Farmer Mac Issues $500M Guarantee

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, has announced the issuance of a guarantee on $500 million of Guaranteed Notes.Farmer Mac said the notes are secured by an obligation of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. that is, in turn, secured by Farmer-Mac-eligible agricultural real estate mortgage loans. Farmer Mac, a congressionally chartered corporation that provides a secondary market for rural housing and agriculture-related mortgage debt, said the guarantee stems from a diversification of marketing focus to include transactions that emphasize high asset quality and greater protection against adverse credit performance. The transaction brings the total outstanding volume of its guarantee program to $5.8 billion. The government-sponsored enterprise can be found on the Web at http://www.farmermac.com.