Farm Credit Bank of Texas, located in Austin, Texas, is a wholesale financing institution that is part of the cooperatively owned nationwide Farm Credit System. The Congressionally mandated mission of the Farm Credit System is to provide a stable and dependable source of financing to rural America, farmers, ranchers and those businesses that provide essential services that support rural America. The bank operates under a charter issued by the Farm Credit Administration, an independent regulatory agency within the executive branch of the federal government. The bank provides funding and related services to 19 local borrower-owned Farm Credit lending cooperatives (Agricultural Credit Associations and Federal Land Credit Associations) in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas.