Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp (AGM) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Farmer Mac second-quarter 2025 earnings results conference call. (Operator Instructions) Also note that this call is being recorded on August 7, 2025. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jalpa Nazareth. Please go ahead.

女士們、先生們下午好，歡迎參加 Farmer Mac 2025 年第二季財報業績電話會議。（操作員指示）另請注意，此通話於 2025 年 8 月 7 日錄製。現在我想將會議交給 Jalpa Nazareth。請繼續。

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us for our second-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. I'm Jalpa Nazareth, Senior Director of Investor Relations and Finance Strategy here at Farmer Mac. As we begin, please note that the information provided during this call may contain forward-looking statements about the company's business, strategies, and prospects, which are based on management's current expectations and assumptions.

下午好，感謝您參加我們的 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。我是 Jalpa Nazareth，Farmer Mac 投資者關係和財務策略高級總監。首先，請注意，本次電話會議中提供的資訊可能包含有關公司業務、策略和前景的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述是基於管理層當前的預期和假設。

These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected. Please refer to Farmer Mac's 2024 annual report and subsequent SEC filings for a full discussion of the company's risk factors.

這些聲明並不能保證未來的業績，並且受可能導致我們的實際結果與預測結果有重大差異的風險和不確定性的影響。請參閱 Farmer Mac 的 2024 年年度報告和隨後的 SEC 文件，以全面了解該公司的風險因素。

On today's call, we will also be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. Disclosures and reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures can be found in the most recent Form 10-Q and earnings release posted on Farmer Mac's website, farmermac.com, under the Financial Information portion of the Investors section.

在今天的電話會議上，我們還將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標。這些非 GAAP 指標的揭露和對帳可以在 Farmer Mac 網站 farmermac.com 上「投資者」部分「財務資訊」下發布的最新 10-Q 表和收益報告中找到。

Today, I'm joined by President and Chief Executive Officer, Brad Nordholm, who will lead our discussion on second quarter 2025 results; and our Chief Business Officer, Zack Carpenter, who will discuss customer and market developments. Select members of our management team will also be joining us for the question-and-answer period. At this time, I'll turn the call over to President and CEO, Brad Nordholm.

今天，總裁兼執行長布拉德·諾德霍爾姆 (Brad Nordholm) 將主持我們關於 2025 年第二季度業績的討論；我們的首席商務官扎克·卡彭特 (Zack Carpenter) 將討論客戶和市場發展情況。我們的管理團隊的精選成員也將參加我們的問答環節。現在，我將把電話轉給總裁兼執行長布拉德·諾德霍爾姆 (Brad Nordholm)。

Brad?

布拉德？

Thanks, Jalpa. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I'm very pleased to announce that we have achieved record results across the board during the second-quarter 2025. More specifically, we grew core earnings 19% year over year. We grew net effective spread over 12% compared to the same period last year, and we surpassed $30 billion in total outstanding business volume for the first time.

謝謝，賈爾帕。大家下午好，感謝大家的參與。我很高興地宣布，我們在 2025 年第二季全面取得了創紀錄的業績。更具體地說，我們的核心收益比去年同期成長了 19%。與去年同期相比，我們的淨有效利差增加了12%以上，未償業務總額首次超過300億美元。

Our total portfolio is well diversified by both commodity and geography, and we remain confident in the overall health of our portfolio as evidenced by our continued strong asset quality metrics. We ended the quarter with a record $47.4 million in core earnings and a record net effective spread of $93.9 million.

我們的整體投資組合在商品和地理方面實現了良好的多樣化，並且我們持續強勁的資產品質指標證明了我們投資組合的整體健康狀況。本季結束時，我們的核心收益達到創紀錄的 4,740 萬美元，淨有效利差達到創紀錄的 9,390 萬美元。

The growth in spreads was driven by higher average loan balances and the continued shift to higher spread business, which has been a key driver of the increase in net effective spread over the past several years. Our strategic decision to diversify our loan portfolio into newer lines of business, such as renewable energy, broadband infrastructure, and corporate agribusiness, has been a key priority, and that diversification is benefiting us through changing market cycles, and it is benefiting Rural America. Also reflected in our core earnings results this quarter is the purchase of $35.6 million of renewable energy investment tax credits that resulted in a benefit of about $3.2 million.

利差的成長是由更高的平均貸款餘額和持續向更高利差業務的轉變所推動的，這也是過去幾年淨有效利差成長的主要驅動力。我們的策略決策是將我們的貸款組合多元化，進入再生能源、寬頻基礎設施和企業農業綜合企業等新的業務領域，這一直是一個關鍵優先事項，而且這種多元化使我們在不斷變化的市場週期中受益，也使美國農村受益。本季我們的核心獲利結果也反映出我們購買了 3,560 萬美元的再生能源投資稅收抵免，帶來了約 320 萬美元的收益。

We continue to actively evaluate these types of renewable energy credits during 2025 as we continue to be a significant participant in the project finance market, which gives us unique insights into the value of these credits. Partially offsetting the growth in net effective spread in the second quarter was an increase in operating expenses related to headcount, technology investments, and higher transaction-related legal fees.

由於我們將繼續成為專案融資市場的重要參與者，因此我們將在 2025 年期間繼續積極評估這些類型的再生能源信用，這讓我們對這些信用的價值有了獨到的見解。與員工人數、技術投資和交易相關法律費用增加有關的營運費用增加部分抵消了第二季淨有效利差的成長。

The higher legal fees during the quarter were related to the new renewable energy tax credit purchases I mentioned and business transactions in our new segments of business. Our efficiency ratio remains in line with the long-term strategic target of 30% and reflects our disciplined approach to expense management as we monitor and manage expense growth proactively against our incoming revenue streams.

本季較高的法律費用與我提到的新的再生能源稅收抵免購買以及我們新業務部門的業務交易有關。我們的效率比率與 30% 的長期策略目標保持一致，並反映了我們對費用管理的嚴謹態度，因為我們會根據即將到來的收入流主動監控和管理費用成長。

We take pride in our focus on effective expense management as we scale our business, and we'll continue to assess appropriate investments in our operational platforms and resources to support our future growth, our ability to innovate, and our ability to drive profitability.

在擴大業務規模的同時，我們專注於有效的費用管理，並為此感到自豪，我們將繼續評估對營運平台和資源的適當投資，以支持我們未來的成長、創新能力和提高獲利能力。

In terms of credit expense, several factors contributed to the $7.8 million net provision to the total allowance for losses this quarter. First, we recorded a $2.8 million charge-off related to two specific borrower relationships, one, a permanent planting loan, and the other, a crop loan for a portion of each loan deemed uncollectible as of June 30.

在信貸費用方面，有幾個因素導致本季總損失準備金淨撥備額達到 780 萬美元。首先，我們記錄了與兩個特定借款人關係相關的 280 萬美元沖銷，一個是永久性種植貸款，另一個是農作物貸款，截至 6 月 30 日，每筆貸款的一部分被視為無法收回。

However, after quarter end, we recovered approximately $1.7 million related to the permanent planting loan, which we expect to be reflected as a recovery in our third-quarter results. Other factors contributing to the provision in the second quarter were downgrades of two loans in the infrastructure finance line of business and higher allowances related to new volume growth in broadband, infrastructure, and renewable energy segments. Finally, a declining economic forecast that flows as does the volume growth in broadband and infrastructure through our CECL models.

