Farm Bureau Bank Will Serve 39 States

October 26, 1999

A new farmer bank has been formed with a potential market of more than 3 million Farm Bureau member families in the 39 states it initially will serve. Known as the Farm Bureau Bank FS, the bank is opening with assets in excess of $130 million and already is providing consumer banking services to about 100,000 Farm Bureau members and their families.

Consumer banking products and services the bank will offer initially include FDIC-insured checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit along with credit cards and home and vehicle loans. Services will be offered over the phone, through the mail and via the Internet.

Farm Bureau Bank is owned and directed by a group of investors made up of Farm Bureau organizations from 21 states and 19 affiliated insurance companies. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of FB BanCorp, a Nevada corporation. The bank is headquartered in Sparks, NV, and maintains its operations center in San Antonio, TX. FB BanCorp is an independent entity, and the American Farm Bureau Federation does not own, is not owned by and is not under common ownership with FB BanCorp or its affiliated entities.

At a news conference in Washington Monday, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) said, "As technology lowers the barriers to entry in the financial services field, greater competition will emerge to the benefit of farmers and all Americans. The formation of the Farm Bureau Bank is evidence of this hopeful trend."

Bob Stallman is chairman of FB BanCorp, and Larry Lanie is president and CEO of Farm Bureau Bank.