[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37250-37252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15075]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5557-D-07]


Delegations of Authority for the Office of Housing--Federal 
Housing Administration (FHA), Redelegation of Authority to the Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing 
Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of redelegations of authority.

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SUMMARY: Elsewhere in today's Federal Register, HUD is publishing a 
delegation of authority by the Secretary of HUD to the Assistant 
Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner, the General Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Housing--Deputy Federal Housing Commissioner, 
and the Associate General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing. This 
notice redelegates certain authority delegated to the Assistant 
Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner (and to the other 
officials noted above), to: the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk 
Management and Regulatory Affairs, the Associate Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs, the Associate 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Assessment, and the 
Administrator of the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs.

DATES: Effective Date: June 5, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of the Associate General Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., 
Room 9110, Washington, DC 20410-8000, phone number 202-708-2601. (This 
is not a toll-free number.) Persons with hearing or speech impairments 
may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal 
Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner has undergone a reorganization 
since the issuance of a consolidated delegation of authority published 
in the Federal Register on October 12, 2006 (71 FR 60169). The 
reorganization created a new Office of Risk Management and Regulatory 
Affairs in July 2010 to address housing industry and consumer issues, 
as well as to provide a streamlined standardized response to help 
stabilize and monitor the housing market. The Office is described 
below. This notice redelegates authority to the Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs, the Associate 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs, 
the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and 
Assessment, and the Administrator of the Office of Manufactured Housing 
Programs.
    Note that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 
Act (Pub. L. 111-203, approved July 21, 2010) transferred from the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development to the new Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau all functions of HUD to carry out the Real 
Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) of 1974, the Secure and Fair 
Enforcement (SAFE) for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, and the 
Interstate Land Sales (ILS) Full Disclosure Act; the effective transfer 
date was July 21, 2011. Today's Notice includes redelegations for 
functions authorized under these acts, given that HUD may continue to 
exercise residual responsibilities after that date.

Section I. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and 
Regulatory Affairs Organization

    Three Offices report to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk 
Management and Regulatory Affairs: The Office of Risk Management, the 
Office of Evaluation, and the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs. 
The following is a brief summary of the functions of these offices.

A. Office of Risk Management

    The Office of Risk Management (ORM) assures that the Office of 
Housing is equipped to identify and manage credit and operational risk 
across the enterprise and within each Office within the Office of 
Housing. As such, ORM works across the enterprise and with program 
office staff to develop and identify the requisite policies, systems, 
and resources needed to support the Office of Housing's broader goals 
of expanding affordable housing and access to health-care facilities 
while striving to maintain the respective FHA insurance funds at or 
above prudent thresholds. ORM deploys resources to

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monitor, evaluate and ensure that risk mandates are accomplished.

B. Office of Evaluation

    The Office of Evaluation assesses the financial impact of new or 
revised HUD/FHA programs and policies; new or proposed legislation; 
and/or new or proposed directives, studies or rules of the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), or other agencies. The 
Office of Evaluation is responsible for actuarial analyses and cash-
flow projections of the FHA insurance funds and evaluates relationships 
between current market conditions and FHA program goals and objectives. 
The Office of Evaluation estimates the financial impact of policy 
changes or external factors on FHA programs. In addition, that Office 
conducts a quarterly analyses of economic developments and ongoing 
actuarial analyses of FHA's insurance funds.

C. Office of Manufactured Housing Programs

    The Office of Manufactured Housing Programs regulates the design 
and construction of all manufactured housing in the United States and 
is responsible for ensuring that serious defects and imminent safety 
hazards noted in manufactured housing are tracked and corrected, 
pursuant to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety 
Standards Act. That Office is responsible for, among other things, the 
administration of the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee, a 
federal advisory committee; regulation and enforcement of the design 
and construction of manufactured homes according to Federal standards; 
the installation of manufactured homes according to the Model 
Installation Standards; the administration of the installation program; 
and the administration of the manufactured housing dispute resolution 
program.
    In addition, the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs prescribes 
standards for design, construction, and alteration of structures for 
programs under the National Housing Act; approves or disapproves 
variances from the design and construction standards; evaluates and 
determines the technical suitability of housing products/materials; and 
issues engineering and technical bulletins governing the acceptability 
of housing system components, materials, and methods of contraction.

Section II. Risk Management--Authority Redelegated

A. General Authority

    Authority is redelegated, in broad terms, to the Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs, the Associate 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs, 
and the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and 
Assessment to carry out, in concert with program offices, all risk 
management, analysis, and evaluation functions, including decisions and 
corrective measures related to risk assessment, risk management 
strategy, and risk governance policies.

B. Risk Management

    The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory 
Affairs, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and 
Regulatory Affairs, and the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Risk Management and Assessment are re-delegated authority to take all 
actions necessary to conduct risk management and risk assessment 
activities including, but not limited to, the authority necessary to:
    (1) Recommend actions to support FHA's ability to reduce risk 
exposure to its insurance funds while meeting its housing mission and 
operating in compliance with statutory capital requirements;
    (2) Promote transparency and comprehensive communication of FHA's 
risk profile by establishing reporting metrics for key constituents, 
both internal and external, in order to communicate, both qualitatively 
and quantitatively, FHA's risk levels, trends, priorities, risk 
mitigation activities, and impacts;
    (3) Identify the policies and processes that are key drivers of 
risk via a structured risk identification framework: i.e., recommend 
risk mitigation strategies for FHA and specific program areas and 
provide independent oversight and assessment of risk remediation 
activities; provide input and guidance to program areas on key risk 
analytics, policies and practices, including, but not limited, to 
algorithms and underwriting used to identify, measure, and manage risk-
related to endorsement and management of Single Family, Multifamily, 
and Healthcare programs, and collaborate with program areas regarding 
counterparty risk (lenders and servicers), portfolio asset management 
strategies, and enforcement practices to protect FHA's insurance funds;
    (4) Design and maintain a comprehensive Risk Governance 
infrastructure, including implementing policies, processes, and 
committees to reduce risk exposure to the insurance funds; i.e., advise 
and provide oversight for the implementation of policies, processes, 
and committees that comprise the governance structure;
    (5) Ensure the timely and proper conduct of statutorily mandated 
and other necessary risk analyses, including the annual actuarial study 
of the Mortgage Mutual Insurance Fund and front-end risk assessments 
(FERA) for new and high-impact programs and activities, in accordance 
with federal standards, and in concert with other Office of Housing 
offices; and
    (6) Ensure that risks are measured, monitored, and managed 
according to an integrated framework across FHA and Office of Housing 
program areas.

