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Comment

Our partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank is critical to us for multiple reasons. They are of course a valuable source of liquidity for our Community Bank; the ability to access liquidity through the FHLB allows us to continue to make loans in our rural area of southeast Kentucky and northeast Tennessee.
Our FHLB is available to us in all rate environments; despite rates being at all time lows and our bank flush with liquidity during the pandemic, they were still available. When our liquidity needs changed, we were able to obtain funding as quickly and easily as we did two years earlier. That stability and reliability is critical to us, to community banks like us, and banks of all sizes across the U.S. That liquidity is especially important for banks in rural areas like ours where a large percentage of our markets are low-to-moderate income individuals.
I know who to contact at our FHLB regardless of the need; whether it be for credit needs, safe-keeping needs - or other questions - someone is always available to help us. If something comes up that I don’t know who to contact, Judy is always available at a moments notice - even when she is on the road.
FHLB always has a credit solution for our needs, whether short term or long-term - and we have exercised variations of both through the years. The ability to consider different types of products, terms, and structures helps us continue to provide loans in our rural areas while keeping within our risk tolerance and strategic plans.
There are many correspondent options for banks out there today, however the FHLB still is and will remain our first choice.