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Transcript Summary

Farmer Mac delivered a record-setting first quarter in 2026, achieving all-time highs in business volume ($34.8 billion), revenue ($110 million), and core earnings ($52 million). The company saw robust net new business growth of $1.5 billion, led by the farm and ranch and renewable energy segments. Despite seasonal delinquency increases and slight margin compression due to asset mix shifts and calendar effects, the company maintained a high return on equity of 17%. Key strategic highlights included the successful deployment of capital into data centers and renewable energy projects, supported by disciplined underwriting and high-quality counterparties. Management noted that while the agricultural sector faces pressure from volatile commodity prices and rising input costs, Farmer Mac’s diversified portfolio and strong capital position provide significant resilience. The company also benefited from strategic tax planning, utilizing $4.2 million in renewable energy tax credits. CFO Matthew Pullins emphasized a rate-agnostic balance sheet and disciplined expense management, keeping the efficiency ratio within the 30% target. With CEO succession progressing ahead of schedule and a strong pipeline across all operating segments, management expressed high optimism for continued growth and capital generation throughout the remainder of 2026.

5-year share-count history (top 10 holders by peak, incl. exited) + price

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Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation: A High-Leverage GSE Carry Trade Testing the Limits of Hedge Accounting

Full Earnings Call Transcript — Q1 • 2026-05-05

Operator: Thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, I would now like to turn the conference over to Jalpa Nazareth, Senior Director of Investor Relations. The floor is yours.
Jalpa Nazareth: Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us for our first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. As we begin, please note that the information provided during this call may contain forward-looking statements about the company's business, strategies, and prospects. These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those projected. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation as of today's date, and Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Please refer to Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation’s 2025 annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings for a full discussion of the company's risk factors. On today's call, we will also be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. Disclosures and reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures can be found in the company's most recent Form 10-Q and earnings release posted on our website. Joining me today are Chief Executive Officer, Bradford Todd Nordholm; our President and Chief Operating Officer, Zachary N. Carpenter; and our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Matthew Pullins. At this time, I will turn the call over to our CEO, Bradford Todd Nordholm.
Bradford Todd Nordholm: Thanks, Jalpa. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I also want to thank everyone who joined our Investor Day event in New York City. We really appreciate the strong engagement and the opportunity to spend more time discussing our strategy, our performance, and our outlook. And as always, it is great to hear your feedback. Our first quarter 2026 was outstanding, a reflection of the continuation of the acceleration in business volumes we saw in the fourth quarter 2025. We delivered a record-setting quarter with business volume, quarterly revenue, and quarterly core earnings all reaching all-time highs, underscoring the strength of our business model and the disciplined execution across our organization. Outstanding business volume approached $35 billion, revenue totaled approximately $110 million, and core earnings totaled approximately $52 million. Our diversified business model, strong capital position, and disciplined risk management allow us to provide vital liquidity to American agriculture and rural infrastructure sectors during all economic cycles. Demand for our products remains robust, our customer relationships continue to deepen and expand, and our mission-driven approach continues to resonate across rural America and motivates our talented employees. With that, I will turn the call over to our President and Chief Operating Officer, Zachary N. Carpenter, to walk us through our operating results in more detail.
Zachary N. Carpenter: Thank you, Brad, and good afternoon, everyone. The first quarter was an excellent start to the year, with strong results and meaningful momentum across every aspect of our business. Total revenues increased 14% year-over-year with strong contributions from outstanding business volume growth paired with disciplined funding execution and stable asset credit quality across all of our platforms. We delivered $1.5 billion in net new business volume in the first quarter, bringing total outstanding volume to a record $34.8 billion as of quarter end. Broad-based growth this quarter was supported by a strong pipeline, particularly in the farm and ranch segment, where we approved loans for 2026 approaching $1 billion, almost 30% above 2025, our previous record. Sustained customer demand across our products continues to be underpinned by disciplined underwriting and risk management. Now let me walk through the portfolio in more detail. Our agricultural finance outstanding business volume grew $777 million in the first quarter, with the farm and ranch segment accounting for $675 million of the net growth this quarter. Loan purchase activity in farm and ranch accelerated meaningfully in 2025 and has continued throughout 2026. Specifically, we saw net growth of $384 million for the first three months of this year, compared to only $54 million of farm and ranch loan purchase net growth in the same period last year, significantly outpacing the seasonally large number of loan repayments we typically see in the first quarter due to the January 1 payment date. We are operating at an elevated pace for new volume and expect loan purchase growth to continue as lenders seek liquidity, primarily driven by the balance between diversifying from high-cost deposit needs due to continued strong loan growth and a focus on capital efficiency. In addition, agricultural borrowers continue to face tighter conditions driven by higher input costs, trade and tariff concerns, and low commodity prices. We remain proactive in discussions with our customers to ensure we find the right solutions to support their liquidity and capital needs, as well as understanding their borrowers' liquidity needs in a challenging and volatile operating environment. Our farm and ranch AgVantage securities portfolio grew $325 million in 2026. As we discussed on our prior call, this increase reflects the additional fundings we anticipated after closing a new $4.3 billion facility with a large agricultural counterparty in late 2025. We believe we are on track to return to sustained net growth in this product set as we work closely with our counterparties to determine the right structure for providing incremental liquidity based on current market conditions. The Corporate Ag Finance segment delivered solid results, ending the quarter with over $2 billion in outstanding business volume, up approximately 5% sequentially and 9% year-over-year. Deal flow activity in the broader agribusiness market was relatively muted during 2026 as companies continue to navigate a volatile market coupled with global tensions impacting trade and inflation. Looking ahead, however, we have seen a modest pickup in second quarter deal flow activity, primarily reflecting refinancing transactions. We are also starting to see more indications of potential mergers and acquisition activity, which could result in an increase in volume opportunities as we support the food, fuel, and fiber supply chain. Turning to our infrastructure finance line of business, outstanding business volume increased $717 million sequentially, or 6%, to $12.6 billion as of quarter end, with all three segments contributing to net growth. This is a continuation of the similar themes we saw in 2025, specifically the strong interest and investment in data center construction, broadband expansion, and the construction and completion of renewable energy projects, reflecting the overall need for significant energy generation and transmission capacity in rural America. Net growth in our power and utility segment this quarter was $115 million, largely due to strong loan purchase activity supporting investment needs of rural electric generation, transmission, and distribution cooperatives. We continue to see a steady demand for capital in this segment as borrowers invest in system upgrades and modernizations to support a significant increase in electrification demand. Our renewable energy segment grew $445 million, or 18%, to $2.9 billion as of quarter end. Growth primarily reflected transactions approved in late 2025 that subsequently closed in 2026, in addition to a strong deal pipeline and accelerated construction deadlines. Looking ahead, while we anticipate the continuation of the construction-related rush in the first half of this year tied to the July 4 construction start time frame described in H.R. 1, we believe growth in this segment will continue well into next year as a substantial need for new power generation will continue to drive growth in this segment. Currently, deal flow remains robust, allowing us to be selective with our capital deployment in this sector to pursue deals that are appropriately structured with strong counterparties, underscoring the strength of our reputation in the market. While the industry is facing potential evolution in the near future as tax and other incentives are set to expire, we project the growing demand for energy to position the industry for continued growth, as the underlying economics of these projects remain highly competitive even without tax incentives. Alternate generation capacity takes years to develop, and we expect capital structures and power purchase agreement pricing to adjust as H.R. 1 incentives are phased out. Accordingly, we expect to continue to participate in renewable energy transactions for both new projects and refinancing of existing projects. Beyond 2027, we anticipate stable growth in this space as more market-driven rather than policy-driven, as the underlying driver remains a massive surge in power demand requiring significant new power supply. Broadband infrastructure also posted strong quarterly results, net growth of $158 million, ending the period at $1.7 billion outstanding, with nearly 70% of the volume growth tied to data center-related demand. We are seeing robust demand for data centers quarter to date, as 87% of new deals approved in our broadband infrastructure pipeline are data center-related, a reflection of the ongoing expansion of artificial intelligence, cloud storage, and enterprise digitization. While this segment has grown substantially, we remain disciplined in maintaining geographic and sponsor diversification with a continued focus on well-capitalized, investment-grade hyperscaler tenants. We are mindful of the macro backdrop with uncertainties stemming from interest rates, trade policy, and regulatory shifts. Our diversified portfolio, strong capital position, and disciplined underwriting give us confidence in our ability to continue delivering consistent results. We are also closely monitoring the recent spike in global energy prices, which has pushed fuel and fertilizer costs higher ahead of the growing season. While higher energy prices have historically been supportive of higher commodity prices, the net impact on producer margins will depend on the duration of the disruption, the degree to which growers lock input costs in advance, and whether commodity prices adjust to offset higher production costs. Regardless of how these dynamics unfold, we believe Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation is very well positioned to navigate the environment. We are extremely proud of the results this quarter and excited about what lies ahead in the balance of 2026 and beyond. The momentum from 2025 has not only continued, but in several areas accelerated, reinforcing our confidence in the outlook and durability of our business model. We are dedicated to broadening the pursuit of our mission in response to the evolving economic landscape in rural America, and this proactive business diversification continues to deliver meaningful benefits to the communities and industries we serve as evidenced by the strong growth across all our portfolios. With that, I will turn it over to Matthew Pullins, our Chief Financial Officer, to review our financial results in more detail.