Section III. Regulatory Affairs--Authority Redelegated

A. General Authority

    Authority is redelegated in broad terms to the Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs, the Associate 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs, 
and the Administrator of the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs to 
carry out the functions and activities of the National Manufactured 
Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. This redelegated 
authority includes that related to carrying out certain provisions of 
the National Housing Act. In addition, authority is redelegated in 
broad terms to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and 
Regulatory Affairs and the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Risk Management and Assessment to perform any residual functions of the 
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Interstate Land Sales Full 
Disclosure Act, and the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage 
Licensing Act of 2008.

B. Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act

    The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory 
Affairs, the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management 
and Regulatory Affairs, and the Administrator of the Office of 
Manufactured Housing Programs are redelegated such authority as is 
necessary to carry out the duties and responsibilities of HUD as 
prescribed in the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety 
Standards Act

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(the Act), including, but not limited to, the authority necessary to:
    (1) Establish home constructions and safety standards; enter into 
contracts with an administering organization; adopt, revise, and 
interpret construction and safety standards; issue interpretative 
bulletins; and approve or reject proposed regulations or interpretative 
bulletins submitted by the Consensus Committee;
    (2) Develop and establish model manufactured home installation 
standards;
    (3) Submit cost or other information to the consensus committee for 
evaluation;
    (4) Conduct research, testing, development, and training to carry 
out the Act;
    (5) Advise, assist, and cooperate with other Federal agencies, and 
state and other public and private agencies in the planning and 
development of standards and methods for inspection and testing;
    (6) Determine that any manufactured home does not conform to 
applicable Federal standards or contains a defect that constitutes an 
imminent safety hazard;
    (7) Conduct inspections and investigations necessary to promulgate 
or enforce Federal standards under the Act; designate persons to enter 
an establishment to inspect; contract with state and local governments 
and private inspection organizations to carry out the functions under 
section 614 of the Act; to hold hearings, take testimony, and 
administer oaths and take other actions under section 614(c) of the 
Act;
    (8) Enforce notification and correction of defects;
    (9) Develop guidelines for a consumer's manual;
    (10) Utilize the services, research, and testing facilities of 
public agencies and independent testing laboratories;
    (11) Collect reasonable fees to carry out the responsibilities 
under the Act;
    (12) Approve State plans for enforcement of standards;
    (13) Establish and implement a dispute resolution program; and
    (14) Make grants to States that have designated a State agency 
under section 623 of the Act.

C. National Housing Act Provisions

    The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory 
Affairs and the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk 
Management and Regulatory Affairs are redelegated such authority as is 
necessary to carry out certain duties and responsibilities prescribed 
in the National Housing Act (the NHA Act) (12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), as 
follows:
    (1) Prescribe standards for designs, construction, and alteration 
of structures for programs (other than public housing programs) 
prescribed under the NHA Act;
    (2) Approve or disapprove variances from the design or construction 
standards for all programs (other than public housing programs) under 
the NHA Act; and
    (3) Evaluate and determine the technical suitability of housing 
products and materials under section 21 of the NHA Act, and to issue 
engineering and technical bulletins governing the acceptability of 
housing system components, materials, and methods of construction.

D. Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)

    The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory 
Affairs and the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk 
Management and Regulatory Affairs are redelegated such authority as is 
necessary to carry out any residual duties and responsibilities of HUD 
as remain, following the transfer of the Real Estate Settlement 
Procedures Act (RESPA) to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 
(CFPB).

E. Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act

    The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory 
Affairs and the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk 
Management and Regulatory Affairs are redelegated such authority as is 
necessary to carry out any residual duties and responsibilities of HUD 
as remain after transfer of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure 
Act to the CFPB.

F. Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 
(SAFE)

    The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory 
Affairs and the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk 
Management and Regulatory Affairs are redelegated such authority as is 
necessary to carry out any residual duties and responsibilities of HUD, 
as prescribed in the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing 
Act of 2008, to the CFPB.

Section IV. Authority Excepted

    The authority redelegated herein does not include the authority to:
    (1) Issue or to waive regulations;
    (2) Sue or be sued.

Section V. Further Redelegations

    The authority redelegated by the Assistant Secretary for Housing to 
the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory 
Affairs, the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management 
and Regulatory Affairs, the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Risk Management and Assessment, and the Administrator of the Office of 
Manufactured Housing Programs may be redelegated.

Section VI. Revocation of Delegations

    The Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner, 
the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing-Deputy Federal 
Housing Commissioner, or the Associate General Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Housing may, at any time, revoke any of the authority 
redelegated herein. Notice of any revocation will be published in the 
Federal Register. This redelegation of authority supersedes all prior 
redelegations of authority to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk 
Management and Regulatory Affairs, the Associate Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs, the Associate 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Assessment, and the 
Administrator of the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs.

    Authority:  Section 7(d), Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Act, 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).

    Dated: June 5, 2012.
Carol J. Galante,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing- Federal Housing Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2012-15075 Filed 6-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P