[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 6, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16788-16791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-8357]



[[Page 16787]]

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Part II





Federal Housing Finance Board





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12 CFR Parts 935, et al.



Prohibition on Payment Fee in Lieu of Mandatory Excess Capital Stock 
Redemption; Final Rule



Mandatory Excess Capital Stock Redemption; Prohibited Stock Dividends; 
Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 6, 1999 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 16788]]



FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

12 CFR Part 935

[No. 99-21]
RIN 3069-AA83


Prohibition on Payment of Fee In Lieu of Mandatory Excess Capital 
Stock Redemption

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Board.

ACTION: Interim final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) is amending 
its regulation governing Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) advances to 
prohibit the Banks from imposing or accepting a fee in lieu of 
redeeming a member's excess capital stock held in the Bank. The Finance 
Board has determined that allowing the payment of such fees would 
detract from the agency's ongoing efforts and initiatives to ensure 
that the Banks carry out their housing finance and community investment 
mission.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This interim final rule shall be effective on April 6, 
1999. The Finance Board will accept written comments on this interim 
final rule on or before May 6, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph A. McKenzie, Deputy Chief 
Economist, (202) 408-2845, Office of Policy, Research and Analysis; or 
Sharon B. Like, Senior Attorney-Advisor, (202) 408-2930, or Jane S. 
Converse, Senior Attorney-Advisor, (202) 408-2976, Office of General 
Counsel, Federal Housing Finance Board, 1777 F Street, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Statutory and Regulatory Background

A. The Banks' Housing Finance and Community Investment Mission

    The Federal Home Loan Bank System (Bank System) is comprised of 12 
District Banks that are federally chartered and managed by boards of 
directors that set policies pursuant to regulations established by the 
Finance Board. As government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), the Banks 
act as intermediaries in the capital markets, raising funds on 
favorable terms and passing the proceeds on to member institutions in 
the form of advances (loans).
    Under section 10(a) of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank Act) 
and part 935 of the Finance Board's regulations, the Banks have broad 
authority to make advances in support of housing finance, which 
includes community investment finance. See 12 U.S.C. 1430(a), (i), (j); 
12 CFR part 935. The Banks also are required to offer two programs, the 
Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and the Community Investment Program 
(CIP), to provide subsidized or at-cost advances, respectively, in 
support of unmet housing finance or economic development credit needs. 
See 12 U.S.C. 1430(i), (j); 12 CFR parts 960, 970. In addition, section 
10(j)(10) of the Bank Act, as implemented by a recently issued Finance 
Board regulation, authorizes the Banks to establish Community 
Investment Cash Advance (CICA) Programs for community lending, defined 
as providing financing for economic development projects for targeted 
beneficiaries. See 12 U.S.C. 1430(j)(10); 63 FR 65536 (Nov. 27, 1998).
    The Bank Act provides that the Finance Board's primary duty is to 
ensure that the Banks operate in a financially safe and sound manner. 
See id. section 1422a(a)(3)(A). The Bank Act further provides that, to 
the extent consistent with this primary duty, the Finance Board also is 
responsible for supervising the Banks, ensuring that the Banks carry 
out their housing finance mission, and ensuring that the Banks remain 
adequately capitalized and able to raise funds in the capital markets. 
See id. section 1422a(a)(3)(B).

