maine farm and food credit union
DESCRIPTION
Maine Farm and Food Credit Union. (In process of formation ) SMM November 2012. Maine Farm and Food Credit Union . For Maine’s new & expand ing farmers / food processors / harvesters Member owned, Non-profit , State Chartered institution , - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Maine Farm and Food Credit Union(In process of formation )
SMM November 2012
Maine Farm and Food Credit Union
For Maine’s new & expanding farmers / food processors / harvesters
Member owned, Non-profit , State Chartered institution , Focused on $5k to $45k Working Capital and Infrastructure
loans. About 120 $25k loans per year. $10mm cumulative over 3 years.
Working to fill a “Donut Hole” in Maine Ag finance for new / small producers
Will Coordinate with existing institutions, so that successful members can “graduate” to traditional financings
About Credit Unions
Credit unions are member owned not-for-profit financial institutions that provide members with a place to save money, get reasonable rates on loans, and receive a level of service not available at other financial institutions.
They serve groups with a common feature, such as employee groups, geographical communities or shared association membership
Credit unions operate under the philosophy "not for profit, not for charity, but for service"
- NCUA
Credit Union Conceptual ProposalKeep services simple, and fill un-met members’ needs
Provide Loans under $50k each ( for working capital and infrastructure)
Agency guaranteed loans such as SBA and FAMELow cost Credit card processing & sponsorship, including smart
phone based for farmers’ marketsSavings, checking and deposit accounts, using Synergent 157
branch state wide branch network and 4950 branch national network + 000’s of ATMs
Manage, but not “own” a farm mortgage fund sponsored by Maine Farmland Trust
Credit Union Conceptual Proposal
“Virtual” Organization with a few part time professionals, one shared office
Enlist help from State, ME CU League, Synergent, NCUA, CDCU, CU Business
Group, MOFGA, MFT Your organization?
Become a Community Development Credit Union, Possibly with “low Income” status for preferential funding
Network all involved constituencies before formal launch State Ag Dept, Governor, Legislature, Maine Bankers Assoc., Farm
Credit, USDA,CEI, Maine Food Producers Association , etc
Ag Finance in Maine TodaySources▪ Friends and family▪ Maine Farm Credit▪ Small Business
Administration programs ▪ USDA loan guarantees▪ Local Commercial / Savings
Banks▪ Credit Cards▪ Private investors▪ CEI▪ Slow Money Maine▪ Maine Farmland Trust
Challenges▪ US FDIC regulations on business
profit and credit score standards - Need 3 profit years
▪ Fear of “unfamiliar” business/collateral
▪ Securitization demands “vanilla” loans
▪ Farmer income limited during start ups
▪ ME Banks not familiar with crop loans
▪ Farmland / home already mortgaged
▪ Available Funders too small or too large
▪ Former Funders have new/ different targets
▪ Few grants for “for profit” producers
Why a Farm and Food Credit Union in Maine?Maine has many commercial and savings banks – but they do not generally
make farm loansMaine is well served by Maine Farm Credit – over $900mm in assets and one
of strongest in Nation, but focus is on larger loans and well established producers
Private investors often focus on transactions over $500k, while friends, families and credit cards rarely fund more than $5 or 10k
CEI has ~$1.5mm in farm / food loans and makes ~10 or so such loans per year. and is focused on needed grocery store projects at present
SBA credit standards have become very tight“Credit unions often make the small business loans that other
lenders avoid. A 2011 Small Business Administration-commissioned study also found that more than 80 cents of every dollar in credit union member business lending is an entirely new source of capital not available in the market today.” – CU Times Nov. 2012
Maine Business Lending Statistics
At year end 2008 there were 67 credit unions in Maine serving 601,268 members
(then roughly 46% of the state's population - still about the same today)
Credit union data is from NCUA.
Bank data is from FDIC. Produced by CUNA's
Economics & Statistics Department.
2008 Credit Unions Banks Total Assets: $4.8 B $18.5 BAverage asset size: $71.30 MM $616.20 MMMarket share of deposits: 17 % 83 %
# offering Business loans 34 all
Total business lending: 116.5$ MM 4.6$ B3 Year Change : $52.6 MM -9.6 B
82 % (68) %
Share of business loans 2 % 98 %Business as a % of assets: 2 % 25 %
Financial rulesCan be State or Federally regulated, but all depositors are Federally Insured up to $250k/$500k
Can generally make farm loans up to $50k per borrower
State expects minimum asset base of $10mm after 3 yrs for viability
State Target of 10%+ capital, but better to match ME Farm Credit at 18-19% capital
Non- returnable donations to create capital can be tax deductible
Financial requirements
Assuming asset base of $10mm after 3 yrs and Target of 18% + capital ratio:
Need ~$2mm capital in 2 tranches to support $1omm+ loans
Need ~ $900k commitments for first 3 years expenses
Need ~ $50k for formation costsNon- returnable donations to create capital can be tax
deductibleSome capital contributions may be able to pay a small,
permanent dividendIf achieve LICU status, can qualify for some capital
grants
Required InfrastructureStaffing Professional Loan Officer on Staff Paid Supervisory Staff (s) Trained (but not necessarily paid) Credit Committees and Board
of Directors Other staff / services can be contractedOffices One physical office – can be shared with a sponsor organization Membership in ME CU league /Synergent gives access to 157 ME
branches and 4950 nationwide + ooo’s of ATMs
Networking to date
ME State Bureau of Financial Institutions Superintendent - Lloyd LaFountain IIIDeputy Superintendent - Robert Studley Deputy Superintendent - John Barr
SMM / Bonnie Rukin & Sam May, MOFGA/Russell Libby, Maine Farmland Trust / John Piotti
ME Credit Union League, SynergentBetter Harvest Federal Credit Union (in
organization)CEI / Gray Harris
Volunteers / supportersSam Bishop – Consultant
for bakeries, food producers
Warren Cook – MOMMatt Fadiman – Bank
Operations ConsultantNorm Levesque – Financial
AdvisorRussell Libby - MOFGASam May – Former Wall St
Analyst / Current Ag Investor
Taylor Mudge - MFTJohn Piotti - MFT
Bonnie Rukin – Slow Money Maine
John Sharood – Consultant / Mushroom Farmer
Dick Spencer – Drummond Woodsum
Linzee Weld - SMM
YOU?
Questions & Suggestions?
Thank You – and Please VolunteerJohn SharoodSam MaySam Bishop
Appendix- Partner capabilities
CU Business Group LLC
Synergent
▪ We focus on the best solutions for your credit union, so you can focus on your members.
▪ We have been specializing in credit union products and services since 1971. At Synergent, you can choose to use one of many intelligent solutions, or a synergy of all we have to offer.
▪ Technology Services
▪ We provide the most powerful, stable and flexible system available, with enhanced efficiencies so you can do what you do best - serving your members.