GAO noted that: (1) RUS' loan origination policies and procedures for G&T loans are in RUS regulation 7 C.F.R. 1710 General and Pre-Loan Policies and Procedures Common to Insured and Guaranteed Electric Loans; (2) this regulation requires RUS to obtain, among other things, basic information for loan approval such as the borrower's ability to secure and repay the loan, borrower's financial ratios

GAO provided information on its active assignments in the Resources, Community, and Economic Development Accounting and Financial Management Issues issue area as of August 17, 1998.

GAO noted that: (1) under Department of Justice authority, during fiscal year (FY) 1996 and through July 31, 1997, RUS wrote off about $1.5 billion of loans to rural electric cooperatives; (2) the most significant write-offs relate to two generation and transmission (G&T) loans; (3) it is probable that RUS will have additional loan write-offs and therefore that the federal government will inc

GAO noted that: (1) because loan programs are intended to assist in the development of the nation's rural areas, targeting loans to borrowers that provide services to areas with low populations could result in the more effective use of the agency's limited loan funds; (2) current lending practices sometimes result in loans to borrowers serving areas that are heavily populated; (3) targeting subsi

GAO provided information on its active assignments in the Resources, Community, and Economic Development Accounting and Financial Management Issues issue area as of February 2, 1998.

GAO noted that: (1) the total amount of the outstanding principal on RUS' electricity loans was $32.3 billion at the end of fiscal year (FY) 1996; (2) of this amount, about $8 billion, or almost 25 percent, was owed by 12 borrowers that were experiencing financial problems (i.e., they were delinquent, in bankruptcy, or likely to default on loan repayment in the future); (3) these 12 electricity l

GAO noted that: (1) at the end of fiscal year 1996, over $8 billion of the total $42.5 billion in outstanding principal on the Rural Utilities Service's electricity, telecommunications, and water and waste disposal loans was owed by borrowers that were experiencing financial problems; (2) almost all of this amount was owed by 12 electricity loan borrowers, representing less than 2 percent of the

GAO found that: (1) FmHA is not adequately protecting government interests during debt settlements; (2) FmHA wrote off about $3.4 billion in outstanding farm loans during fiscal years (FY) 1991 through 1993 without receiving any payments from borrowers on most of the loans; (3) FmHA has $7.6 billion in problem loans that may be subject to future settlements; (4) FmHA officials do not always follo

GAO found that: (1) pervasive data inaccuracies prevented it from concluding whether the program's liabilities for loan guarantees were fairly stated as of September 30, 1993; (2) the program's statement of cash flows was reliable in all material respects; (3) it could not determine whether Education properly received or disbursed funds because of significant internal control weaknesses in its co

GAO found that: (1) about 97 percent of HUD multifamily insurance loans are current, while about 3 percent are either delinquent or have defaulted; (2) the precise number of delinquent loans is unknown because the reporting of delinquencies is voluntary, but lenders must notify HUD of loans that have defaulted; (3) HUD increased its loss reserves to $11.9 billion as of September 30, 1992; (4) as