ABA and Farmer Mac Announce Expansion of Unique Alliance
24 Avril 2008 - 11:15PM
PR Newswire (US)
WASHINGTON, April 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The American Bankers
Association (ABA) and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation
(Farmer Mac) (NYSE:AGMNYSE:andNYSE:AGM.A) today announced the
expansion of the ABA/Farmer Mac Alliance. In addition to the
current benefits offered through the alliance, ABA members will
also now receive special pricing for Farmer Mac's Part-Time Farm
program. "Up until now, the alliance benefits have been available
only for selected Farmer Mac farm and ranch loan products," said
Tom Stenson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
for Farmer Mac. "We're excited about the addition of this alliance
benefit for the Part-Time Farm program, which will be the first
change in the program since its origin in 2005." Farmers and
ranchers, along with part-time farmers, each have special needs and
Farmer Mac, as the secondary market for agricultural real estate
loans, has tailored loan products to meet those needs. The farm and
ranch loan program (or the Full-Time Farm program) involves loans
secured by first liens on agricultural real estate used for the
commercial production of agricultural commodities or products; the
Part-Time Farm program involves loans secured by first liens on
agricultural real estate where a significant portion of the value
of the property is in a rural residence, with agricultural
production underway or planned on the property. Under the exclusive
alliance agreement with Farmer Mac, ABA member banks receive
special benefits, including pricing discounts for selected Farmer
Mac products and AgPower(SM) customized loan-packaging services.
ABA members also benefit from a streamlined process through which
they access Farmer Mac. Farmer Mac's Part-Time Farm program is
uniquely designed to allow rural homeowners on agricultural
properties to obtain more flexible terms on their loans. These
properties may not otherwise be eligible for longer-term fixed
rates, such as 15 or 30 years, because of the agricultural
component, parcel size, or zoning. However, these situations work
perfectly for Farmer Mac, which was created by Congress to increase
the availability of long-term credit to rural communities,
including America's farmers, ranchers and rural homeowners. "This
program will give our members a real advantage because it provides
an outlet for the sale of qualified mortgages on properties where
the land exceeds the value of the improvements," said William
Kroll, President, ABA Total Business Solutions. "Banks normally
face a challenge finding secondary market buyers willing to
purchase these types of loans." Chris Howton, Senior Vice President
of Peoples National Bank, N.A. in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, is pleased
to hear of the special program. "The ABA/Farmer Mac Alliance
provides a great service to ABA members. Our bank covers a large
rural constituency so both the Farmer Mac Part-Time Farm and farm
and ranch programs are helpful to us. We appreciate having
something that differentiates us from our competition and the
special ABA pricing helps us compete just that much better." Farmer
Mac is a stockholder-owned instrumentality of the United States
chartered by Congress to establish a secondary market for
agricultural real estate and rural housing mortgage loans.
Additional information about Farmer Mac is available on Farmer
Mac's website at http://www.farmermac.com/. DATASOURCE: Farmer Mac
CONTACT: Mary Waters, VP Corporate Relations of Farmer Mac,
+1-202-872-7700; or Jim Eberle, VP Communications of American
Bankers Association, +1-202-663-5477 Web site:
http://www.farmermac.com/
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