Matthew Pullins: Thank you, Zach. Before turning to our results, I would like to share a few reflections from my early experience at Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation. What has stood out most to me is the tangible positive impact our organization has on rural America, something that resonates deeply with me given my own personal connection to agriculture. I have also been struck by the dedication, focus, and execution of our team, whose commitment to our mission is evident every day. It is exciting to be part of an organization that operates from such a position of strength, supported by excellent credit fundamentals, disciplined cost management, exceptional access to the capital markets, along with the unique strategic funding advantages that come with being a government-sponsored enterprise. Looking ahead, the opportunities for growth are exciting, and it is energizing to be part of the momentum we are building. Turning to our results, we had an exceptional start to 2026. First quarter results were record-setting by every measure: nearly $35 billion in outstanding business volume, $110 million in revenue, and $52 million in core earnings, or $4.74 per diluted share. This quarter's record results were driven by several distinct financial performance factors. Net effective spread reached a record $102 million in 2026, an increase of $12 million year-over-year and $600,000 from 2025, our prior quarterly record. The year-over-year growth was driven by record business volume and continued disciplined funding execution. On a percentage basis, net effective spread was 116 basis points, modestly below 117 basis points in the year-ago period, and 122 basis points in the fourth quarter. Quarter-over-quarter spread compression was driven primarily by fewer days in the period, which disproportionately impacts revenue from our fastest-growing, highest-spread segments. In addition, we saw a mix shift towards growth in our lower-spread farm and ranch AgVantage securities and somewhat lower contribution from the investment portfolio. Even with that dynamic, net effective spread dollars grew again this quarter, reinforcing the durability and earnings power of our expanding, increasingly diversified portfolio. Our net effective spread performance reflects disciplined, proactive, and purposeful balance sheet management. The foundation of our approach is positioning the balance sheet to be largely rate agnostic, underpinned by a very short duration profile and a strong interest rate risk management framework. Our differentiated funding advantage remains a key strength, allowing us to access liquidity at highly competitive levels. Within this rate-neutral posture, we remain strategic and nimble, actively evaluating and capturing opportunities to enhance long-term economics when market conditions are favorable. Together with our ongoing use of innovative hedging strategies, these actions demonstrate our ability to manage risk effectively while consistently supporting financial performance. Partially offsetting strong earnings growth this quarter was an increase in compensation and benefits, primarily driven by increased headcount and seasonal factors. We maintain our deliberate and balanced approach to expense management and, accordingly, will continue making targeted investments in business development and in our operational and technology platforms to support future growth and scalability while managing expenses within our long-term efficiency ratio target of 30%. Moreover, this quarter our revenue growth outpaced expense growth by nearly four percentage points compared to the prior-year period. This outcome reflects our team's sound execution along with the strength and scalability of our operating platform. Also contributing to our first quarter 2026 core earnings was a $4.2 million income tax benefit from the purchase of $45 million of renewable energy investment tax credits, which was fully recognized in the quarter. As of quarter end, we had approximately $30 million of remaining capacity to utilize additional credits through carrybacks to prior-year federal income tax liabilities. Subject to market conditions, we expect to largely utilize that remaining carryback capacity in the second quarter, and we will continue to evaluate additional tax credit purchase opportunities on a current-year basis going forward. As discussed at length last quarter, Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation operates a comprehensive credit framework that aligns with our risk appetite while accounting for the unique risks present within each of our five operating segments. While credit risk is inherent in our business, we believe our disciplined credit framework and proactive risk management enable consistent execution of our mission to deliver liquidity to the agriculture and rural infrastructure markets. Turning to first quarter credit and asset quality results, we recorded $4.3 million of provision for credit loss expense in 2026. The provision expense reflects $3.4 million attributable to new volume growth across all our segments, particularly in the renewable energy segment, and $900,000 related to