At the end of each fiscal year, the net savings shall, under regulations prescribed by the Farm Credit Administration, continue to be applied on a cooperative basis with provision for sound, adequate capitalization to meet the changing financing needs of eligible cooperative borrowers and prudent corporate fiscal management, to the end that current year’s patrons carry their fair share of the capitalization, ultimate expenses, and reserves related to the year’s operations and the remaining net savings shall be distributed as patronage refunds as provided in subsection (b). Such regulations may provide for application of net savings to the restoration or maintenance of an allocated surplus account, reasonable additions to unallocated surplus, or to unallocated reserves after payment of operating expenses, and provide for allocations to patrons not qualified under title 26, or payment of such per centum of patronage refunds in cash, as the board may determine.

The net savings of each bank for cooperatives, after the earnings for the fiscal year have been applied in accordance with subsection (a) of this section shall be paid in stock, participation certificates, or cash, or in any of them, as determined by its board, as patronage refunds to borrowers to whom such refunds are payable who are borrowers of the fiscal year for which such patronage refunds are distributed. All patronage refunds shall be paid in proportion that the amount of interest and service fees on the loans to each borrower during the year bears to the interest and service fees on the loans of all borrowers during the year or on such other proportionate patronage basis as may be approved by the board of directors.

In the event of a net loss in any fiscal year after providing for all operating expenses (including reasonable valuation reserves and losses in excess of any applicable reserves), such loss may be carried forward or carried back, if appropriate, or otherwise shall be absorbed by charges to unallocated reserve or surplus accounts established after December 10, 1971; charges to allocated contingency reserve account; charges to allocated surplus accounts; charges to other contingency reserve and surplus accounts; the impairment of voting stock; or the impairment of all other stock.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section any costs or expenses attributable to a prior year or years but not recognized in determining the net savings for such year or years may be charged to reserves or surplus of the bank or to patronage allocations for such years, as may be determined by the board of directors.

A bank for cooperatives may pay in cash such portion of its patronage refunds as will permit its taxable income to be determined without taking into account savings applied as allocated surplus, allocated contingency reserves, and patronage refunds under subsection (a) of this section.

(Pub. L. 92–181, title III, § 3.11, Dec. 10, 1971, 85 Stat. 606; Pub. L. 96–592, title III, § 308, Dec. 24, 1980, 94 Stat. 3445; Pub. L. 99–205, title II, § 205(e)(7), (8), Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1705; Pub. L. 100–233, title VIII, §§ 802(r), 805(n), Jan. 6, 1988, 101 Stat. 1712, 1716; Pub. L. 115–334, title V, § 5411(11), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4680.)