In the spring of 2002, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve questioned whether the seasonal credit program should be eliminated or modified. Speaking before the Tennessee Bankers Association, Federal Reserve Governor Susan Bies stated that funding opportunities for smaller depository institutions have expanded significantly during the past few decades as a result of deposit deregulation and the general development of financial markets, calling into question the continued need for the seasonal program. Recent trends associated with the Fed's seasonal credit program and rural banks' utilization of the program to meet liquidity and loanable funds needs are examined.