the Midwest. He joined D.A. Davidson in 2016 with almost 24 years of experience covering banks as an analyst on the buy side and sell side, and in investment banking. Prior to joining D.A. Davidson, he was a Managing Director with FSI Group, LLC, a Cincinnati-based asset management firm, and a First VP with Ryan Beck & Co.

Mr. Reevey began his career as an investment banker covering depository institutions working for Merrill Lynch, Advest and Sterling Financial Investment Group. He sits on the alumni board of the Harvard Business School. Previously, he has served on the boards of the Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Foundation, ArtsWave and the Clifton Cultural Arts Center. Mr. Reevey holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a B.S. degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

In this 3,247 word interview exclusive to the Wall Street Transcript, Mr. Reevey identifies the “Best of the Best” bank stocks for investors and delivers a detailed analysis for their future prospects.

“The one bugaboo on the ag front is dairy, driven by the decline in class III milk prices, which has led to challenging financial times for dairy farmers and banks that lend to this segment. The U.S.-China trade war since June has shifted Chinese demand to other world ag suppliers as China has placed a 25% tariff on U.S. ag commodities, including dairy.

2019 is expected to be another challenging year for dairy farmers due to low class III milk prices, unresolved trade issues and softening collateral values — cattle and machinery.

The bright spot is that the Farm Service Agency — FSA — guarantee limits were recently increased to $1.75 million from $1.429 million with the passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act, which was signed into law on December 20, 2018. These higher limits should help mitigate credit losses for banks that lend to dairy farmers.”

To get the full analysis, read the entire 3,247 word interview, exclusive to the Wall Street Transcript.