Farmer Mac Reports 1Q Loss

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, has reported a net loss to common stockholders of $8.3 million ($0.84 per share) for the first quarter, compared with net income available to common stockholders of $3.9 million ($0.37 per share) for the first quarter of 2007. Farmer Mac attributed the loss to market value changes on financial derivatives used to hedge interest rate risk on its assets and liabilities. The government-sponsored enterprise also reported "core earnings," a performance measure based on net income available to common stockholders less the after-tax effects of unrealized gains and losses on financial derivatives. Core earnings totaled $10.5 million ($1.06 per share) in the first quarter, versus $6.2 million ($0.58 per share) a year earlier. "To date, the credit issues that have arisen in the housing and consumer sectors of the economy have mot affected the agricultural economy in general, or Farmer Mac's guarantee portfolio in particular," said Henry D. Edelman, Farmer Mac's president and chief executive officer. "Reflecting the effectiveness of Farmer Mac's ongoing credit risk management and the strength of the U.S. agricultural economy, 90-day delinquencies in Farmer Mac's guarantee portfolio remained at notably low levels as of March 31, 2008, in terms of both dollars and percentages." The company can be found online at http://www.farmermac.com.