8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

________________

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 26, 2020

FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Federally chartered instrumentality of the United States		001-14951	52-1578738
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)		(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)
1999 K Street, N.W., 4th Floor,			20006
Washington,	DC
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)			(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (202) 872-7700

No change

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report) 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading symbol	Exchange on which registered
Class A voting common stock	AGM.A	New York Stock Exchange
Class C non-voting common stock	AGM	New York Stock Exchange
5.875% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series A	AGM.PRA	New York Stock Exchange
6.000% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series C	AGM.PRC	New York Stock Exchange
5.700% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series D	AGM.PRD	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2). Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On March 26, 2020, the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (“Farmer Mac”) issued a press release providing a business update on COVID-19.  A copy of the press release is attached to this report as Exhibit 99. All references to www.farmermac.com in Exhibit 99 are inactive textual references only, and the information contained on Farmer Mac’s website is not incorporated by reference into this report.

The information furnished in this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, nor will any of such information or portion of the Exhibit be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Item 9.01.        Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)    Exhibits

    

99	Press Release dated March 26, 2020
101.INS	Inline XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document
101.SCH	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema
101.CAL	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation
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101.LAB	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label
101.PRE	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation
104	Cover Page Inline Interactive Data File - the cover page interactive data file does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document included as Exhibit 101

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION                    

By: /s/ Stephen P. Mullery            

Name: Stephen P. Mullery

Title: Executive Vice President – General Counsel

Dated: March 26, 2020

EX-99

Farmer Mac CEO Provides

COVID-19 Business Update

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 26, 2020 – Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac; NYSE: AGM and AGM.A), the nation’s secondary market provider that increases the availability and affordability of credit for the benefit of rural America, today released the following statement from Chief Executive Officer Brad Nordholm regarding the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and how Farmer Mac is responding.

Farmer Mac is closely tracking the impact of COVID-19, with our primary focus on safeguarding the well-being of our employees while continuing to fulfill our mission and serve our customers in rural America. We are proud to play a vital role as a source of secondary market credit and liquidity for America’s farmers and ranchers and the local financial institutions and rural utilities that serve them, and we know our role is especially important in times of uncertainty. We remain confident in our ability to navigate the evolving market conditions thanks to our strong and resilient business model.

• Business Continuity Plan (“BCP”): We are successfully operating uninterrupted with 100% of employees working remotely from their homes since March 12, 2020. Our technology platform and BCP have been functioning as designed in support of all functions of the organization, and we are making frequent use of video conferencing and other technology tools to stay in communication within our organization and with our customers and suppliers. Our Board of Directors remains actively engaged in its oversight role through regular teleconference meetings, and we have worked effectively and cooperatively with our regulator (the Office of Secondary Market Oversight within the Farm Credit Administration) to provide requested information and to help ensure the continued safety and soundness of Farmer Mac.

• Strong Liquidity: We have a strong capital base and continue to maintain the same disciplined asset-liability management policies and practices. Our daily access to the debt capital markets continues to be strong, although we are seeing some upward pressure on funding costs for longer-term issuances. We have been proactive in bolstering our liquidity position given the increased uncertainty in financial markets and are well above our regulatory requirements. We have increased amounts held in our short-term liquidity investment portfolio and are holding cash of approximately $1 billion, which is in excess of what we usually maintain. As another proactive measure to preserve capital and liquidity, we have indefinitely suspended repurchases under our $10 million Board-authorized stock repurchase program.

• Consistent Underwriting: We are maintaining our consistent underwriting policies and guidelines for credit approvals and are closely evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on new customer applications. We continue to stress test our credit portfolio and interest rate risk levels, which remain within our policy limits. We are focused on continuing to serve our customers to help them during this difficult time and to remain a reliable, durable, and trusted source of capital and liquidity to rural America.

• Serving Our Customers: We remain focused on serving the needs of our customers and are committed to helping them provide flexibility and assistance to their borrowers who are experiencing financial challenges due to COVID-19.

• Risk Factors: The full effects of COVID-19 are evolving and unknown, but already it is clear that it is weighing on the macroeconomic environment and has increased economic and market uncertainty. We are actively evaluating potential emerging risk factors related to COVID-19 that are specific to Farmer Mac’s business, operations, and workforce and will update the risk factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 with the SEC as we determine necessary or appropriate.

Farmer Mac continues to operate well in this period of heightened uncertainty in support of the farmers, ranchers, and rural utilities of America that comprise one of the most resilient sectors of the economy. We are encouraged by our success in operating the company during these last two weeks, and we remain committed to fulfilling our mission and helping to maintain the availability and flow of credit to American agriculture and rural communities that is so essential.

About Farmer Mac

Farmer Mac is a vital part of the agricultural credit markets and was created to increase access to and reduce the cost of capital for the benefit of American agricultural and rural communities. As the nation’s secondary market for agricultural credit, we provide financial solutions to a broad spectrum of the agricultural community, including agricultural lenders, agribusinesses, and other institutions that can benefit from access to flexible, low-cost financing and risk management tools. Farmer Mac’s customers benefit from our low cost of funds, low overhead costs, and high operational efficiency. Additional information about Farmer Mac is available on Farmer Mac’s website at www.farmermac.com.

CONTACT:     Jalpa Nazareth, Investor Relations

Megan Murray-Pelaez, Media Inquiries

(202) 872-7700

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XML

Cover Page	Mar. 26, 2020
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Mar. 26, 2020
Entity Registrant Name	FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION
City Area Code	202
Local Phone Number	872-7700
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Entity File Number	001-14951
Entity Central Index Key	0000845877
Entity Tax Identification Number	52-1578738
Entity Address, Address Line One	1999 K Street, N.W., 4th Floor,
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	20006
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	X1
Entity Address, City or Town	Washington,
Entity Address, State or Province	DC
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Common Class A [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	Class A voting common stock
Trading Symbol	AGM.A
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Common Class C [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	Class C non-voting common stock
Trading Symbol	AGM
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Series A Preferred Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	5.875% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series A
Trading Symbol	AGM.PRA
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Series C Preferred Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	6.000% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series C
Trading Symbol	AGM.PRC
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Series D Preferred Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	5.700% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series D
Trading Symbol	AGM.PRD
Security Exchange Name	NYSE