The First State Bank holds Annual Stockholders Meeting & Banquet

President Robert Galt addressed stockholders Tuesday night at The First State Bank of Malta's 116th Annual Banquet. Galt thanked the owner and staff of the Tin Cup for the use of their facilities, as well as the terrific meal they served the stockholders. The First State Bank Board of Directors for 2019 will be Chairman Robert J. Galt, Bruce Hould, Michael Morrison, Frank White, F. Scott Robinson, Martin Johnson, and Lawrence Poulton. Terry Skones was again elected as Secretary/Treasurer. F.S. Banco, Inc. also elected its board for the upcoming year. Ron Scott's retirement from the board after 28 years of service created a vacancy that the shareholders at the annual meeting voted to fill with Terry Skones. Terry has worked at First State Bank in some fashion for over 31 years. She brings an abundance of knowledge in the banking field to the Holding Company board. Holding Company President, Robert Galt presented R.D. Scott with a special plaque embossed with a picture of the original board members of F.S. Banco, Inc. Ron was the last charter member of this board to serve. At this time, Galt went into a summary of last year for both the bank and our community. 2018 brought many different obstacles for Phillips County producers to deal with. Snow and cold weather plagued the winter months, while drought was the subject of conversations countywide throughout the summer. Harvest was then pushed back due to fall moisture. All in all, 2018 could be considered a character builder for area farmers and ranchers. Personally, I think we have enough character in our community, and would just like to see what a normal year is like! The commodity markets have struggled to withstand President Trumps trade demands with foreign nations. The tariffs that have been placed on US production has had a negative effect on most grain and pulse crops. However, the US has made some headway in our beef exports. Federal assistance has also taken a seat at the table. Although these government payments are never the answer, the help must be appreciated by our area producers. The Feds closed out 2018 with another interest rate hike. The ninth increase in the Fed Funds rate since 2015 has raised the overnight borrowing rate for banks to a range of 2.25%-2.50%. This effectively has increased the Prime lending rate to 5.50%. This is an increase of 2.25% from the beginning of the US financial crisis in 2008. The prediction is another 2-3 quarter point hikes by the middle of 2020. President Galt acknowledged the hard work by the officers and the staff at The First State Bank. Emphasizing the years of experience from longer-term staff members has made training our newer employees much easier. In closing, Galt once again thanked the owner and staff of the Tin Cup for a great evening and thanked the loyal stockholders for attending the banquet.