Major revisions in Farmer Mac's statutory provisions have given the organization renewed energy to establish an effective secondary market for farm real estate loans and rural housing loans. Included among the changes in the Farm Credit System Reform Act of 1996 are: 1. the power to purchase eligible loans directly from originating lenders and to issue guaranteed securities backed by such loans, 2. the ability to conduct business without the 10% minimum cash reserve or subordinated participation interest previously required with each loan, 3. the elimination of commodity and geographic diversification requirements for loan pools, and 4. the phase-in of revised capital requirements. These changes and several others in the act have made Farmer Mac's operating structure essentially the same as that of other government-sponsored enterprises providing secondary markets for residential mortgage loans.