[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 7, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 60384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23893]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

12 CFR Part 1263

RIN 2590-AA39


Members of Federal Home Loan Banks

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: On September 12, 2014, the Federal Housing Finance Agency 
(FHFA) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed 
rulemaking and request for comments proposing to amend its regulations 
governing Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) membership. The comment period 
for the proposed rule is set to expire on November 12, 2014. This 
notice extends the comment period through and including January 12, 
2015.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on September 
12, 2014, at 79 FR 54847, is extended. Written comments must be 
received on or before January 12, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments, identified by Regulatory 
Information Number (RIN) 2590-AA39, by any of the following methods:
     Agency Web site: www.fhfa.gov/open-for-comment-or-input.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. If you submit your 
comment to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, please also send it by email 
to FHFA at [email protected] to ensure timely receipt by the agency. 
Please include Comments/RIN 2590-AA39 in the subject line of the 
message.
     Courier/Hand Delivery: The hand delivery address is: 
Alfred M. Pollard, General Counsel, Attention: Comments/RIN 2590-AA39, 
Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 Seventh Street SW., Eighth Floor, 
Washington, DC 20024. Deliver the package to the Seventh Street 
entrance Guard Desk, First Floor, on business days between 9 a.m. to 5 
p.m.
     U.S. Mail, United Parcel Service, Federal Express or Other 
Mail Service: The mailing address for comments is: Alfred M. Pollard, 
General Counsel, Attention: Comments/RIN 2590-AA39, Federal Housing 
Finance Agency, 400 Seventh Street SW., Eighth Floor, Washington, DC 
20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric M. Raudenbush, Assistant General 
Counsel, Office of General Counsel, [email protected], (202) 
649-3084; or Julie Paller, Senior Financial Analyst, Office of Program 
Support, Division of Bank Regulation, [email protected], (202) 649-
3201 (not toll-free numbers), Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20024. The telephone number for the 
Telecommunications Device for the Hearing Impaired is (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 12, 2014, FHFA published in the 
Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking and request for 
comments proposing to revise its regulations governing Bank membership, 
located at 12 CFR part 1263. See 79 FR 54847 (Sept. 12, 2014). 
Primarily, the proposed rule would revise part 1263 to: (1) Require 
each Bank member institution and each applicant for Bank membership to 
hold one percent of its assets in ``home mortgage loans'' (as that term 
is defined in proposed part 1263) in order to satisfy the statutory 
requirement that an institution make long-term home mortgage loans to 
be eligible for membership; (2) require each member to comply on an 
ongoing basis, rather than only at the time of application as at 
present, with the foregoing requirement and, where applicable, with the 
requirement that it have at least 10 percent of its assets in 
``residential mortgage loans'' (as defined in proposed part 1263); (3) 
define the term ``insurance company'' to exclude captive insurers from 
Bank membership, but permit existing captive members to remain members 
for five years with certain restrictions on their ability to obtain 
advances; (4) require a Bank to obtain and review an insurance 
company's audited financial statements when considering it for 
membership; and (5) clarify the standards by which an insurance 
company's ``principal place of business'' is to be identified in 
determining the appropriate Bank district for membership.
    The comment period for the proposed rule was originally set to 
expire on November 12, 2014. However, FHFA has received numerous 
requests from the Banks and from other interested parties for 
additional time to review the rule and provide comments. In response to 
these requests, FHFA is extending the comment period by an additional 
60 days. This will result in a total comment period of 120 days, which 
will expire on January 12, 2015.

    Dated: October 1, 2014.
Melvin L. Watt,
Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2014-23893 Filed 10-6-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8070-01-P