Federal Banking Agencies

Updated 2026-05-17

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for regulating and examining the banks, associations, and other entities of the Farm Credit System (FCS). The FCS is a nationwide network of borrower-owned lending institutions and specialized service organizations designed to provide credit to farmers, ranchers, agricultural cooperatives, and rural homeowners.

The FCA is also recognized as one of the Federal Banking Agencies due to its role in regulating financial institutions within the Farm Credit System.

Regulatory Responsibilities

Oversight of the Farm Credit System

The primary mission of the FCA is to ensure the safety and soundness of the Farm Credit System. This involves:

• Regulation and Examination: Conducting regular examinations of FCS banks and associations to ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and sound financial practices.
• Financial Stability: Promoting the financial stability and integrity of the FCS to ensure it can reliably provide credit to the agricultural sector.

Flood Insurance Compliance

The Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (also known as the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994) extended federal flood insurance statutes to lenders regulated by the FCA. Consequently, the FCA is one of the federal financial regulatory agencies mandated to adopt and revise flood insurance regulations. This ensures that its regulated institutions comply with the requirements of the Flood Disaster Protection Act (FDPA). The FCA, along with other federal financial regulatory agencies, jointly issued these regulations on August 29, 1996 (61 FR 45684), which are codified at 12 CFR 614.

Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act)

Under the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act), the FCA is identified as one of the Federal Banking Agencies responsible for the registration of mortgage loan originators (MLOs). Institutions regulated by the FCA are considered employers of federally registered MLOs (12 U.S.C. § 5102(8)(A)(iii)).

The FCA is mandated to coordinate with other federal banking agencies, acting through the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), to:

• Jointly develop and maintain a system for registering employees of institutions it regulates as federally registered MLOs with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry (NMLS).
• Furnish or cause to be furnished to the NMLS certain information, including fingerprints and personal history and experience, for these registered loan originators.
• Coordinate with the NMLS to establish a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System Registry (NMLS) for all registered loan originators and to define data and functionality requirements for registration through their system.

This ensures that MLOs working within the Farm Credit System are properly registered. While the FCA coordinates these efforts, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is ultimately responsible for developing and maintaining the system for registering employees of these institutions with the NMLS (12 U.S.C. § 5106(a)(1)).

MLOs employed by institutions regulated by the FCA are considered federally registered MLOs under the SAFE Act, rather than state-licensed. This means they are subject to federal registration requirements through the NMLS, and their employers must adhere to specific compliance obligations, including written policies and annual independent testing.

National Test Exemptions

Employees of the FCA may be eligible for certain national test exemptions related to the SAFE MLO National Test. This exemption status is typically granted to employees of federal agencies who perform MLO activities as part of their official duties and are already subject to federal oversight.

Fees

The Farm Credit Administration, along with the CFPB, is permitted to charge reasonable fees to cover the costs for maintaining and providing access to information from the NMLS (12 U.S.C. § 5109). These fees are not to be charged to consumers for accessing the information.

Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) Membership

The FCA is an integral member of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). The FFIEC is an interagency body that prescribes uniform principles, standards, and report forms for the federal examination of financial institutions and makes recommendations to promote uniformity in supervision. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is also a voting member.