I’m excited to share with you some details of what I sometimes call Idaho’s best kept secret, Idaho Farm Bureau Financial Services, also known as the Finance Company.

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Organized in 1961, the Finance Company began as a means to finance policyholders’ annual premiums on insurance written through Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. That same year, the Finance Company furnished automobiles on a lease basis to Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. In 1968, this service was extended to the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, and the Finance Company also began offering office equipment leasing to Farm Bureau affiliates.

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In 1964, the Finance Company began financing new car and truck purchases for Farm Bureau Members, then added recreational vehicles in 1968. In the following years, we expanded our loan portfolio to include mobile home financing, home equity loans, and other collateralized consumer credit. For many years, all loan applicants were referred to us by Farm Bureau Insurance agents. Over the last two decades, we have also established a strong network of recreational vehicle dealers throughout Idaho as a strong indirect lending referral source as well. When I started with the company in 2000, we had an outstanding loan portfolio of roughly $27,000,000. We currently have $62,800,000 in outstanding loans. This growth is a direct result of our relationship with our Insurance agents and dealers.

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The majority of money we lend to borrowers comes from the sale of investment products to private investors. These investments – Class B Common Stock and Debenture Notes – have fared very well over the life of the Finance Company. Each week we publish our current investment bulletin on FBConnect with our current debenture rates and stock prices.

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The Class B Common Stock has a current selling price if $10.04 per share.  When this stock is purchased, there is a 5% purchase fee charged, so if you were to immediately turn around and cash in the stock, you would only receive $9.56 per share. It normally takes about 1 year to make up that 5%, so we view this stock as a long-term investment. Our stock value is evaluated at the end of each quarter, and a new price is established based on the recent performance of the Finance Company. The Company has many investments in the open stock market, as well as our loan portfolio which are used in this quarterly evaluation.

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Our Debenture Notes are like a CD that you would purchase at a bank or credit union. The interest amount we pay on a debenture varies depending on the amount of money you invest and the length of time you invest it for. Most investors will purchase a Debenture Note rather than stock, if they are going to need the money in sooner rather than later.

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Many employees have taken advantage of our investments over the years and have been happy with the results. We can set up payroll deduct investments as low as $50.00 per check to help employees establish a rainy-day fund, or set money aside for an anticipated purchase or expense. All investors must be residents of the state of Idaho.

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Our mission is to “Finance the hopes and dreams of Idahoans.” We accomplish this through our competitive lending rates. We currently offer loans on basically anything that is titled: cars, trucks, boats, ATVs, travel trailers, mobile homes and real estate.

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We currently have 19 full-time employees and one part-time employee.  Most work in the Home Office, but we also have staff in Boise, Caldwell, Post Falls and Twin Falls to serve you and our clients. 

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As mentioned earlier, we count on our strong relationship with our insurance agents. Several agents have caught the vision of how the Finance Company can help them retain their clients. Each year it is fun to watch Kyle Jeppesen, Eli Hansen and Travis Terry compete to see who can refer the most loans. In 2019, these three agents referred a combined $2,945,000 with 222 new loans!

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Last November, we transitioned to our new CORE operating system. There are far too many people to mention individually who played a role in designing this system. I am grateful for the programmers, accounting employees and Finance staff who came together to make this goal from several years ago a reality. This system has helped streamline many of our internal operations, and finally placed everything in one location for us. I look forward to the upcoming customer portal and investment features enhancements.

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Whenever we write loan, we do so with the assumption that the client will pay it back to us. Unfortunately, that does not always happen. Some of my best memories of my career at the Finance Company come from doing collection work, from staking out a vehicle to repossess into the wee hours of the morning, to wandering down a game trail in North Idaho to visit with a client. Just last night [Tuesday, June 16] I made a trip to Dubois to visit with a client we were unable to locate for a few months. I went to their home with the intention to repossess their UTV, however, I left with the payments they owed us. More importantly, I left with some new friends. By taking time to sit on their couch with them, I was able to find out why they had gotten behind, resolve the matter, and come up with a plan to help them organize their budget to help alleviate a bit of stress in their lives. 

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I love the opportunity that Farm Bureau gives us to make relationships with our clients, coworkers, agents, dealers, and Federation members. We have been able to write loans for second and third-generation Farm Bureau clients. I believe this shows the importance of how we, as Farm Bureau employees, treat each customer - even during challenging situations.

 

We are proud to be a part of the Idaho Farm Bureau family, and we stand ready to help you “Finance your hopes and dreams.” 

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