Total agricultural credit expanded for the 5th consecutive year to $162.2 billion in 1997. Agricultural loans held by banks increased to more than $64 billion for a 39.7% market share. In 12 of the past 13 years, banks have increased their market share of agricultural credit. According to the USDA, in 1997, banks accounted for 45% of all new farm credit. An analysis compares the performance of the 3,095 farm banks in 1997 to the performance of the same set of institutions in previous years; with the performance of non-farm banks; as well as with the performance of the overall banking industry.