[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 21, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 79050-79051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32644]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

12 CFR Part 1281

RIN 2590-AA48


Federal Home Loan Bank Housing Goals: Mortgage Reporting 
Amendments

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is amending the 
mortgage reporting requirements in its regulation governing housing 
goals for the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks) to make those 
requirements consistent with other data reporting requirements 
currently applicable to the Banks.

DATES: This rule is effective January 20, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles E. McLean, Associate Director, 
(202) 408-2537, or Rafe R. Ellison, Senior Program Analyst, (202) 408-
2968, Office of Housing and Regulatory Policy, 1625 Eye Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20006. For legal matters, contact Kevin Sheehan, 
Assistant General Counsel, (202) 414-8952, or Sharon Like, Managing 
Associate General Counsel, (202) 414-8950, Office of General Counsel, 
Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fourth Floor, 1700 G Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20552 (these are not toll-free numbers). The telephone 
number for the Telecommunications Device for the Hearing Impaired is 
(800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

A. Establishment of Bank Housing Goals

    Section 1205 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 
(HERA) amended the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank Act) by adding a 
new section 10C that requires the Director of FHFA to establish housing 
goals with respect to the Banks' purchase of mortgages, if any. To 
implement section 10C, FHFA adopted a final rule establishing three 
single-family owner-occupied purchase money mortgage goals and one 
single-family refinancing mortgage goal applicable to the Banks' 
purchases of single-family owner-occupied mortgages, if any, under 
their Acquired Member Assets (AMA) programs. See 75 FR 81096 (Dec. 27, 
2010).

B. Bank Housing Goals Mortgage Reporting Requirements

    The Bank housing goals regulation requires each Bank to collect and

[[Page 79051]]

compile computerized loan-level data on each AMA-approved mortgage 
purchased. See 12 CFR 1281.21(a). Each Bank is required to submit to 
the Director, on a semi-annual basis, a Mortgage Report containing 
aggregations of the loan-level mortgage data for year-to-date AMA-
approved mortgage purchases, as well as year-to-date dollar volume, 
number of units, and number of AMA-approved mortgages on owner-occupied 
properties purchased that do, and do not, qualify under each housing 
goal. See 12 CFR 1281.21(b). The first semi-annual Mortgage Report must 
be submitted within 45 days of the end of the second quarter, and the 
annual Mortgage Report must be submitted within 60 days of the end of 
the calendar year. See 12 CFR 1281.21(c). In addition, the Bank housing 
goals regulation currently provides that a Bank may revise its first 
semi-annual Mortgage Report for a year at any time before submission of 
its annual Mortgage Report. See 12 CFR 1281.21(d).

C. Data Reporting Manual Requirements

    FHFA has established separate data reporting requirements for the 
Banks under the Data Reporting Manual (DRM). The data reporting 
requirements under the Bank housing goals regulation are similar to 
existing data reporting requirements under the DRM, but the 
requirements are not identical. Specifically, the DRM provides that 
data that is required to be reported on a semi-annual basis must be 
submitted within two calendar months of the end of the second quarter, 
or within two calendar months of the end of the year, as applicable. In 
addition, the DRM requires that any corrections to data submitted by a 
Bank must be made within 30 days of identifying the need for a 
correction. This requirement effectively limits a Bank's ability to 
submit a revised semi-annual Mortgage Report pursuant to 12 CFR 
1281.21(d).

II. Analysis of Final Rule

A. Timing of Mortgage Reports--Sec.  1281.21(c)

    In order to make the mortgage reporting schedule for the Banks 
under the Bank housing goals consistent with the DRM reporting 
schedule, the final rule amends Sec.  1281.21(c) to allow the Banks two 
calendar months, rather than 45 days, from the end of the second 
quarter to submit the semi-annual Mortgage Report, and two calendar 
months, rather than 60 days, from the end of the year to submit the 
annual Mortgage Report.

B. Revisions to Mortgage Reports--Sec.  1281.21(d)

    In order to make the data integrity provisions under the Bank 
housing goals consistent with the data integrity requirements under the 
DRM, the final rule removes paragraph (d) from Sec.  1281.21. This 
change does not impose any new requirements on the Banks. The change 
simply makes clear that the data integrity reporting requirements 
established under the DRM continue to apply to all data submissions 
from the Banks.

C. Banks' and Enterprises' Differences

    Section 1313 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety 
and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended, 12 U.S.C. 4513(f), requires the 
Director of FHFA to consider the differences between the Banks and the 
Enterprises (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) whenever promulgating 
regulations that affect the Banks. The changes in this final rule are 
intended to conform the data reporting requirements under the Bank 
housing goals to the Bank data reporting requirements under the DRM. 
FHFA has considered these procedural changes in light of the 
differences between the Banks and the Enterprises and has determined 
that the final rule is appropriate.

III. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The final rule does not contain any information collection 
requirement that requires the approval of the Office of Management and 
Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

IV. Notice and Public Participation

    FHFA has determined that this rulemaking is exempt from the notice 
and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. Because 
the changes are procedural in nature and will not significantly affect 
a Bank's substantive rights, FHFA has concluded that notice and comment 
are not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). In addition, because 
the changes to part 1281 are minor technical changes that conform 
regulatory provisions to the data reporting requirements that FHFA has 
already imposed on the Banks, FHFA for good cause has concluded that 
notice and comment are unnecessary pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act do not apply to 
regulations that are exempt from the notice and comment requirements of 
the Administrative Procedure Act. See 5 U.S.C. 604(a).

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 1281

    Credit, Federal home loan banks, Housing, Mortgages, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

Authority and Issuance

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, under the authority of 12 
U.S.C. 1430c, FHFA amends part 1281 of title 12 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations as follows:

PART 1281--FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK HOUSING GOALS

0
1. The authority citation for part 1281 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1430c.


0
2. Amend Sec.  1281.21 as follows:
0
a. Revise paragraph (c); and
0
b. Remove paragraph (d) and redesignate paragraph (e) as new paragraph 
(d).


Sec.  1281.21  Mortgage Reports.

* * * * *
    (c) Timing of Reports. Each Bank shall submit its first semi-annual 
Mortgage Report within two calendar months of the end of the second 
quarter. Each Bank shall submit its annual Mortgage Report within two 
calendar months of the end of the calendar year.
* * * * *

    Dated: December 15, 2011.
Edward J. DeMarco,
Acting Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2011-32644 Filed 12-20-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8070-01-P