Ag lending

Nominated for a full term at the central bank, Michelle Bowman told senators that bankers should not fear repercussions for servicing hemp growers after the crop was legalized.

Banks that serve U.S. farmers are increasingly restructuring existing loans and boosting the collateral needed for new ones as the numbers of late and missed payments have risen.

The shutdown is keeping the agency from approving about 300 loans per day, according to CBA President Richard Hunt.

A recent proposal to allow the government-sponsored enterprise to offer more credit in agricultural regions is deeply flawed.

Financial institutions of all sizes are offering low- or zero-rate loans, waiving fees and making other arrangements to aid federal workers — a practice that regulators officially blessed on Friday, the 21st day of the closing of many U.S. agencies.