[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 191 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61809-61811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18937]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

12 CFR Part 32

[Docket ID OCC-2018-0041]
RIN 1557-AE21


Supplemental Lending Limits Program: Technical Correction

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION: Correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: On July 14, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency (OCC) published in the Federal Register a final rule that, 
among other revisions, made technical changes to the OCC's supplemental 
lending limits rule. This correcting amendment makes a correction to 
those regulations by reinstating two paragraphs to the lending limits 
rules that were inadvertently deleted.

DATES: This rule is effective on October 1, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marta E. Stewart-Bates, Senior 
Attorney, Chief Counsel's Office, (202) 649-5490, for persons who are 
deaf or hearing impaired, TTY, (202) 649-5597, Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background and Description of Correcting Amendment

    On July 14, 2020, the OCC published in the Federal Register a final 
rule \1\ that made technical changes to the OCC's supplemental lending 
limits rules, among other revisions. Specifically, the terms ``small 
business loans'' and ``small farm loans or extensions of credit'' were 
replaced with the terms ``loans to small businesses'' and ``loans or 
extensions of credit to small farms,'' respectively, to conform with 
the Call Report instructions. These technical changes were made to the 
supplemental lending limits rules in Sec. Sec.  32.7(a)(1), 32.7(a)(2), 
and 32.7(d). However, Sec. Sec.  32.7(a)(4) and (a)(5) were 
inadvertently deleted by the final rule. This correcting amendment 
reinstates Sec. Sec.  32.7(a)(4) and (a)(5).
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    \1\ 85 FR 42630.
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II. Administrative Law Matters

A. Administrative Procedure Act

    The OCC is issuing this correcting amendment without prior notice 
and the opportunity for public comment and the delayed effective date 
ordinarily prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).\2\ 
Pursuant to section 553(b)(B) of the APA, general notice and the 
opportunity for public comment are not required with respect to a 
rulemaking when an ``agency for good cause finds (and incorporates the 
finding and a brief statement of reasons therefor in the rules issued) 
that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' \3\
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    \2\ 5 U.S.C. 553.
    \3\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(A).
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    The OCC finds that public notice and comment are unnecessary 
because this correcting amendment makes a technical change to correct 
an erroneous removal of two paragraphs in the

[[Page 61810]]

supplemental lending limits rule. Therefore, there is good cause to 
dispense with the APA prior notice and public comment process.
    The APA also requires a 30-day delayed effective date, except for: 
(1) Substantive rules which grant or recognize an exemption or relieve 
a restriction; (2) interpretative rules and statements of policy; or 
(3) as otherwise provided by the agency for good cause.\4\ As described 
above, there is good cause to issue this correcting amendment without a 
delayed effective date. Therefore, this correcting amendment is exempt 
from the APA's delayed effective date requirement.\5\
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    \4\ 5 U.S.C. 553(d).
    \5\ 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1).
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B. Congressional Review Act

    For purposes of the Congressional Review Act, the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) makes a determination as to whether a final 
rule constitutes a ``major rule.'' \6\ If a rule is deemed a ``major 
rule'' by the OMB, the Congressional Review Act generally provides that 
the rule may not take effect until at least 60 days following its 
publication.\7\
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    \6\ 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.
    \7\ 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(3).
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    The Congressional Review Act defines a ``major rule'' as any rule 
that the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of the OMB finds has resulted in or is likely to result in: (1) 
An annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more; (2) a major 
increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, 
Federal, State, or local government agencies, or geographic regions; or 
(3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, 
productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United States-based 
enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic and 
export markets.\8\
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    \8\ 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
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    The delayed effective date required by the Congressional Review Act 
does not apply to ``any rule which an agency for good cause finds (and 
incorporates the finding and a brief statement of reasons therefor in 
the rule issued) that notice and public procedure thereon are 
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' \9\ 
For the same reasons set forth above, the OCC finds that it has good 
cause to adopt this correcting amendment without the delayed effective 
date generally prescribed under the Congressional Review Act. As 
required by the Congressional Review Act, the OCC will submit the 
correcting amendment and other appropriate reports to Congress and the 
Government Accountability Office for review.
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    \9\ 5 U.S.C. 808(2).
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C. Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994

