Access to Agricultural Banks in Rural Counties in the Face of Changing Demographics, Evolving Social Preferences, and Increasing Bank Regulations

Two-thirds of rural counties in the United States lost population from 2000 to 2010. At the same time, consumers are changing the way they like to receive bank products and services. With many in the younger generation having smart phones, the need to step inside a bank facility is almost nonexistent. When those two trends are combined with additional costs associated with recently passed bank regulations, there will initially be a negative impact on the profitability of agricultural banks and ultimately on the ability of those banks to continue to serve those counties.