UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 24, 2002
Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Federally chartered
instrumentality of
the United States 0-17440 52-1578738
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(State or other jurisdiction of (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) File Number) Identification No.)
1133 Twenty-First Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036
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(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (202) 872-7700
No change
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(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(a) Not applicable.
(b) Not applicable.
(c) Exhibits:
99 Press release dated May 24, 2002.
Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure.
On May 24, 2002, the Registrant issued a press release to announce that it
has asked the New York Stock Exchange to investigate unusual trading activity in
its stock. The press release is filed as Exhibit 99 hereto and incorporated
herein by reference.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION
By: /s/ Jerome G. Oslick
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Name: Jerome G. Oslick
Title: Vice President - General Counsel
Dated: May 24, 2002
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit No. Description Page No.
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99 Press Release Dated May 24, 2002 5
Exhibit 99
FARMER MAC NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
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May 24, 2002 Jerome Oslick
202-872-7700
Farmer Mac Asks NYSE to Probe Trading as Shares Fall
Washington, D.C. -- The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer
Mac, NYSE: AGM and AGMA), the stockholder-owned instrumentality of the United
States chartered by Congress to establish a secondary market for agricultural
real estate and rural housing mortgage loans, announced today that it has asked
the New York Stock Exchange to investigate unusual trading activity in its
NYSE-listed stock, which has lost almost one-third of its value in recent weeks
as a result of what the company believes are the aberrational, and possibly
improper, trading activities of short sellers. In a short sale, an investor
sells borrowed shares, hoping to repurchase them at a lower price to return the
borrowed shares to the lender.
Jerry Oslick, General Counsel, speaking for the company, stated that over
the past three weeks the company has observed inordinately high levels of
short-selling in its Class C common stock, coupled with a campaign of
misinformation regarding the company. Mr. Oslick emphasized that there are no
developments within the company that could account for this heightened level of
short-selling activity, nor for the recent loss in value of its Class C common
stock. Mr. Oslick commented that the actions of certain self-admitted short
sellers, which appear to have been orchestrated with recent publications of
materially misleading assertions regarding the company's financial condition,
demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of the company's business. He
noted that those actions are difficult to reconcile with the full and accurate
disclosures of its financial condition and results of operations that the
company consistently has made in the annual, quarterly and current reports filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission since the company's creation by
Congress in 1988.
Speaking more broadly, Mr. Oslick noted that the FCA does an in-depth,
on-site examination of Farmer Mac on an annual basis for compliance with
regulatory capital and other requirements that may affect the Company's safety
and soundness, and has determined that Farmer Mac is operating in a safe and
sound manner. He also reaffirmed that the company has complied fully with all of
its disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws -- in fact, Farmer
Mac is the only Government Sponsored Enterprise that files periodic reports with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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