然而，在季度末之後，我們收回了與永久種植貸款相關的約 170 萬美元，我們預計這將反映在第三季的業績中。導致第二季撥備的其他因素包括基礎設施融資業務線中兩筆貸款的評級下調，以及寬頻、基礎設施和再生能源領域新增貸款量成長相關的撥備增加。最後，透過我們的 CECL 模型，寬頻和基礎設施的數量成長也呈現下降趨勢，經濟預測也隨之下降。

These new segments carry different risks and different risk rates, resulting in larger CECL-derived allowances, but they are also generally businesses with higher effective spreads. We believe that our total portfolio is well diversified both by industries and segments, and that we're well-positioned given our strong levels of capital.

這些新的分部具有不同的風險和不同的風險率，從而產生了更大的 CECL 衍生準備金，但它們通常也是有效利差較高的業務。我們相信，我們的整體投資組合在行業和細分市場方面實現了良好的多樣化，並且憑藉雄厚的資本水平，我們處於有利地位。

The fundamentals of our underwriting guidelines and credit policies enable us to continue to effectively navigate the current volatility and uncertainty in the agricultural cycle. While some credit losses are inherent in lending, we believe that any losses in our current credit cycle will be moderated by the strength and diversity of our overall portfolio.

我們的承保指南和信貸政策的基本原則使我們能夠繼續有效地應對當前農業週期的波動和不確定性。雖然一些信貸損失是貸款所固有的，但我們相信，當前信貸週期中的任何損失都將受到我們整體投資組合的實力和多樣性的緩和。

And in fact, our overall credit profile remains strong as both 90-day delinquencies and substandard assets decreased quarter over quarter. Despite heightened volatility and market uncertainty, our prudent underwriting approach, emphasizing loan-to-value and cash flow metrics, positions us well to withstand market cycles.

事實上，我們的整體信用狀況依然強勁，90 天拖欠率和次級資產均較上季下降。儘管市場波動性和不確定性加劇，但我們採取審慎的承保方式，強調貸款價值比和現金流指標，使我們能夠很好地抵禦市場週期。

To date, we have not seen any significant effects on our portfolio related to government actions or changes in policy. We will continue to closely monitor industry and credit conditions as new government policies are implemented.

到目前為止，我們尚未看到政府行動或政策變化對我們的投資組合產生任何重大影響。隨著政府新政策的實施，我們將繼續密切關注產業和信貸狀況。

I'm also pleased to share that after quarter end, our Board of Directors modified the terms of Farmer Mac's share repurchase program to increase the total authorized amount of repurchases from $9.8 million to $50 million of Farmer Mac's outstanding C Class common stock.

我也很高興地告訴大家，在季度結束後，我們的董事會修改了 Farmer Mac 股票回購計畫的條款，將 Farmer Mac 流通 C 類普通股的授權回購總額從 980 萬美元增加到 5,000 萬美元。

The Board also extended the term of that program to August 2027. Farmer Mac intends to repurchase shares when it views repurchases as accretive and consistent with its strategic objectives. We successfully closed on our sixth Farm securitization transaction in June in some challenging and volatile market conditions, which is a testament to the strength and demand of the Farm program.

董事會也將該計畫的期限延長至 2027 年 8 月。當 Farmer Mac 認為回購具有增值作用且符合其策略目標時，它打算回購股票。我們在六月的一些充滿挑戰和動盪的市場條件下成功完成了第六筆農場證券化交易，這證明了農場計劃的實力和需求。

We're working towards a second transaction later this year, and also continue to explore alternative securitization structures that will allow us to expand our offerings while serving as another source of capital management.

我們正在努力在今年稍後進行第二筆交易，同時也持續探索替代證券化結構，這將使我們能夠擴大產品範圍，同時作為另一個資本管理來源。

The securitization program remains an important strategic initiative for Farmer Mac as it allows us to enhance and optimize the balance sheet by efficient deployment of capital and also enables our growth strategy by targeting new asset opportunities.

證券化計劃仍然是 Farmer Mac 的一項重要策略舉措，因為它使我們能夠透過有效部署資本來增強和優化資產負債表，並且還可以透過瞄準新的資產機會來實現我們的成長策略。

We're very pleased with the tremendous support we've seen from our stakeholders for this program and expect to be in the market before the end of the year with another securitization transaction. Farmer Mac's core capital increased by $35 million to $1.6 billion as of June 30, 2025, exceeding our statutory requirement by $602 million or 63%.

我們很高興看到利益相關者對該計劃給予了大力支持，並希望在今年年底前進入市場進行另一項證券化交易。截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日，Farmer Mac 的核心資本增加了 3,500 萬美元，達到 16 億美元，超過我們的法定要求 6.02 億美元，增幅為 63%。

The sequential increase reflects higher retained earnings, partially offset by capital impact due to growth in total assets. Our Tier 1 capital ratio modestly declined to 13.6% this quarter from 13.9% last quarter, primarily due to growth in assets in our newer segments. As mentioned on prior calls, this dynamic is expected as we continue to grow our book of business in more accretive segments that require an incrementally higher amount of craft capital.

連續的成長反映了更高的留存收益，但被總資產成長帶來的資本影響部分抵銷。我們的一級資本比率從上季度的 13.9% 小幅下降至本季的 13.6%，主要是由於我們新部門的資產成長。正如在先前的電話會議中所提到的，隨著我們繼續在需要逐步增加製程資本的更增值的領域擴大業務，預計會出現這種動態。

Looking ahead, we'll continue to evaluate all the capital management tools we have available to achieve our goal of optimizing our overall capital position and maintaining an opportunistic approach to add to our capital buffer.

展望未來，我們將繼續評估所有可用的資本管理工具，以實現優化整體資本狀況和保持機會主義方式增加資本緩衝的目標。

Our strong capital position has enabled us to grow and diversify revenue streams, remain resilient in volatile credit environments, and continue to offer competitively priced liquidity to our customers and their borrowers even in challenging times.

我們強大的資本狀況使我們能夠成長和多樣化收入來源，在動盪的信貸環境中保持彈性，並即使在困難時期也能繼續為我們的客戶及其借款人提供具有競爭力的流動性。

I also want to comment on the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, also known as HR1, which contains many provisions that have the potential to impact Farmer Mac and its stakeholders, including farmers, ranchers, and the renewable energy industry.

我還想評論一下《一個美麗大法案》（也稱為 HR1）的通過，該法案包含許多條款，這些條款可能會影響 Farmer Mac 及其利益相關者，包括農民、牧場主和再生能源產業。

This legislation includes updates to the federal crop insurance and revenue protection programs, as well as tax benefits on interest income earned on qualified rural or agricultural real estate loans. These are potentially positive for Farmer Mac.

該法案包括聯邦作物保險和收入保護計劃的更新，以及對合格農村或農業房地產貸款所得利息收入的稅收優惠。這些對於 Farmer Mac 來說可能是有利的。

We're actively monitoring and assessing the impacts of this new law on us and the industries we serve. We believe our inclusion in the legislation reflects the importance of our mission to increase the accessibility of financing to provide vital liquidity for American agriculture and rural infrastructure.

