Federal Housing Finance Agency – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act), the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG) is establishing FHFA-OIG-9, "Office of Counsel Legal Matters System" (System) for the purpose of collecting information that FHFA-OIG's Office of Counsel will use in the course of providing legal opinions/advice, participating in administrative hearings, preparing for litigation, and completing other legal projects and assignments.

On July 21, 2023, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published a proposed rule to amend its Suspended Counterparty Program (SCP) regulation by expanding the categories of covered misconduct on which a suspension could be based to include sanctions arising from certain forms of civil enforcement. After reviewing the comments and reconsidering the proposed rule's substantive and procedural amendments, FHFA has determined that a number of material changes to the rule are necessary. Therefore, it is publishing this second proposed rule.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is postponing the Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing (Committee) meeting originally scheduled for September 10 and 11, 2024. Future meeting dates will be announced in the Federal Register.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Department of the Treasury invite public comment on a proposed rule to establish data standards to promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across these agencies. Final standards established pursuant to this rulemaking will later be adopted for certain collections of information in separate rulemakings by the agencies or through other actions taken by the agencies. The agencies are proposing this rule as required by the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the Agency) is seeking public comments concerning an information collection known as "Federal Home Loan Bank Directors," which has been assigned control number 2590-0006 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA intends to submit the information collection to OMB for review and approval of a three-year reinstatement and extension of the control number, which expired July 31, 2024.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, (Privacy Act), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or Agency) is proposing to modify the current FHFA system of records titled, "FHFA-14, Emergency Notification System" (System). The system of records allows FHFA to maintain emergency contact information for current and former employees and contractors. This modification is to correct the Agency's address and change the location of the system in accordance with OMB Circular A-108. These changes are administrative and non-significant in nature.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA, or Agency) is seeking public comment concerning an information collection known as the "American Survey of Mortgage Borrowers (ASMB)," which has been assigned control number 2590-0015 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA intends to submit the information collection to OMB for review and approval of a three-year extension of the control number, which is due to expire July 31, 2025.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the Agency) is issuing this final rule that addresses barriers to sustainable housing opportunities for underserved communities by codifying existing FHFA practices in regulation and adding new requirements related to fair lending, fair housing, unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and Equitable Housing Finance Plans. The final rule furthers FHFA's fulfillment of its statutory purposes and its oversight of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks) (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collectively, the Enterprises; the Enterprises and the Banks collectively, the regulated entities), and their fulfillment of their statutory purposes.

In this document, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) provides notice that it issued Orders, dated March 13, 2024, with respect to stress test reporting as of December 31, 2023, under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), as amended by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA). Summary Instructions and Guidance accompanied the Orders to provide testing scenarios.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking public comments concerning an information collection known as the ``American Survey of Mortgage Borrowers (ASMB),'' which has been assigned control number 2590-0015 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA intends to submit the information collection to OMB for review and approval of a three-year extension of the control number, which is due to expire on July 31, 2025.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is amending its prudential management and operations standards rule (rule) to clarify that procedural requirements for corrective plans apply to prudential management and operations standards (Standards) established as regulations as well as guidelines, and to make the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Bank System (OF) subject to the rule and some of the existing Standards in the appendix to the rule.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has adjusted the cap on average total assets that is used in determining whether a Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) member qualifies as a ``community financial institution'' (CFI) to $1,461,000,000, based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Department of Labor (DOL). These changes are effective as of January 1, 2024.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, (Privacy Act), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or Agency) is proposing to modify the current FHFA system of records titled, ``FHFA-15, Payroll, Retirement, Time and Attendance, and Leave Records'' (System). The system of records allows FHFA to manage human resources and payroll functions for the Agency. This modification is to: update the categories of records collected to include information related to work agreements; update the service provider used to maintain the payroll, retirement, and leave records contained in the system; correct and update the authority for maintaining the system; expand the system's purpose for the records collection; add new record source categories to be compatible with the new categories of records collected; revise and modify the routine uses to be consistent with FHFA's standard routine uses and those specific to this collection; and make other minor corrections and administrative updates to the remaining sections in the notice in accordance with OMB Circular A-108.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is proposing to amend its regulation that restricts its regulated entitiesthe Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (collectively, the Enterprises), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks)from purchasing, investing in, accepting as collateral, or otherwise dealing in mortgages on properties encumbered by certain types of private transfer fee covenants (PTFCs), and in related securities, subject to certain exceptions (PTFC Regulation). The proposed rule would establish an additional exception to the restrictions for loans on properties with PTFCs, and related securities, if the loans meet certain shared equity loan program requirements for Resale Restriction Programs in FHFA's Duty to Serve Underserved Markets Regulation (Duty to Serve Regulation).

