FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE CORP

Credit Risk – Loans and Guarantees.

Agricultural Finance - Direct Credit Exposure

Farmer Mac's direct credit exposure to Agricultural Finance mortgage loans as of June 30, 2024 was $11.4 billion across 48 states. Farmer Mac applies credit underwriting standards and methodologies to help assess exposures to loan purchases, which may include collateral valuation, financial metrics, and other appropriate borrower financial and credit information. For Corporate AgFinance loans, which are often larger loan exposures to agriculture production and agribusinesses that support agriculture production, food and fiber processing, and other supply chain production, and which may have risk profiles that differ from smaller agricultural mortgage loans, Farmer Mac has implemented methodologies and parameters that help assess credit risk based on the appropriate sector, borrower construct, and transaction complexity. For more information about Farmer Mac's underwriting and collateral valuation standards for Agricultural Finance mortgage loans, see "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Agricultural Finance—Underwriting and Collateral Standards—Farm & Ranch" and "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Agricultural Finance—Underwriting and Collateral Standards—Corporate AgFinance" in Farmer Mac's 2023 Annual Report.

Farmer Mac's 90-day delinquency measure includes loans 90 days or more past due, as well as loans in foreclosure and non-performing loans where the borrower is in bankruptcy. For Agricultural Finance mortgage loans to which Farmer Mac has direct credit exposure, Farmer Mac's 90-day delinquencies as of June 30, 2024, were $62.1 million (0.54% of the Agricultural Finance mortgage loan portfolio to which Farmer Mac has direct credit exposure), compared to $76.8 million (0.69% of the Agricultural Finance mortgage loan portfolio) as of March 31, 2024 and $34.7 million (0.31% of the Agricultural Finance mortgage loan portfolio) as of December 31, 2023. Those 90-day delinquencies consisted of 34 delinquent loans as of June 30, 2024, compared to 41 delinquent loans as of March 31, 2024 and 23 delinquent loans as of December 31, 2023. The seasonal decrease in the number of 90-day delinquencies was primarily driven by decreased delinquencies in permanent plantings, crops, and livestock, and was partially offset by increased delinquencies in part-time farms. The top ten borrower exposures over 90 days delinquent represented over half of the 90-day delinquencies as of June 30, 2024. Farmer Mac believes that it remains adequately collateralized on its delinquent loans.

Farmer Mac's 90-day delinquency rate as of June 30, 2024 was below Farmer Mac's historical average. In the near-term, our delinquency rate may exceed our historical average due to changes in the agricultural or general economy or unforeseen and idiosyncratic events like adverse weather events. Farmer Mac's average 90-day delinquency rate as a percentage of its Agricultural Finance mortgage loan portfolio over the last 15 years is approximately 1%. The highest 90-day delinquency rate observed during that period occurred in 2009 at approximately 2%, which coincided with increased delinquencies in loans within Farmer Mac's ethanol loan portfolio.

The following table presents historical information about Farmer Mac's 90-day delinquencies in the Agricultural Finance mortgage loan portfolio compared to the unpaid principal balance of all Agricultural Finance mortgage loans to which Farmer Mac has direct credit exposure:

Table 22

Across all of Farmer Mac's lines of business, 90-day delinquencies represented 0.22% of total outstanding business volume as of June 30, 2024, compared to 0.12% as of December 31, 2023 and 0.17% as of June 30, 2023.

The following table presents outstanding Agricultural Finance mortgage loans and 90-day delinquencies as of June 30, 2024 by year of origination, geographic region, commodity/collateral type, original loan-to-value ratio, and range in the size of borrower exposure:

Table 23

(1)Includes loans held and loans underlying off-balance sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and LTSPCs that are 90 days or more past due, in foreclosure, or in bankruptcy with at least one missed payment, excluding loans performing under either their original loan terms or a court-approved bankruptcy plan.

(2)Geographic regions: Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY); Southwest (AZ, CA, CO, HI, NM, NV, UT); Mid-North (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, NE, ND, SD, WI); Mid-South (AR, KS, LA, MO, OK, TX); Northeast (CT, DE, KY, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV); Southeast (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN).

(3)Primarily part-time farm loans. Loans with an original loan-to-value ratio of greater than 80% are required to have private mortgage insurance.

