Description

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac) operates a secondary market for various loans extended to borrowers throughout the United States. Its operations are structured into four main segments. The Farm & Ranch division focuses on acquiring and retaining eligible first-lien mortgage loans secured by agricultural real estate. It also transforms these loans into securities, assuring the prompt payment of principal and interest to investors, and offers long-term standby purchase commitments for designated eligible mortgage loans. The USDA Guarantees segment is dedicated to purchasing tranches of agricultural and rural development loans that are backed by the United States Department of Agriculture. Within the Rural Utilities segment, Farmer Mac buys and guarantees securities underpinned by loans provided to cooperative organizations for electric or telecommunications infrastructure. This segment also directly acquires eligible rural utility loans and issues long-term standby purchase commitments for pools of these loans. Finally, the Institutional Credit segment guarantees and purchases general obligations from lenders and other financial institutions, provided these are collateralized by pools of loans qualifying under Farmer Mac's Farm & Ranch, USDA Guarantees, or Rural Utilities business lines. Established in 1987, Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation maintains its headquarters in Washington, D.C.