Loans, commitments, and technical and financial assistance

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 at any time (whether or not they have a loan from the bank outstanding), including but not limited to discounting notes and other obligations, guarantees, currency exchange necessary to service individual transactions that may be financed under subsection (b) of this section, collateral custody, or participation 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. 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 and may make or participate in loans or commitments and extend other technical and financial assistance to other domestic parties for the acquisition of equipment and facilities to be leased to such stockholders for use in their operations in the United States. A bank for cooperatives may make or participate in loans and commitments to, and extend other technical and financial assistance to— any domestic or foreign party for the export, including (where applicable) the cost of freight, of agricultural commodities or products thereof, agricultural supplies, or aquatic products from the United States under policies and procedures established by the bank to ensure that the commodities, products, or supplies are originally sourced, where reasonably available, from one or more eligible cooperative associations described in section 2129(a) of this title on a priority basis, except that if the total amount of the balances outstanding on loans made by a bank under this clause that— In this subsection, the term “agricultural supply” includes— Loans, commitments, and assistance authorized by subsection (b) of this section shall be extended in accordance with policies adopted by the board of directors of the bank under regulations of the Farm Credit Administration. The regulations of the Farm Credit Administration implementing subsection (b) of this section and other provisions of this subchapter relating to the authority under subsection (b) of this section may not confer upon the banks for cooperatives powers and authorities greater than those specified in this subchapter. The Farm Credit Administration shall, during the formulation of such regulations, closely consult on a continuing basis with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to insure that such regulations conform to national banking policies, objectives, and limitations. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, the banks for cooperatives shall not make or participate in loans or commitments for the purpose of financing speculative futures transactions by eligible borrowers in foreign currencies. The banks for cooperatives may, for the purpose of installing, maintaining, expanding, improving, or operating water and waste disposal facilities in rural areas, make and participate in loans and commitments and extending other technical and financial assistance to—