- Legal OpinionsCurrently selected

Summaries of selected FCA legal opinions
FCA attorneys occasionally draft legal opinions to explain how a statute, regulation, or other agency guidance applies to a specific situation. This database contains summaries of select legal opinions that may be of general interest. When reviewing these summaries, please be aware that different facts or changes in law and policy can produce different conclusions.

 
NameTopicIssue Date00-01Eligibility: Is a restaurant chain that plans to produce, process, and market all the meat and potatoes it sells in its restaurants eligible to borrow from a Farm Credit System lender?2/14/200000-02Stock: Does a “gift” of voting stock to trade credit borrowers satisfy the statutory requirement that borrowers acquire voting stock in an association as a condition of receiving a loan?2/28/200000-03Participations: May a Farm Credit System association buy participation interests and servicing rights in several loans that an agricultural producer made to local farmers through purchase money mortgages?3/9/200000-04Territorial Concurrence: Must an association obtain territorial concurrence when a new borrower located outside the association’s chartered territory assumes an existing loan to a borrower inside the association's territory?6/7/200000-05Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May an association take residential mortgage applications on behalf of non-Farm Credit System lenders in communities with populations above 2,500?8/13/200001-01Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May a Farm Credit Bank use its excess staffing capacities to provide credit-related and marketing services to a non-Farm Credit System leasing corporation?2/15/200101-02Incidental Authority/Promotional Activity: May a Farm Credit System association buy $10,000 of preferred stock in a farmer-owned cooperative that processes durum into pasta?4/27/200101-03Disclosure of Loan Documents: May Farm Credit System associations provide only unsigned photocopies of loan documents to borrowers?5/16/200101-04Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May a Farm Credit Bank use its excess capacity to provide information technology services to a non-Farm Credit System leasing corporation?6/19/200101-05Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May an association take residential mortgage applications on behalf of non-Farm Credit System lenders in communities with populations above 2,500?9/27/200102-01Eligibility and Scope of Financing: May a partner in a business that borrows from a Farm Credit System association refinance a home in a community where the population exceeds 2,500 inhabitants?1/16/200202-02Effective Interest Rate Disclosure: Does the Farm Credit Act require a Farm Credit System lender to include the amount an existing borrower previously paid for stock in the effective interest rate calculation for subsequent loans to the same borrower?5/10/200202-03Incidental Authority/Risk Management: May a Farm Credit System association enter into a credit default swap with a special purpose vehicle established and owned by a third party in order to transfer credit risk on a portion of its long-term mortgage loan 5/14/200202-04Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity:  May an association engage in promotional activities for itself and another business by incorporating a hyperlink to the other business  on its website and by permitting the other business to lease out its office spac6/12/200202-05Credit Delivery: May an association provide credit through a VISA credit card issued by a commercial bank?12/6/200203-01Incidental Authority: May a bank develop a credit-scoring interface and provide the product to its affiliated associations, other Farm Credit institutions, and Other Financing Institutions?2/26/200303-02Incidental Authority/Promotional Activity: May a bank enter into an alliance with a land management company to help its customers obtain land management services?2/28/200303-03Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity:  May an association accept residential mortgage applications on behalf of non-Farm Credit System lenders in communities with populations above 2,500?4/14/200303-04Topic: Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May an association process ineligible residential mortgage applications on behalf of non-Farm Credit System secondary market lenders?7/31/200303-05Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May an association process ineligible residential mortgage applications on behalf of non-Farm Credit System secondary market lenders?8/6/200303-06Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May a Farm Credit System bank that provides a credit-scoring interface program to its affiliated institutions use the program’s excess capacity to provide that service to an unrelated corporate entity?11/5/200303-07Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May an association process crop insurance applications from independent insurance agents seeking insurance for their own clients?11/5/200304-01Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May an association process ineligible residential mortgage applications on behalf of non-Farm Credit System secondary market lenders?4/6/200406-01Incidental Authority: Does