Ag banks concerned ethanol industry may have peaked but watching situation closely

Across the Midwest, American Banker reports that agriculture lenders are watching the ethanol sector closely, concerned that it may have peaked, but banks are not yet pulling away from funding producers. What they are doing, however, is tracking closely the policy decisions made by the Trump Administration that are directly impacting the clients they lend to along the ethanol supply chain from farmers to producers, such as those taken by the Environmental Protection Agency that destroys demand and therefore prices. What’s more, with most the biggest banks already having left ethanol, it may open up an opportunity for smaller, local banks to help producers with their financing needs, such as upgrades.