我們正在積極監測和評估這項新法律對我們以及我們所服務的行業的影響。我們相信，將我們納入立法反映了我們使命的重要性，即提高融資的可及性，為美國農業和農村基礎設施提供重要的流動性。

And now, I'd like to turn the call over to Zack Carpenter, our Chief Business Officer, to discuss our customer and market developments in more detail. Zack?

現在，我想將電話轉給我們的商務長 Zack Carpenter，更詳細地討論我們的客戶和市場發展。扎克？

Thanks, Brad. We had another solid quarter of outstanding business volume growth. We achieved $800 million of net new business volume with new volume increases across all segments in our portfolio, resulting in total outstanding business volume of $30.6 billion as of quarter end.

謝謝，布拉德。我們又度過了一個業務量成長強勁的季度。我們的淨新業務量達到 8 億美元，我們投資組合中所有部門的新業務量都有所增加，截至季末，未償業務總額達 306 億美元。

The growth in our portfolio this quarter once again demonstrates our successful efforts over the last few years to strategically grow and diversify our business segments and revenue streams throughout changing market cycles. The shift to higher spread business has been a key driver of our record results, and we believe our pipeline and business composition will continue to position us well for the remainder of the year.

本季我們投資組合的成長再次證明了我們在過去幾年中在不斷變化的市場週期中策略性地成長和多樣化我們的業務部門和收入來源的成功努力。向更高利差業務的轉變是我們創紀錄業績的關鍵驅動力，我們相信，我們的產品線和業務結構將在今年剩餘時間內繼續為我們帶來有利地位。

The infrastructure finance line of business grew by $644 million in the second quarter to $10.4 billion as of quarter end. reflecting the continued strong demand for electric power, the continued investment in renewable energy generation and storage, and the significant demand for liquidity for data center investments.

基礎設施融資業務線在第二季度增長了 6.44 億美元，截至季度末達到 104 億美元，反映了對電力的持續強勁需求、對可再生能源發電和儲存的持續投資以及對數據中心投資流動性的巨大需求。

Our Renewable Energy segment grew $332 million in the second quarter of 2025, a 122% increase year over year, ending the quarter at nearly $2 billion. Our near-term pipeline does remain strong. Despite the increase in policy uncertainty around the overall renewable power investment market following the passage of HR1, we expect to continue to participate in renewable energy power transactions for both new projects and refinancing opportunities of existing projects.

我們的再生能源部門在 2025 年第二季成長了 3.32 億美元，年增 122%，本季末達到近 20 億美元。我們的近期通路確實依然強勁。儘管 HR1 通過後整個再生能源投資市場的政策不確定性增加，但我們預計將繼續參與再生能源電力交易，包括新項目和現有項目的再融資機會。

In addition to the substantial increase in need for new power generation, the tax credit phaseouts for renewable energy generation projects in HR1 will likely result in a flurry of activity over the next 12 months for projects to start construction to meet required milestones to maintain tax incentives.

除了對新發電需求的大幅增加之外，HR1 再生能源發電專案的稅收抵免逐步取消可能會導致未來 12 個月內專案開工的激增，以達到維持稅收優惠所需的里程碑。

Our Broadband Infrastructure segment grew $200 million this quarter to $1.2 billion as of quarter end. We anticipate increased financing opportunities for rural telecommunications providers driven by fiber line expansion, wireless broadband deployment, data center build-outs, industry consolidation and mergers, and acquisitions.

我們的寬頻基礎設施部門本季成長了 2 億美元，截至季末達到 12 億美元。我們預計，在光纖線路擴展、無線寬頻部署、資料中心建置、產業整合和合併收購的推動下，農村電信供應商的融資機會將增加。

These developments are crucial for rural economic growth and the connectivity needs for rural America. Our Power and Utilities segment grew $112 million this quarter, largely due to strong loan purchase activity supporting investment needs of rural electric generation, transmission, and distribution cooperatives.

這些發展對於農村經濟成長和美國農村的連結需求至關重要。我們的電力和公用事業部門本季成長了 1.12 億美元，這主要歸功於強勁的貸款購買活動，支持了農村發電、輸電和配電合作社的投資需求。

Growing business volume in our infrastructure finance line of business remains a top priority, and we will continue to focus on strategic investments in these areas to build out our expertise and capacity as market opportunities arise.

擴大基礎設施融資業務線的業務量仍然是我們的首要任務，我們將繼續專注於這些領域的策略性投資，以便在市場機會出現時增強我們的專業知識和能力。

Turning to the agricultural finance line of business. Volume increased by $188 million in the second quarter to $20.2 billion as of quarter end. Growth in the second quarter consisted largely of strong loan purchase volume in both the Farm & Ranch and Corporate Ag Finance segments.

轉向農業金融業務線。第二季交易量增加了 1.88 億美元，截至季末達到 202 億美元。第二季的成長主要得益於農場與牧場以及企業農業金融部門的強勁貸款購買量。

Our Farm & Ranch segment business volume increased by a net $123 million in the second quarter to $18.2 billion as of quarter end, as our Farm & Ranch loan purchases portfolio grew by $429 million, outpacing scheduled maturities.

我們的農場和牧場部門業務量在第二季度淨增加 1.23 億美元，截至季度末達到 182 億美元，因為我們的農場和牧場貸款購買組合增長了 4.29 億美元，超過了預定的到期金額。

We believe that we will see loan purchase growth continue into the foreseeable future due to the continuing agricultural economic tightening, the potential for increased tariffs and trade policy changes, and continued inflationary dynamics for agricultural inputs.

我們相信，由於農業經濟持續緊縮、關稅上調和貿易政策變化的可能性以及農業投入持續的通膨動態，貸款購買量在可預見的未來將持續增長。

As Brad mentioned, we are actively assessing the provisions in HR1 that have a direct impact on Farmer Mac related to enhanced tax benefits for qualifying agricultural real estate loans. We do believe our inclusion in the new law will provide Farmer Mac with an opportunity to further our mission of finding innovative ways to increase access to capital and reduce the cost of credit for farmers and ranchers.

正如布拉德所提到的，我們正在積極評估 HR1 中的條款，這些條款對 Farmer Mac 有直接影響，涉及提高符合條件的農業房地產貸款的稅收優惠。我們確實相信，將我們納入新法律將為 Farmer Mac 提供一個機會，進一步實現我們的使命，即尋找創新的方式來增加獲得資金的管道並降低農民和牧場主的信貸成本。

The Farm & Ranch segment is core to our mission, and we remain committed to bringing our customers products that provide capital and risk management solutions as well as supporting their borrowers' financial needs. Our Corporate Ag Finance segment grew $64 million in the second quarter to $2 billion at quarter end.

農場和牧場部門是我們使命的核心，我們始終致力於為客戶提供提供資本和風險管理解決方案的產品，並支持其借款人的財務需求。我們的企業農業金融部門在第二季度成長了 6,400 萬美元，到季末達到 20 億美元。

Although quarterly volume can be unpredictable, opportunities in this segment are more accretive to net effective spread compared to the Farm & Ranch segment. We are continuing our efforts to further our relationships and modernize our internal infrastructure and anticipate increased credit demand to support larger, more complex agribusinesses in the coming quarters.

