DAVE’S VIEW
Greetings:
Earlier this year, FCS
Financial hosted our
annual Customer
Appreciation Day. The
Association returned
approximately
$12.5 million to our
member-owners in
the form of patronage
dividends. This
distribution equated to
roughly a 0.45% return
David Janish, CEO
of average member
borrowings from FCS Financial. Ultimately, the
patronage distribution reduced our members’ borrowing
costs in an already low interest rate environment.
Over the past decade, FCS Financial has returned
more than $73 million to our member-owners through
our patronage program. These dollars have not only
benefited our members but also benefited rural
communities throughout Missouri as many of these
dollars are reinvested in the local economy through the
purchase of products and services from local businesses.
FCS Financial operates in a competitive
environment as Missouri has one of the largest
concentrations of banks in the nation. Many of our
members have relationships with other financial
institutions and have multiple options for their
financing needs. Therefore, our patronage program
is a key component to our value proposition to our
members.
We also believe our expertise in agriculture and
our relationship lending approach is another key
component. Our objective is to understand your
operation so that we can provide customized solutions
to help you meet your goals. Our high quality and
flexible products and services can generally be tailored
to meet the needs of our members. Plus, our ag expertise
allows us to offer loan terms and structure that often
cannot be matched by other lenders.
Ultimately, if we stay focused on delivering
high quality products and services at competitive
rates through a talented team, FCS Financial will be
successful. But as an organization we have chosen
to do more. We have chosen to include ag advocacy,
4 HEARTBEAT | SUMMER 2017
education, youth in agriculture and community
involvement as part of our broader mission. To highlight
a few notable achievements in these areas, FCS
Financial has:
• Over the past decade, awarded more than half
a million dollars in scholarships to children and
grandchildren of our members to support the
ongoing education of our youth.
• Provided nearly $100 thousand dollars in grants to
4-H and FFA clubs for community projects.
• Provided over $800,000 in interest-free funding
for 4-H and FFA members through our Ag Youth
Funding program.
• Supported young and beginning farmers through
our FCS Financial Connect program. This program
is specifically designed to be responsive to the
needs of our young and beginning members and
offers a special financing program. With over 3,000
young and nearly 5,000 beginning farmers in our
portfolio, few other lenders provide this level of
commitment to the next generation of ag producers.
• Created the FCS Financial Rural Community
and Agriculture Foundation to support local
communities with long-term investments which
benefit agriculture and youth in these communities.
• Donated more than $23,000 to local charities