CFC: rural electric co-ops’
own financial powerhouse
he National Rural
Utilities Cooperative
Finance Corporation
(CFC) is a privately
owned, non-governmental
organization that provides low-cost
capital and state-of-the-art financial
products and services to its owners, the
more than 1,000 electric cooperatives
across the United States. CFC is the
primary private market lender to rural
electric systems, which serve more
than 32 million end-users of electricity.
CFC’s owners consist
of electric cooperative
distribution systems,
power supply
systems, statewide
associations and service
organizations. It
serves as the sole
source of financing for
more than 200 electric
cooperatives and supplements
the credit
programs of the
USDA Rural
Development’s utilities
programs.
CFC was launched
in the mid-1960s,
when the electric
cooperative program
began to seek alternative
funding sources to
supplement federal
financing of cooperatives’
growing capital
needs. In 1967, the
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association (NRECA) proposed the
creation of a nonprofit financing institution
that would be cooperatively
owned by the electric cooperatives.
NRECA members approved this plan,
and on April 10, 1969, CFC was incorporated.
As a financial powerhouse with
more than $21 billion in assets and
some $34 billion in total credit commitments,
CFC offers rural electric
systems the financing they need to
ensure a dependable source of energy
for rural consumers.
Guided by a 22-member board of
directors representing the managers
and directors of its member cooperatives,
CFC operates from its corporate
headquarters in Herndon, Va., with
more than 200 employees, 15 of whom
are regional representatives located
throughout the United States. By
maintaining high credit standards and
credit ratings, CFC provides its owners
with competitively priced financing
and investment opportunities through
its role as a conduit to the worldwide
private capital markets.
CFC manages several related organizations.
Rural Telephone Finance
Cooperative (RTFC) is a memberowned,
nonprofit finance cooperative
created in 1987 solely to serve the
needs of the rural telecommunications
industry. RTFC has carried out an
essential role in rural telephone
financing, providing
needed funds for system
upgrades, new technology,
acquisitions, and an array of
service enhancements.
National Cooperative
Services Corporation (NCSC)
is a privately funded, member-owned, taxable cooperative
that began operations in
1981. NCSC provides electric
cooperatives and their affiliates
with specialized financing
and related financial services.
NCSC offers a loan program
that provides financing to forprofit
and nonprofit associates
affiliated with CFC owners,
generally for rural economic
development initiatives.
CFC works closely with
NRECA, the National Rural
Telecommunications
Cooperative, USDA Rural
Development, Federated
Rural Electric Insurance Exchange,
and similar organizations to ensure
that electric cooperatives have the
tools they need to prosper in a changing
marketplace.
Contact information: website:
www.nrucfc.coop ; phone: (703) 709-6700; address: 2201 Cooperative Way,
Herndon, Va., 20171. CEO: Sheldon
Petersen.