B. Statutory and Regulatory Minimum Capital Stock, Dividend and 
Redemption Provisions

    Under the Bank Act and implementing Finance Board regulations, a 
member's required minimum capital stock investment in its Bank is the 
greater of: (1) 1 percent of the member's aggregate unpaid loan 
principal (defined as the member's home mortgage loans, home purchase 
contracts, and similar obligations) but not less than $500; (2) 0.3 
percent of the member's total assets; or (3) 5 percent of total 
advances outstanding to the member. In the case of members that are not 
``qualified thrift lenders'' (QTLs), the third option is computed as 5 
percent of total advances outstanding to the member divided by the 
member's ``actual thrift investment percentage'' (as defined in 12 
U.S.C. 1467a(m)). See 12 U.S.C. 1426(b)(1), (2), (4); 1430(c), (e)(1), 
(3); 12 CFR 933.20(a).
    Section 6(b)(1) further provides that the Bank shall annually 
adjust, at such time and in such manner as the Finance Board may by 
regulations or otherwise prescribe, the amount of capital stock held by 
each member so that such member shall have invested its minimum capital 
stock requirement. See id. section 1426(b)(1); 12 CFR 933.22(b)(1). 
Section 6(b)(1) also provides that if the Bank finds that the 
investment of any member in capital stock is greater than that required 
under section 6(b), the Bank may, unless prohibited by the Finance 
Board, in its discretion and upon application of the member, retire the 
capital stock of such member in excess of the amount so required. See 
id. section 1426(b)(1); 12 CFR 933.22(b)(2).
    Section 16(a) of the Bank Act provides, among other things, that 
dividends may be paid by the Banks with the approval of the Finance 
Board. See 12 U.S.C. 1436(a). Section 6(g) of the Bank Act provides 
that all stock of any Bank shall share in dividend distributions 
without preference. See id. section 1426(g). Section 934.17 of the 
Finance Board's regulations on the operations of the Banks implements 
these provisions by providing, among other things, that dividends may 
be paid by the Banks in cash or in the form of stock. See 12 CFR 932.3; 
63 FR 65683, 65687 (Nov. 30, 1998) (redesignating Sec. 932.3 as 
Sec. 934.17).
    Section 935.15(b) of the Finance Board's Advances Regulation 
provides that ``[a] Bank, after providing 15 calendar days advance 
written notice to a member, may unilaterally redeem that amount of the 
member's Bank stock that exceeds'' the member's minimum statutory and 
regulatory capital stock requirements. See 12 CFR 935.15(b). Section 
935.15(b) further provides that the Bank shall have discretion to 
determine the timing of such unilateral redemption, provided that the 
Bank's redemption policy is consistent with the requirement in section 
7(j) of the Bank Act that the affairs of the Bank shall be administered 
fairly and impartially and without discrimination in favor of or 
against member borrowers, see 12 U.S.C. section 1427(j).
    The Bank Act and Sec. 935.15(b) of the Advances regulation are 
silent on whether a Bank, in administering its mandatory redemption 
policy, may impose on or accept from a member a fee in lieu of 
redeeming the member's excess Bank capital stock.

II. Analysis of the Interim Final Rule

A. Proposed Fee In Lieu of Mandatory Excess Capital Stock Redemption

    A Bank has adopted a policy, effective March 31, 1999, pursuant to 
which the Bank generally will redeem that amount of each member's 
capital stock exceeding 115 percent of the member's minimum statutory 
capital stock requirement, with an option, if lawful and appropriate, 
for the member to pay

[[Page 16789]]