credit migration across the portfolio. Credit migration this quarter reflects the ongoing discipline of our portfolio management process. As we do each quarter, we conducted a comprehensive review of our portfolios. Certain credits experienced deterioration—specifically in agricultural storage and processing and select permanent plantings exposures—and required additional reserves. Others, on the other hand, demonstrated meaningful improvement through collateral sales and improved borrower performance, and therefore resulted in reserve releases. The net effect was a largely offsetting outcome. Allowance for losses was $40.1 million as of 03/31/2026, reflecting a $2.1 million increase from year-end 2025 and a $14.7 million increase from the same period a year ago. The sequential increase primarily reflects the cumulative impact of portfolio growth and select credit migration, partially offset by charge-offs recorded during the quarter. On a year-over-year basis, the increase is consistent with significant growth in outstanding business volume over the past twelve months. As of quarter end, the total allowance represented 15.4% of nonaccrual assets, compared to 16% as of 12/31/2025 and 12.9% as of the year-ago period. As we have discussed previously, nonaccrual assets as a percentage of total allowance is a useful gauge of reserve adequacy relative to loans where full collection is unlikely. We remain comfortable with our allowance levels given the strength of the underlying collateral. Ninety-day delinquencies were 52 basis points at quarter end, up from 40 basis points in the fourth quarter 2025, and an improvement from 54 basis points in the year-ago period. The sequential increase is consistent with the seasonal pattern we have historically observed in our portfolio. Delinquency levels tend to be higher at the end of the first and third quarters, reflecting the annual and semiannual payment dates on the majority of farm and ranch loans. Total substandard assets as a percentage of our entire portfolio were 1.87% this quarter, up from 1.71% at year-end, with the increase concentrated in credit downgrades in the agricultural finance line of business. Infrastructure finance substandard assets, however, declined sequentially this quarter due to improvements in the renewable energy segment. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation’s core capital increased by $27 million in 2026 to $1.7 billion, which exceeded our statutory requirements by $663 million, or 62%. Our Tier 1 capital ratio was 13% as of 03/31/2026, compared to 13.3% as of year-end 2025. Our capital levels remain well in excess of regulatory thresholds following an active quarter where our outstanding business volume grew by $1.5 billion and we returned $32 million of capital through a combination of common and preferred dividends along with modest share repurchases. Our strong capital position has enabled us to grow and diversify our revenue streams, remain resilient through volatile credit environments, and continue providing competitively priced liquidity to our customers and their borrowers. Looking ahead, we will maintain a thoughtful and balanced approach to managing our overall capital position. Organic capital generation, selective capital issuance, and the use of risk transfer tools will help ensure we have sufficient capital to support future growth, particularly in more accretive segments, which are generally more capital-consumptive. In closing, we are very pleased with our first quarter results and confident in our outlook for the remainder of the year. We remain committed to thoughtful capital deployment, strong asset quality, and creating long-term value for our shareholders. With that, I will turn the call back over to Brad.
Bradford Todd Nordholm: Thanks very much, Matt. In summary, this was an exceptional quarter and a powerful start to 2026. The strength of our results reflects the disciplined execution and strategic positioning that define Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation today. A number of you have asked about CEO succession, and I am pleased to report that the process is progressing very well, and in fact, a bit ahead of schedule. I can say with great confidence that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation has never been in a stronger position than it is today. The depth of talent across our leadership team, the clarity of our strategy, and the momentum in our business give me tremendous optimism and confidence in the future of this organization. We will now open the call for questions.
Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star, then the number one, on your telephone keypad to raise your hand and join the queue. Your first question comes from Bose Thomas George with KBW. Your line is open.
Bose Thomas George: Hey, everyone. Good afternoon. I wanted to ask first about return on equity expectations. Obviously, you had a very strong quarter at 17% ROE. Just with the pipeline and what you are seeing out there, where do you think that trends? And I wanted to ask about spread as well, but that moves around with the mix. Is it better really to focus on the ROE outlook?
