Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Office – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the Agency) is adopting a final rule (final rule) that establishes risk-based and leverage capital requirements for the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac, and with Fannie Mae, each an Enterprise). The final rule also makes conforming amendments to definitions in FHFA's regulations governing assessments and minimum capital and removes the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's (OFHEO) regulation on capital for the Enterprises.

On July 17, 2018, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking for public comment that proposes a new regulatory capital framework for the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). The comment period was set to expire on September 17, 2018. This notice extends the comment period by an additional 60 days to allow the public additional time to comment on the proposed rule.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is amending its regulations by relocating and consolidating certain regulations of its predecessor agenciesthe Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) and Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO)that pertain to the responsibilities of boards of directors, corporate practices, and corporate governance matters. The OFHEO regulations addressed corporate governance matters at the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (collectively, the Enterprises), while the Finance Board regulations addressed the powers and responsibilities of the boards of directors and management of the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks). The final rule consolidates most of those regulations into a new FHFA regulation, parts of which will apply to both the Banks and the Enterprises (together, regulated entities), and parts of which will apply only to the Banks or only to the Enterprises. Most of the content of the new regulations has been derived from the regulations of the predecessor agencies, with such modifications as are necessary to apply the regulations to all of the regulated entities, to respond to issues raised by the commenters, or to clarify the regulatory text. The final rule also amends the Prudential Management and Operations Standards (Prudential Standards) provisions by designating certain introductory languagewhich pertains to the general responsibilities of senior management and boards of directorsas a separate Prudential Standard. The final rule also repeals a provision of the OFHEO regulations that related to minimum safety and soundness requirements for the Enterprises.

In this notice, OSHA grants a permanent variance to Impregilo Healy Parsons Joint Venture from the provisions of OSHA standards that regulate work in compressed-air environments at 29 CFR 1926.803.

This document primarily proposes to amend OSHA regulations to remove the detailed descriptions of State plan coverage, purely historical data, and other unnecessarily codified information. In addition, this document proposes to move most of the general provisions of subpart A of part 1952 into part 1902, where the general regulations on State plan criteria are found. It also proposes to amend several other OSHA regulations to delete references to part 1952, which would no longer apply. The purpose of these proposed revisions is to eliminate the unnecessary codification of material in the Code of Federal Regulations and save the time and funds currently expended in publicizing State plan revisions. The proposed streamlining of OSHA State plan regulations would not change the areas of coverage or any other substantive components of any State plan. It also does not affect the rights and responsibilities of the State plans, or any employers or employees, except to eliminate the burden on State plan designees to keep paper copies of approved State plans and plan supplements in an office, and to submit multiple copies of proposed State plan documents to OSHA. This document also contains a request for comments for an Information Collection Request (ICR) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), which covers all collection of information requirements in OSHA State plan regulations.

In this notice, OSHA announces its final decision to expand the scope of recognition for Curtis-Straus LLC, as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposes to amend its existing exposure limits for occupational exposure in general industry to beryllium and beryllium compounds and promulgate a substance-specific standard for general industry regulating occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds. This document proposes a new permissible exposure limit (PEL), as well as ancillary provisions for employee protection such as methods for controlling exposure, respiratory protection, medical surveillance, hazard communication, and recordkeeping. In addition, OSHA seeks comment on a number of alternatives, including a lower PEL, that could affect construction and maritime, as well as general industry.

In this notice, OSHA announces the application of Newport News Shipbuilding for a permanent variance from the OSHA shipyard-employment standards that prohibit shipyard employers from permitting workers to ride the hook or the load, from swinging or suspending loads over the heads of workers, and placing employees in a hazardous position between a swinging load and a fixed object while engaged in the construction and assembly of modular ship sections.

In this notice, OSHA announces its final decision to expand the scope of recognition for T[Uuml]V S[Uuml]D America, Inc., as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