a fee to the Bank in lieu of such redemption. The Bank has requested 
confirmation from the Finance Board that the proposed fee would be 
authorized under the Bank Act and Finance Board regulations.
    As noted above, the Bank Act and Sec. 935.15(b) of the Finance 
Board's Advances regulation are silent on whether a Bank may impose on 
or accept from a member a fee in lieu of redeeming the member's excess 
Bank capital stock. Even though the Bank Act is susceptible to an 
interpretation that the payment of such fees would be authorized under 
law, the Finance Board has determined that allowing the payment of such 
fees would detract from the agency's ongoing efforts and initiatives to 
ensure that the Banks carry out their housing finance and community 
investment mission, as discussed below. Therefore, the Finance Board is 
adopting this interim final rule prohibiting the payment of such fees. 
Although this interim final rule will become effective on the date of 
publication in the Federal Register, the Finance Board requests comment 
on all aspects of the rule during a 30-day comment period.
    According to the Bank, the purpose of the Bank's proposed 
redemption policy is to enhance the Bank's competitiveness vis a vis 
other Banks by increasing its earnings per share and therefore its 
dividend rate. The Bank forecasts that mandatory redemption of surplus 
capital stock or payment of the fee in lieu of redemption would add 
approximately 12 basis points to the Bank's quarterly dividend. The 
Bank has a number of large members owned by holding companies that also 
have subsidiaries located in other Bank districts. The Bank is 
concerned that these members may discontinue borrowing from the Bank 
and that their affiliates will become members and borrow from these 
other Banks because those Banks pay higher dividend rates than the 
Bank.
    Under the Bank's proposed policy, the Bank would unilaterally 
redeem ``surplus'' capital stock (defined by the Bank as capital stock 
in excess of 115 percent of minimum capital stock requirements but not 
less than $100,000) held by all members, unless the member pays a fee 
to the Bank, on a monthly basis, to continue holding its surplus 
capital stock. The 115 percent threshold was adopted to allow 
membership flexibility for future borrowings from the Bank and absorb 
the stock dividends. The $100,000 minimum was adopted in order to 
reduce the operational impact of the redemption policy on smaller 
members. The Bank states that the fee, which is 1.65 percent of the 
value of a member's surplus capital stock, was designed to make the 
Bank financially indifferent to a member's decision to continue to hold 
surplus capital stock. The fee income paid to the Bank would act as an 
offset to the dividend dilution caused by those members holding surplus 
capital stock.
    As of August 31, 1998, the Bank had excess capital stock of $554 
million, or 14 percent of its total capital of $3.9 billion. The Bank's 
total ``surplus'' capital stock, as of August 31, 1998, was $312 
million. One mandatory thrift member held 70 percent of the Bank's 
total surplus capital stock as of that date. The Bank has excess 
capital stock, in part, because it pays members quarterly stock 
dividends rather than cash dividends. The Bank has indicated that 
paying a stock dividend rather than a cash dividend provides tax 
benefits for its members, and the Bank intends to continue paying stock 
dividends for this reason.

B. The Banks Are Significantly Overcapitalized

    By many standards, the 12 Banks are significantly overcapitalized. 
As of December 31, 1998, the 12 Banks had total capital stock of $22.8 
billion, with $2.8 billion, or 12.6 percent, of this amount 
constituting capital stock in excess of the Banks' statutory minimum 
capital stock requirements. On a risk-adjusted basis (using the current 
risk-based standards applicable to federally regulated depositories), 
the total capital is estimated at 22 percent of the Banks' total 
assets, a level far above that of large commercial banks and other 
housing GSEs.\1\ The highest percentage of excess capital stock to 
total capital stock at a Bank was 30.1 percent, and the lowest was 1.2 
percent.
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    \1\ A depository institution generally is deemed to be ``well-
capitalized'' if it has a total risk-based capital ratio of 10 
percent or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6 percent 
or greater, and a leverage ratio of 5 percent or greater. See 12 CFR 
6.4(b)(1), 208.33(b)(1), 325.103(b)(1), 565.4(b)(1). The minimum 
capital requirement for the other housing GSEs--the Federal National 
Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 
Corporation--generally is 2.5 percent of on-balance sheet assets 
plus .45 percent of off-balance sheet obligations. See 12 U.S.C. 
4612(a).
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    Even without excess capital stock in the Bank System, i.e., capital 
stock at only the statutorily required minimum stock levels, the Banks 
would be significantly overcapitalized. A redemption of all excess 
capital stock in the Bank System would reduce the Banks' risk-based 
capital ratio to approximately 19.2 percent.
    Members have excess capital stock holdings, in part, because they 
receive stock dividends from the Banks. Currently, five Banks pay stock 
dividends, and seven Banks pay cash dividends. The Internal Revenue 
Service has ruled that the issuance of stock dividends by the Banks is 
not taxable income for members. See IRS Rev. Rul. 90-98, November 26, 
1990, 1990-48-I.R.B.4, 26 CFR 1.305-2. However, cash dividends and 
redemptions of stock received as dividends generally are taxable income 
to members. See 26 U.S.C. 301(c), 302(a). Because of the deferred tax 
liability associated with stock dividends, many members may have 
allowed their stock dividends to accumulate rather than request 
redemption of their capital stock, as is their option under the Bank 
Act. See 12 U.S.C. 1426(b)(1).
    The members' holdings of excess capital stock are concentrated, 
with the largest holder of excess capital stock having 9 percent of the 
Bank System's total excess capital stock. The top five holders of 
excess capital stock represent 19 percent of the Bank System's total 
excess capital stock.
    Excess capital stock holdings also arise where members' total 
assets, home mortgage loans or outstanding advances have decreased 
since their last capital stock purchases, or where members have changed 
to QTL status, thereby reducing their advances-based capital stock 
requirement. Members may continue to hold some excess capital stock in 
order to minimize the transaction costs associated with capital stock 
purchases that would be required if the member's levels of total 
assets, home mortgage loans or outstanding advances fluctuate.