儘管季度交易量可能無法預測，但與農場和牧場部門相比，該部門的機會更能增加淨有效利差。我們將繼續努力進一步發展我們的關係並實現內部基礎設施的現代化，並預計未來幾季信貸需求將會增加，以支持更大、更複雜的農業綜合企業。

We continue to be excited about the strategic direction of the company and remain focused on our mission to provide capital through the agricultural and economic cycles. We believe we are well-positioned to make continuous progress on our long-term strategic growth initiatives as we navigate this backdrop of broader market uncertainties stemming from factors such as interest rates, regulatory shifts, and policy changes that could have a potential impact on the industries we serve.

我們繼續對公司的策略方向感到興奮，並繼續專注於在農業和經濟週期中提供資本的使命。我們相信，在利率、監管變化和政策變化等因素可能對我們所服務的行業產生潛在影響的更廣泛的市場不確定性背景下，我們有能力不斷推進我們的長期戰略成長計劃。

And with that, Brad, I'll turn it back to you.

布萊德，說完這些，我就把話題轉回給你了。

Good. Well, thank you very much, Zack. Our team delivered record financial results in the second quarter while fulfilling several important strategic and revenue objectives. We delivered core earnings that were a record. We maintained a strong credit profile.

好的。好吧，非常感謝，扎克。我們的團隊在第二季度取得了創紀錄的財務業績，同時實現了幾個重要的策略和收入目標。我們的核心獲利創下了紀錄。我們保持了良好的信用狀況。

We reported a core return on equity of 17% while holding our efficiency ratio below our strategic target of 30%. We're optimistic about the future, and we believe that we continue to be well-positioned to deliver on our multiyear strategy with strong liquidity and capital levels, a diversified business mix, highly effective risk management practices, and most importantly, a talented team of dedicated professionals here at Farmer Mac.

我們報告的核心股本回報率為 17%，同時我們的效率比率低於 30% 的策略目標。我們對未來充滿樂觀，我們相信，憑藉強大的流動性和資本水平、多元化的業務組合、高效的風險管理實踐，以及最重要的是，Farmer Mac 擁有一支才華橫溢的專業團隊，我們將繼續處於有利地位，實現我們的多年戰略。

And before the operator, I turn to the Q&A period, I'd like to take a moment to thank Aparna Ramesh for her contributions to Farmer Mac over the last six years. Her leadership contributed to a very strong, creative, disciplined, and resilient finance team that continues to execute on our strategic initiatives without missing a beat.

在接線員發言之前，我進入問答環節，我想花點時間感謝 Aparna Ramesh 在過去六年中對 Farmer Mac 的貢獻。在她的領導下，我們組建了一支非常強大、富有創造力、紀律性和韌性的財務團隊，該團隊繼續毫不猶豫地執行我們的策略計劃。

While we are sad to see Aparna leave us, we are proud that Farmer Mac is a springboard to exceptional opportunities for talented leaders. As we noted previously, we have launched a nationwide search for a new CFO, and we'll provide updates as appropriate.

雖然我們很遺憾看到阿帕娜離開我們，但我們很自豪，Farmer Mac 為有才華的領導者提供了獲得特殊機會的跳板。正如我們之前提到的，我們已經在全國範圍內尋找新的首席財務官，並將及時提供最新消息。

And now, operator, I'd like to see if we have any questions from anyone who's on the line with us today.

接線員，現在我想看看今天與我們通話的任何人是否有任何問題。

Thank you, sir. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝您，先生。（操作員指示）

Bose George, KBW.

博斯喬治，KBW。

Hey everyone, good afternoon. Actually, I wanted to ask first about the spread outlook. I mean, I think the last couple of quarters, you've talked about spreads potentially moving down a little bit. Obviously, they've held up well and actually have gone up further.

大家好，下午好。實際上，我首先想問的是利差前景。我的意思是，我認為過去幾個季度，您談到利差可能會略有下降。顯然，它們表現良好，實際上還進一步上漲。

So, how should we think about the outlook there? Also, this quarter, like looking at the Farm & Ranch, especially the spreads in there within the segment itself, went up. I think it was 6 basis points. So, can you just talk about the drivers of that as well?

那麼，我們該如何看待那裡的前景呢？此外，本季度，從農場和牧場來看，特別是該部分本身的利差有所上升。我認為是 6 個基點。那麼，您能談談造成這種情況的因素嗎？

Sure. Zach, go ahead, please.

當然。扎克，請說。

Yeah, happy to. I'll stick with Farm & Ranch first to your second question. I think this is a strong mix question that we saw in the second quarter. We had a very strong growth rate of loan purchase in our core Farm & Ranch loan purchase product that outpaced significant maturities in AgVantage. So the delta of that mix having strong accretive NES in the loan purchase side resulted in higher accretion in the overall segment and effective spread percentage as the AgVantage balance decreased.

是的，很高興。對於您的第二個問題，我首先會堅持討論農場和牧場。我認為這是我們在第二季度看到的一個強烈的混合問題。我們的核心農場和牧場貸款購買產品的貸款購買成長率非常強勁，超過了 AgVantage 的重要到期貸款。因此，隨著 AgVantage 餘額的減少，該組合在貸款購買方面具有強勁的增值 NES，從而導致整體部分的增值和有效利差百分比更高。

We typically see much tighter credit spreads in AgVantage. And so the delta there is really the driver of that growth. To talk about the spread outlook, I think this contemplates the diversity of our portfolio. As we've seen over the last few years, we've had a lot faster growth in these newer segments. And those newer segments do carry more accretive credit spreads than, I'd say, our historical segments.

我們通常會看到 AgVantage 的信用利差更加緊縮。因此，那裡的三角洲確實是這種成長的驅動力。談到利差前景，我認為這考慮到了我們投資組合的多樣性。正如我們在過去幾年中所看到的，我們在這些較新的領域中取得了更快的成長。而且我認為，與我們的歷史細分市場相比，這些較新的細分市場確實具有更多的增值信用利差。

So, as we've seen the mix shift more towards higher growth in these newer segments, we're going to see that accretion in our overall net effective spread percentage. And again, I'll highlight that as we've seen the AgVantage product growth decline over the last 18 months, that is also supporting that higher net effective spread growth.

因此，隨著我們看到這些新領域的業務組合向更高的成長轉變，我們將看到整體淨有效利差百分比的成長。再次強調，正如我們所看到的，AgVantage 產品成長率在過去 18 個月中有所下降，這也支持了更高的淨有效利差成長。

So as we look to the second half of the year, as we noted, we do see pipeline activity that's fairly strong in our newer lines of business, and we'll seek to ascertain those more accretive spreads as it grows our business platform.

因此，正如我們所指出的，展望下半年，我們確實看到新業務線的通路活動相當強勁，隨著業務平台的發展，我們將努力確定更具增值的利差。

Okay. So, spreads staying around these levels, at least for the next couple of quarters is reasonable?

好的。那麼，至少在接下來的幾個季度裡，利差保持在這些水準是合理的嗎？

Bose, I think what we have here is a little bit of a contest going on between the frankly, above expected growth rate of some of these new segments, including broadband, renewable energy project finance, and corporate ag business, which are all doing really, really well this year.

