Hatch was commerce commissioner during the farm crisis of the mid-1980s. In 1983 Minnesota had over 430 banks and savings and loan associations. Most were in rural areas and depended on the success of the rural economy. Interest rates were at record levels, with a few banks paying up to 15% annual interest on some deposits. The combination of volatile interest rates and the failure of rural farms affected the banking industry. Farmers couldn't pay back the loans, falling grain and land prices shrank the value of collateral, and double-digit interest rates on deposits put banks in an impossible squeeze. Bank examiners forced banks to write down the value of the loan collateral, which resulted in more banks being labeled insolvent and subject to liquidation. This accelerated foreclosures. The depth of the rural recession resulted in few buyers willing to buy used equipment or land at auction, causing further depreciation of farm assets.