Purpose Following the recent global financial crisis, US regulatory agencies issued laws to implement the Basel III accords to ensure the resiliency of the US banking sector. Theories predict that enhanced regulations may alter credit issuance of the regulated banks due to increased capital requirements, but the direction of changes might not be straightforward especially with respect to the agricultural loans. A decrease in credit availability from banks might pose a serious problem for farmers who rely on bank credit especially during economic recessions. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the impact of Basel III regulatory framework implementation on agricultural lending in the USA is examined. Using panel data of FDIC-insured banks from 2008 to 2017, the agricultural loan volume and growth rates are examined for agricultural banks and all US banks. Findings The results show that agricultural loan growth rates have slowed down, but the amount of agricultural loan volume issuance still remained positive. More detailed examination finds that regulated agricultural banks have decreased both the agricultural loan volume and their loan exposure to the agricultural sector, showing a possible sign of credit crunch. Originality/value This study examines whether the implementation of the Basel III regulation has resulted in changes in agricultural loan issuance by US banks as predicted by the lending channel theory.

The US banking sector has consolidated through acquisitions in recent decades, resulting in a significant decrease in the number of lending institutions. Agricultural commercial banks have been preferred target of such acquisitions, representing 15%-40% of all acquisitions between 1994 and 2018. In this study, we examine the postacquisition performance of banks that acquire agricultural banks in terms of profitability, bankruptcy risk, and loan monitoring process between 1994 and 2018. We also test whether the shared knowledge between the acquiring bank and the target bank in terms of geography, product, and culture affect the postacquisition outcomes. While we document improved profitability from agricultural bank acquisitions, the improvement is rather short-lived without long-term benefits. Also, we do not find improvement in other performance measures. Also, we find a negative effect of cultural knowledge, highlighting the complex implications of acquisitions. [EconLit Citations: G21, G34, Q1].

We examine Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lending among African American and white farmers. Using data from the U.S. Small Business Administration we run fixed effect estimations with a Mills inverse ratio. Our findings suggest discrimination due to limited capital access. We find statistically significant differences between approved loan amounts among African American farmers due to income level and location of their farms. These had minimal effects on white farmers. Our results call for policymakers to carefully monitor the PPP distribution in areas more vulnerable to financial difficulties. We provide policy recommendations.

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