Eligibility and Scope of Financing; Loan Policies and Operations; Funding and Fiscal Affairs, Loan Policies and Operations, and Funding Operations; General Provisions; Definitions; Disclosure to Shareholders; Nondiscrimination in Lending; Capital Adequacy and Customer Eligibility

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) through the FCA Board (Board) publishes for comment proposed amendments (reproposed rule) to the current regulations governing the capital adequacy provisions and the customer eligibility provisions for Farm Credit System (Farm Credit, FCS, or System) institutions. This rule adds core surplus and total surplus standards for banks, associations, and the Farm Credit Leasing Services Corporation (Leasing Corporation); adds a collateral ratio for banks; and adds procedures for setting higher capital standards for individual institutions and for issuing capital directives, when warranted. This rule also incorporates recent statutory amendments to the Farm Credit Act of 1971, as amended (Act), which govern the eligibility rules for lending under title III of the Act and provide Farm Credit banks and associations new authorities to participate with non-System lenders in loans to similar entities. Subsequent to the closing of the comment period for the original proposal, the Farm Credit System Reform Act of 1996 (1996 Reform Act) was enacted, necessitating certain conforming changes in the rule. The reproposal eliminates restrictions in the current eligibility regulations that are not required by the Act and makes other technical, clarifying, and conforming changes. This rule relocates the nondiscrimination in lending regulations to a new part without change.