[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 172 (Friday, September 5, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46872-46873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23510]
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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD
12 CFR Part 936
[No. 97-56]
RIN 3069-AA35
Technical Amendment to the Community Support Requirement
AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Board.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) is amending
its regulation on the community support requirement to allow every
Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) member to provide all of the
information necessary to apply to the Finance Board to remove
restrictions on access to long-term advances that may adversely affect
the member's safety and soundness.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The final rule will become effective October 6, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Penny S. Bates, Program Analyst,
Community Support Program, Office of Policy, 202/408-2574, or Janice A.
Kaye, Attorney-Advisor, Office of General Counsel, 202/408-2505,
Federal Housing Finance Board, 1777 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
20006.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Statutory and Regulatory Background
Section 10(g)(1) of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank Act)
requires the Finance Board to promulgate regulations establishing
standards of community investment or service that FHLBank members must
meet in order to maintain access to long-term advances. See 12 U.S.C.
1430(g)(1). The regulations promulgated by the Finance Board must take
into account factors such as the FHLBank member's performance under the
Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA), 12 U.S.C. 2901, et seq., and
record of lending to first-time homebuyers. See 12 U.S.C. 1430(g)(2).
In May 1997, the Finance Board published a final community support
requirement rule establishing uniform standards and review criteria for
determining compliance with section 10(g) of the Bank Act. See 62 FR
28983 (May 29, 1997). The streamlined community support requirement
rule became effective on June 30, 1997. See id.
II. Analysis of the Technical Amendment
Section 936.5(d)(1)(i) of the community support requirement
regulation authorizes the Finance Board, in its sole discretion, to
remove a restriction on access to long-term advances imposed under this
part if it determines that application of the restriction may adversely
affect the safety and soundness of the member. See 12 CFR
936.5(d)(1)(i). The rule permits a member to submit a detailed written
request to the Finance Board to remove a restriction. See id. The
member's request must include a statement from its appropriate federal
financial supervisory agency that application of the restriction may
adversely affect the safety and soundness of the member. For purposes
of the community support requirement rule, the term ``appropriate
federal financial supervisory agency'' means the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency for national banks; the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System for state chartered banks that are
members of the Federal Reserve System and bank holding companies; the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for state chartered banks and
savings banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System and
the deposits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation; and the Office of Thrift Supervision for savings
associations the deposits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation and savings and loan holding companies. Id.
Sec. 936.1(e).
Since the regulatory definition is the same as the one provided for
purposes of the CRA, see 12 U.S.C. 2902(1), it does not include the
primary regulators of a federally insured credit union member that is
not subject to the CRA or a FHLBank member that is subject to
supervision only by a state regulator. Thus, such members would be
unable to provide all of the information required to make a request to
the Finance Board for removal of a restriction on access to long-term
advances based on safety and soundness concerns. In order to correct
this oversight, the Finance Board is amending Sec. 936.5(d)(1)(i) to
permit a FHLBank member that is not subject to supervision by an
appropriate federal financial supervisory agency to submit a statement
concerning the adverse affects on safety and soundness of a restriction
on long-term advances from the National Credit Union Administration or
its primary state regulator, as appropriate.
III. Notice and Public Participation
The notice and comment procedure required by the Administrative
Procedure Act is unnecessary in this instance because the final rule
makes only a minor technical change to a recently promulgated rule. See
5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B).
IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Finance Board is adopting this technical amendment in the form
of a final rule and not as a proposed rule. Therefore, the provisions
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act do not apply. See id. 601(2), 603(a).
V. Paperwork Reduction Act
This final rule does not contain any collections of information
pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. See 44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq. Consequently, the Finance Board has not submitted any information
to the Office of Management and Budget for review.
List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 936
Credit, Federal home loan banks, Housing, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, the Federal Housing Finance Board hereby amends title
12, chapter IX, part 936 of the Code of Federal Regulations to read as
follows:
PART 936--COMMUNITY SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS
1. The authority citation for part 936 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1422a(a)(3)(B), 1422b(a)(1), 1429, and
1430.
2. Revise Sec. 936.5(d)(1)(i) to read as follows:
Sec. 936.5 Restrictions on access to long-term advances.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
(1) * * *
(i) If the Finance Board determines that application of the
restriction may adversely affect the safety and soundness of the
member. A member may submit a written request to the Finance Board to
remove a restriction on access to long-term advances under this
paragraph (d)(1)(i). Such written
[[Page 46873]]
request shall contain a clear and concise statement of the basis for
the request, and a statement that application of the restriction may
adversely affect the safety and soundness of the member from the
member's appropriate federal financial supervisory agency, or the
National Credit Union Administration for a federally insured credit
union member, or the member's appropriate state regulator for a member
that is not subject to regulation or supervision by a federal
regulator. The Finance Board shall consider each written request within
30 calendar days of receipt. For purposes of this paragraph (d)(1)(i),
the term appropriate state regulator means any state officer, agency,
supervisor, or other entity that has regulatory authority over, or is
empowered to institute enforcement action against, a member.
* * * * *
Dated: August 28, 1997.
By the Board of Directors of the Federal Housing Finance Board.
Bruce A. Morrison,
Chairperson.
[FR Doc. 97-23510 Filed 9-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6725-01-U
