WESTMINSTER, Md. — MidAtlantic Farm Credit, a members-owned cooperative and an institution of the national Farm Credit System, recently reported their first quarter financial results for 2021. Accruing loan volume for the first three months of 2021 was $2.82 billion, an increase of 0.9 percent compared to the same 2020 period.

Net interest income for the first quarter of 2021 was $19.1 million, a 1.2 percent increase from the same time period in 2020. Net income for the quarter was $12.1 million, a 6.6 percent decrease compared to the first quarter of 2020. Excluding the impact of Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation refunds issued in 2020, net income for the first quarter of 2021 was down 2.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2020.

“The start of a new year always brings a sense of optimism, especially after the challenging past year,” says Tom Truitt, CEO of MidAtlantic Farm Credit. “As we head into the second quarter of the 2021, we’re continuing to support our members as they look to the future and consider what their needs will be post-COVID.”

Nonaccrual loans increased $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2021 to $45.6 million, compared to $43.5 million at December 31, 2020 and $47.7 million at March 31, 2020. The association’s nonaccrual loans as a percentage of total loans increased to 1.57 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2021, compared to 1.50 percent at the end of 2020 and 1.66 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2020.

Members’ equity at March 31, 2021 totaled $667.1 million, up 0.3 percent from December 31, 2020, and the Total Capital Ratio was 21.85 percent. That number is compared with the 10.5 percent minimum, including the capital conversation buffer, mandated by the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), the Association’s independent regulator. The Association paid a record-breaking cash patronage distribution of $54.5 million to its member-borrowers in March 2021.

–Jenny Kreisher, MidAtlantic Farm Credit