摘要：The decline of the agriculture sector in the mid-1980s was concurrent with the increase of bank failures. Performance of banks specializing in agricultural lending mirrored sector performance. However, a subgroup of banks continued to lend to agriculture and maintained superior performance over the entire decade. Characteristics of these high performance banks and their lower performing counterparts are compared annually at both the National and United States Department of Agriculture Cropping Region level to identify factors leading to superior performance. Ratio analysis is performed using the criteria of solvency, profitability, liquidity, and efficiency. Selected ratios are employed in a logit model for classifying banks according to high or nonhigh performance. Model results were strong at the national level but weaker at the regional level possibly because of differences in agricultural production patterns and state banking laws. High-performance banks controlled costs, made less risky loans, and employed resources more efficiently.
