What it means
The Tenth District covers Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, the western part of Missouri and the northern part of New Mexico. It is a region with large farming and energy sectors, so the Kansas City bank has built particular expertise in those areas.
It has branches in Denver, Oklahoma City and Omaha. Like the other regional banks, it examines banks in its district, processes payments, supplies cash and gathers information on local business conditions.
Its staff contribute to the Beige Book, a summary of conditions in each district that policymakers read before they meet. Its research on farm incomes, land values and energy prices is widely followed.
The bank's president takes part in the policy meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets short-term interest rates. The president votes only in the years when Kansas City holds one of the rotating seats, shared with a group of other regional banks.
In the other years the president still contributes to the discussion. The bank is also known for hosting the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Wyoming, where central bankers, academics and market participants meet each year.
Speeches there are closely watched for hints about policy, a habit sometimes linked to Fed Speak. For businesses, the event is a reminder that central bank thinking is shaped by public debate as well as by data.
For a company in the region, the bank's surveys can be a handy early indicator. Farm lenders follow the agricultural credit survey, and energy firms follow its regional energy reports.
A finance team can compare the figures with its own trends when it reviews budgets. The bank also runs regular surveys of manufacturers, service firms and bankers in the district.
The results are published monthly or quarterly and are often quoted by national media. A finance team that sells into the region can treat them as a free early indicator of demand, provided it remembers that they describe sentiment rather than hard sales figures.
In practice
Real-world examples.
Example
A farm equipment dealer in Nebraska reads the Kansas City bank's agricultural credit survey, which shows farm incomes falling and loan demand rising. The dealer reduces its inventory orders by 15% and tightens the credit terms it offers. The finance manager records the decision and the reason in the budget file. At the year end she compares the forecast with the actual sales to see how useful the survey was.
Example
An oil and gas services company in Oklahoma follows the bank's energy survey to judge drilling activity. When the survey shows activity slowing, the company delays buying new equipment. It saves cash while competitors continue to invest. When activity recovers six months later, the company buys at a lower price and still meets demand.
Example
A regional bank in Colorado is examined by supervisors working from the Kansas City bank. The review identifies a high concentration of loans to a single industry. The board agrees to a plan to diversify over two years. The bank's chief risk officer reports on progress to the board every quarter.
Case study
Seen in the real world.
Prairie Ridge Grain Cooperative is an illustrative, fictional business that stores and sells grain for farmers across the central plains. Its finance team reviews its credit exposure each quarter to farms that buy supplies on credit.
The analyst follows the Kansas City bank's reports on farmland values and farm lending. The reports show land values levelling off and loan delinquencies edging up, which she uses as a warning that some customers may struggle to pay on time.
The cooperative cuts its credit limits for the most stretched customers by 10% and increases its bad-debt allowance from $400,000 to $520,000. In this illustrative case, the lower exposure limits losses when a few farms default, and the lesson is that regional central bank data can improve credit decisions. The extra allowance of $120,000 is a modest cost compared with the protection it gives.
Watch out
Common mistakes.
- Thinking the Kansas City bank is a commercial bank where the public can open an account, when it serves banks and the government.
- Assuming the president votes at every policy meeting, when voting rotates among some regional banks.
- Treating its regional surveys as national statistics, when they describe the Tenth District.
Questions
People also ask.
Which region does it cover?
It covers the Tenth District, which includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, western Missouri and northern New Mexico.
What is the Jackson Hole Symposium?
It is an annual economic policy conference hosted by the Kansas City bank in Wyoming.
Why does it study agriculture and energy?
Those industries are especially important to the economy of its district.
From the founder's library
Take it further with the book.
Build your financial confidence beyond this definition. Shihan's full-length guide, Accounting Fundamentals, takes the same plain-English approach and turns it into a complete, practical playbook for non-finance managers, business owners and students - with chapter-end quiz answers and presentation slides included.
25% off with code MMHQ25, applied at checkout. Priced in USD - checkout may show the equivalent in your local currency.
View the book and save 25%Related