博斯，我認為我們現在面臨的是一些新興領域的競爭，坦白說，這些領域的成長率高於預期，包括寬頻、再生能源專案融資和企業農業業務，這些領域今年的表現都非常非常好。

So between that, which is putting a little bit of upward a little bit of a lift on spreads, and then the question of the timing and/or paydown of AgVantage bonds. And I think you referenced past years where maybe we thought we were going to have a little bit of downward pressure.

因此，在這兩者之間，利差會稍微向上提升，然後是 AgVantage 債券的時機和/或償還問題。我想您已經提到了過去幾年，當時我們可能認為我們會面臨一點下行壓力。

That, in part, was because of the expectation of more closings and draws on AgVantage bonds that have just been slow to materialize. We still have some ones that could materialize in the latter half of the year, and that's where this contest comes down.

部分原因是，人們預期 AgVantage 債券將有更多成交和提取，但這一預期一直未能實現。我們還有一些計劃可能在今年下半年實現，這就是這場比賽的結果。

Will they materialize enough to drag down what will be otherwise a continuing accretion driven by these higher segments of business, or not? But I think starting with a place where the expectation is about where we are today is a good place to start.

這些舉措是否足以拖累原本由這些更高業務領域所推動的持續成長？但我認為，從我們目前所處的期望開始是一個很好的起點。

Okay, great. That's very helpful. Thanks. And then the $3.5 million, the tax credit that you mentioned, does that flow through as a lower tax rate? Is that where we see that?

好的，太好了。這非常有幫助。謝謝。那麼，您提到的 350 萬美元的稅收抵免是否會以較低的稅率的形式發放？我們在那裡看到了嗎？

Yeah. I'm going to ask Greg Ramsay, who's our Principal Accounting Officer, who's with us today, to give you the details. It's a very technical question, Bose.

是的。我將請我們的首席會計官格雷格·拉姆齊 (Greg Ramsay) 來向您介紹詳細信息，他今天也和我們在一起。這是一個非常技術性的問題，Bose。

Yeah, hi, Bose, this is Greg Ramsey. Thanks for the question. Yeah, the benefit that we receive from those tax credits it does flow right through and reduces our tax expense. And so you would see our effective tax rate this quarter actually below the statutory rate, and that's really the first time that we've seen that, and that's a result of those tax credits that have accumulated since we started buying them in the fourth quarter of last year.

是的，你好，Bose，我是 Greg Ramsey。謝謝你的提問。是的，我們從這些稅收抵免中獲得的利益確實會直接影響我們，從而減少我們的稅收支出。因此，您會看到本季我們的實際稅率實際上低於法定稅率，這確實是我們第一次看到這種情況，這是自去年第四季我們開始購買稅收抵免以來累積的結果。

And then, actually, one sort of related question. I think, Brad, you mentioned there were some legal costs related to that. Is that in OpEx? Or does that some net out kind of through that number through the tax number?

然後，實際上，有一個相關的問題。布拉德，我想你提到這涉及一些法律費用。這是在 OpEx 嗎？或者說，這個數字是否可以透過稅號扣除？

Yeah. Bose, this is Greg again. Yes, you're right, there are some administrative expenses dealing with those transactions, and those expenses do flow through our general and administrative expenses, through our operating expenses. That's right.

是的。博斯，我又是格雷格。是的，你說得對，處理這些交易會產生一些管理費用，這些費用確實會流經我們的一般和管理費用以及我們的營運費用。這是正確的。

Okay, great. Thanks a lot.

好的，太好了。多謝。

Thank you. Bill Ryan, Seaport Research Partners.

謝謝。比爾·瑞安（Bill Ryan），海港研究合作夥伴。

Thanks and good afternoon. I'd like to start off with a couple of questions about HR1. You mentioned that there were some potential tax benefits. I was wondering if you could maybe elaborate on that a little bit more, and how it might stimulate some incremental Farm & Ranch loan demand.

謝謝，下午好。我想先問幾個關於 HR1 的問題。您提到有一些潛在的稅收優惠。我想知道您是否可以更詳細地闡述這一點，以及它如何刺激一些增量的農場和牧場貸款需求。

And then along the same lines of HR1, and I guess this is a little bit more qualitative. There have been a lot of questions about whether, I guess, going back to 2024, it's like 93%, 94% of new energy production that came online was renewable.

然後沿著與 HR1 相同的思路，我想這有點更定性。有很多人問，我想，到 2024 年，上線的新能源產量中是否有 93% 或 94% 是再生能源。

Is this something that you think Congress might have to revisit? I mean, is fossil fuels ramping up enough to kind of offset the expected decline that might take place in 2027 and beyond? Again, it's a little bit more qualitative question, but I was curious as to your thoughts on that.

您認為國會可能需要重新考慮這個問題嗎？我的意思是，化石燃料的產量增加是否足以抵消 2027 年及以後可能出現的預期下降？再次強調，這是一個更定性的問題，但我很好奇您對此的看法。

Sure. As it relates to HR1 and tax savings, specifically, there's a provision in there that we mentioned that's referred to as ACRE. And it provides a partial exclusion from taxation for interest income on new, not refinancing, first mortgage loans on production agriculture. This is something that is not baked into an accretive line in our pro forma. From our standpoint, we expect it to be fairly neutral.

當然。具體來說，由於它與 HR1 和稅收節省有關，我們提到其中有一項規定稱為 ACRE。該法案還規定，對農業生產用新的（而非再融資的）首筆抵押貸款的利息收入，可以部分免稅。這是我們預期的增值線中沒有考慮到的。從我們的角度來看，我們預計它會相當中性。

But at the end of the day, if it can result in savings to American farmers and ranchers, it's a good thing, and that's why it was important to us to be a part of it. So it's not something that will drive significant changes in any pro forma for our Farm & Ranch business, at least from an earnings standpoint.

但最終，如果它能為美國農民和牧場主節省開支，那將是一件好事，這就是為什麼我們參與其中非常重要。因此，至少從盈利的角度來看，這不會對我們的農場和牧場業務的任何形式造成重大變化。

As it relates to new energy production, it's a fascinating question. I think, as you know, Bill, I spent almost 20 years in the electric power industry before coming to Farmer Mac. And so what's going on is not just a keen interest to me, but I can understand some of the issues.

由於它與新能源生產有關，所以這是一個有趣的問題。我想，正如你所知，比爾，在加入 Farmer Mac 之前，我在電力行業工作了近 20 年。因此，我不僅對正在發生的事情很感興趣，而且我還能理解其中的一些問題。

And absolutely, you're correct. Over the last couple of years, incremental capacity in the United States has been dominated by investment in new capacity in solar and wind. And we now have a phaseout of credits. And we also, probably something that we're keeping an even closer eye on over the last week or so, is that we have an executive order, which is a very clearly stated objective designed to make it more difficult to complete permitting for renewable energy projects that otherwise might be done before credits expire or even after credits expire. So we're keeping a very close eye on that.

