Federal Housing Finance Agency February 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 1128(b) of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) amended the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (Safety and Soundness Act) to provide for the establishment, monitoring and enforcement of new affordable housing goals effective for 2010 and 2011 for the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (collectively, the Enterprises). Section 1332(a) of the Safety and Soundness Act, as amended by HERA, requires the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to establish three single-family owner- occupied purchase money mortgage goals and a single-family refinancing mortgage goal. Section 1333(a) of the Safety and Soundness Act requires FHFA to establish a multifamily special affordable housing goal, as well as providing for a multifamily special affordable housing subgoal. FHFA is issuing and seeking comments on a proposed rule that would establish new affordable housing goals for 2010 and 2011, consistent with the Safety and Soundness Act, as amended. The proposed rule would also revise and update the rules for counting mortgages for purposes of the affordable housing goals to ensure clarity and consistency with the new goals.

Section 1211 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) amended the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank Act) to expand the types of eligible collateral that community financial institution (CFI) members may pledge to secure Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) advances to include secured loans for community development activities and to allow Banks to make long-term advances to CFI members for purposes of financing community development activities. Section 1211 further provides that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) shall define the term ``community development activities'' by regulation. Consequently, FHFA is proposing to amend the advances regulations to allow CFI members to pledge secured loans for community development activities as eligible collateral for advances, to provide that CFI members may use long term advances to fund community development activities and to define ``community development,'' ``community development loan,'' and other related terms necessary to implement these provisions. The proposal would also transfer the advances and new business activities regulations from the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) regulations to the FHFA regulations, and make other conforming amendments. Finally, the proposed rule would also make a change to the advances regulation which would incorporate a long-standing policy previously established by the FHFB that any form of secured lending by a Bank to a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank System (Bank System) is deemed to be an advance. The proposed rule would extend that policy to cover secured lending transactions by a Bank to affiliates of members.