§ 628.20 - Capital components and eligibility criteria for tier 1 and tier 2 capital instruments.

§ 628.20 Capital components and eligibility criteria for tier 1 and tier 2 capital instruments.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 87 FR 27493, May 9, 2022.

(a) Regulatory capital components. A System institution's regulatory capital components are:

(1) CET1 capital;

(2) AT1 capital; and

(3) Tier 2 capital.

(b) CET1 capital. CET1 capital is the sum of the CET1 capital elements in paragraph (b) of this section, minus regulatory adjustments and deductions in § 628.22. The CET1 capital elements are:

(1) Any common cooperative equity instrument issued by a System institution that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) The instrument is paid-in, issued directly by the System institution, and represents the most subordinated claim in a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding of the System institution;

(ii) The holder of the instrument is entitled to a claim on the residual assets of the System institution after all senior claims have been satisfied in a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding;

(iii) The instrument has no maturity date, can be redeemed only at the discretion of the System institution and with the prior approval of FCA, and does not contain any term or feature that creates an incentive to redeem;

(iv) The System institution did not create, through any action or communication, an expectation that it will buy back, cancel, redeem, or revolve the instrument, and the instrument does not include any term or feature that might give rise to such an expectation, except that the establishment of a revolvement period of 7 years or more, or the practice of redeeming or revolving the instrument no less than 7 years after issuance or allocation, will not be considered to create such an expectation;

(v) Any cash dividend payments on the instrument are paid out of the System institution's net income or unallocated retained earnings, and are not subject to a limit imposed by the contractual terms governing the instrument;

(vi) The System institution has full discretion at all times to refrain from paying any dividends without triggering an event of default, a requirement to make a payment-in-kind, or an imposition of any other restrictions on the System institution;

(vii) Dividend payments and other distributions related to the instrument may be paid only after all legal and contractual obligations of the System institution have been satisfied, including payments due on more senior claims;

(viii) The holders of the instrument bear losses as they occur before any losses are borne by holders of preferred stock claims on the System institution and holders of any other claims with priority over common cooperative equity instruments in a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding;

(ix) The instrument is classified as equity under GAAP;

(x) The System institution, or an entity that the System institution controls, did not purchase or directly or indirectly fund the purchase of the instrument, except that where there is an obligation for a member of the institution to hold an instrument in order to receive a loan or service from the System institution, an amount of that loan equal to no more than $1,000 of the borrower stock requirement under section 4.3A of the Act will not be considered as a direct or indirect funding where:

(A) The purpose of the loan is not the purchase of capital instruments of the System institution providing the loan; and

(B) The purchase or acquisition of one or more member equities of the institution is necessary in order for the beneficiary of the loan to become a member of the System institution;

(xi) The instrument is not secured, not covered by a guarantee of the System institution, and is not subject to any other arrangement that legally or economically enhances the seniority of the instrument;

(xii) The instrument is issued in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and with the institution's capitalization bylaws;

(xiii) The instrument is reported on the System institution's regulatory financial statements separately from other capital instruments; and

(xiv) The System institution's capitalization bylaws, or a resolution adopted by its board of directors under § 628.21, provides that the institution:

(A) Establishes a minimum redemption or revolvement period of 7 years for equities included in CET1; and

(B) Shall not redeem, revolve, cancel, or remove any equities included in CET1 without prior approval of the FCA under paragraph (f) of this section, except that the statutory borrower stock described in paragraph (b)(1)(x) of this section, not to exceed $1,000, may be redeemed without a minimum period outstanding after issuance and without the prior approval of the FCA, as long as after the redemption, the System institution continues to comply with all minimum regulatory capital requirements.

(2) Unallocated retained earnings.

(3) Paid-in capital resulting from a merger of System institutions or repurchase of third-party capital.

(4)-(5) [Reserved]

(c) AT1 capital. AT1 capital is the sum of additional tier 1 capital elements and related surplus, minus the regulatory adjustments and deductions in §§ 628.22 and 628.23. AT1 capital elements are:

(1) Instruments and related surplus, other than common cooperative equities, that meet the following criteria:

(i) The instrument is issued and paid-in;

(ii) The instrument is subordinated to general creditors and subordinated debt holders of the System institution in a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding;

(iii) The instrument is not secured, not covered by a guarantee of the System institution and not subject to any other arrangement that legally or economically enhances the seniority of the instrument;

(iv) The instrument has no maturity date and does not contain a dividend step-up or any other term or feature that creates an incentive to redeem;

(v) If callable by its terms, the instrument may be called by the System institution only after a minimum of 5 years following issuance, except that the terms of the instrument may allow it to be called earlier than 5 years upon the occurrence of a regulatory event that precludes the instrument from being included in AT1 capital, or a tax event. In addition:

(A) The System institution must receive prior approval from FCA to exercise a call option on the instrument.

(B) The System institution does not create at issuance of the instrument, through any action or communication, an expectation that the call option will be exercised.

