US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

12 U.S.C. § 2071

Organization and charters

(a)

Charter

Each production credit association shall continue as a Federally chartered instrumentality of the United States.

(b)

Organization

(1)

In general

Production credit associations may be organized by 10 or more farmers or ranchers or producers or harvesters of aquatic products desiring to borrow money under the provisions of this part.

(2)

Articles of association

The proposed articles of association shall be forwarded to the Farm Credit Bank for the district accompanied by an agreement to subscribe on behalf of the association for stock in the bank in such amounts as may be required by the bank.

(3)

Contents of articles

The articles shall specify in general terms the—
(A)
objects for which the association is formed;
(B)
powers to be exercised by the association in carrying out the functions authorized by this part; and
(C)
territory the association proposes to serve.
(4)

Signatures

The articles shall be signed by persons desiring to form such an association and shall be accompanied by a statement signed by each such person establishing eligibility to borrow from the association in which such person will become a stockholder.

(5)

Copy to FCA

A copy of the articles of association shall be forwarded to the Farm Credit Administration with the recommendations of the bank concerning the need for such an association in order to adequately serve the credit needs of eligible persons in the proposed territory and whether that territory includes any area described in the charter of another production credit association.

(6)

Denial of charter

The Farm Credit Administration for good cause shown may deny the charter.

(7)

Approval of articles

On approval of the proposed articles by the Farm Credit Administration, and on the issuance of a charter, the association shall become as of such date a federally chartered body corporate and an instrumentality of the United States.

(8)

Powers of FCA

The Farm Credit Administration shall have the power, under rules and regulations prescribed by the Farm Credit Administration or by prescribing in the terms of the charter, to—
(A)
provide for the organization of the association;
(B)
provide for the initial amount of stock of the association;
(C)
provide for the territory within which the association’s operations may be carried on; and
(D)
approve amendments to the charter of the association.

Pub. L. 92–181, title II, § 2Pub. L. 100–233, title IV, § 401101 Stat. 1629Pub. L. 100–399, title IV, § 401(m)102 Stat. 997Pub. L. 102–237, title V, § 502(b)105 Stat. 1868(.0, as added , , ; amended , , ; , , .)

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Pub. L. 92–181, title II, § 285 Stat. 590Pub. L. 100–233, title VIII, § 802(h)101 Stat. 1711Pub. L. 100–233, § 401A prior section 2071, .0, , ; , , , related to establishment and branches of Federal intermediate credit banks, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by .

Amendments

Pub. L. 102–2371991—Subsec. (b)(8). substituted “charter, to” for “charter to” in introductory provisions.

Pub. L. 100–399, § 401(m)(1)1988—Subsec. (b)(1). , substituted “this part” for “this subchapter”.

Pub. L. 100–399, § 401(m)(2)Subsec. (b)(3)(B). , (3), struck out “the” before “powers” and substituted “this subtitle” for “this part”, both of which for purposes of codification were translated as “this part”, requiring no change in text.

Pub. L. 100–399, § 401(m)(3)Subsec. (b)(3)(C). , struck out “the” before “territory”.

Pub. L. 100–399, § 401(m)(4)Subsec. (b)(8). , struck out in introductory provision “or by approval of bylaws of the association” after “the charter” and amended subpar. (D) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (D) read as follows: “direct at any time such changes in the charter as the Farm Credit Administration finds necessary for the accomplishment of the purposes of this chapter”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1991 Amendment

Pub. L. 102–237Pub. L. 101–624section 1101(b)(4) of Pub. L. 102–237section 1421 of Title 7Amendment by effective as if included in the provision of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, , to which the amendment relates, see , set out as a note under , Agriculture.

Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

Pub. L. 100–399section 401 of Pub. L. 100–233section 1001(b) of Pub. L. 100–399section 2002 of this titleAmendment by effective immediately after amendment made by , which was effective 6 months after , see , set out as a note under .

Effective Date

Pub. L. 100–233, title IV, § 401101 Stat. 1622, , , provided that this section is effective 6 months after .

Merger of Production Credit Associations and Federal Land Bank Associations

Pub. L. 100–233, title IV, § 411101 Stat. 1638Pub. L. 100–399, title IV, § 403102 Stat. 999

“(a)

Submission of Proposal .—

Not later than 6 months after the date of the merger of the Federal land bank and the Federal intermediate credit bank in a district, the Boards of Directors of each Federal land bank association and each production credit association in such district, that share substantially the same geographical territory with each other, shall submit to the voting stockholders of each such association for their approval, a plan, approved by the supervising bank and the Farm Credit Administration, for merging such associations.
“(b)

Prerequisites to Merger.—

“(1)

Stockholder vote .—

The stockholder vote required for approval of a merger under subsection (a) shall be a majority of the voting stockholders of each association voting, in person or by written proxy, at a duly authorized stockholders meeting.
“(2)

Submission to fca .—

Not later than 60 days prior to the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this section [], the plan of merger under subsection (a), together with all information to be presented to the stockholders, shall be submitted to the Farm Credit Administration.
“(3)

Expedited consideration by fca .—

The Farm Credit Administration shall expedite its consideration of the plan and accompanying information submitted under paragraph (2) so that review and approval of such plan and information shall be completed by the Administration so as to enable a stockholder vote to occur within the 12-month period referred to in paragraph (2).
“(c)

Direct Lenders .—

On approval of a merger under this subsection, the resulting association shall be a direct lender in the same manner as applies to production credit associations.”
, , , as amended by , , , provided that:

Reassignment of Associations to Adjoining Districts

Pub. L. 100–233, title IV, § 433101 Stat. 1662Pub. L. 100–399, title IV, § 417102 Stat. 1004

“(a)

Petition of Bank .—

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, effective for the 12-month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act [], each Federal land bank association or production credit association, whose chartered territory adjoins the territory of another district, may petition the Farm Credit Administration to amend the charters of the association and the adjoining district bank to provide that the territory of the association is part of the adjoining district.
“(b)

Requirements of Petition .—

To be considered under this section, the petition must be signed by not less than 15 percent of the stockholders of the association. Only one such petition may be filed by an association under this section.
“(c)

FCA Action .—

The Farm Credit Administration shall take any action necessary—
“(1)
to amend the charters of the association and the district bank; and
“(2)
to incorporate the petitioning association into the adjoining district if the reassignment is approved by—
“(A)
a majority of the stockholders of the association voting, in person or by proxy, at a duly authorized stockholders’ meeting held for such purpose;
“(B)
the board of directors of the adjoining district bank;
“(C)
the Farm Credit System Assistance Board; and
“(D)
the Farm Credit Administration Board.”
, , , as amended by , , , provided that: