Accounting Policies Consoidation of Variable Interest Entities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]

Schedule of Variable Interest Entities [Table Text Block]

For those trusts where Farmer Mac has a variable interest but has not been determined to be the primary beneficiary, Farmer Mac's interests are presented as either "Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities" or "Investment securities" on the consolidated balance sheets. Farmer Mac's involvement in VIEs classified as Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities include securitization trusts under the USDA Guarantees line of business and certain trusts related to Farmer Mac I AgVantage securities. In the case of Farmer Mac II trusts, Farmer Mac is not determined to be the primary beneficiary because it does not have the decision-making power over default mitigation activities. Based on the USDA's program authority over the servicing and default mitigation activities of the USDA guaranteed portions of loans, Farmer Mac believes that the USDA has the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the trust's economic performance. Farmer Mac does not have exposure to losses that could be significant to the trust and there are no triggers that would result in Farmer Mac superseding the USDA's authority with regard to directing the activities of the trust. For the AgVantage trusts, Farmer Mac currently does not have the power to direct the activities that have the most significant economic impact to the trust unless, as guarantor, there is a default by the issuer of the trust securities. Should there be a default, Farmer Mac would reassess whether it is the primary beneficiary of those trusts. The amounts disclosed in the tables below represent Farmer Mac's holdings of a portion of the beneficial interests issued by these AgVantage Trusts. For VIEs classified as investment securities, which include auction-rate certificates, asset-backed securities and government-sponsored enterprise ("GSE")-guaranteed mortgage-backed securities, Farmer Mac is determined not to be the primary beneficiary because of the lack of voting rights or other powers to direct the activities of the trust. The following tables present, by line of business, details about the consolidation of VIEs:



	Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities
	December 31, 2012
	Farm & Ranch		USDA Guarantees		Rural Utilities		Investments		Total
	(in thousands)
On-Balance Sheet:
Consolidated VIEs:
Loans held for investment in consolidated trusts, at amortized cost (1)	$	160,436	$	—	$	403,139	$	—	$	563,575
Debt securities of consolidated trusts held by third parties (2)	167,621		—		—		—		167,621
Unconsolidated VIEs:
Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities:
Carrying value (3)	31,370		26,681		—		—		58,051
Maximum exposure to loss (4)	30,000		26,238		—		—		56,238
Investment securities:
Carrying value	—		—		—		724,893		724,893
Maximum exposure to loss (4)	—		—		—		737,148		737,148
Off-Balance Sheet:
Unconsolidated VIEs:
Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities:
Maximum exposure to loss (4) (5)	1,881,370		29,658		—		—		1,911,028

(1) Includes unamortized premiums related to Rural Utilities of $34.3 million.

(2) Includes borrower remittances of $7.2 million, which have not been passed through to third party investors as of December 31, 2012.

(3) Includes unamortized premiums and discounts and fair value adjustments related to Farm & Ranch and USDA Guarantees of $1.4 million and $0.4 million, respectively.

(4) Farmer Mac uses unpaid principal balance and outstanding face amount of investment securities to represent maximum exposure to loss.

(5) Of the Farm & Ranch amount, $911.4 million relates to unconsolidated trusts where Farmer Mac determined it was not the primary beneficiary due to shared power with an unrelated party.



	Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities
	December 31, 2011
	Farm & Ranch		USDA Guarantees		Rural Utilities		Investments		Total
	(in thousands)
On-Balance Sheet:
Consolidated VIEs:
Loans held for investment in consolidated trusts, at amortized cost (1)	$	696,735	$	—	$	424,824	$	—	$	1,121,559
Debt securities of consolidated trusts held by third parties (2)	701,583		—		—		—		701,583
Unconsolidated VIEs:
Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities:
Carrying value (3)	30,964		35,599		—		—		66,563
Maximum exposure to loss (4)	30,000		35,410		—		—		65,410
Investment securities:
Carrying value	—		—		—		771,162		771,162
Maximum exposure to loss (4)	—		—		—		788,381		788,381
Off-Balance Sheet:
Unconsolidated VIEs:
Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities:
Maximum exposure to loss (4) (5)	1,591,871		42,088		—		—		1,633,959

(1) Includes unamortized premiums related to Rural Utilities of $38.0 million.

(2) Includes borrower remittances of $4.8 million, which have not been passed through to third party investors as of December 31, 2011.

(3) Includes unamortized premiums and discounts and fair value adjustments related to Farm & Ranch and USDA Guarantees of $1.0 million and $0.2 million, respectively.

(4) Farmer Mac uses unpaid principal balance and the outstanding face amount of investment securities to represent maximum exposure to loss.

(5) Of the Farm & Ranch amount, $621.9 million relates to unconsolidated trusts where Farmer Mac determined it was not the primary beneficiary due to shared power with an unrelated party.

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the significant judgments and assumptions made in determining whether a variable interest (as defined) held by the entity requires the variable interest entity (VIE) (as defined) to be consolidated and (or) disclose information about its involvement with the VIE, individually or in aggregate (as applicable); the nature of restrictions, if any, on the consolidated VIE's assets and on the settlement of its liabilities reported by an entity in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets and liabilities; the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with involvement in the VIE; how involvement with the VIE affects the entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows; the lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of the consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary (if applicable); the terms of arrangements, giving consideration to both explicit arrangements and implicit variable interests, if any, that could require the entity to provide financial support to the VIE, including events or circumstances that could expose the entity to a loss; the methodology used by the entity for determining whether or not it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity; the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance are shared (as defined); the carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of the VIE included in the statement of financial position; the entity's maximum exposure to loss, if any, as a result of its involvement with the VIE, including how the maximum exposure is determined and significant sources of the entity's exposure to the VIE; a comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and the entity's maximum exposure to loss; information about any liquidity arrangements, guarantees, and (or) other commitments by third parties that may affect the fair value or risk of the entity's variable interest in the VIE; whether or not the entity has provided financial support or other support (explicitly or implicitly) to the VIE that it was not previously contractually required to provide or whether the entity intends to provide that support, including the type and amount of the support and the primary reasons for providing the support; and supplemental information the entity determines necessary to provide.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

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