(C) Prior to exercising the call option, or immediately thereafter, the System institution must either replace the instrument to be called with an equal amount of instruments that meet the criteria under paragraph (b) of this section or this paragraph (c),^[3] or demonstrate to the satisfaction of FCA that following redemption, the System institution will continue to hold capital commensurate with its risk;

(vi) Redemption or repurchase of the instrument requires prior approval from FCA;

(vii) The System institution has full discretion at all times to cancel dividends or other distributions on the instrument without triggering an event of default, a requirement to make a payment-in-kind, or an imposition of other restrictions on the System institution except in relation to any distributions to holders of common cooperative equity instruments or other instruments that are pari passu with the instrument;

(viii) Any distributions on the instrument are paid out of the System institution's net income, unallocated retained earnings, or surplus related to other AT1 capital instruments;

(ix) The instrument does not have a credit-sensitive feature, such as a dividend rate that is reset periodically based in whole or in part on the System institution's credit quality, but may have a dividend rate that is adjusted periodically independent of the System institution's credit quality, in relation to general market interest rates or similar adjustments;

(x) The paid-in amount is classified as equity under GAAP;

(xi) The System institution did not purchase or directly or indirectly fund the purchase of the instrument;

(xii) The instrument does not have any features that would limit or discourage additional issuance of capital by the System institution, such as provisions that require the System institution to compensate holders of the instrument if a new instrument is issued at a lower price during a specified timeframe; and

(xiii) [Reserved]

(xiv) The System institution's capitalization bylaws, or a resolution adopted by its board of directors under § 628.21, provides that the institution:

(A) Establishes a minimum redemption or no-call period of 5 years for equities included in additional tier 1; and

(B) Shall not redeem, revolve, cancel, or remove any equities included in additional tier 1 capital without prior approval of the FCA under paragraph (f) of this section.

(2)-(3) [Reserved]

(4) Notwithstanding the criteria for AT1 capital instruments referenced in paragraph (c)(1) of this section:

(i) [Reserved]

(ii) An instrument with terms that provide that the instrument may be called earlier than 5 years upon the occurrence of a rating agency event does not violate the criterion in paragraph (c)(1)(v) of this section provided that the instrument was issued and included in a System institution's core surplus capital prior to January 1, 2017, and that such instrument satisfies all other criteria under this § 628.20(c).

(d) Tier 2 Capital. Tier 2 capital is the sum of tier 2 capital elements and any related surplus minus regulatory adjustments and deductions in §§ 628.22 and 628.23. Tier 2 capital elements are:

(1) Instruments (plus related surplus) that meet the following criteria:

(i) The instrument is issued and paid-in;

(ii) The instrument is subordinated to general creditors of the System institution;

(iii) The instrument is not secured, not covered by a guarantee of the System institution and not subject to any other arrangement that legally or economically enhances the seniority of the instrument in relation to more senior claims;

(iv) The instrument has a minimum original maturity of at least 5 years. At the beginning of each of the last 5 years of the life of the instrument, the amount that is eligible to be included in tier 2 capital is reduced by 20 percent of the original amount of the instrument (net of redemptions) and is excluded from regulatory capital when the remaining maturity is less than 1 year. In addition, the instrument must not have any terms or features that require, or create significant incentives for, the System institution to redeem the instrument prior to maturity;^[4]

(v) The instrument, by its terms, may be called by the System institution only after a minimum of 5 years following issuance, except that the terms of the instrument may allow it to be called sooner upon the occurrence of an event that would preclude the instrument from being included in tier 2 capital, or a tax event. In addition:

(A) The System institution must receive the prior approval of FCA to exercise a call option on the instrument.

(B) The System institution does not create at issuance, through action or communication, an expectation the call option will be exercised.

(C) Prior to exercising the call option, or immediately thereafter, the System institution must either: replace any amount called with an equivalent amount of an instrument that meets the criteria for regulatory capital under this section;^[5] or demonstrate to the satisfaction of FCA that following redemption, the System institution would continue to hold an amount of capital that is commensurate with its risk;

(vi) The holder of the instrument must have no contractual right to accelerate payment of principal, dividends, or interest on the instrument, except in the event of a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding of the System institution;

(vii) The instrument has no credit-sensitive feature, such as a dividend or interest rate that is reset periodically based in whole or in part on the System institution's credit standing, but may have a dividend rate that is adjusted periodically independent of the System institution's credit standing, in relation to general market interest rates or similar adjustments;

(viii) The System institution has not purchased and has not directly or indirectly funded the purchase of the instrument, except that where common cooperative equity instruments are held by a member of the institution in connection with a loan, and the institution funds the acquisition of such instruments, that loan shall not be considered as a direct or indirect funding where:

(A) The purpose of the loan is not the purchase of capital instruments of the System institution providing the loan;

(B) The purchase or acquisition of one or more capital instruments of the institution is necessary in order for the beneficiary of the loan to become a member of the System institution; and

(C) The capital instruments are in excess of $1,000.

