Our Mission
As an integral member of the Farm Credit System, our mission is to serve as a relevant and dependable provider of credit and other value-added financial services and support to agriculture, rural infrastructure and other related industries for the benefit of rural America.
Our Value Proposition
CoBank is a financially strong, dependable, socially responsible, cooperative bank that provides relevant credit and financial solutions to rural America. We are knowledgeable, responsive and committed to enhancing our capacity to deliver a superior customer experience and competitively priced products through an efficient operating platform, while maintaining the safety and soundness of the bank for future generations. We consistently demonstrate our focus on rural America, repeatedly strive to be a trusted advisor for our customers and a trusted partner for those with whom we do business, while providing a meaningful return on shareholders’ investment and ownership in CoBank.
Our Core Values
CoBank associates and board members are committed to core values that are essential to achieving the bank's mission and vital to delivering its value proposition.
Integrity
Honesty, trust and adherence to strong ethical standards are at the heart of everything we do. We conduct ourselves in the highest ethical manner, ensuring that our behavior in all matters is above reproach. We speak up about lapses in meeting ethics and integrity standards. We strive to maintain strong relationships with customers, associates and partners that are sincere, honest and transparent. While our business is highly competitive and we must aggressively seek to maintain and grow our relationships, we will compete fairly and respectfully in the markets we serve. In doing so, we respect the importance of privacy and the safekeeping of confidential information.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
At CoBank, we celebrate our people, our differences, our diverse backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, skills and our shared success. We believe that understanding, appreciating and embracing our unique characteristics and strengths makes us better and helps us serve our stakeholders. We are committed to workplace policies, processes and systems that produce fair and equitable outcomes for all individuals seeking to build a career at CoBank. We are dedicated to building an engaged workplace culture where all associates feel respected, valued, heard and included.
Personal Excellence and Accountability
Every director and associate is critical to the success of our organization and is committed to the highest level of professional and personal performance. We expect each to set clear expectations, hold each other accountable and take responsibility for their decisions and actions. As a cooperative bank and responsible corporate citizen, we consider all key stakeholders in all decisions.
Teamwork
We believe in putting the goals of CoBank and the mission of the Farm Credit System before the goals of any individual person or group. We can accomplish far more as a team than as individuals, and we seek engagement and collaboration from all stakeholders.
Mission Enrichment
As a member of the Farm Credit System, a government sponsored enterprise, we are driven every day to achieve our public policy purpose in a socially responsible way, and to protect and enhance the reputation of the Farm Credit System. As a cooperative, we live by the seven cooperative principles, which are:
- Open and voluntary membership
- Democratic member control
- Members’ economic participation
- Autonomy and independence
- Education, training, and information
- Cooperation among cooperatives
- Concern for community
We recognize the diversity of our customer base, which includes agricultural cooperatives, producers, agribusinesses, Farm Credit System associations and banks, as well as rural infrastructure service providers and community facilities with differing sizes, market sectors and business philosophies. We rely on cooperative principles as beacons to do the right thing, provide lasting value, and exceed the mere fulfillment of our mission by demonstrating a broad-based commitment to supporting the prosperity of the communities of rural America and their residents.