(4)"Enterprise Value" loans are generally secured by all business assets and common stock (in addition to first lien mortgages) of the borrower and the value of the borrowing entity depends on its ability to generate recurring positive cash flow. Enterprise Value is the estimated value of the borrower as a going concern, which is estimated using one or more valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow, cash flow multiples, asset liquidation, or other valuation techniques.

(5)Includes aggregated loans to single borrowers or borrower-related entities.

Another indicator that Farmer Mac considers in analyzing the credit quality of its Agricultural Finance mortgage loans is the level of internally-rated "substandard" assets, both in dollars and as a percentage of the outstanding portfolio. Assets categorized as "substandard" have a well-defined weakness or weaknesses, and there is a distinct possibility that some loss will be sustained if deficiencies are not corrected. As of June 30, 2024, Farmer Mac's Agricultural Finance mortgage loans (to which it has direct credit exposure) comprising substandard assets were $248.0 million (2.2% of the portfolio), compared to $255.2 million (2.3% of the portfolio) as of March 31, 2024, and $186.0 million (1.7% of the portfolio) as of December 31, 2023. Those substandard assets comprised 238 loans as of June 30, 2024, 245 loans as of March 31, 2024, and 206 loans as of December 31, 2023.

The decrease of $7.2 million in Agricultural Finance substandard assets during second quarter 2024 was primarily driven by credit upgrades in permanent plantings and crops, and was partially offset by downgrades in agricultural storage and processing, part-time farms, and livestock. Agricultural Finance substandard assets decreased as a percentage of our on- and off-balance sheet Agricultural Finance portfolios during second quarter 2024.

The percentage of Agricultural Finance substandard assets within the portfolio as of June 30, 2024 was below the historical average. Farmer Mac's average Agricultural Finance substandard assets as a percentage of its Agricultural Finance mortgage loans over the last 15 years is approximately 4%. The highest substandard asset rate observed during the last 15 years occurred in 2010 at approximately 8%, which coincided with an increase in substandard loans within Farmer Mac's ethanol portfolio. If Farmer Mac's substandard asset rate increases from current levels on a sustained basis, it is likely that Farmer Mac's provision to the allowance for loan losses and the reserve for losses would also increase.

Although some credit losses are inherent to the business of agricultural lending, Farmer Mac believes that losses associated with the current agricultural credit cycle will be moderated by the strength and diversity of its Agricultural Finance portfolio, which Farmer Mac believes is adequately collateralized.

Within Agricultural Finance, Farmer Mac considers a Farm & Ranch loan's original loan-to-value ratio as one of many factors in evaluating loss severity. Loan-to-value ratios depend on the market value of a property, as determined in accordance with Farmer Mac's collateral valuation standards. As of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the average unpaid principal balances for Farm & Ranch loans outstanding and to which Farmer Mac has direct credit exposure was $802,000 and $804,000, respectively. Farmer Mac calculates the "original loan-to-value" ratio of a loan by dividing the original loan principal balance by the original appraised property value. This calculation does not reflect any amortization of the original loan balance or any adjustment to the original appraised value to provide a current market value. The original loan-to-value ratio of any cross-collateralized loans is calculated on a combined basis rather than on a loan-by-loan basis. The weighted-average original loan-to-value ratio for Farm & Ranch mortgage loans purchased during second quarter 2024 was 49%, compared to 51% for loans purchased during second quarter 2023. The weighted-average original loan-to-value ratio for Farm & Ranch mortgage loans and loans underlying off-balance sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and LTSPCs was 52% as of both June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023. The weighted-average original loan-to-value ratio for all 90-day delinquencies was 50% and 56% as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

The weighted-average current loan-to-value ratio (the loan to-value ratio based on original appraised value and current outstanding loan amount adjusted to reflect amortization) for Agricultural Finance mortgage loans and loans underlying off-balance sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and LTSPCs was 46% and 47% as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

The following table presents the current loan-to-value ratios for the Agricultural Finance mortgage loans to which Farmer Mac has direct credit exposure, as disaggregated by internally assigned risk ratings:

Table 24

(1)The current loan-to-value ratio is based on original appraised value (or most recently obtained valuation, if available) and current outstanding loan amount adjusted to reflect loan amortization.

(2)"Enterprise Value" loans are generally secured by all business assets and common stock (in addition to first lien mortgages) of the borrower and the value of the borrowing entity depends on its ability to generate recurring positive cash flow. Enterprise Value is the estimated value of the borrower as a going concern, which is estimated using one or more valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow, cash flow multiples, asset liquidation, or other valuation techniques.

