Off-Balance Sheet Guarantees and Long Term Standby Purchase Commitments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Off-Balance Sheet Guarantees and Long Term Standby Purchase Commitments Disclosure

OFF-BALANCE SHEET GUARANTEES AND LONG-TERM STANDBY PURCHASE COMMITMENTS

Farmer Mac offers two credit enhancement alternatives to direct loan purchases that allow approved lenders the ability to retain the cash flow benefits of their loans and increase their liquidity and lending capacity: (1) Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities, which are available through the Farm & Ranch, the USDA Guarantees, or the Rural Utilities lines of business, and (2) LTSPCs, which are available through the Farm & Ranch or the Rural Utilities lines of business. Farmer Mac records, at the inception of a guarantee, a liability for the fair value of its obligation to stand ready to perform under the terms of each guarantee and an asset that is equal to the fair value of the fees that will be received over the life of each guarantee. The fair values of the guarantee obligation and asset at inception are based on the present value of expected cash flows using management's best estimate of certain key assumptions, which include prepayment speeds, forward yield curves, and discount rates commensurate with the risks involved. Because the cash flows of these instruments may be interest rate path dependent, these values and projected discount rates are derived using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The guarantee obligation and corresponding asset are subsequently amortized into guarantee and commitment fee income in relation to the decline in the unpaid principal balance on the underlying agricultural real estate mortgage and rural utilities loans.

Off-Balance Sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities

The following table presents the maximum principal amount of potential undiscounted future payments that Farmer Mac could be required to make under all off-balance sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, not including offsets provided by any recourse provisions, recoveries from third parties, or collateral for the underlying loans:

Table 6.1

Outstanding Balance of Off-Balance Sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities
	September 30, 2013		December 31, 2012
	(in thousands)
Farm & Ranch:
Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities - AgVantage	$	970,000	$	970,000
Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities	801,704		911,370
USDA Guarantees:
Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities	21,094		29,658
Rural Utilities:
Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities - AgVantage	12,667		12,669
Total off-balance sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities	$	1,805,465	$	1,923,697

Eligible loans and other eligible assets may be placed into trusts that are used as vehicles for the securitization of the transferred assets and the Farmer Mac-guaranteed beneficial interests in the trusts are sold to investors.  The following table summarizes the significant cash flows received from and paid to trusts used for Farmer Mac securitizations:

Table 6.2

	For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30, 2013			September 30, 2012
	(in thousands)
Proceeds from new securitizations	$	64,609		$	29,334
Guarantee fees received	3,572			3,344
Purchases of assets from the trusts	(6,667		)	(8,069		)

Farmer Mac has recorded a liability for its obligation to stand ready under the guarantee in the guarantee and commitment obligation on the consolidated balance sheets.  This liability approximated $14.0 million as of September 30, 2013 and $15.8 million as of December 31, 2012. As of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the weighted-average remaining maturity of all loans underlying off-balance sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities, excluding AgVantage securities, was 12.9 years and 13.4 years, respectively.  As of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the weighted-average remaining maturity of the off-balance sheet AgVantage securities was 3.7 years and 4.7 years.

Long-Term Standby Purchase Commitments

An LTSPC is a commitment by Farmer Mac to purchase eligible loans from an identified pool of loans under enumerated circumstances, either for cash or in exchange for Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities, on one or more undetermined future dates.  As consideration for its assumption of the credit risk on loans underlying an LTSPC, Farmer Mac receives a commitment fee payable monthly in arrears in an amount approximating what would have been the guarantee fee if the transaction were structured as a swap for Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities.

The maximum principal amount of potential undiscounted future payments that Farmer Mac could be requested to make under all LTSPCs, not including offsets provided by any recourse provisions, recoveries from third parties, or collateral for the underlying loans, was $2.3 billion as of September 30, 2013 and $2.2 billion as of December 31, 2012.

As of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the weighted-average remaining maturity of all loans underlying LTSPCs was 13.9 years and 13.6 years, respectively.  For those LTSPCs issued or modified on or after January 1, 2003, Farmer Mac has recorded a liability for its obligation to stand ready under the commitment in the guarantee and commitment obligation on the consolidated balance sheet.  This liability approximated $26.1 million as of September 30, 2013 and $22.0 million as of December 31, 2012.