On January 28, 2014, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking for public comment proposing to amend its regulations by relocating, consolidating, and modifying as necessary, certain Federal Housing Finance Board and Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight regulations that pertain to the responsibilities of boards of directors, corporate practices, and corporate governance matters. The proposed rule would also amend a definition within FHFA's Prudential Management and Operations Standards regulations and the introductory language to the standards themselves. The comment period for the proposed rule is set to expire on March 31, 2014 April 29, 2014. This document extends the comment period by an additional 45 days, through and including May 15, 2014, to allow the public additional time to comment on the proposed rule.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is proposing to amend its regulations by relocating and consolidating certain Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) and Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) regulations that pertain to the responsibilities of boards of directors, corporate practices, and corporate governance matters. The OFHEO regulations address corporate governance matters at the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Enterprises), while the Finance Board regulations address the powers and responsibilities of the boards of directors and management of the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks). The proposed rule would consolidate most of those existing regulations into a new FHFA regulation, parts of which would apply to both the Banks and the Enterprises (together, regulated entities), and parts of which would apply only to the Banks or only to the Enterprises. Most of the content of the new regulation has been derived from the existing regulations, with such modifications as are necessary to apply certain provisions to all regulated entities. The proposal also would include a new provision on risk management and a new definition of ``credit risk,'' which is a term that is used only within the proposed risk management provision. Those provisions would apply to both the Banks and the Enterprises. FHFA also is proposing to amend a definition within its Prudential Management and Operations Standards (Prudential Standards) regulations and the introductory language to the standards themselves. Together, those amendments would explicitly include certain introductory languagepertaining to the general responsibilities of senior management and boards of directorsas part of the standards. The proposed rule also would repeal a separate provision of the OFHEO regulations that relate to minimum safety and soundness requirements.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is issuing an interim final rule with request for comments that sets forth requirements and processes with respect to compensation provided to executive officers by the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System's Office of Finance, consistent with the safety and soundness responsibilities of FHFA under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) adopts final regulations containing a description of its organization and description of its seal and logo. This rule removes comparable existing regulations of the Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), and establishes new FHFA regulations.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is adopting a final rule to implement the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) amendments to the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (Safety and Soundness Act) and the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank Act) governing civil administrative enforcement actions by FHFA, under which FHFA's authority was consolidated to initiate enforcement proceedings against the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (together, the Enterprises), the Federal Home Loan Banks (the Banks) (collectively, the regulated entities), and their entity- affiliated parties. This rule removes the existing Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), and establishes new FHFA regulations.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) publishes this final rule to adopt, without change, the interim final rule that was published in the Federal Register on November 10, 2010, setting forth procedures for use by FHFA in collecting debts owed to the Federal Government. The final rule implements the requirements of the Federal Claims Collection Act and the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, and includes procedures for collection of debts through salary offset, administrative offset, tax refund offset, and administrative wage garnishment.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is issuing an interim final rule with request for comments on Debt Collection. The interim final rule sets forth procedures for use by FHFA in collecting debts owed to the Federal Government. Agencies are required by law to issue a regulation on their debt collection procedures. The interim final rule includes procedures for collection of debts through salary offset, administrative offset, tax refund offset, and administrative wage garnishment. FHFA requests comments on the interim final rule.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) solicits written comment on a proposed rule to implement the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) amendments to the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (Safety and Soundness Act) and the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank Act) pertaining to the civil enforcement powers of FHFA, and the Rules of Practice and Procedure for enforcement proceedings. The Safety and Soundness Act, as amended by sections 1151-1158 of HERA, authorizes FHFA to initiate enforcement proceedings against the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (together, the Enterprises) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (the Banks) (collectively, the regulated entities), and entity-affiliated parties as defined in the Safety and Soundness Act. When final, the rule will replace the existing Rules of Practice and Procedure promulgated by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) and the Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) formerly charged with overseeing the regulated entities. The proposed rule may provide FHFA personnel, the regulated entities, entity-affiliated parties, and other interested parties with the clear guidance necessary to prepare for and participate in the administrative enforcement action process to increase the efficiency and transparency of FHFA's administrative enforcement hearings.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) proposes to issue a regulation that would codify the authority and responsibility of FHFA to establish procedures for the submission and consideration of applications for awards of fees and other expenses by prevailing parties in adjudications against FHFA.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is proposing a Record Retention regulation. The proposed regulation would set forth record retention requirements with respect to the record management programs of the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, and the Office of Finance consistent with the safety and soundness authority of FHFA under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is issuing a proposed regulation that would require the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks (regulated entities) to report to FHFA any fraudulent financial instruments that they purchased or sold. The proposed regulation would also require the regulated entities to establish and maintain internal controls, procedures, and training programs to ensure that any such fraudulent instruments are detected and reported.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is proposing a regulation providing the procedures and guidelines under which it will implement the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. The proposed regulation describes the policies and procedures whereby individuals may obtain notification of whether an FHFA system of records contains information about the individual and, if so, how to access or amend a record under the Privacy Act. Upon adoption of this regulation the Privacy Act regulations of the Federal Housing Finance Board and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, will be removed.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is correcting the final Flood Insurance Regulation, published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2009 (74 FR 2347), by deleting the addition of a subchapter.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is requesting public comments on issuance of a proposed Flood Insurance regulation. The proposed regulation would codify the authority and responsibility of FHFA to oversee and enforce the statutory requirements affecting the operations of the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, as amended, and to effect congressionally mandated adjustments to the civil money penalties applicable to violations of that law.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a (Privacy Act), the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) is issuing public notice of its intent to establish a new Privacy Act system of records. The new system is titled Litigation and Enforcement Information System (LEIS). The proposed system of records is necessary, as it will contain OFHEO generated records in connection with civil and administrative proceedings, including enforcement actions brought by or against OFHEO, and other proceedings in which OFHEO participates or has an interest in, and are relative to enforcement of the Safety and Soundness of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. OFHEO will use the LEIS to assess and maintain administrative enforcement actions under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (Safety and Soundness Act) (12 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) to defend itself and its interests in administrative or civil litigation relating to the Safety and Soundness Act and to make necessary referrals to other government agencies in the enforcement of Federal laws.