P.L. 100-233 (January 6, 1988) was enacted in response to the severe financial crisis of the early- to mid-1980s which affected both farmers and their lending institutions. The Act authorized a $4 billion financial assistance package for financially vulnerable institutions of the Farm Credit System (FCS), protected the full value of FCS borrower stock when retired, established a permanent insurance mechanism to ensure the repayment of funds borrowed by the FCS for lending purposes, required the FCS and Farmers Home Administration to restructure severely delinquent farm loans that meet certain criteria, mandated FCS consolidation and established a secondary market for farm real estate loans.