The following table presents Farmer Mac's cumulative net credit losses relative to the cumulative original balance for all Agricultural Finance mortgage loans as of June 30, 2024 by year of origination, geographic region, and commodity/collateral type. The purpose of this table is to present information about realized losses relative to original Farm & Ranch purchases, guarantees, and commitments.

Table 25

(1)Geographic regions: Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY); Southwest (AZ, CA, CO, HI, NM, NV, UT); Mid-North (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, NE, ND, SD, WI); Mid-South (AR, KS, LA, MO, OK, TX); Northeast (CT, DE, KY, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV); Southeast (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN).

Analysis of portfolio performance indicates that commodity type is the primary determinant of Farmer Mac's exposure to loss on a given loan. The following tables present concentrations of Agricultural Finance mortgage loans by commodity type within geographic region and cumulative credit losses by origination year and commodity type:

Table 26

(1)Geographic regions: Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY); Southwest (AZ, CA, CO, HI, NM, NV, UT); Mid-North (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, NE, ND, SD, WI); Mid-South (AR, KS, LA, MO, OK, TX); Northeast (CT, DE, KY, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV); Southeast (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN).

Table 27

For more information about the credit quality of Farmer Mac's Agricultural Finance mortgage loans and the associated allowance for losses please refer to Note 5 and Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements. Activity affecting the allowance for loan losses and reserve for losses is discussed in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations—Provision for and Release of Allowance for Loan Losses and Reserve for Losses."

Rural Infrastructure Finance - Direct Credit Exposure

Farmer Mac's direct credit exposure to Rural Infrastructure Finance loans held and loans underlying LTSPCs as of June 30, 2024 was $4.6 billion across 45 states. For more information about Farmer Mac's underwriting and collateral valuation standards for Rural Infrastructure Finance loans, see "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Rural Infrastructure Finance—Underwriting and Collateral Standards" in Farmer Mac's 2023 Annual Report. As of June 30, 2024, there were no delinquencies in Farmer Mac's portfolio of Rural Infrastructure Finance loans. As of December 31, 2023, there was one telecommunications loan classified as substandard, with an unpaid principal balance of $29.4 million.

Farmer Mac evaluates credit risk of Rural Infrastructure assets by reviewing a variety of borrower credit risk characteristics. These characteristics can include (but are not limited to) financial metrics, internal risk ratings, ratings assigned by ratings agencies, types of customers served, sources of power supply, and the regulatory environment.

The following table disaggregates Farmer Mac’s portfolio of Rural Infrastructure loans by portfolio segment and by internally assigned risk ratings.

Table 28

For more information about the credit quality of Farmer Mac's Rural Infrastructure Finance portfolio and the associated allowance for losses please refer to Notes 5 and 6 of the consolidated financial statements.

Other Considerations Regarding Credit Risk Related to Loans and Guarantees

The credit exposure on USDA Securities, including those underlying Farmer Mac Guaranteed USDA Securities, is guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Therefore, Farmer Mac believes that we have little or no credit risk exposure to the USDA Securities in the Agricultural Finance line of business because of the USDA guarantee. As of June 30, 2024, Farmer Mac had not experienced any credit losses on any USDA Securities or Farmer Mac Guaranteed USDA Securities and does not expect to incur any such losses in the future. Because we do not expect credit losses on this portfolio, Farmer Mac does not provide an allowance for losses on its portfolio of USDA Securities.

Farmer Mac requires many lenders to make representations and warranties about the conformity of Agricultural Finance mortgage loans to Farmer Mac's standards, the accuracy of loan data provided to Farmer Mac, and other requirements related to the loans. Sellers who make these representations and warranties are responsible to Farmer Mac for breaches of those representations and warranties. Farmer Mac has the ability to require a seller to cure, replace, or repurchase a loan sold or transferred to Farmer Mac if any breach of a representation or warranty is discovered that was material to Farmer Mac's decision to purchase the loan or that directly or indirectly causes a default or potential loss on a loan sold or transferred by the seller to Farmer Mac. During the previous three years ended June 30, 2024, there have been no breaches of representations and warranties by sellers that resulted in Farmer Mac requiring a seller to cure, replace, or repurchase a loan. In addition to relying on the representations and warranties of sellers, Farmer Mac also underwrites the Agricultural Finance mortgage loans (other than rural housing and part-time farm mortgage loans) and Rural Infrastructure Finance loans on which it has direct credit exposure. For rural housing and part-time farm mortgage loans, Farmer Mac relies on representations and warranties from the seller that those loans conform to Farmer Mac's specified underwriting criteria. For more information about Farmer Mac's loan eligibility requirements and underwriting standards, see "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Agricultural Finance—Loan Eligibility," "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Agricultural Finance—Underwriting and Collateral Standards—Farm & Ranch," "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Agricultural Finance—Underwriting and Collateral Standards—Corporate AgFinance," and "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Rural Infrastructure Finance—Underwriting and Collateral Standards" in Farmer Mac’s 2023 Annual Report.

