Farmer Mac Reports 2Q Profit Rise

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, has reported net income available to common stockholders of $18.4 million ($1.74 per share) for the second quarter, compared with $13.4 million ($1.18 per share) for the second quarter of 2006.Farmer Mac said its outstanding program volume stood at a record high of $8.4 billion as of June 30. "The growth of the portfolio, and our confidence in its performance, derive from the success of business strategies we implemented in the fall of 2005 that emphasize large program transactions with high asset quality, providing greater protection for Farmer Mac against adverse credit performance with commensurately lower compensation for its assumption of credit risk and administrative costs," said Henry D. Edelman, Farmer Mac's president and chief executive officer. The government-sponsored enterprise can be found online at http://www.farmermac.com.