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing (Committee). It is estimated that the Committee will meet at least twice annually to advise FHFA regarding affordable, equitable, and sustainable housing. Recommendations by the Committee help inform FHFA's perspective on regulatory, guidance, or policy changes that may be necessary to expand affordable, equitable, and sustainable housing, with a focus on FHFA's regulated entities and their respective roles in providing a reliable source of liquidity and funding for housing finance and community investment including both single-family and multifamily housing.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is proposing to amend the existing Suspended Counterparty Program (SCP) regulation. FHFA proposes to expand the categories of covered misconduct on which a suspension could be based to include sanctions arising from certain forms of civil enforcement. The proposed rule would also eliminate the requirement that any final suspension order be preceded by a proposed suspension order, but only when the suspension is based on an administrative sanction.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking public comments concerning an information collection known as ``Members of the Banks,'' which has been assigned control number 2590-0003 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA intends to submit the information collection to OMB for review and approval of a three-year extension of the control number, which is due to expire on September 30, 2023.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is correcting inadvertent typographical errors in the preamble published in the Federal Register on May 4, 2023, regarding amendments to its regulation governing prudential management and operations standards (the regulation) to correct certain references made to the proposed rule that should have been references to the existing regulation that FHFA is proposing to amend. There are no corrections to the proposed amendments to the regulation text or to the appendix.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the Agency) is seeking comments on a proposed rule that would address barriers to sustainable housing opportunities for underserved communities by codifying existing FHFA practices in regulation and adding new requirements related to fair lending, fair housing, and Equitable Housing Finance Plans. The proposed rule would improve FHFA's fulfillment of its statutory purposes and its oversight of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks) (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collectively, the Enterprises; the Enterprises and the Banks collectively, regulated entities), and their fulfillment of their statutory purposes.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking public comments concerning an information collection known as the ``National Survey of Mortgage Originations'' (NSMO), which has been assigned control number 2590-0012 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA intends to submit the information collection to OMB for review and approval of a three-year extension of the control number, which is due to expire on June 30, 2023.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the Agency) is seeking comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking (proposed rule) that would amend several provisions in the Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework (ERCF) 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 proposed rule would include modifications related to guarantees on commingled securities, multifamily mortgage exposures secured by government-subsidized properties, derivatives and cleared transactions, and credit scores, among other items.

On December 27, 2022, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published in the Federal Register a final rule amending its regulations to implement a provision of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended. The final rule had an effective date of February 27, 2023. FHFA has determined that a delay of the effective date of the final rule by 60 days is appropriate.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, (Privacy Act), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or Agency) is establishing FHFA-30, ``Advisory Committee Manager System'' (System). This system of records allows FHFA to collect and maintain records submitted to or obtained by FHFA in connection with seeking, choosing, managing, or ending membership on FHFA advisory committees created pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or Agency) is adopting a final rule that establishes a process for the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (collectively, the Enterprises) to provide advance notice to the FHFA Director before offering a new activity to the market and to obtain prior approval from the Director before offering a new product to the market.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites public comments on an information collection titled the ``Affordable Housing Program,'' as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). FHFA intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the information collection (assigned control number 2590-0007 by OMB) for review and approval of a reinstatement of the control number, which has expired.