Not only is she the CEO, her husband is a farmer. We don t face problems and issues they have in, say, industrial areas with layoffs or closures, she said. But, yes, it does take an understanding of the farmers and their needs, and realizing agriculture is cyclic. We don t just look at crops when determining if they can re-pay a loan. We look at all assets.
Opportunities also exist.
Many Delta banks, while maintaining their small-town atmosphere and focus on agriculture, have managed to not only survive good and bad times but prosper and grow, as well. With all the merger and acquisition and banks getting bigger and bigger, we see a lot of opportunity as a small locally-owned bank to fill the niche they left vacant in our communities, Clayton said. And we see a lot of opportunity in the Delta. It s this opportunity that s driving our expansion. While the bank has grown exponentially, it is still a Delta bank and must cope with the inevitable ag-related issues and problems.