C. The Banks' Arbitrage Activities With Non-Core Mission Assets Detract 
From the Mission of the Banks To Promote Housing Finance and Community 
Investment

    The Banks pay dividends on all capital stock, including excess 
capital stock. Since the average Bank System dividend rate of 6.64 
percent exceeds the rate of return a Bank can earn by investing 
members' capital in core mission assets, a Bank must leverage its 
excess capital stock to pay dividends. The leveraging cannot involve 
advances, since they are already capitalized by required capital stock. 
Thus, the Banks must leverage excess capital stock by investing in non-
core mission assets in order to generate sufficient earnings to pay a 
uniform dividend on all capital stock, including the excess capital 
stock.
    There is a strong correlation between the amount of excess capital 
stock at a Bank and the level of that Bank's non-

[[Page 16790]]

core mission assets. In demonstrating the correlation between excess 
capital stock and non-mission-related assets, the Finance Board looked 
at the concept of ``core mission assets,'' defined as Bank advances, 
which include AHP advances and subsidies, CIP advances, community 
lending advances, Mortgage Partnership Finance assets, and other assets 
generated for the Banks by members and nonmember borrowers. Core 
mission assets do not include mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and 
money market instruments, which are not generated for the Banks by 
members or nonmember borrowers and their purchase by the Banks does not 
materially facilitate housing and community lending by members or 
nonmember borrowers. As demonstrated in the following table, the Banks 
with the highest levels of excess capital stock also have the lowest 
ratios of core mission assets to consolidated obligations:

                                  Excess Capital Stock and Core Mission Assets
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                                                   Core mission
                                                     assets to                    Excess capital
                      Bank                         consolidated     Descending    stock to total       Rank
                                                    obligations        rank        capital stock
                                                        (%)                             (%)
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A...............................................            86.5               1            10.4               7
B...............................................            85.1               2             1.0               1
C...............................................            81.8               3            10.2               6
D...............................................            81.3               4             4.2               2
E...............................................            80.7               5             3.0               3
F...............................................            79.7               6             7.8               4
G...............................................            70.5               7             9.3               5
H...............................................            69.4               8            17.1              10
I...............................................            65.4               9            26.8              11
J...............................................            63.8              10            15.2               8
K...............................................            59.9              11            30.1              12
L...............................................            58.6              12            16.2               9
Bank System.....................................            75.8  ..............            12.6  ..............
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    Approximately 75.8 percent of total Bank System consolidated 
obligations are invested in core mission assets.
    The four Banks with the highest ratios of core mission assets to 
consolidated obligations had ratios of excess capital stock to total 
capital stock of 10.4 percent, 1.2 percent, 10.4 percent, and 4.2 
percent. The five Banks with the lowest ratios of core mission assets 
to consolidated obligations had the highest ratios of excess capital 
stock to total capital stock. Of these five, three pay stock dividends, 
and one pays the highest dividend in the Bank System. At present, core 
mission assets are no more than 86.5 percent of consolidated 
obligations at any Bank.
    The Finance Board believes that the Banks' arbitrage activities for 
the purpose of generating sufficient earnings to pay adequate dividends 
on excess capital stock detract from the mission of the Banks to 
promote housing finance and community investment, by encouraging 
activities not related to the Banks' mission and thereby detracting 
from the financial incentive to engage in mission-related activity. 
While the Banks' interest in paying a reasonable dividend to members is 
a legitimate business consideration, and it is appropriate to redeem 
excess capital stock to assist in this purpose, allowing members to pay 
a fee in lieu of such mandatory redemption would perpetuate excess 
capital stock at the Banks and the Banks' continued need to invest in 
non-core mission assets to pay dividends on such excess stock.

