Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 85.djvu/635

 85 STAT. ]

PUBLIC LAW 92-181-DEC. 10, 1971

Act shall include such guaranty fund equivalents. The holder of the guaranty fund equivalent and the bank shall each be entitled to the same rights and obligations with respect thereto as the rights and obligations associated with the class or classes of stock involved. SEC. 3.7. LENDING POWER.—The banks for cooperatives are authorized to make loans and commitments to eligible cooperative associations and to extend to them other technical and financial assistance, including but not limited to discounting notes and other obligations, guarantees, collateral custody, or particijiation with other banks for cooperatives and commercial banks or other financial institutions in loans to eligible cooperatives, under such terms and conditions as may be determined to be feasible by the board of directors of each bank for cooperatives under regulations of the Farm Credit Administration. Such regulations may include provisions for avoiding duplication between the Central Bank and district banks for cooperatives. Each bank may own and lease, or lease with option to purchase, to stockholders eligible to borrow from the bank equipment needed in the operations of the stockholder. SEC. 3.8. ELIGIBILITY.—Any association of farmers, producers, or harvesters of aquatic products, or any federation of such associations, which is operated on a cooperative basis, and has the powers for processing, preparing for market, handling, or marketing farm or aquatic products; or for purchasing, testing, grading, processing, distributing, or furnishing farm or aquatic supplies or furnishing farm business services or services to eligible cooperatives and conforms to either of the two following requirements: (a) no member of the association is allowed more than one vote because of the amount of stock or membership capital he may own therein; or (b) does not pay dividends on stock or membership capital in excess of such per centum per annum as may be approved under regulations of the F a r m Credit Administration; and in any case (c) does not deal in farm products or aquatic products, or products processed therefrom, farm or aquatic supplies, or farm business services with or for nonmembers in an amount greater in ^^alue than the total amount of such business transacted by it with or for members, excluding from the total of member and nonmember business transactions with the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof or services or supplies furnished as a public utility; and (d) a percentage of the voting control of the association not less than 80 per centum, or such higher percentage as established by the district board is held by farmers, producers or harvesters of aquatic products, or eligible cooperative associations as defined herein; shall be eligible to borrow from a bank for cooperatives. SEC. 3.9. OWNERSHIP OE STOCK BY BORROWERS.—(a) Each borrower at the time a loan is made by a bank for cooperatives shall own at least one share of voting stock and shall be required by the bank with the approval of the F a r m Credit Administration to invest in additional voting stock or nonvoting investment stock at that time, or from time to time, as the lending bank may determine, but the requirement for investment in stock at the time the loan is closed shall not exceed an amount equal to 10 per centum of the face amount of the loan. Such additional ownership requirements may be based on the face amount of the loan, the outstanding loan balance or on a percentage of the interest payable by the borrower during any year or during any quarter thereof, or upon such other basis as the bank, with the approval of

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