Deere & Co. last week introduced a new name for its business unit that offers credit and other financial services — John Deere Financial. The change is being made to better represent the full breadth of products and services offered by the business. It had previously been known as John Deere Credit.

"John Deere Financial remains committed to providing products and services that help customers, dealers and others succeed around the world," said Jim Israel, president of Deere & Co.'s Worldwide Financial Services Division. An example of this growth, he said, came earlier this year when Deere established John Deere Insurance Co. to strengthen the company’s position in the crop insurance industry.

"When we made the decision to expand our presence in the crop insurance industry, we realized that our name needed to change to encompass our expanding range of financial products and services," Israel said. "The new name more accurately reflects our strong commitment to meet the diverse business needs of our customers, dealers and other distributors around the world."

John Deere Financial will continue to serve equipment customers worldwide by offering retail, wholesale and lease financing to facilitate the sale of John Deere equipment in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. The company also will continue to provide revolving credit and crop insurance for customers while assessing other products that could help customers whose work is linked to the land.

The transition to the new name will take place over the next few months at various locations with signage at the division's headquarters in Johnston being the first to change.

John Deere Financial is one of the largest providers of financial services to agricultural and construction customers in the U.S. with more than 2.6 million accounts and a managed portfolio more than $23 billion. In addition to providing retail, wholesale and lease financing to help facilitate the sale of John Deere agricultural, construction and forestry, and turf and utility equipment, John Deere Financial also offers revolving credit and crop insurance.