D. Amendment of Advances Regulation To Prohibit Payment of Fee In Lieu 
of Mandatory Excess Capital Stock Redemption--Sec. 935.15(b)

    For the reasons discussed above, this interim final rule amends 
Sec. 935.15(b) of the Finance Board's Advances regulation to prohibit 
the Banks from imposing on or accepting from a member a fee in lieu of 
mandatory redemption of the member's excess capital stock. 
Specifically, the interim final rule adds a new paragraph (b)(2) which 
provides that: ``A Bank may not impose on or accept from a member a fee 
in lieu of redeeming the member's excess Bank capital stock.''
    In addition, the second sentence of current Sec. 935.15(b), which 
is redesignated as paragraph (b)(1), is revised to clarify that the 
Bank's implementation of its redemption policy, and not just the timing 
of redemptions, shall be consistent with the requirement of section 
7(j) of the Bank Act (12 U.S.C. 1427(j)) that the affairs of the Bank 
shall be administered fairly and impartially and without discrimination 
in favor of or against any member borrower.
    This action is taken as an interim final rule, effective on the 
date of publication in the Federal Register, because the Bank's 
proposed fee policy is intended to be effective on March 31, 1999.

III. Issues For Consideration

Reducing Levels of Excess Capital Stock by Prohibiting Payment of Stock 
Dividends and Requiring Unilateral Redemption of Excess Capital Stock

    The Finance Board believes that the Banks' levels of excess capital 
stock should be significantly reduced. As discussed above, the Banks 
are substantially overcapitalized and, thus, reduction in the amount of 
their excess capital would not adversely affect the safety and 
soundness of the Banks. The statutory minimum capital stock 
requirements guarantee that a Bank's capital stock will grow as the 
scope of its operations increases.
    As discussed above, excess capital stock requires the Banks to 
generate earnings, through investments in non-core mission assets, in 
order to pay dividends on such stock, which is not needed to capitalize 
advances and other core mission assets. The Banks' arbitrage activities 
for this purpose detract from the mission of the Banks to promote 
housing finance and community investment, by encouraging activities not 
related to the Banks' mission and thereby detracting from the financial 
incentive to engage in mission-related activity. A reduction in the 
amount of excess capital stock would reduce the amount of capital stock 
on which dividends must be paid, thereby

[[Page 16791]]