a Farm Credit System bank or association have authority to serve as the principal agent in syndications to similar entities?12/13/200606-02Incidental Authority: May an association provide third party loan administration services consisting of lock box, payment/disbursement and billing statement processing, and routine loan and accounting services?8/9/200607-01Mortgage Lending: Does a mortgage loan secured by a first lien on rural real estate that an eligible borrower leases meet the requirements of section 1.10(a)(2) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971?6/12/200707-02Incidental Authority: Does a Farm Credit System bank or association have authority to provide printing services to non-System entities?9/20/200798-01Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May an agricultural credit association process rural home loan application packages for a non-Farm Credit System lender?3/27/199898-02Capital Regulations: What is the effect on the calculation of an association’s core and total surplus if it revolves a portion of its allocated equities within the next year?6/17/199898-03Eligibility: May a Farm Credit System association finance a processing and marketing operation owned by foreign nationals?6/22/199898-04Corporate Authority: Does a Farm Credit System bank have the authority to acquire an interest in an LLC because it is necessary to the operation of the bank’s business?7/27/199898-05Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May a Farm Credit System association provide lease accounting services to other lenders?11/5/199898-06Borrower Rights: Must a Farm Credit System association provide loan restructuring rights to, and delay further action against, a financially troubled borrower with an unsecured loan?11/18/199898-07Investment in Farmers’ Notes: May a production credit association discount notes that an almond processor makes to local almond growers?11/25/199898-08Related Services: May Farm Credit System associations offer related services to eligible farm-related businesses, non-farm rural homeowners, and former farmers?12/16/199898-09Leasing Real Property: May a Farm Credit System association lease excess office space to an unrelated entity engaged in providing risk management and insurance services to the general public?12/29/199899-01Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May a farm credit bank process loan applications, engage in loan underwriting, and prepare loan documentation for unaffiliated Farm Credit System (FCS) institutions and non-FCS financial institutions?1/6/199999-02Use of Property/Eligibility: May an agricultural credit association make a loan to an ineligible commercial real estate developer for construction of a small office building to be leased back to the association?1/7/199999-03Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: May a Federal land credit association enter into an alliance with a wholesale mortgage bank to process loan application packages for rural home loans funded and serviced by the non-Farm Credit System lender?1/13/199999-04Participations: Are Farm Credit System banks authorized to purchase 99% participation interests in loans originated by commercial banks and guarantee the remaining one-percent?2/14/199999-05Voting Rights: Can a limited liability company owned by several cooperatives vote its participation certificates in a bank for cooperatives’ vote on approval of a proposed merger?3/2/199999-06Territorial Concurrence/Farmers’ Notes: May a Farm Credit System association provide funding for a borrower’s finance company subsidiary by discounting its customers’ notes without obtaining territorial concurrence?3/5/199999-07Incidental Authority/Excess Capacity: Does an agricultural credit association have the authority to enter into alliances with non-Farm Credit System lenders to process and service loans?4/14/199999-08Incidental Authority/Promotional Activity: May a Farm Credit System association provide $10,000 to a group of dairy farmers and producers forming a limited liability company to recycle dairy waste?4/29/199999-09Participations: Is a Federal land credit association authorized to buy servicing rights and a participation interest in a pool of long-term agricultural loans from a non-Farm Credit System lender?7/30/199999-10Incidental Authority/Corporate Authority to Provide for Employees: May a Farm Credit System bank acquire ineligible residential properties from bank employees when they relocate?8/18/199999-11Eligibility: May a Farm Credit System association finance a business that offers various farm-related services, including custom blending and spreading of fertilizer, custom seed harvesting, and soil testing and analysis?9/10/199999-12Eligibility: Is a trucking firm that hauls farmer-owned and elevator-owned grain under a contract with a grain elevator a “farm-related business” eligible to receive financing from a Farm Credit System association?10/12/199999-13Related Services: May a Farm Credit System association contract with a buying service that enables its farmer members to buy material farm inputs such as fuel, fertilizer, and herbicide at a discount?12/23/1999Followjavascript: SP.SOD.executeFunc('followingcommon.js', 'FollowDoc', function() { FollowDoc('{ListId}', {ItemId}); 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