Matthew Pullins: Well, good afternoon, Bose. Thank you very much for the question. In terms of return on equity, as you noted, we printed 17% for the quarter, and that is a metric that we are very focused on in terms of deploying capital and purchasing assets within our business. We are looking to maintain the business in that range of outlook in terms of return on equity going forward. In terms of spread, or net effective spread margin, that is a metric that can vary from quarter to quarter. A variety of factors weighed on that margin this quarter, including asset mix. As we purchase high return-on-equity but, in some cases, lower-spread assets—particularly in our AgVantage portfolios—that can dilute margin but is very much accretive to return on equity, which is our principal focus in terms of managing the business and managing the balance sheet.
Bose Thomas George: And then, you noted the potential impact on the farm economy from geopolitical volatility. If this persists, is the bigger focus on what it could do to loan activity, or are there areas from a credit standpoint that you are looking at as well?
Zachary N. Carpenter: Hi, Bose. The conflict in the Middle East has created more volatility. The question has a couple of prongs. First, the duration of the conflict, which has exacerbated the increase in fertilizer prices, could weigh on margins going forward. It clearly depends on if a grower pre-purchased inputs prior to the uptick. While that could stress the ag economy and certain borrowers, it also could lead to the need for additional liquidity and capital, and we stand ready to support those borrowers as they need to work through stress. As it pertains to our portfolio, we feel fairly confident with the strengths we are seeing with new applications and new loan purchases. In fact, all the loan purchases in the first quarter had very strong credit scores and very solid loan-to-values. The use of proceeds was typically for refinancings or new purchases, be it land or equipment. While we recognize there are stresses in certain parts of the ag economy, the diversified model that we have across the country and across commodities helps support us to be there in good times and bad times.
Bose Thomas George: Okay. Great. Thank you.
Operator: Your next question comes from William Haraway Ryan with Seaport Research Partners. Your line is open.
William Haraway Ryan: Hi. Good afternoon, and thanks for taking my questions. Great to see the volume increase that you talked about at the Investor Day. First question, I want to follow up on the margin outlook. Obviously, there is a little bit of a seasonal factor, so the fourth quarter will not be a good guide going into Q2, but if you look at your mix of business in the pipeline that you are seeing right now going into Q2, do you expect a little bit more net pressure on the margin, or do you expect it to start to stabilize maybe in the next couple of quarters? That is the first question.
Zachary N. Carpenter: Hi, Bill. A couple of comments as it pertains to net effective spread percentage. As we noted, two primary factors, and I would say both relatively positive. First and foremost, in the fourth quarter of last year, we put on almost $700 million of AgVantage volume. That dramatically increased the average daily balance of AgVantage heading into the first quarter. As we have discussed, AgVantage is one of our highest returning products—we are leveraging our capital—although the net effective spread percentage is the lowest across our portfolio. And as Matt indicated, we are really focused on return on equity and return on invested capital. So the impact of that increase in average daily volume weighed down on the net effective spread percentage this quarter. In addition, we had two fewer days in this quarter versus the fourth quarter, and that compressed our fastest-growing segments, which would be renewable energy and broadband infrastructure. The combination of those two dynamics was predominant to the lower net effective spread percentage. What I would highlight as we look forward: about $800 million or more of our volume was put on in the month of March, and that was broadly diversified across all our segments. So we feel very strong about the durability of our net effective spread heading into the second quarter in a broad fashion. Clearly, the lumpiness of AgVantage could alter that mix going forward, but as we look right now, all operating segments have very strong pipelines. One thing I would note is that the broadband infrastructure and renewable energy segments have significant loan commitments. As those constructions take place and those commitments are funded, you will see a much higher net effective spread in those businesses. I will turn it over to Matt to talk a little bit about the liquidity and funding mix dynamics.