(ix) [Reserved]

(x) Redemption of the instrument prior to maturity or repurchase is at the discretion of the System institution and requires the prior approval of the FCA;

(xi) The System institution's capitalization bylaws, or a resolution adopted by its board of directors under § 628.21, provides that the institution:

(A) Establishes a minimum call, redemption or revolvement period of 5 years for equities included in tier 2 capital; and

(B) Shall not call, redeem, revolve, cancel, or remove any equities included in tier 2 capital without prior approval of the FCA under paragraph (f) of this section.

(2) [Reserved]

(3) ALL AACL up to 1.25 percent of the System institution's total risk-weighted assets not including any amount of the ALLAACL.

(4)-(6) [Reserved]

(e) FCA approval of a capital element.

(1) A System institution must receive FCA prior approval to include a capital element (as listed in this section) in its CET1 capital, AT1 capital, or tier 2 capital unless the element is equivalent, in terms of capital quality and ability to absorb losses with respect to all material terms, to a regulatory capital element FCA determined may be included in regulatory capital pursuant to paragraph (e)(3) of this section.

(i)-(ii) [Reserved]

(2) [Reserved]

(3) After determining that a regulatory capital element may be included in a System institution's CET1 capital, AT1 capital, or tier 2 capital, FCA will make its decision publicly available.

(f) FCA prior approval of capital redemptions and dividends included in tier 1 and tier 2 capital.

(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (f)(5) and (6) of this section, a System institution must obtain the prior approval of the FCA before paying cash dividend payments, cash patronage payments, or redeeming equities included in tier 1 or tier 2 capital, other than term equities redeemed on their maturity date.

(2) At least 30 days prior to the intended action, the System institution must submit a request for approval to the FCA. The FCA's 30-day review period begins on the date on which the FCA receives the request.

(3) The request is deemed to be granted if the FCA does not notify the System institution to the contrary before the end of the 30-day review period.

(4)

(i) A System institution may request advance approval to cover several anticipated cash dividend or patronage payments, or equity redemptions, provided that the institution projects sufficient current net income during those periods to support the amount of the cash dividend or patronage payments and equity redemptions. In determining whether to grant advance approval, the FCA will consider:

(A) The reasonableness of the institution's request, including its historical and projected cash dividend and patronage payments and equity redemptions;

(B) The institution's historical trends and current projections for capital growth through earnings retention;

(C) The overall condition of the institution, with particular emphasis on current and projected capital adequacy as described in § 628.10(e); and

(D) Any other information that the FCA deems pertinent to reviewing the institution's request.

(ii) After considering these standards, the FCA may grant advance prior approval of an institution's request to pay cash dividends and patronage or to redeem or revolve equity. Notwithstanding any such approval, an institution may not declare a dividend or patronage payment or redeem or revolve equities if, after such declaration, redemption, or revolvement, the institution would not meet its regulatory capital requirements set forth in this part and part 615 of this chapter.

(5) Subject to any capital distribution restrictions specified in § 628.11, a System institution is deemed to have FCA prior approval for revolvements and redemptions of common cooperative equities, for cash dividend payments on all equities, and for cash patronage payments on all cooperative equities, provided that:

(i) For redemptions or revolvements of common cooperative equities included in CET1 capital or tier 2 capital, other than as provided in paragraph (f)(6) of this section, the institution issued or allocated such equities at least 7 years ago for CET1 capital and at least 5 years ago for tier 2 capital;

(ii) After such cash payments have been declared and defined by resolution of the board, the dollar amount of the System institution's CET1 capital at quarter-end equals or exceeds the dollar amount of CET1 capital on the same quarter-end in the previous calendar year; and

(iii) The System institution continues to comply with all regulatory capital requirements and supervisory or enforcement actions.

(6) The following equities are eligible to be redeemed or revolved under paragraph (f)(5)(i) of this section in less than the applicable minimum required holding period (7 years for CET1 inclusion and 5 years for tier 2 inclusion), provided that the requirements of paragraphs (f)(5)(ii) and (iii) of this section are met:

(i) Equities mandated to be redeemed or retired by a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction;

(ii) Equities held by the estate of a deceased former borrower; and

(iii) Equities that the institution is required to cancel under § 615.5290 of this chapter in connection with a restructuring under part 617 of this chapter.

[81 FR 49779, July 28, 2016, as amended at 86 FR 54359, Oct. 1, 2021; 87 FR 27493, May 9, 2022]

Footnotes - 628.20

^[3] Replacement can be concurrent with redemption of existing AT1 capital instruments.

^[4] An instrument that by its terms automatically converts into a tier 1 capital instrument prior to five years after issuance complies with the five-year maturity requirement of this criterion.

^[5] A System institution may replace tier 2 capital instruments concurrent with the redemption of existing tier 2 capital instruments.