Under contracts with Farmer Mac and in consideration for servicing fees, Farmer Mac-approved servicers service loans in accordance with Farmer Mac's requirements. Servicers are responsible to Farmer Mac for material errors in the servicing of those loans. If a servicer materially breaches the terms of its servicing agreement with Farmer Mac, such as failing to forward payments received or releasing collateral without Farmer Mac's consent, or experiences insolvency or bankruptcy, the servicer is responsible for any corresponding damages to Farmer Mac and, in most cases, Farmer Mac has the right to terminate the servicing relationship for a particular loan or the entire portfolio serviced by the servicer. Farmer Mac also can proceed against the servicer in arbitration or exercise any remedies available to it under law. During the previous three years ended June 30, 2024, Farmer Mac had not exercised any remedies or taken any formal action against any servicers. For more information about Farmer Mac's servicing requirements, see "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Agricultural Finance—Loan Servicing" and "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Rural Infrastructure Finance—Lenders and Loan Servicing" in Farmer Mac’s 2023 Annual Report.

Credit Risk – Counterparty Risk. Farmer Mac is exposed to credit risk arising from its business relationships with other institutions, which include:

•issuers of AgVantage securities;

•approved lenders and servicers; and

•interest rate swap counterparties.

Farmer Mac approves AgVantage counterparties and manages institutional credit risk related to those AgVantage counterparties by requiring them to meet Farmer Mac's standards for creditworthiness for the particular counterparty type and transaction. The required collateralization level is established when the AgVantage facility is entered into with the counterparty and does not change during the life of the AgVantage securities issued under the facility without Farmer Mac's consent. In AgVantage transactions, the corporate obligor is typically required to remove from the pool of pledged collateral loans that become and remain (within specified parameters) delinquent in the payment of principal or interest and to substitute eligible loans that are current in payment or pay down the AgVantage securities to maintain the minimum required collateralization level.

In the event of a default on an AgVantage security, Farmer Mac would have recourse to the pledged collateral and have rights to the ongoing borrower payments of principal and interest. As a result, Farmer Mac has indirect credit exposure to the Agricultural Finance mortgage loans and Rural Infrastructure loans that secure AgVantage securities. For AgVantage counterparties that are institutional real estate investors or financial funds and other similar entities, Farmer Mac also typically requires that the counterparty (1) maintain a higher collateralization level, through either a higher overcollateralization percentage or lower loan-to-value ratio thresholds and (2) comply with specified financial covenants for the life of the related AgVantage security to avoid default. As of June 30, 2024, Farmer Mac had not experienced any credit losses on any AgVantage securities over the life of the program. For a more detailed description of AgVantage securities, see "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Agricultural Finance—Other Products – Agricultural Finance—AgVantage Securities" and "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Rural Infrastructure Finance—Other Products – Rural Infrastructure Finance—AgVantage Securities" in Farmer Mac’s 2023 Annual Report.

The unpaid principal balance of outstanding on-balance sheet AgVantage securities secured by loans eligible for the Agricultural Finance line of business totaled $5.8 billion as of June 30, 2024 and $6.1 billion as of December 31, 2023. The unpaid principal balance of on-balance sheet AgVantage securities secured by loans eligible for the Rural Infrastructure Finance line of business totaled $3.9 billion as of both June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

The following table provides information about the issuers of AgVantage securities and the required collateralization levels for those transactions as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023:

Table 29

(1)Consists of AgVantage securities issued by 8 different issuers as of both June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

Farmer Mac manages institutional credit risk related to lenders and servicers by requiring those institutions to meet Farmer Mac's standards for creditworthiness. Farmer Mac monitors the financial condition of those institutions by evaluating financial statements and credit rating agency reports. For more information about Farmer Mac's lender eligibility requirements, see "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Agricultural Finance—Lenders" and "Business—Farmer Mac's Lines of Business—Rural Infrastructure Finance—Lenders and Loan Servicing" in Farmer Mac’s 2023 Annual Report.

