[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 29 (Friday, February 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7407-7409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3466]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-4461-D-02]
Redelegation of Fair Housing And Other Authorities Respecting the
Government Sponsored Enterprises Under the Federal Housing Enterprises
Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to the Assistant Secretary
for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing
Commissioner, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of redelegation of authority.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice redelegates from the Assistant Secretary for
Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner to the Assistant Secretary for
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity the Fair Housing authority, and
other authorities necessary to carry out the Fair Housing authority,
under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness
Act of 1992.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 5, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Greene, Acting Director of
Policy and Program Evaluation, Office of Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, Room 5246, telephone (202) 708-1145; or for legal
questions, contact Kenneth Markison, Assistant General Counsel for GSE/
RESPA, room 9262, telephone (202) 708-3137 (these are not toll-free
numbers). The address for both persons is Department of Housing and
Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, S.W.,
[[Page 7408]]
Washington, D.C. 20410. For hearing-and speech-impaired persons, the
telephone numbers may be accessed via TTY (text telephone) by calling
the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Federal Housing Enterprises
Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (FHEFSSA) (12 U.S.C. 4501 et
seq.), the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has general and
specific regulatory authorities respecting the Federal National
Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation (Freddie Mac) (collectively, the Government-Sponsored
Enterprises or GSEs) which have been delegated to the Assistant
Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner, the notice of which
is published elsewhere in today's Federal Register.
The Fair Housing provisions of FHEFSSA (12 U.S.C. 4545) mandate
that the Secretary: prohibit the GSEs from discriminating in their
mortgage purchases; require the GSEs to submit data to assist in
investigations of mortgage lenders under the Fair Housing Act and the
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA); obtain information on Fair Housing
Act and ECOA violations and provide such information to the GSEs;
direct the GSEs to take remedial actions against lenders with
discriminatory lending practices; and periodically review and comment
on the GSEs' underwriting and appraisal guidelines to ensure that the
guidelines are consistent with FHEFSSA and the Fair Housing Act. Under
HUD's GSE regulations (24 CFR 81.47), as appropriate, the Secretary is
required to refer violations of 12 U.S.C. 4545 to the Director of the
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) to initiate
enforcement actions for GSE violations or potential violations of its
provisions pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 4513 and 4631 of FHEFSSA.
FHEFSSA establishes the Secretary's authority to require reports on
GSE activities as the Secretary deems appropriate (12 U.S.C, 4547).
This includes the authority under 24 CFR 81.65 to require that a GSE
furnish the data underlying any reports and conduct additional analyses
concerning any such report. Under 24 CFR 81.102, the Secretary is also
authorized to independently verify the accuracy and completeness of the
data, information, and reports provided by each GSE, including
conducting on-site verification, when such steps are reasonably related
to determining whether a GSE is complying with 12 U.S.C. 4541-4589 of
FHEFSSA and the GSEs' Charter Acts. FHEFFSA provides at 12 U.S.C. 4546
that the Secretary may by regulation or order provide that certain
information shall be treated as proprietary information and not subject
to public disclosure under 12 U.S.C. 4543.
The Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity is
delegated the Secretary's authority under the Fair Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), which includes authority over the GSEs under that
Act. This redelegation of Fair Housing authority under FHEFSSA
complements those authorities of the Assistant Secretary for Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity.
In carrying out the Fair Housing authority under FHEFSSA, the
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will receive
confidential and proprietary information of the GSEs. The Assistant
Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will establish all
necessary safeguards to protect such information, including
establishment of appropriate organizational walls and confidentiality
agreements.
The Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner
is, therefore, redelegating to the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing
and Equal Opportunity all of the Fair Housing authority under FHEFSSA.
To carry out this authority, the Assistant Secretary for Housing-
Federal Housing Commissioner is also redelegating the authority to
refer violations of FHEFSSA to OFHEO for enforcement in accordance with
24 CFR 81.47; to require necessary reports, underlying data, and
analyses; and to verify the accuracy and completeness of the data,
information, and reports provided by the GSEs, including conducting on-
site verification.
The authority under FHEFSSA that is redelegated under this notice
does not include the Secretary's general regulatory power, authority
provided to Administrative Law Judges in 24 CFR part 81, or the
authority to: issue rules and regulations; waive regulations; determine
whether data is proprietary; issue orders providing that data is
proprietary; submit annual reports to Congress; make certain income
adjustments or determinations; issue cease-and-desist orders and impose
civil money penalties; request the Attorney General to bring actions;
settle and deposit civil money penalties; or make orders and agreements
publicly available.
Accordingly, the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing
Commissioner hereby redelegates to the Assistant Secretary for Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity the following:
Section A. Authorities Redelegated
1. All power and authority under the Fair Housing provisions of
FHEFSSA at 12 U.S.C. 4545 and under regulations at 24 CFR part 81,
subpart C, including, but not limited to: prohibiting each GSE from
discriminating in any manner in the purchase of any mortgage because of
race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, age, or national
origin, including any consideration of the age or location of the
dwelling or the age of the neighborhood or census tract where the
dwelling is located in a manner that has a discriminatory effect;
requiring each GSE to submit data to assist the Secretary in
investigating whether a mortgage lender with which the GSE does
business has failed to comply with the Fair Housing Act; requiring each
GSE to submit data to the Secretary to assist in investigating whether
a mortgage lender with which the GSE does business has failed to comply
with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and to submit information
to ECOA enforcement agencies; obtaining information on Fair Housing Act
and ECOA violations and providing that to the GSEs; directing the GSEs
to take remedial actions against lenders with discriminatory lending
practices; and periodically reviewing and commenting on the GSEs'
underwriting and appraisal guidelines to ensure that such guidelines
are consistent with the Fair Housing Act and FHEFSSA.
2. All power and authority necessary to carry out the Fair Housing
provisions of FHEFSSA at 12 U.S.C. 4545 including, but not limited to:
requiring additional reports or other information concerning GSE
activities; requiring the GSEs to provide data underlying any of the
reports required under 24 CFR part 81 and to conduct additional
analyses concerning any report required under 24 CFR part 81;
requesting the Director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise
Oversight to bring actions to enforce violations of 12 U.S.C. 4545; and
under 24 CFR 81.102 to independently verify the accuracy and
completeness of the data, information, and reports provided by each
GSE, including conducting on-site verification when such steps are
reasonably related to determining whether a GSE is complying with 12
U.S.C. 4541-4589 and the GSEs' Charter Acts.
3. All power and authority to carry out the Fair Housing provisions
of FHEFSSA at 12 U.S.C. 4545 respecting access to information at 12
U.S.C. 4543 and 4546 including, but not limited to, recommending the
invocation of 5
[[Page 7409]]
U.S.C. 552(b)(4), (6), and (8); and not providing public access to
proprietary data.
Section B. No Authority to Redelegate
The Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity may
not redelegate to employees of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity any of the power and authority delegated under this
redelegation.
Authority: Secs. 1321, 1323, 1325, 1326 and 1327 of the Federal
Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, 12
U.S.C. 4541, 4543, 4545, 4546 and 4547; section 7(d), Department of
Housing and Urban Development Act, 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).
Dated: February 5, 1999.
William Apgar,
Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 99-3466 Filed 2-11-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-27-P