Matthew Pullins: Hello, Bill. I mentioned in my prepared remarks some points around our balance sheet management and liquidity positioning in the quarter. One thing that also impacted spread this quarter is we had the opportunity to call about $500 million of callable debt when rates dipped in the middle part of the quarter. That is ultimately accretive to our spread going forward but did weigh on spread in the quarter by about 1 basis point as we had to accelerate the amortization of original issue discount attributed to those bonds that were called. Going forward, the pickup in spread from being able to roll down the rate paid on the bonds that were called is annualized at a little over $3 million a year. We expect to pick that up beginning in the second quarter. In addition, we continuously look at ways to strategically evaluate market opportunities within the funding segment to fund our balance sheet in a way that is accretive to returns but not taking incremental funding risk. We are very diligent about managing it that way. Portfolio layer method hedging is something that we introduced into the balance sheet management process this quarter, and the impact of that is going to grow over time. It will be somewhat muted initially, but we believe that the impact of that hedging strategy will ultimately be accretive to net effective spread. That is just an example of the types of strategies that we are deploying as we manage the balance sheet and interest rate risk.
William Haraway Ryan: Okay. Thanks for the detailed response on that. One other question on data centers—it probably gets a bit more attention than it really needs—but there have been some headlines in the last few weeks about some delays in data center construction coming online. Maybe you could give us a little more detail on what you are seeing specifically in your own portfolio.
Zachary N. Carpenter: Hi, Bill. As we mentioned at Investor Day, we are very thorough and methodical in the types of data center transactions we look at. We will not pick up a pencil to assess or underwrite a transaction unless we are working with top counterparties—developers, sponsors, tenants—that have significant experience in constructing and operating these data centers. We want to make sure that there is a power purchase agreement signed and in place, and over 80% of our tenants in our data center portfolio are two to four top investment-grade hyperscalers. We have the opportunity, given the market, to focus on the best structures and the highest-rated data center opportunities. We do not deviate, and we do not feel the need to deviate or stretch given the growth that we see available to us. Focusing on these counterparties and these tenants, we have seen very few issues in terms of delays in construction or delays in operations. We are not speculating; everything needs to be signed up and in place, including water and other key inputs, before we enter into a transaction. That limits and reduces a lot of risk as you go through the process. In speculative opportunities, something not being in place can delay the project and further delay construction and completion. We feel very good about the counterparties and the transactions we are looking at, and we do not feel the need to look at anything different or stretch in any way.
William Haraway Ryan: And thanks. One clarification question for Matt. Just to make sure I heard it right, you have $30 million of investment tax credits remaining. Do you expect most of that to be recognized in the second quarter?
Matthew Pullins: Our capacity for carrybacks to prior-year income tax credits is $30 million as of 03/31/2026, and our expectation is that we will fully utilize that carryback capacity in the second quarter. Going forward, we will be operating on a current-year basis and will be monitoring market opportunities to potentially monetize additional tax credit purchases, but it would be on a current-year basis from that point forward.
Operator: Your next question comes from Brendan Michael McCarthy with Sidoti. Your line is open.
Brendan Michael McCarthy: Great. Good afternoon, everybody. I appreciate you taking my questions. I just wanted to start off on the net loan volume growth in farm and ranch. I think you mentioned $384 million, which well exceeded last year's number of $54 million, and that is net of repayments, I believe you mentioned. Can you dissect that a little bit further? What ultimately drove that gap relative to last year's number?
Zachary N. Carpenter: Hi, Brendan. We continue to see an acceleration of loan velocity and applications in farm and ranch following up from a very strong fourth quarter. As I noted, we had a record quarter of loan applications at about $1 billion, which is about 30% above the prior record in 2025, and the pipeline continues to be robust. The team does a fantastic job working with our customers to convert those loan applications to loan closings. Some reasons why we are seeing this accelerated growth: clearly, components of the ag economy where liquidity and working capital are necessary to bridge timing gaps between the receipt of government payments or the selling of crops is one component. Another component is working with our customers—the financial institutions lending to these borrowers. They need to manage deposits, which in this environment end up being a very high-cost component of funding. In that scenario, they are looking for other liquidity sources to help continue the stronger loan growth they see with their customers and leveraging the secondary market in a broader fashion. We have spent a lot more time broadening our relationships across financial institutions. We had a record number of sellers—financial institutions that sold a loan—in the first quarter. We continue to deepen our relationship with existing sellers to find new and unique ways to support liquidity for their borrowers, with a much more focused relationship orientation with the market. We put a new head of our farm and ranch segment in place to really drive growth. We continue to see this as we work with our customers and support their borrowers in this economic time.
Brendan Michael McCarthy: Thanks, Zach. I appreciate the detail there. You touched on some of the headline risk—mainly around fuel and fertilizer costs spiking ahead of the planting season. Do you have any insight on potential impact looking ahead to loan loss provisioning for Q2?
