Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 1.djvu/560

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PUBLIC LAW 95-000—MMMM. DD, 1978

92 STAT. 506

PUBLIC LAW 95-351—AUG. 20, 1978 for reserves for losses, for cumulative dividends on class A stock and dividends on class C stock and for any redemption of class A stock in accordance with subsection (c), the Bank shall annually set aside the remaining earnings of the Bank for patronage refunds in the form of class B or C stock or allocated surplus in accordance with the bylaws of the Bank. After ten years from the date of issue of any such stock, or at such earlier time as all the Government-held stock is retired, patronage refunds may be made in cash, or partly in stock and partly in cash. ELIGIBILITY

12 USC 3015.

"Net savings."

SEC. 105. (a) For the purpose of all titles of this Act, subject to the limitations of subsection (d) of this section, an eligible cooperative is an organization chartered or operated on a cooperative, notfor-profit basis for producing or furnishing goods, services or facilities, primarily for the benefit of its members or voting stockholders who are ultimate consumers of such goods, services, or facilities, or a legally chartered entity entirely owned and controlled by any such organization or organizations, if it— (1) makes such goods, services or facilities directly or indirectly available to its members or voting stockholders on a not-for-profit basis; (2) does not pay dividends on voting stock or membership capital in excess of such percentage per annum as may be approved under the bylaws of the Bank; (3) provides that its net savings shall be allocated or distributed to all members or patrons, in proportion to their patronage, or shall be retained for the actual or potential expansion of its services or the reduction of its charges to the patrons, or for such other purposes as may be authorized by its membership not inconsistent with its purposes; (4) makes membership available on a voluntary basis, without any social, political, racial, or religious discrimination and without any discrimination on the basis of age, sex, or marital status, to all persons who can make use of its services and are willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, subject only to limitations under applicable Federal or State laws or regulations; (5) in the case of primary cooperative organizations restricts its voting control to members or voting stockholders on a one vote per person basis and takes positive steps to insure economic democracy and maximum participation by members of the cooperative including the holding of annual meetings and, in the case of organizations owned by groups of cooperatives, provides positive protections to insure economic democracy; and (6) is not a credit union, mutual savings bank, or mutual savings and loan association. (b) No organization shall be ineligible because it produces, markets, or furnishes goods, services, or facilities on behalf of its members as primary producers, unless the dollar volume of loans made by the Bank to such organizations exceeds 10 per centum of the gross assets of the Bank. (c) As used in this section, the term "net savings" means, for any period, the borrower's gross receipts, less the operating and other expenses deductible therefrom in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, including, without limitation, contributions to