Session Descriptions

Going Through The Fire: A Leader's Perspective on Credit Stress

Thursday, August 28, 2025

9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

It probably comes as no surprise that agriculture conditions have tightened over the past several years and credit stress and delinquency has increased. Organizations are faced with questions about how best to manage increased servicing requirements and the stress that comes from dealing with troubled customers. Organizations have seen changes in staffing since the last time stress was this high and many loan officers and credit professionals are unfamiliar with handling difficult accounts. This session is designed to provide a perspective from two organizations and leaders who have gone through rising credit defaults and distressed borrowers and share ideas on how to manage the stress without getting “burned”.

Learner Outcomes:

1. Hear tales from organizations that have “gone through the fire” and survived and gain insights into the paths they chose in managing those stressful situations.
2. Learn steps that were taken in managing portfolios that were in stress, or where stress was emerging, in order to identify tools and tricks to take back to your organization.
3. Identify underlying issues and problems that are universal in these types of situations, while recognizing the uniqueness of the stressful events you may experience.
4. Take away some best practices to adopt and plan for key decisions as you seek to prepare for a cyclical decline in credit quality.