Farmer Mac manages institutional credit risk related to its interest rate swap counterparties through collateralization provisions contained in each of its swap agreements that vary based on the market value of its swap portfolio with each counterparty. Farmer Mac and its interest rate swap counterparties are required to fully collateralize their derivatives positions without any minimum threshold for cleared swap transactions, as well as for non-cleared swap transactions entered into after March 1, 2017. Farmer Mac transacts interest rate swaps with multiple counterparties to reduce counterparty credit exposure concentration. Farmer Mac's usage of cleared derivatives has increased over time as has its exposure to clearinghouses. The usage of cleared swap transactions reduces Farmer Mac's exposure to individual counterparties with the central clearinghouse acting to settle the change in value of contracts on a daily basis. Credit risk related to interest rate swap contracts is discussed in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Risk Management—Interest Rate Risk" and Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements.

Credit Risk – Other Investments. As of June 30, 2024, Farmer Mac had $0.9 billion of cash and cash equivalents and $5.3 billion of investment securities. The management of the credit risk inherent in these investments is governed by Farmer Mac's internal policies as well as FCA regulations, which can be found at 12 C.F.R. §§ 652.1-652.45 ("Liquidity and Investment Regulations"). In addition to establishing a portfolio of highly liquid investments as an available source of cash, the goals of Farmer Mac's investment policies are designed to minimize Farmer Mac's exposure to financial market volatility, preserve capital, and support Farmer Mac's access to the debt markets.

The Liquidity and Investment Regulations and Farmer Mac's internal policies require that investments held in Farmer Mac's investment portfolio meet the following creditworthiness standards: (1) at a minimum, at least one obligor of the investment must have a very strong capacity to meet financial commitments for the life of the investment, even under severely adverse or stressful conditions, and generally present a very low risk of default; (2) if the obligor whose capacity to meet financial commitments is being relied upon to meet the standard set forth in subparagraph (1) is located outside of the United States, the investment must also be fully guaranteed by a U.S. government agency; and (3) the investment must exhibit low credit risk and other risk characteristics consistent with the purpose or purposes for which it is held.

The Liquidity and Investment Regulations and Farmer Mac's internal policies also establish concentration limits, which are intended to limit exposure to any single entity, issuer, or obligor. The Liquidity and Investment Regulations limit Farmer Mac's total credit exposure to any single entity, issuer, or obligor of securities to 10% of Farmer Mac's regulatory capital ($152.9 million as of June 30, 2024). However, Farmer Mac's current policy limits this total credit exposure to 5% of its regulatory capital ($76.4 million as of June 30, 2024). These exposure limits do not apply to obligations of U.S. government agencies or GSEs, although Farmer Mac's current policy restricts investing more than 100% of regulatory capital in the senior non-convertible debt securities of any one GSE.

Although the Liquidity and Investments Regulations do not establish limits on the maximum amount, expressed as a percentage of Farmer Mac's investment portfolio, that can be invested in each eligible asset class, Farmer Mac's internal policies set forth asset class limits as part of Farmer Mac's overall risk management framework.

Interest Rate Risk. Farmer Mac is subject to interest rate risk on all interest-earning assets on its balance sheet because of timing differences in the cash flows due to maturity, paydown, or repricing of the assets and debt together with financial derivatives. Cash flow mismatches due to changing interest rates can reduce the earnings of Farmer Mac if assets prepay sooner than expected and the resulting cash flows must be reinvested in lower-yielding investments when Farmer Mac's funding costs cannot be correspondingly reduced. Alternatively, Farmer Mac could realize a decline in income if assets repay more slowly than originally forecasted and the associated maturing debt must be replaced by debt issuances at higher interest rates.

Interest Rate Risk Management

The goal of interest rate risk management at Farmer Mac is to manage the balance sheet in a manner that generates stable earnings and value across a variety of interest rate environments. Recognizing that interest rate sensitivities may change with the passage of time and as interest rates change, Farmer Mac regularly assesses this exposure and, if necessary, adjusts its portfolio of interest-earning assets, debt, and financial derivatives.