reducing the level of arbitrage activities conducted in order to 
generate earnings to pay dividends on such capital stock.
    One cause of the Banks' excess capital stock levels is the payment 
by some Banks of stock dividends rather than cash dividends to members. 
Prohibiting the Banks from paying stock dividends would help reduce 
excess capital stock levels in the Bank System and the consequent 
arbitrage activities.
    Another way to reduce excess capital stock in the Bank System and 
thereby reduce arbitrage activities in non-core mission assets by the 
Banks, would be to require the Banks to unilaterally redeem members' 
excess capital stock. In the past year, five Banks unilaterally 
redeemed their excess capital stock expressly for the purpose of 
reducing the amount of their money market investments.
    The Finance Board recognizes that payment of stock dividends has 
Federal tax advantages to members over payment of cash dividends, and 
that excess capital stock redemptions incur Federal tax liabilities for 
members. However, the private financial advantage to members from 
minimizing their taxes through the payment of stock dividends, while 
having no safety and soundness implications for the Banks, ultimately 
detracts from the Banks' housing finance and community investment 
mission and serves no other legitimate business purpose for the Banks.
    Accordingly, simultaneously with this rulemaking, the Finance Board 
in a separate Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) published 
elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, is requesting comment 
on how, by what means, and to what extent prohibiting or limiting the 
Banks' ability to pay stock dividends to members would assist the 
Finance Board in achieving the goal of reducing excess capital stock in 
the Bank System. Similarly, the Finance Board is requesting comment on 
whether the Banks should be required to unilaterally redeem members' 
excess Bank capital stock to help achieve the goal of reducing excess 
capital stock in the Bank System. Regarding required unilateral 
redemption of excess capital stock, the Finance Board specifically 
requests comment on whether a member should be allowed to maintain some 
amount of excess capital stock, e.g., 10 percent of its total minimum 
capital stock requirement, in anticipation of fluctuations in its 
assets or outstanding advances that may affect its minimum capital 
stock requirement. The Finance Board also requests comment on what the 
timing of unilateral redemptions should be, e.g., no less frequently 
than quarterly, semi-annually, or annually at the time of the Banks' 
adjustments of the members' minimum capital stock requirements? The 
Finance Board also requests comment on whether the currently required 
15 days' notice to members before redemption should be retained or 
modified. In addition, the Finance Board requests comment on whether 
Sec. 933.23 of the Finance Board's membership regulation, which permits 
a member to purchase excess capital stock if approved by the Bank, 
should be removed or modified. See 12 CFR 933.23.
    In the alternative, the Finance Board requests comment on whether 
the Banks should be permitted to hold excess capital stock, but be 
prohibited from paying dividends on such stock, as a way to reduce the 
Banks' arbitrage activities with non-core mission assets. The Finance 
Board also requests comment on whether and to what extent excess 
capital stock holdings could be allowed so long as they are not being 
leveraged in the consolidated obligations market. In addition, the 
Finance Board requests comment on whether excess capital stock holdings 
should be permitted for a limited period of time, such as up to six 
months, where the member indicates that it intends to increase its 
advance borrowings during that time period.
    Comments received in response to the ANPRM will be reviewed and 
considered by the Finance Board in preparation for further action in 
connection with the issues discussed in the ANPRM.

IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required for this 
interim final rule, the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply.

V. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This interim 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. Therefore, the Finance Board has not submitted any 
information to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

VI. Notice and Public Participation

    The Finance Board for good cause finds that the notice and public 
comment procedure required by the Administrative Procedure Act is 
impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest in this 
instance, because the change made by this interim final rule prohibits 
an immediately pending Bank action that would detract from the Banks' 
mission to promote housing finance and community investment. See 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B).

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 935

    Credit, Federal home loan banks, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.
    Accordingly, the Finance Board hereby amends title 12, chapter IX, 
part 935 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 935--ADVANCES

    1. The authority citation for part 935 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1422a(a)(3), 1422b(a)(1), 1426, 1429, 1430, 
1430b, 1431.

    2. Section 935.15 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 935.15  Capital stock requirements; unilateral redemption of 
excess stock.

* * * * *
    (b) Unilateral redemption of excess capital stock; fee in lieu 
prohibited. (1) A Bank, after providing 15 calendar days advance 
written notice to a member, may require the redemption of that amount 
of the member's Bank capital stock that exceeds the capital stock 
requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of this section or, in the case 
of a non-QTL member, the capital stock requirements set forth in 
Sec. 935.13(a)(1)(ii) of this part, provided the minimum amount 
required in sections 6(b)(1) and 10(e)(3) of the Act is maintained. The 
Bank shall have the discretion to determine the timing of such 
unilateral redemption. The Bank's implementation of its redemption 
policy shall be consistent with the requirement of section 7(j) of the 
Act (12 U.S.C. 1427(j)) that the affairs of the Bank shall be 
administered fairly and impartially and without discrimination in favor 
of or against any member borrower.
    (2) A Bank may not impose on or accept from a member a fee in lieu 
of redeeming the member's excess Bank capital stock.

    Dated: March 19, 1999.

    By the Board of Directors of the Federal Housing Finance Board.
Bruce A. Morrison,
Chairman.
[FR Doc. 99-8357 Filed 4-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6725-01-P