Pub. 8 2013-2014 Issue 6

March | April 2014 19 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. O n Jan. 16 and again on Feb. 19, the Farm Credit Administra- tion (FCA), the regulator of the Farm Credit System (FCS), held all-day, closed-door “sym- posiums” to address “Consolidation in the Farm Credit System: The Factors Influencing Consolidation and the Potential Impact on Mission.” Despite requests from American Bankers Asso- ciation (ABA) staff and fromme, mem- bers of the public and the media were barred from attending these symposia. The three members of the FCA Board actively participated in the first sym- posium and almost certainly did in the second one as well. Under the Govern- ment in the Sunshine Act, the presence of even two of the FCA Board members at these symposia would require these events to be open to the public. During her time in Congress, FCA Chairman Jill Long Thompson was a champion of increased transparency in government. As FCA chairman, she clearly has tossed that commitment aside. The FCAhas yet to respond to a Freedomof Information Act (FOIA) request I filed with regard to these symposia asking for, among other things, a list of the symposium invitees and attendees, and a transcript or re- cording of the symposiumproceedings, staff notes, and presentation materials. I was able to obtain the agendas for the two symposia so we know who Bert Ely’s FARM CREDIT WATCH ® Shedding Light on the Farm Credit System, America’s Least Known GSE © 2014 Bert Ely FCA Holds Secret Meetings to Plot FCS’ Future the speakers were and the topics they addressed. The FCA has posted on its website the opening statements of the three FCA Board members as well as the papers presented by nine speakers at the first symposium—they can be found at www.fca.gov/reports/sympo- sium2014.html. In discussing consolidation within the FCS, FCA Board member and former FCA Chairman Leland Strom stated that “we have not declined a single merger request, but we have enhanced our review requirements of merger applications. . . .” As was evident  Bert Ely — continued on page 20