Farmer Mac's objective is to maintain its exposure to interest rate risk within appropriate limits, as approved by Farmer Mac's board of directors. Farmer Mac's management-level Asset and Liability Committee ("ALCO") provides oversight, establishes guidelines, and approves strategies to maintain interest rate risk within the board-established limits.

Farmer Mac's primary strategy for managing interest rate risk is to fund asset purchases with debt that together with financial derivatives have similar duration and convexity characteristics and help mitigate impacts from interest rate changes across the yield curve. As part of this strategy, Farmer Mac seeks to issue debt securities across a variety of maturities that together with financial derivatives closely align the forecasted debt and financial derivative cash flows with forecasted asset cash flows.

Farmer Mac issues discount notes and both callable and non-callable medium-term notes across a spectrum of maturities to execute its debt issuance strategy. Portions of Farmer Mac's callable debt is issued to mitigate prepayment risk associated with certain interest-earning assets held on balance sheet. In general, as interest rates decline, prepayments typically increase, and Farmer Mac is able to economically extinguish certain callable debt issuances. In addition, Farmer Mac enters into financial derivatives, primarily interest rate swaps, to better match the durations of Farmer Mac's assets and liabilities, thereby reducing overall sensitivity to changing interest rates.

Taking into consideration the prepayment provisions and the default probabilities associated with its portfolio of interest-earning assets, Farmer Mac incorporates behavioral models when projecting and valuing cash flows associated with these assets. In recognition that borrowers' behaviors in various interest rate environments may change over time, Farmer Mac periodically evaluates the effectiveness of these models compared to actual prepayment experience and adjusts and refines the models as necessary to improve the precision of future prepayment forecasts.

Changes in interest rates may affect the timing of asset prepayments which may, in turn, impact durations and values of the assets. Declining interest rates generally result in increased prepayments, which shortens the duration of these assets, while rising interest rates generally result in lower prepayments, thereby extending the duration of the assets.

Farmer Mac is subject to interest rate risk on loans and securities it has committed to acquire but not yet purchased (other than delinquent loans purchased through LTSPCs or loans designated for securitization under a forward purchase agreement). When Farmer Mac commits to purchase these assets, it is exposed to interest rate risk between the time it commits to purchase the loans and the time it issues debt to fund the purchase of these loans. Farmer Mac manages the interest rate risk exposure related to these loans by entering into exchange-traded futures contracts involving U.S. Treasury securities and other financial derivatives. Similarly, when Farmer Mac commits to sell certain assets, the associated interest rate exposure is primarily managed with exchange-traded futures contracts involving U.S. Treasury securities and other financial derivatives.

Farmer Mac's $0.9 billion of cash and cash equivalents held as of June 30, 2024 mature within three months. As of June 30, 2024, $2.7 billion of the $5.3 billion of investment securities (52%) were floating rate securities with rates that adjust within one year or fixed rate securities with original maturities between three months and one year. Farmer Mac's floating rate investment securities are funded with floating rate debt. The fixed rate investment securities are generally funded in a manner consistent with Farmer Mac's overall funding strategy that approximates a duration and convexity match.

Interest Rate Risk Metrics

Farmer Mac regularly evaluates and conducts interest rate shock simulations on its portfolio of financial assets, debt, and financial derivatives and examines a variety of metrics to quantify and manage its exposure to interest rate risk. These metrics include sensitivity to interest rate movements on the market value of equity ("MVE") and forecasted net effective spread ("NES") as well as a duration gap analysis.

MVE represents management's estimate of the present value of all future cash flows from its current portfolio of on- and off-balance sheet assets, liabilities, and financial derivatives, discounted at current interest rates and appropriate spreads. However, MVE is not indicative of the market value of Farmer Mac as a going concern because these market values are theoretical and do not reflect future business activities.

The MVE sensitivity analysis measures the degree to which the market values of Farmer Mac's assets, liabilities, and financial derivatives are estimated to change for a given change in interest rates.