絕對正確。過去幾年，美國的新增產能主要來自於對太陽能和風能新產能的投資。現在我們已經開始逐步取消信用額度。而且，我們可能在過去一周左右密切關注的事情是，我們有一項行政命令，這是一個非常明確的目標，旨在使再生能源專案的許可變得更加困難，否則這些專案的許可可能會在信用額度到期之前或甚至到期之後完成。所以我們對此保持密切關注。

But I think when you look at the fundamentals in the United States and your question about whether it will need to be revisited, I think most are well aware that data centers are driving a significant high single-digit CAGR increase in electric power demand in the United States that projection for electric power demand has really broken from GDP and is much higher. And there's a question, where are these electrons going to come from?

但我認為，當你審視美國的基本面並詢問是否需要重新審視時，我認為大多數人都很清楚，數據中心正在推動美國電力需求以個位數的複合年增長率顯著增長，電力需求的預測已經真正脫離了 GDP，而且要高得多。還有一個問題，這些電子從哪裡來？

And it takes 10 to 15 years to permit and build a nuclear power plant, which we haven't done, by the way, for 30, 40 years, and there are no contractors who will guarantee completion and cost of that. So there's a question of risk allocation. It takes, and there's a significant backlog for gas turbines now for new simple cycle or combined cycle natural gas-fired electric power plants.

獲得許可並建造一座核電廠需要 10 到 15 年的時間，順便說一句，我們已經有 30 到 40 年沒有這樣做了，而且沒有承包商可以保證完工和成本。所以這是一個風險分配的問題。這是需要的，而且現在新的簡單循環或聯合循環天然氣發電廠的燃氣渦輪機積壓量很大。

And the permitting time for that is at least two to three years, plus a construction timetable of a couple of years, maybe five years, best case. So what's going to be happening, as you point out, 2027, 2028, 2029, the fact is that solar and wind are the fastest response to new capacity, and also when combined with batteries, are the fastest response to that.

而許可時間至少需要兩到三年，再加上幾年的施工時間表，最好的情況下可能需要五年。那麼，正如你所指出的，2027 年、2028 年、2029 年會發生什麼事？事實是，太陽能和風能是對新產能反應最快的，而且當與電池結合時，也是對新產能反應最快的。

And despite the changes in policy, some of the big drivers of this market now, and they include Google and Amazon and Facebook, and Microsoft, they're out very, very actively looking for anyone who can provide electrons, preferably green electrons, but any kind of electrons right now to support their demand. And we believe that it will result in new renewable projects being built even without tax credits post the wind down of the existing ones. But a lot is in flux.

儘管政策發生了變化，但現在這個市場的一些主要推動者，包括谷歌、亞馬遜、Facebook 和微軟，都在非常積極地尋找任何可以提供電子的人，最好是綠色電子，但現在任何類型的電子都可以滿足他們的需求。我們相信，即使在現有再生能源項目停止營運後沒有稅收抵免，新的再生能源項目也將得以建設。但很多事情都在不斷變化。

And we are taking an approach as we always have, we're debt, not equity, in these projects. And so we're responsive to real projects that are getting built, and our risks are well mitigated. But we're taking a wait-and-see approach for exactly how the future growth and future demand will adjust.

我們採取的方法與以往一樣，在這些項目中，我們是債務，而不是股權。因此，我們對正在建造的實際項目做出了積極的回應，並且我們的風險得到了很好的降低。但我們仍對未來的成長和需求究竟如何調整持觀望態度。

Okay. Thanks for the color on that Brad. And just one follow-up as an update. Curious about any additional impact on tariffs. I know they kind of just started the last time you did your conference call. If you can maybe talk about any update there, and how are the -- I think they were called market facilitation payments to farmers, how that's progressing to keep farmers in check financially.

好的。感謝布拉德的貢獻。並且僅進行一次後續更新。好奇對關稅是否有任何額外影響。我知道他們好像在你上次電話會議時才剛開始。您能否談談那裡的最新進展，以及——我認為它們被稱為向農民提供的市場便利化支付，這些支付的進展如何，以在經濟上控制農民。

Zack, can you provide some color on that?

扎克，你能提供一些詳細資訊嗎？

Yeah. Bill, it's definitely something we've been watching constantly. And clearly, I think there's just a lot of uncertainty as it pertains to the tariff and especially the whiplash. I mean, recently, the tariffs for many countries were set in place after some of the delays. And I also think it's really hard to paint a broad brush in terms of where we're going to see the impacts.

是的。比爾，這絕對是我們一直在關注的事情。顯然，我認為關稅問題，尤其是關稅問題，存在著許多不確定性。我的意思是，最近，許多國家的關稅在經過一些延遲後才得以實施。而且我還認為，很難概括地描述我們將在哪些方面看到影響。

For example, there's a significant amount of US soybeans that are exported to China. And so we've seen a decline in exports there. But in many cases, there's other markets that have opened up. And so we're assessing what the pricing impact on the soybean is to the farmers and ranchers for these changes in exports.

例如，有大量美國大豆出口到中國。因此我們看到那裡的出口下降。但在很多情況下，其他市場已經開放。因此，我們正在評估出口變化對大豆定價對農民和牧場主的影響。

On the other side of the spectrum, you've got corn, and there's very little export, or it's not nearly as much as soybeans, and we're going to see a significant increase in ethanol. The UK trade structured agreement has increased demand for ethanol from US producers, and feed is a significant component of corn, and we've seen that significantly grow. So it's really hard to assess currently what the overall impact is going to be as some of these structured agreements are put in place, as well as what other potential retaliation or other agreements are made.

另一方面，玉米的出口量很少，或遠不及大豆，而乙醇的出口量將大幅增加。英國貿易結構協議增加了美國生產商對乙醇的需求，而飼料是玉米的重要組成部分，我們已經看到其需求顯著增長。因此，目前很難評估這些結構化協議實施後會產生什麼樣的整體影響，以及其他潛在的報復或其他協議。

The one thing I would say is that the American Relief Act in December 2024 gave or allocated $33 billion of disaster relief to farmers and ranchers, and we're starting to see that trickle out there. The USDA does indicate that 2025 will be a fairly high year of net cash farm income for farmers and ranchers, heavily driven by government payments.

我想說的是，2024 年 12 月的《美國救濟法案》向農民和牧場主提供或分配了 330 億美元的救濟救濟金，我們開始看到這筆錢慢慢流出來。美國農業部確實表示，2025 年將是農民和牧場主淨現金農場收入相當高的一年，主要得益於政府補貼。

Farmers and ranchers don't necessarily want to show positive income from government payments, but it is a support for the farmers and ranchers during this volatile time. And I think also with HR1 and the passage of price loss coverage and agricultural risk coverage programs, and an increase in reference prices is another safety net that we're supportive of to help the farmers manage through this potential volatility time with tariffs.

農民和牧場主不一定希望從政府補貼中獲得正收入，但這是在這個動盪時期對農民和牧場主的一種支持。而且我認為，隨著 HR1 和價格損失保險和農業風險保險計劃的通過，以及參考價格的提高，這是我們支持的另一個安全網，可以幫助農民度過關稅的潛在波動時期。

Okay. Thanks for that, and thanks for taking my questions.

好的。謝謝您，也謝謝您回答我的問題。

Thank you. Brendan McCarthy at Sidoti.

