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Informational Memorandum
Subject:FCA Risk Management Symposium
Date of Memorandum:10/28/1999
Expiration Date:
Office:OPA
Signed By:Martin, Marsha
FCA Contact Person:Andros, Robert
Contact Phone:703-883-4017
List of Attachments:
INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM




To: The Chief Executive Officer
All Farm Credit System Institutions

From: Marsha Pyle Martin
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Subject: FCA Risk Management Symposium

Last year FCA sponsored a highly successful symposium on Loan Portfolio Management. I am pleased to announce that our next symposium, “Successful Ag Lending: Accomplishing Your Mission in Stressful Times,” will be held on May 25 and 26, 2000, in Washington DC.

The System’s congressional mandate to contribute to a “prosperous, productive agriculture” remains unchanged, yet the risk environment for farm lending has changed dramatically. Current agricultural policy provides farmers with greater flexibility and more options than ever before, but it also places more responsibility for risk management decisions on farm operators, and you, their lenders. Because participation in the farm safety net is no longer mandatory, ag lenders are more exposed to the risks that their borrowers face.

This symposium will link the mission-related responsibilities of the System to the risk management tools that are available to farmers and ranchers. Recognized experts will address your mission-related responsibilities, agricultural risk management tools and their most recent enhancements, and how to be helpful to your borrowers during these stressful times. Issues that will be highlighted include:

How can you maintain good customer relations during stressful times?

How can the risks confronting farmers affect you, and what can you do about it?

How can your customers use agricultural risk management tools to mitigate their risks?

How can you take advantage of the farm safety net enhancements recently passed by Congress?

How can you meet your obligations regarding borrower rights; minority lending; and young, beginning, and small farmers?

We believe this symposium will be particularly useful for you, your management team, and your loan officers. Additional details will be provided to you in the coming weeks. I encourage you to register early because participation will be limited due to space considerations. My fellow Board Members, Ann Jorgensen and Michael Reyna, and I look forward to seeing you in Washington, DC next May.