An important part of our strategy is our ongoing business relationships with a number of business partners in Maine and Farm Credit businesses nationwide. Farm Credit businesses include: CoBank, our $52 billion national banking partner; Farm Credit Leasing, our national leasing company; and Financial Partners, Inc., our jointly owned operations center. These partners are key to our success.

The table below summarizes some of our key financial performance measures for the second quarter of 2008. Our board measures financial performance quarterly.

• Total loan commitments at September 30, 2008 were $527.8 million.
• Total loan volume outstanding at September 30, 2008 of $366.2 million is $46.5 million or 14.5 percent higher than last year.
• After-tax net income of $2,750,065 at September 30, 2008 yielded an ROA (return on assets) of 1.6 percent. Our profit plan goal for 2008 is a return on assets of 1.6 percent.
• Our permanent capital ratio was 15.7 percent at September 30, 2008.
• In January of this year, the cooperative's board declared a 2008 patronage dividend totaling $1,600,000. Distribution to eligible stockholders was 50 percent in cash this past spring ($800,000 distributed) and the remaining 50 percent to allocated surplus funds for planned distribution in 2014.