Although still heavily reliant on core deposits, agricultural banks have increasingly used wholesale funding alternatives, especially advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank System (FHLB) as a way of sustaining their asset growth. The growth in borrowing from the FHLB by agricultural banks exceeds that of their nonagricultural counterparts over recent years. this trend could accelerate with the passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.