    Pursuant to section 302(a) of the Riegle Community Development and 
Regulatory Improvement Act (RCDRIA),\10\ in determining the effective 
date and administrative compliance requirements for new regulations 
that impose additional reporting, disclosure, or other requirements on 
insured depository institutions (IDIs), each Federal banking agency 
must consider, consistent with the principle of safety and soundness 
and the public interest, any administrative burdens that such 
regulations would place on depository institutions, including small 
depository institutions, and customers of depository institutions, as 
well as the benefits of such regulations. In addition, section 302(b) 
of RCDRIA requires new regulations and amendments to regulations that 
impose additional reporting, disclosures, or other new requirements on 
IDIs generally to take effect on the first day of a calendar quarter 
that begins on or after the date on which the regulations are published 
in final form, with certain exceptions, including for good cause.\11\ 
For the reasons described above, the OCC finds good cause exists under 
section 302 of RCDRIA to publish this correcting amendment with an 
immediate effective date. As such, the correcting amendment will be 
effective immediately.
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    \10\ 12 U.S.C. 4802(a).
    \11\ 12 U.S.C. 4802.
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D. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) \12\ requires an agency to 
consider whether the rules it proposes will have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities.\13\ The RFA applies 
only to rules for which an agency publishes a general notice of 
proposed rulemaking pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b). As discussed 
previously, consistent with section 553(b)(B) of the APA, the OCC has 
determined for good cause that general notice and opportunity for 
public comment is unnecessary, and, therefore, the OCC is not issuing a 
notice of proposed rulemaking. Accordingly, the OCC has concluded that 
the RFA's requirements relating to initial and final regulatory 
flexibility analysis do not apply.
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    \12\ 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
    \13\ Under regulations issued by the Small Business 
Administration, a small entity includes a depository institution, 
bank holding company, or savings and loan holding company with total 
assets of $600 million or less and trust companies with total assets 
of $41.5 million or less. See 13 CFR 121.201.
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E. Unfunded Mandates

    As a general matter, the Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995 (UMRA) \14\ 
requires the preparation of 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 in any one 
year. However, the UMRA does not apply to final rules for which a 
general notice of proposed rulemaking was not published.\15\ Therefore, 
because the OCC has found good cause to dispense with notice and 
comment for this correcting amendment, the OCC has not prepared an 
economic analysis of the rule under the UMRA.
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    \14\ 2 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
    \15\ See 2 U.S.C. 1532(a).
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List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 32

    National banks, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, the OCC corrects 12 CFR 
part 32 by making the following correcting amendment:

PART 32--LENDING LIMITS

0
1. The authority citation for part 32 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1 et seq., 12 U.S.C. 84, 93a, 1462a, 1463, 
1464(u), 5412(b)(2)(B), and 15 U.S.C. 1639h.


0
2. Section 32.7 is amended by adding paragraphs (a)(4) and (5) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  32.7  Residential real estate loans, loans to small businesses, 
and loans or extensions of credit to small farms (``Supplemental 
Lending Limits Program'').

    (a) * * *
    (4) The total outstanding amount of a national bank's or savings 
association's loans and extensions of credit to one borrower made under 
Sec.  32.3(a) and (b), together with loans and extensions of credit to 
the borrower made pursuant to paragraphs (a)(1), (2), and (3) of this 
section, shall not exceed 25 percent of the bank's or savings 
association's capital and surplus.
    (5) The total outstanding amount of a national bank's or savings 
association's loans and extensions of credit to all of its borrowers 
made pursuant to the supplemental lending limits provided in paragraphs 
(a)(1), (2), and (3) of this section may not exceed 100 percent of

[[Page 61811]]

the bank's or saving association's capital and surplus.
* * * * *

Jonathan V. Gould,
Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-18937 Filed 9-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P