Financial Management

Has the growth in borrowing from the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Financing Bank by government corporations and other federal entities put the government at risk for significant losses? This fact sheet looks at 66 government corporations, government-sponsored enterprises, and federal programs and funds that now have borrowing authority or have borrowed funds within the past five years. As of September 1990, these entities had borrowed nearly $350 billion. For each entity, GAO provides data on (1) the statute authorizing the borrowing, (2) borrowing limitations or other conditions imposed by the law, (3) outstanding borrowing authority at the end of each fiscal year from 1987 to 1991, and (4) other financing sources available to each entity.

GAO found that: (1) as of September 30, 1991, 66 government corporations, government-sponsored enterprises, and federal programs had outstanding borrowings from the Treasury totalling $252 billion, and from FFB totalling $194 billion; (2) it could not determine the total amount that could be borrowed from the Treasury and FFB, although each entity had either unlimited borrowing authority, a borrowing authority limitation contingent on certain criteria, or borrowing limits which changed with annual appropriation acts; (3) government corporations and other federal entities must have specific authority to borrow from the Treasury, although authority to borrow from FFB is generally available to any entity when it has authority to issue, sell, or guarantee obligations; and (4) beginning in fiscal year 1992, agencies with credit programs are financing direct and guaranteed loan activities by borrowing from the Treasury, which may increase for agencies with credit programs, while borrowing from FFB will decrease.