FDIC Announces Additional Research on Community Bank Trends — 2014-05-19

Article on Rural Depopulation and Its Impact on Community Banks Published in FDIC Quarterly The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today published an article in its FDIC Quarterly on the trends in rural depopulation and the implication of these trends on rural community banks. Overall, banks in areas affected by declining population are performing relatively well, but achieving growth and succession remain important challenges, according to the article titled "Long-Term Trends in Rural Depopulation and Their Implications for Community Banks." Rural depopulation has been ongoing for over a century, and the paper examines the recent 30-year period from 1980 through 2010. Half of rural counties in the U.S. experienced a decrease in population between 1980 and 2010, compared with 12 percent of their counterparts in metro areas.