About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (April 13, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govegvi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Updated April 13, 2022 Farm Credit Administration and Its Board Members Overview Congress oversees the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), which is the federal financial regulator responsible for ensuring the safety and soundness of Farm Credit System (FCS) institutions and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac). FCA is directed by a three- member board of directors nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate (12 U.S.C. §2242). One board member position is vacant, one member is serving in an expired term, and one member's term will expire soon. Congressional oversight is provided by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. The most recent authorizing committee hearings on FCS were in the Senate on May 19, 2016, and in the House on November 19, 2019 (with FCA witnesses). The Senate Agriculture Committee most recently held a nomination hearing for a board member in November 2017. This In Focus summarizes FCA and FCS and provides context for current and past terms of FCA board members. Farm Credit Administration FCA sets the policies, regulations, charters, and examinations of FCS and Farmer Mac. This includes compliance with statutes to serve eligible borrowers. FCA also protects the rights of borrowers and reports to Congress on the financial condition of FCS. FCA is an independent agency that has about 300 full- and part-time employees. It is located in McLean, VA, and conducts examinations from several field offices. FCA's operating expenses are paid through assessments on FCS banks and associations. Even though FCA does not receive an appropriation from Congress, the annual Agriculture appropriations act places a limit on FCA's administrative expenses ($84 million in FY2022). Statutory authority for FCA is in Title 12, Section 2241, of the United States Code, with regulations in Title 12, Section 600, of the Code of Federal Regulations. Farm Credit System FCS is a privately owned, federally chartered, nationwide financial cooperative that lends to full- and part-time farmers, farming-related businesses, rural homeowners, farmer-owned cooperatives, and certain rural utilities. Borrowers must meet creditworthiness requirements. FCS is not a lender of last resort. Established in 1916 as a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), FCS has a statutory mandate-and limitation-to serve agriculture. FCS is the only direct lender among the GSEs. It receives tax benefits, but FCS operates without any direct federal appropriations. FCS associations are owned by their borrowers, who are required to purchase stock as part of their loans. FCS banks and associations do not take deposits like commercial banks. Instead, FCS uses capital markets to sell bonds that become the joint and several liabilities of all FCS banks, meaning they collectively stand behind the obligations to repay those bonds. FCS is composed of four regional banks that provide funds and support services to 67 smaller credit associations that in turn provide loans to eligible borrowers. As of December 31, 2021, FCS had $344 billion in total loans outstanding to agriculture, agribusiness, rural utility, and other borrowers. Agriculture loans are the largest portion of the FCS portfolio and provided 44% of loans on the sector-wide farm balance sheet at the end of 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Statutory authority for FCS is in the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. §§2001 et seq.), as amended, notably by the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. Farmer Mac Farmer Mac is a secondary market for agricultural mortgages. It purchases loans from originating lenders and provides other risk management tools. Farmer Mac was created by Congress in 1987 as a privately funded GSE and is an investor-owned corporation that is financially and corporately separate from FCS. As of December 31, 2021, Farmer Mac's total business volume (similar to assets) was nearly $24 billion. Statutory authority for Farmer Mac is in the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. §§2279aa et seq.). Board Members As a regulator, FCA is directed by a three-member board of directors nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate (12 U.S.C. §2242). Terms for board members are six years in length, fixed when they begin and staggered so that one term begins every two years regardless of whether a new member has been confirmed. Board members may not be reappointed after serving a full term or more than three years of an unexpired term. A board member may continue to serve beyond the end of his/her term until a replacement has been confirmed. This helps maintain an effective board if successors are delayed. Not more than two members of the board may be from the same political party. The President designates one member as chairman-not subject to further confirmation-who has historically held that role until the end of his/her term. The chairman is also the chief executive officer of FCA (12 U.S.C. §2244).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most