[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 135 (Thursday, July 16, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34499-34500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16882]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

12 CFR Part 3

[Docket ID OCC-2009-0007]
RIN 1557-AD25


Risk-Based Capital Guidelines; Capital Adequacy Guidelines; 
Capital Maintenance; Capital--Residential Mortgage Loans Modified 
Pursuant to the Making Home Affordable Program; Correcting Amendment

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Department of the 
Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule; correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: This final rule reinstates regulatory text that was 
inadvertently removed during the issuance of an interim final rule.

DATES: Effective Date: July 16, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Kaminski, Senior Attorney, 
Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, (202) 874-5090, Office 
of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 30, 2009, the Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office 
of Thrift Supervision issued an interim final rule providing that 
mortgage loans modified under the Making Home Affordable Program 
(Program) will retain the risk weight assigned to the loan prior to the 
modification, so long as the loan continues to meet other applicable 
prudential criteria.\1\ Due to a drafting error, a portion of the OCC's 
existing capital rule was inadvertently removed. This rule reinstates 
this text.
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    \1\ 74 FR 31160 (June 30, 2009).
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Regulatory Analysis

Administrative Procedure Act

    Pursuant to sections 553(b) and (d) of the Administrative Procedure 
Act,\2\ the OCC finds that there is good cause for issuing this final 
rule and making the rule effective immediately upon publication, and 
that it is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking and provide an 
opportunity to comment before the effective date. The rule merely 
reinstates text that was unintentionally removed.
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    \2\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and (d).
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Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act

    Section 302 of Riegle Community Development and Regulatory 
Improvement Act generally requires that regulations that impose 
additional reporting, disclosure, or other requirements on insured 
depository institutions take effect on the first day of a calendar 
quarter unless the relevant agency finds good cause that the 
regulations should become effective sooner and publishes its finding 
with the rule.\3\ This provision does not apply because this rule 
imposes no additional requirements.
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    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 4802(b)(1).
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Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. (RFA) applies 
only to rules for which an agency publishes a general notice of 
proposed rulemaking pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b). Pursuant to the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), general 
notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required prior to 
the issuance of a final rule when an agency, for good cause, finds that 
``notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, 
or contrary to the public interest.''
    As discussed above, the OCC has determined for good cause that the 
APA does not require general notice and public comment on this interim 
final rule and, therefore, we are not publishing a general notice of 
proposed rulemaking. Thus, the RFA, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 601(2), does 
not apply to this interim final rule.

[[Page 34500]]

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506), the agencies have reviewed the interim final 
rule to assess any information collections. There are no collections of 
information as defined by the Paperwork Reduction Act in the final 
rule.

Executive Order 12866

    Executive Order 12866 requires federal agencies to prepare a 
regulatory impact analysis for agency actions that are found to be 
``significant regulatory actions.'' Significant regulatory actions 
include, among other things, rulemakings that ``have an annual effect 
on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a 
material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, 
competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or state, 
local, or tribal governments or communities.'' The OCC determined that 
the final rule is not a significant regulatory action under Executive 
Order 12866.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 Determination

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, Public Law 104-4, (2 
U.S.C. 1532) (UMRA) requires that an agency prepare a budgetary impact 
statement before promulgating a rule that includes a federal mandate 
that may result in the expenditure by state, local, and tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100 million 
or more (adjusted annually for inflation) in any one year. If a 
budgetary impact statement is required, section 205 of the UMRA also 
requires an agency to identify and consider a reasonable number of 
regulatory alternatives before promulgating a rule. The OCC has 
determined that the final rule will not result in expenditures by 
State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the 
private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year. Accordingly, 
the OCC has not prepared a budgetary impact statement or specifically 
addressed the regulatory alternatives considered.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 3

    Administrative practice and procedure, Banks, Banking, Capital, 
National banks, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Risk.

Authority and Issuance

0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Office of the Comptroller 
of the Currency amends Part 3 of chapter I of Title 12, Code of Federal 
Regulations as follows:

PART 3--MINIMUM CAPITAL RATIOS; ISSUANCE OF DIRECTIVES

0
1. The authority citation for part 3 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  12 U.S.C. 93a, 161, 1818, 1828(n), 1828 note, 1831n 
note, 1835, 3907, and 3909.


0
2. In appendix A to Part 3, in section 3, add two sentences to the end 
of paragraph (a)(3)(iii) to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 3--Risk Based Capital Guidelines

* * * * *
    Section 3. Risk Categories/Weights for On-Balance Sheet Assets 
and Off-Balance Sheet Items
* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (iii) * * * If a bank holds a first lien and junior lien on a 
one-to-four family residential property and no other party holds an 
intervening lien, the transaction is treated as a single loan 
secured by a first lien for the purposes of both determining the 
loan-to-value ratio and assigning a risk weight to the transaction. 
Furthermore, residential property loans made for the purpose of 
construction financing are assigned to the 100% risk category of 
section 3(a)(4) of this appendix A; however, these loans may be 
included in the 50% risk category of this section 3(a)(3) of this 
appendix A if they are the subject to a legally binding sales 
contract and satisfy the requirements of section 3(a)(3)(iv) of this 
appendix A.
* * * * *

    Dated: July 9, 2009.

    By the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Julie L. Williams,
First Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9-16882 Filed 7-15-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P