Impartiality in the election of directors.

§ 611.320 Impartiality in the election of directors. (a) Each Farm Credit institution shall adopt policies and procedures that are designed to assure that the elections of board members are conducted in an impartial manner. (b) No employee or agent of a Farm Credit institution shall take any part, directly or indirectly, in the nomination or election of members to the board of directors of a Farm Credit institution, or make any statement, either orally or in writing, which may be construed as intended to influence any vote in such nominations, or elections. This paragraph shall not prohibit employees or agents from providing biographical and other similar information or engaging in other activities pursuant to policies and procedures for nominations and elections. This paragraph does not affect the right of an employee or agent to nominate or vote for stockholder-elected directors of an institution in which the employee or agent is a voting member. (c) No property, facilities, or resources, including information technology and human or financial resources, of any Farm Credit institution shall be used by any candidate for nomination or election or by any other person for the benefit of any candidate for nomination or election, unless the same property, facilities, or resources are simultaneously available and made known to be available for use by all declared candidates, including floor nominees. For the limited purpose of Farm Credit bank board elections, each Farm Credit bank may allow its stockholder-associations to use stockholder-association property, facilities, or resources in support of bank director candidates. Any Farm Credit bank permitting this activity by its stockholder-associations must have a policy in place approved by its board of directors establishing reasonable standards that stockholder-associations must follow, and those standards must give appropriate consideration to the various sizes of stockholder-associations within a bank's district and include a maximum amount that a stockholder-association may expend in support of a bank director candidate. (d) No director, employee, or agent of a Farm Credit institution shall, for the purpose of furthering the interests of any candidates for nomination or election, furnish or make use of records that are not made available for use by all declared candidates. (e) No Farm Credit institution may in any way distribute or mail, whether at the expense of the institution or another, any campaign materials for director candidates. Institutions may request biographical information, as well as the disclosure information required under § 611.330, from all declared candidates who certify that they are eligible, restate such information in a standard format, and distribute or mail it with ballots or proxy ballots. (f) No director of a Farm Credit institution shall, in his or her capacity as a director, make any statement, either orally or in writing, which may be construed as intending to influence any vote in that institution's director nominations or elections. This paragraph shall not prohibit director candidates from engaging in campaign activities on their own behalf. [53 FR 50392, Dec. 15, 1988, as amended at 71 FR 5761, Feb. 2, 2006; 75 FR 18740, Apr. 12, 2010]