
1.	ORGANIZATION

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation ("Farmer Mac" or the "Corporation") is a stockholder-owned, federally chartered instrumentality of the United States established under Title VIII of the Farm Credit Act of 1971, as amended (12 U.S.C. §§ 2279aa et seq.), which is sometimes referred to as Farmer Mac's charter. Farmer Mac was originally created by the United States Congress to provide a secondary market for a variety of loans made to borrowers in rural America. This secondary market is designed to increase the availability of long-term credit at stable interest rates to America's rural communities and to provide those borrowers with the benefits of capital markets pricing and product innovation. Since Farmer Mac's inception, Congress has expanded Farmer Mac's charter to authorize the Corporation to create the USDA Guarantees line of business and to purchase, and guarantee securities backed by, loans made by cooperative lenders to finance electrification and telecommunications systems in rural areas.

Farmer Mac's main secondary activities are:


•	purchasing eligible loans directly from lenders;


•	providing advances against eligible loans by purchasing obligations secured by those loans;


•	securitizing assets and guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on the resulting securities that represent interests in, or obligations secured by, pools of eligible loans; and


•	issuing long-term standby purchase commitments ("LTSPCs") for eligible loans.

Farmer Mac conducts these activities through three lines of business – Farm & Ranch (Farmer Mac I), USDA Guarantees (Farmer Mac II), and Rural Utilities. As of December 31, 2012, the total outstanding balance in all of Farmer Mac's lines of business was $13.0 billion.

Under the Farm & Ranch line of business, Farmer Mac purchases or commits to purchase mortgage loans secured by first liens on agricultural real estate. Farmer Mac also guarantees securities representing interests in, or obligations secured by, pools of eligible mortgage loans secured by first liens on agricultural real estate. The securities guaranteed by Farmer Mac under this line of business are referred to as "Farmer Mac I Guaranteed Securities." To be eligible, loans must meet Farmer Mac's credit underwriting, collateral valuation, documentation, and other specified standards. As of December 31, 2012, outstanding farm and ranch loans held by Farmer Mac and loans that either backed Farmer Mac I Guaranteed Securities or were subject to LTSPCs in the Farmer Mac I line of business totaled $9.1 billion.

Under the USDA Guarantees line of business, Farmer Mac II LLC, a subsidiary of Farmer Mac, purchases the portions of certain agricultural, rural development, business and industry, and community facilities loans guaranteed by the United States Department of Agriculture under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. §§ 1921 et seq.). USDA-guaranteed portions are referred to and presented on the consolidated balance sheets as "USDA Guaranteed Securities." Farmer Mac II LLC also purchases USDA Guaranteed Securities in exchange for issuing securities to third parties backed by those USDA Guaranteed Securities, which are then also guaranteed by Farmer Mac. These issued securities are referred to and presented on the consolidated balance sheets as Farmer Mac II Guaranteed Securities. As of December 31, 2012, outstanding Farmer Mac II Guaranteed Securities and USDA Guaranteed Securities totaled $1.6 billion. Since January 2010, nearly all purchases of USDA Guaranteed Securities under the USDA Guarantees line of business have been made by Farmer Mac II LLC, which operates substantially all of the business related to the USDA Guarantees line of business. Farmer Mac operates only that part of the business that involves the issuance of Farmer Mac II Guaranteed Securities to investors other than Farmer Mac or Farmer Mac II LLC.

Farmer Mac initiated the Rural Utilities line of business in 2008 after Congress expanded Farmer Mac's authorized secondary market activities to include rural utilities loans. Farmer Mac's authorized activities under this line of business are similar to those conducted under the Farm & Ranch line of business – purchases of, and guarantees of securities ("Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities – Rural Utilities") backed by, eligible rural utilities loans. To be eligible, loans must meet Farmer Mac's credit underwriting and other specified standards. Farmer Mac has retained in its portfolio all of the rural utilities loans and Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities – Rural Utilities under this line of business since its inception, with the exception of AgVantage securities that were sold to third parties and had an outstanding balance of $12.7 million as of December 31, 2012. To date, Farmer Mac has not issued any LTSPCs with respect to rural utilities loans. As of December 31, 2012, the aggregate outstanding principal balance of rural utilities loans held and Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities – Rural Utilities was $2.3 billion.

Farmer Mac I Guaranteed Securities, Farmer Mac II Guaranteed Securities, and Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities – Rural Utilities are collectively referred to as "Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities." The assets underlying Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities include (1) loans, loan participation interests, or USDA Guaranteed Securities eligible under one of Farmer Mac's lines of business and (2) general obligations of lenders secured by pools of eligible loans. The Corporation guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on the resulting Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities. Farmer Mac may retain Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities in its portfolio or sell them to third parties.

Farmer Mac's two principal sources of revenue are:


•	interest income earned on assets held on balance sheet, net of related funding costs and interest payments and receipts on financial derivatives (i.e., net effective spread); and


•	guarantee and commitment fees received in connection with outstanding Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and LTSPCs.

Farmer Mac funds its purchases of eligible loan assets and liquidity investment assets primarily by issuing debt obligations of various maturities in the public capital markets. As of December 31, 2012, Farmer Mac had $5.0 billion of discount notes and $6.6 billion of medium-term notes outstanding. The proceeds of debt issuance are invested in loan purchases, Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities, and liquidity investment assets in accordance with policies established by Farmer Mac's board of directors that comply with regulations promulgated by the Farm Credit Administration ("FCA"), which establish limitations on dollar amount, issuer concentration, and credit quality. Those regulations can be found at 12 C.F.R. §§ 652.1-652.45.