Farmer Mac's NES simulation represents the difference between projected income over the next twelve months from the current portfolio of interest-earning assets and interest expense produced by the related funding, including associated financial derivatives. Farmer Mac's NES simulation may be impacted by changes in market interest rates resulting from timing differences between maturities and re-pricing characteristics of funded assets and debt together with the associated financial derivatives. The direction and magnitude of any such effect depends on the direction and magnitude of the change in interest rates across the yield curve as well as the composition of Farmer Mac's portfolio. The NES simulation represents an estimate of the net effective spread income that Farmer Mac's current portfolio is expected to produce over a twelve-month horizon. As a result, the NES simulation sensitivity statistics provide a short-term view of Farmer Mac's NES income sensitivity to interest rate shocks.

Duration is a measure of a financial instrument's fair value sensitivity to small changes in interest rates. Duration gap is calculated using the net estimated durations of Farmer Mac's interest-earning assets, debt, and financial derivatives. Duration gap quantifies the extent to which estimated fair value sensitivities are matched for interest-earning assets, debt and financial derivatives. Duration gap provides a relatively concise measure of the interest rate risk inherent in Farmer Mac's outstanding portfolio.

A positive duration gap denotes that the duration of Farmer Mac's interest-earning assets is greater than the duration of its debt and financial derivatives. A positive duration gap indicates that with small changes in interest rate movements the fair value change of Farmer Mac's interest-earning assets is more sensitive than the fair value change of its debt and financial derivatives. Conversely, a negative duration gap indicates that with small changes in interest rate movements the fair value change of Farmer Mac's interest-earning assets are less sensitive than the fair value change of its debt and financial derivatives. A duration gap of zero indicates that with small changes in interest rate movements the fair value change of Farmer Mac's interest-earning assets is effectively offset by the fair value change of its debt and financial derivatives.

Each of the interest rate risk metrics is quantified using asset/liability models and derived based on management's best estimates of factors such as implied forward interest rates across the yield curve, interest rate volatility, and timing of asset prepayments and callable debt redemptions. Accordingly, these metrics are estimates rather than precise measurements. Actual results may differ to the extent there are material changes to Farmer Mac's financial asset portfolio or changes in funding or hedging strategies undertaken to mitigate unfavorable sensitivities to interest rate changes.

The following schedule summarizes the results of Farmer Mac's MVE and NES sensitivity analysis as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 to an immediate and instantaneous uniform or "parallel" shift in the yield curve:

Table 30

As of June 30, 2024, Farmer Mac's duration gap was positive 3.5 months, a slight increase from the 3.4 months reported as of December 31, 2023. Interest rates increased since the end of 2023, evidenced by a rise in the yield-to-maturities of 2-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury Notes by approximately 50 and 52 basis points, respectively. This shift in rates contributed to an extension in the duration of Farmer Mac's funded assets relative to its liabilities and financial derivatives.

Financial Derivatives Transactions

The economic effects of financial derivatives are included in Farmer Mac's MVE, NES, and duration gap analyses. Farmer Mac typically enters into the following types of financial derivative transactions principally to protect against risk from the effects of market price or interest rate movements on the value of interest-earning assets, future cash flows, and debt issuance, and not for trading or speculative purposes:

•"pay-fixed" interest rate swaps, in which Farmer Mac pays fixed rates of interest to, and receives floating rates of interest from, counterparties;

•"receive-fixed" interest rate swaps, in which Farmer Mac receives fixed rates of interest from, and pays floating rates of interest to, counterparties;

•"basis swaps," in which Farmer Mac pays floating rates of interest based on one index to, and receives floating rates of interest based on a different index from, counterparties; and

•exchange-traded futures contracts involving U.S. Treasury securities.

As of June 30, 2024, Farmer Mac had $25.6 billion combined notional amount of interest rate swaps, with terms ranging from less than one year to just over thirty years, of which $10.0 billion were pay-fixed interest rate swaps, $14.9 billion were receive-fixed interest rate swaps, and $0.7 billion were basis swaps.

Farmer Mac enters into interest rate swaps to more closely match the cash flow and duration characteristics of its interest-earning assets with those of its debt. For example, Farmer Mac transacts pay-fixed interest rate swaps and issues floating rate debt to effectively create fixed rate funding that approximately matches the duration of the corresponding fixed rate assets being funded. Farmer Mac evaluates the overall cost of using interest rate swaps in conjunction with debt issuance as a funding alternative to duration-matched debt and enters into interest rate swaps to manage interest rate risks across the balance sheet.

