Pub. 13 2018-2019 Issue 1

WWW.NEBANKERS.ORG 22 Shedding Light on the Farm Credit System, America’s Least Known GSE © 2018 Bert Ely BERT ELY’S FARM CREDIT WATCH® THE FARM CREDIT WATCH AT 20 S EVERAL READERS NOTED THAT THE MARCH EDITION OF FARM Credit Watch (FCW), issue no. 240, marked the 20th anniversary of the monthly publication of this column, which triggered a look-back at the FCW’s accomplish- ments over the last 20 years—and there have been a few. Perhaps the most significant has been educating bankers and other read- ers about what the Farm Credit System (FCS)—America’s least known government-sponsored enterprise (GSE)—actually is and how it has been evolving in recent decades. The FCS has the most complex structure of any GSE, with its banks, associations, funding corporation, and a little-known regulator, the Farm Credit Administration (FCA). FCWalso has educated its readers about the FCS’ many competitive advantages Congress and the states have blessed it with, notably the exemption of the profits on its real estate lending from any corporate income taxation, its ability to borrow at interest rates just above Treasury rates, and its exemption frommany state and local requirements, such as paying lien recording fees.