CREDIT STUDY.

SEC. 650. CREDIT STUDY. (a) In General.— The Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a study and report to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate on the demand for and availability of credit in rural areas for agriculture, housing, and rural development. (b) Purpose.— The purpose of the study shall be to ensure that Congress has current and comprehensive information to consider as Congress deliberates on rural credit needs and the availability of credit to satisfy the needs of rural areas of the United States. (c) Items in Study.— In conducting the study, the Secretary shall base the study on the most current available data and analyze— (1) rural demand for credit from the Farm Credit System, the ability of the Farm Credit System to meet the demand, and the extent to which the Farm Credit System provides loans to satisfy the demand; (2) rural demand for credit from the United States banking system, the ability of banks to meet the demand, and the extent to which banks provide loans to satisfy the demand; (3) rural demand for credit from the Secretary, the ability of the Secretary to meet the demand, and the extent to which the Secretary provides loans to satisfy the demand; (4) rural demand for credit from other Federal agencies, the ability of the agencies to meet the demand, and the extent to which the agencies provide loans to satisfy the demand; (5) what measure or measures exist to gauge the overall demand for rural credit, the extent to which rural demand for credit is satisfied, and what the measures have demonstrated; (6) a comparison of the interest rates and terms charged by the Farm Credit System Farm Credit Banks, production credit associations, and banks for cooperatives with the rates and terms charged by the banks of the United States for credit of comparable risk and maturity; (7) the advantages and disadvantages of the modernization and expansion proposals of the Farm Credit System on the Farm Credit System, the United States banking system, rural 110 STAT. 1106users of credit, local rural communities, and the Federal Government, including— (A) any added risk to the safety and soundness of the Farm Credit System that may result from approval of a proposal; and (B) any positive or adverse impacts on competition between the Farm Credit System and the banks of the United States in providing credit to rural users; (8) the nature and extent of the unsatisfied rural credit need that the Farm Credit System proposals are supposed to address and what aspects of the present Farm Credit System prevent the Farm Credit System from meeting the need; (9) the advantages and disadvantages of the proposal by commercial bankers to allow banks access to the Farm Credit System as a funding source on the Farm Credit System, the United States banking system, rural users of credit, local rural communities, and the Federal Government, including— (A) any added risk to the safety and soundness of the Farm Credit System that may result from approval of the proposal; and (B) any positive or adverse impacts on competition between the Farm Credit System and the banks of the United States in providing credit to rural users; and (10) problems that commercial banks have in obtaining capital for lending in rural areas, how access to Farm Credit System funds would improve the availability of capital in rural areas in ways that cannot be achieved in the system in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, and the possible effects on the viability of the Farm Credit System of granting banks access to Farm Credit System funds. (d) Interagency Task Force.— In completing the study, the Secretary shall use, among other things, data and information obtained by the interagency task force on rural credit.