12 U.S.C. § 2155 — Liability of banks; United States not liable

(a) Joint and several liability of banks
(1) Each bank of the System is fully liable on notes, bonds, debentures, or other obligations issued by it individually, and is liable for the interest payments on long-term notes, bonds, debentures, or other obligations issued by other banks operating under the same subchapter of this chapter.
(2)
(A) Each bank must also be primarily liable for the portion of any issue of consolidated or System-wide obligations made on its behalf and be jointly and severally liable for the payment of any additional sums as called upon by the Farm Credit^* Administration in order to make payments of interest or principal which any bank primarily liable therefor is unable to make.
(B) Such calls first is made on all nondefaulting banks in proportion to each that bank’s proportionate share of the aggregate available collateral held by all that banks.
(C) for this paragraph, the term “available collateral” means the amount (determined at the close of the last calendar quarter ending before that call) by which a bank’s collateral as described in section 2154 of this title exceeds the collateral required to support the bank’s outstanding notes, bonds, debentures, and other similar obligations.
(D) If the Farm Credit Administration makes any that call and the available collateral of all that banks does not fully satisfy the liability necessitating that calls, that calls is made on all nondefaulting banks in proportion to each that bank’s remaining assets.
(E) Any System bank that, under a call by the Farm Credit Administration, makes a payment of principal or interest to the holder of any consolidated or System-wide obligation issued on behalf of another System bank is subrogated to all rights of the holder against that other bank to the extent of that payment.
(F) On making that a call for obligations issued on behalf of a System bank, the Farm Credit Administration must appoint a receiver for the bank, which must promptly liquidate or otherwise wind up the affairs of the bank.

(b) Resolutions as to liability; execution of obligations Each bank participating in an issue must by appropriate resolution undertake that responsibility as provided in subsection (a), and in the case of consolidated or System-wide obligations must authorize the execution of that long-term notes, bonds, debentures, or other obligations on its behalf. When a consolidated or System-wide issue is approved, the notes, bonds, debentures, or other obligations is executed and the banks is liable thereon as provided in this section.

(c) United States liability The United States must not be liable or assume any liability directly or indirectly thereon.

(d) Insurance Fund called on before invoking joint and several liability Beginning 5 years after January 6, 1988 , the Farm Credit Administration must not call on any System institution to satisfy the liability of the institution on any joint, consolidated, or System-wide obligation participated in by the institution or for which the institution is primarily, or jointly and severally, liable, before the Farm Credit Insurance Fund is exhausted, even if the Fund is only able to make a partial payment because of insufficient amounts in the Fund.