Zachary N. Carpenter: I think we are too early in the environment to assess any future impacts to the credit portfolio, and there are a couple of reasons why. There are competing factors here. The spike in, most notably, nitrogen prices can further stress margins, and it is unknown how many growers pre-locked fertilizer before the growing season or need to purchase in this higher-price environment. Another unique dynamic is that as fuel prices rise, typically you see an increase in ethanol prices—which we have seen, from about $1.80 a gallon to over $2 a gallon since the crisis started. Higher ethanol prices typically lead to higher commodity prices, especially corn, and we have seen that. So there are numerous dynamics at play. The duration of the conflict in the Middle East will determine the impact—either positive or negative—from either higher inputs and margin pressure or commodity prices increasing. It is just too early to tell at this point.
Brendan Michael McCarthy: That makes sense. Last question for me, just on the credit side. The allowance for losses as a percentage of nonaccrual assets has remained pretty stable. I think it has ranged from 13% to 16%–17%. Do you have a long-term target for that ratio?
Matthew Pullins: Hi, Brendan. We do not have a long-term target for that particular ratio. We do view the level of the allowance and our confidence in covering the risk in the portfolio through that metric, but it is important to also take into account that we are looking at the allowance against nonaccrual assets that, in nearly all cases, are supported by very high-quality collateral. In terms of how that metric lines up with a similar metric at other financial institutions, it certainly needs to be taken into account relative to the type of collateral that we have backing our loans. But in terms of a target operating range—like we have for our efficiency ratio—we do not have such a metric for allowance as a percentage of nonaccrual assets.
Brendan Michael McCarthy: Got it. I appreciate the detail. That is all for me, and congrats on a strong quarter.
Operator: Your next question comes from Gary Gordon, a private investor. Your line is open.
Gary Gordon: Thank you for taking my questions. Two questions. One, it looks like your charge-offs were about $2 million. Any color on what was charged off during the quarter?
Zachary N. Carpenter: Hi, Gary. No new issues with transactions or borrowers. This incremental charge-off reflects the transaction we spoke about in the fourth quarter. In these situations, the process is very fluid as we work with the bank group and the lead arranger to assess restructuring and other options to either support the business going forward or potentially look at asset sales and liquidations. We continue to monitor this on a weekly basis with the lender group. We are dealing with the owners of the assets and working with them. Timing delays can persist, and that is what we saw, so we felt the need to further write down to the value we feel is appropriate and charge that off. We feel the remaining exposure is very manageable—frankly immaterial—from the overall portfolio perspective, but we will continue to assess this transaction and options going forward. We feel good with where we are from an exposure perspective.
Gary Gordon: Thanks. The other question is on loan growth. Clearly, you made a much bigger marketing effort. It does not sound like you are changing your underwriting standards. Are there any other contributors? Any noticeable change in the amount of competition for the type of loans you are looking for? Are there more willing sellers for some macro reason?
Zachary N. Carpenter: I think it differs by business segment. In AgVantage, we saw bottoming out in 2025, and we have been more focused on broadening our counterparties and closing new facilities, and that has contributed to growth in the fourth quarter and the first quarter. We feel optimistic that will continue given outreach and the relationships we have developed. In our newer lines of business—specifically renewable energy and broadband infrastructure—the pipeline and growth reflect our investment in the teams and expertise across business development, credit, and operations to support an increasing velocity of loan opportunities. There are plenty of counterparties looking for a strong and respectable secondary market to provide liquidity to their transactions. As we have invested in the people and the processes, we are able to step up to more transactions and put more through the pipeline. In farm and ranch, we are seeing the ag environment plus our focus on broadening relationships with a greater number of sellers, engaging in product and platform enhancements. The combination of all of that and banks’ focus on capital efficiency is really driving incremental share to the secondary market.
Operator: That concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the conference back over to Jalpa Nazareth, Senior Director of Investor Relations, for closing.
Jalpa Nazareth: Thank you everyone for listening and participating in our call this afternoon. We will be having our next regularly scheduled call in August to report our second quarter 2026 results and look forward to sharing more information with you at that time. As is always the case, if you have any questions that you would like to discuss with us, please do not hesitate to reach out. With that, thank you very much, and have a good day.
Operator: That concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect, and have a wonderful rest of your day.