謝謝。西多蒂 (Sidoti) 的布倫丹麥卡錫 (Brendan McCarthy)。

Great, thanks. Good afternoon everyone, thanks for taking my questions here. Just wanted to follow up on the renewable energy tax credits. Given that those credits are due to phase out, I'm curious about what the timing of that phase out looks like.

太好了，謝謝。大家下午好，謝謝你們在這裡回答我的問題。只是想跟進再生能源稅收抵免的情況。鑑於這些信用額度即將逐步取消，我很好奇逐步取消的時間是怎麼樣的。

And Zack, I think you alluded to there may be a ramp-up in new projects to kind of get ahead of that deadline. I'm wondering if we can maybe expect a similar quarterly run rate in renewable energy tax credits going forward.

扎克，我想你提到可能會有更多新項目來趕在最後期限之前完成。我想知道我們是否可以預期未來再生能源稅收抵免的季度運行率會類似。

Well, yeah, as it relates to tax credits distinct from project finance opportunities and renewable energy projects, we do those opportunistically because they're structured to be very, very low risk and be a very nice kind of discounted arbitrage that results in net income for us. We will continue to monitor the opportunity to purchase those as long as they remain low risk, but it's not a fundamental part of our P&L strategy.

嗯，是的，因為它與不同於專案融資機會和再生能源專案的稅收抵免有關，我們會抓住機會去做這些事情，因為它們的結構風險非常非常低，是一種非常好的折現套利，可以為我們帶來淨收入。只要風險較低，我們就會繼續監控購買這些股票的機會，但這不是我們損益策略的基本組成部分。

It is something around which we are just being opportunistic. As it relates to project finance, though, a lot of the credits are scheduled to phase out next year. Some of the ones, retail credits for EVs, some of the home solar, some of the home improvement, those are phasing out later this year.

這是我們目前所追求的機會主義行為。不過，由於涉及專案融資，許多信貸計畫將於明年逐步取消。其中一些，電動車零售信貸、一些家用太陽能信貸、一些家居裝修信貸，將在今年稍後逐步取消。

But for the commercial projects, next year. You then get into a very complicated discussion about the commencement of construction and the requirements that have to be satisfied in order to lock in those credits.

但對於商業項目來說，明年。然後，您將進入一個非常複雜的討論，關於施工的開始以及為了鎖定這些信貸必須滿足的要求。

And so when you cut all the way through that, it means that large projects may be in construction next year and not be finished for a year or two after that. So again, we're going to continue to be very disciplined as we always have been in underwriting these project finance loans. Again, we're not equity.

因此，當你完全解決這個問題時，這意味著大型專案可能在明年開始建設，但一兩年內都無法完成。因此，我們將繼續保持高度自律，就像我們在承銷這些專案融資貸款時一直在做的那樣。再說一遍，我們不是股權。

We're in debt. We're responding to mature opportunities of these projects, where the tax credits and the power purchase agreements and the engineering procurement construction contracts and the operating agreements, and permitting are all locked in and continue to pursue those. And it's a huge addressable market.

我們負債累累。我們正在抓住這些項目的成熟機遇，其中稅收抵免、購電協議、工程採購建設合約、營運協議和許可都已鎖定，並將繼續追求這些機會。這是一個巨大的潛在市場。

So even if it contracts by some, there's still a huge opportunity for us going forward. And then we'll see what happens in the back years. As I mentioned earlier, I do believe that we will see some of these projects move ahead even without credits in the future.

因此，即使規模有所萎縮，未來仍有巨大的機會。然後我們再看看未來幾年會發生什麼事。正如我之前提到的，我確實相信，即使沒有信貸，未來我們也會看到其中一些項目繼續前進。

Great. Thanks, Brad. I appreciate that detail. I wanted to turn to the $7.8 million credit provision in the quarter. You mentioned there's a $2.8 million charge-off from two loans. Can you go into detail on those two loans?

偉大的。謝謝，布拉德。我很欣賞這個細節。我想談談本季 780 萬美元的信貸準備金。您提到有兩筆貸款沖銷了 280 萬美元。能詳細介紹一下這兩筆貸款嗎？

Yeah. I think we generically described them as a permanent planning loan and a crop loan. We're certainly not going to discuss individual borrowers. But Marc, can you give maybe a little bit more of a generic explanation, generally where they are, and some of the circumstances surrounding them?

是的。我認為我們一般將它們描述為永久性規劃貸款和農作物貸款。我們當然不會討論個人借款人。但是馬克，你能否給出更籠統的解釋，大概說一下他們在哪裡，以及他們周圍的一些情況？

Yeah. Yeah. So two loans, the charge in the quarter --

是的。是的。因此，兩筆貸款，本季的費用--

Sorry, this is Marc Crady, our Chief Credit Officer, who is here.

抱歉，我是我們的首席信貸官馬克‧克雷迪 (Marc Crady)。

Thank you. Yeah. You mentioned the provision, but we took $2.8 million in charges in the quarter on two different loans. One, the first is a permanent crop loan based in the Southwest region. We took a $1.7 million charge on that loan as we deemed it uncollectible at the end of the quarter.

謝謝。是的。您提到了這項準備金，但本季我們針對兩筆不同的貸款收取了 280 萬美元的費用。一、第一項是以西南地區為基地的永久性農作物貸款。由於我們認為該筆貸款在本季末無法收回，因此我們對其收取了 170 萬美元的費用。

But after we closed our books for the quarter, we received a $1.7 million payment on that loan. And so at this point, we think we're well secured on that loan. The second loan is a crop loan also based in the Southwest region that became delinquent in the second quarter due to weak operating performance. A receiver has been appointed to liquidate our collateral. And as we assess the value of our collateral as part of that process, we deemed $1.2 million to be uncollectible and recorded a charge.

但在我們結清本季的帳目後，我們收到了 170 萬美元的貸款還款。因此，就目前情況而言，我們認為這筆貸款已得到很好的保障。第二筆貸款也是西南地區的農作物貸款，由於經營業績不佳，該筆貸款在第二季出現拖欠。已指定接管人來清算我們的抵押品。當我們在過程中評估抵押品的價值時，我們認為 120 萬美元無法收回，並記錄了費用。

Got it. Thanks. I appreciate the detail there. And then you also mentioned, I think, two loans in the infrastructure finance segment. Just curious about what lines of business does that come from? (multiple speakers) --

知道了。謝謝。我很欣賞那裡的細節。然後，我認為您還提到了基礎設施融資領域的兩筆貸款。我只是好奇這來自哪些業務線？（多位發言者）——

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. We downgraded two loans in our infrastructure finance portfolio. The first is a solar project that's based in the Southeast, with about $17 million of exposure. The project became operational in mid-last year and has had weak performance since becoming operational, but the company is still current on payments.

是的，沒錯。是的。我們下調了基礎設施融資組合中兩筆貸款的評級。第一個是位於東南部的太陽能項目，投資金額約 1700 萬美元。該項目於去年年中投入運營，自投入運營以來業績一直不佳，但該公司仍在按時付款。

The second is in our broadband infrastructure portfolio. It's a rural provider of communication services in the Southeast. The company had engaged in a high-growth strategy to build out its network. That resulted in cost overruns and other operational challenges.