Certain financial derivatives are designated as fair value hedges of fixed rate assets classified as available-for-sale or liabilities to protect against fair value changes in the assets or liabilities related to a benchmark interest rate (e.g. SOFR). Also, certain financial derivatives are designated as cash flow hedges to mitigate the volatility of future interest rate payments on floating rate debt.

As discussed in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, all financial derivatives are recorded on the balance sheet at fair value as derivative assets or as derivative liabilities. Changes in the fair values of undesignated financial derivatives are reported in "(Losses)/gains on financial derivatives" in the consolidated statements of operations. For financial derivatives designated in fair value hedge accounting relationships, changes in the fair values of the hedged items related to the risk being hedged are reported in "Net interest income" in the consolidated statements of operations. Interest accruals on derivatives designated in fair value hedge accounting relationships are also recorded in "Net interest income" in the consolidated statements of operations. For financial derivatives designated in cash flow hedge accounting relationships, the unrealized gain or loss on the derivative is recorded in other comprehensive income. Because the hedging instrument is an interest rate swap and the hedged forecasted transactions are future interest payments on floating rate debt, amounts recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income are reclassified to "Total interest expense" in conjunction with the recognition of interest expense on the debt. All of Farmer Mac's interest rate swap transactions are conducted under standard collateralized agreements that limit Farmer Mac's potential credit exposure to any counterparty. As of both June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, Farmer Mac had no uncollateralized net exposures based on the mark-to-market value of the portfolio of interest rate swaps.

Re-funding and repricing risk

Farmer Mac is subject to re-funding and repricing risk on any floating rate assets that are not funded to contractual maturity. Re-funding and repricing risk arises from potential changes in funding costs resulting from a funding strategy whereby Farmer Mac issues floating rate debt across a variety of maturities to fund floating rate or synthetically floating rate assets that on average may have longer maturities. Changes in Farmer Mac's funding costs relative to the benchmark market index rate to which the assets are indexed can cause changes to net interest income when debt matures and is reissued at then current interest rates to continue funding those assets.

Farmer Mac is subject to re-funding and repricing risk on a portion of its fixed rate assets as a result of its use of pay-fixed receive-floating interest rate swaps that effectively convert the required funding needed from fixed rate to floating rate. These fixed rate assets are then effectively floating rate assets that require floating rate funding.

Farmer Mac can meet floating rate funding needs in several ways, including:

•issuing short-term fixed rate discount notes with maturities that match the reset period of the assets;

•issuing floating rate medium-term notes with maturities and reset frequencies that match the assets being funded;

•issuing non-maturity matched, floating rate medium-term notes with reset frequencies that match the assets being funded; or

•issuing non-maturity matched, fixed rate discount notes or medium-term notes swapped to floating rate to match the interest rate reset dates of the assets.

To meet certain floating rate funding needs, Farmer Mac frequently issues shorter-term floating-rate medium-term notes or fixed rate medium-term notes paired with a received-fixed interest rate swap because these funding alternatives generally provide a lower cost of funding while generating an effective interest rate match. As funding for these floating rate assets matures, Farmer Mac seeks to refinance the debt associated with these assets in a similar fashion to achieve an appropriate interest rate match in the context of Farmer Mac's overall debt issuance and liquidity management strategies. However, if the funding cost of Farmer Mac’s discount notes or medium-term notes increased relative to the benchmark market index of the associated assets during the time between when these floating rate assets were first funded and when Farmer Mac refinanced the associated debt, Farmer Mac would be exposed to a commensurate reduction of net effective spread. Conversely, if the funding cost on Farmer Mac’s discount notes or medium-term notes decreased relative to the benchmark market index during that time, Farmer Mac would benefit from a commensurate increase to net effective spread.

Farmer Mac's debt issuance strategy targets balancing liquidity risk and re-funding and repricing risk while maintaining an appropriate liability management profile that is consistent with Farmer Mac's risk tolerance. Farmer Mac regularly adjusts its funding strategies to mitigate the effects of interest rate variability and seeks to maintain an effective mixture of funding structures in the context of its overall liability and liquidity management strategies.

As of June 30, 2024, Farmer Mac held $7.8 billion of floating rate assets in its lines of business and its investment portfolio that reset based on floating rate market indices, such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"). As of the same date, Farmer Mac also had $10.0 billion of interest rate swaps outstanding where Farmer Mac pays a fixed rate of interest and receives a floating rate of interest, primarily SOFR.