Chronicles

Earnings rebound as NIM hits record low

FDIC-insured institutions made $76.8 billion in the first quarter of 2021, an improvement of 315.3 percent  ($58.3 billion) from last year. Net interest margin, however, hit a record low of 2.56 percent, dropping 57 basis points from a year prior. The 4,531 FDIC-insured community banks also posted a record low NIM, declining 28 basis points to 3.26 percent. [Continue]

Heartland economy continues rebound, but hiring lags

Rows of soy plants in a field

The Rural Mainstreet Index continued its recent rebound, posting an increase to 78.8 from last month’s 69.0, the sixth straight month of positive overall numbers. About 60.6 percent of respondents said their local economies had expanded during that time, but 90 percent said that difficulty hiring employees was restraining growth. [Continue]

Q1 ag conditions strengthen in Tenth Fed

After a sharp rebound at the end of 2020, the agricultural economy in the Tenth District continued to improve in the first quarter of 2021, according to an ag credit survey by the Kansas City Federal Reserve.  Ag credit conditions strengthened for the second consecutive quarter as crop prices, farm income, loan repayment rates and farmland values all increased, indicating strong profit potential for farm borrowers.  [Continue]

Glacier to buy Utah bank

Montana’s Glacier Bancorp is acquiring Altabancorp and its subsidiary Altabank in American Fork, Utah, in a deal worth $933.5 million. [Continue]

Missouri bank demonstrates how banks can be gathering spaces

Looking at Belgrade State Bank’s Potosi, Mo., branch from the outside, you can likely guess right away the building was once a church. The converted branch still has a traditional steeple, arch-shaped entryways and original stained glass windows preserved from what used to be the Potosi Methodist Episcopal South Church.  [Continue]