第二個是我們的寬頻基礎設施組合。它是東南部一家農村通訊服務提供者。該公司已實施高成長策略來建立其網路。這導致了成本超支和其他營運挑戰。

And as a result, the borrower became overlevered and tight on liquidity. The company right now is out looking for additional capital. And so we should have more information on how that goes over the next couple of months.

結果是，借款人的槓桿率過高，流動性緊張。該公司目前正在尋找額外資本。因此，我們應該在接下來的幾個月中獲得更多關於此事進展的資訊。

Got it. Thank you. And last question from me just on the share repurchase authorization, how does that kind of fit into your capital allocation priorities? Do you think you'll be more active, buying back shares?

知道了。謝謝。我最後一個問題是關於股票回購授權，它與您的資本配置優先事項有何關聯？您認為您會更積極地回購股票嗎？

Yeah. We have a number of tools here at Farmer Mac for being adequately capitalized from an equity standpoint. That includes the rate, the pace of our dividends. I think you have seen us be incredibly consistent in how we think about that, and it has resulted in 14 consecutive years of dividend increases here at Farmer Mac we have. Share repurchases as a tool when it is accretive, when the stock price is very low.

是的。在 Farmer Mac，我們擁有多種工具，可以從股權角度實現充足的資本化。其中包括股息率和股息發放速度。我想您已經看到我們對此的想法非常一致，這使得 Farmer Mac 的股息連續 14 年增加。當股價非常低時，股票回購是一種增值工具。

We have the opportunity to put new preferred capital on our balance sheet, which is something you've seen us do numerous times, and that's an option that we have today. And you've seen us use securitization strategically for diversifying our funding and transferring risk funding risk away from Farmer Mac, but also for more capital efficiency because, from regulatory allocated capital to securitizations, it is less than if we're holding all the risk on our balance sheet. So we have all these tools.

我們有機會將新的優先資本添加到我們的資產負債表上，這是我們多次做過的事情，而這也是我們今天擁有的選擇。並且您已經看到我們策略性地使用證券化來分散我們的資金並將風險融資風險從 Farmer Mac 轉移出去，同時也提高了資本效率，因為從監管分配的資本到證券化，其成本比我們將所有風險都放在資產負債表上要低。所以我們有所有這些工具。

We are pursuing securitizations basically as we have the right pools of assets to do those securitizations, and we remain committed to the future. We're constantly evaluating the use of preferreds and potential other securitization, asset pool securitization techniques for managing the aggregate amount or relative amount through a percentage of capital relative to assets.

我們推行證券化主要是因為我們擁有合適的資產池來進行證券化，而且我們仍然致力於未來。我們不斷評估優先股和其他潛在證券化、資產池證券化技術的使用情況，透過資本相對於資產的百分比來管理總額或相對金額。

And then we have share repurchases. So there's never a time when one of those is the answer. We are going to be extremely cautious and steady about how we manage dividend declarations here at Farmer Mac.

然後我們進行股票回購。因此，永遠不存在其中一個是答案的情況。我們將極其謹慎和穩定地管理 Farmer Mac 的股息聲明。

And then the others, we're going to use routinely in the case of Farm & Ranch securitizations and the others opportunistically, depending on what is basically the best, the cheapest, most enduring form of capital, depending on what our objectives are for us at that given time.

然後，我們將在農場和牧場證券化的情況下例行使用其他方法，並在其他情況下機會性地使用，這取決於基本上最好的、最便宜的、最持久的資本形式，取決於我們當時的目標。

Understood. Thanks, Brad. Thanks everybody. That's all from me.

明白了。謝謝，布拉德。謝謝大家。我要說的就這些。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Gary Gordon.

謝謝。（操作員指示）加里·戈登。

Okay, thank you. Actually, most of my questions have been answered. Just one technical one on the share repurchase. Should we think of the capital that could be used for share repurchases as part of what historically you talked about as your 35% payout ratio? Or are those separate issues, and that would be in addition to the 35% in any given year?

好的，謝謝。事實上，我的大部分問題都已經得到解答了。關於股票回購，只有一個技術問題。我們是否應該將可用於股票回購的資本視為您歷史上所說的 35% 派息率的一部分？或者這些是單獨的問題，並且是在任何一年的 35% 之外的？

Yeah. As I attempted to just communicate, we are committed to being very, very consistent and disciplined about how we declare our dividends. So you mentioned a target ratio, and we've been somewhere in that vicinity for a number of years now. We really don't want to change that. So this share repurchase should be seen as, again, something that is opportunistic and that is there as a tool and attractive as a tool when our market stock price gets too cheap.

是的。正如我試圖傳達的那樣，我們致力於在宣布股息方面保持非常、非常一致和嚴謹的態度。所以您提到了目標比例，而且我們多年來一直處於該水平附近。我們確實不想改變這一點。因此，這次股票回購應該再次被視為一種機會主義行為，當我們的市場股價變得太便宜時，這是一個有吸引力的工具。

Okay. And on, maybe that's you just answered this one, but why now? Why the share repurchase authorization now versus a year or two ago?

好的。等等，也許你剛剛回答了這個問題，但為什麼是現在？為什麼現在才授權股票回購，而不是一兩年前？

Yeah. A couple of things. We hadn't looked at it in a while. We are a larger organization. It is appropriate that we size it at a larger level than the last time we really focused on this. And it's no secret. In the last few weeks, we've had some softness, I think, really unwarranted, but some softness in our stock price. And so it's a combination of factors.

是的。有幾件事。我們已經有一段時間沒有看過它了。我們是一個更大的組織。與上次真正關注這個問題時相比，我們將其規模擴大到更大是合適的。這不是什麼秘密。在過去的幾周里，我們的業績出現了一些疲軟，我認為這是不必要的，但我們的股價確實出現了一些疲軟。所以這是多種因素共同作用的結果。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Thank you. And at this time, it appears we have no other questions registered. I will turn the call back over to Mr. Nordholm.

謝謝。目前看來，我們還沒有其他問題。我會將電話轉回給諾德霍姆先生。

Good. Well, thank you very much, operator, and thank you all for participating in this call. We're really proud of the results from this last quarter. We feel very confident about the remainder of the year, and look forward to giving you another update in the quarter.

好的。好的，非常感謝接線員，也感謝大家參加這通通話。我們對上一季的業績感到非常自豪。我們對今年剩餘時間的表現充滿信心，並期待在本季為您提供另一份最新消息。

As always, if you have follow-up questions or just want to generally get a little bit more clarification on some of the things we've discussed today, or other things that you see as you go through our release. Please get in touch with Jalpa, and we will be as responsive as we possibly can. And with that, thank you all again, and I hope you have a really terrific and maybe a bit restful August.

像往常一樣，如果您有後續問題，或者只是想對我們今天討論的一些內容或您在閱讀我們的發佈時看到的其他內容有更清晰的了解。請聯絡 Jalpa，我們將盡可能為您提供協助。最後，再次感謝大家，希望大家能度過一個非常愉快、輕鬆的八月。

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, this does indeed conclude your conference call for today. Once again, thank you for attending. And at this time, we do ask that you please disconnect your lines.

謝謝您，先生。女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。再次感謝大家的出席。此時，我們確實請求您斷開線路。