Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 215 / Monday, November 8, 2010 / Proposed Rules 68533 

1See 75 FR 39392. 

be followed by the referendum agent. 

Such agent shall: 

(a) Determine the period during 

which ballots may be cast. 

(b) Provide ballots and related 

material to be used in the referendum. 

The ballot shall provide for recording 

essential information, including that 

needed for ascertaining whether the 

person voting, or on whose behalf the 

vote is cast, is an eligible voter. 

(c) Give reasonable public notice of 

the referendum: 

(1) By utilizing available media or 

public information sources, without 

incurring advertising expense, to 

publicize the dates, places, method of 

voting, eligibility requirements, and 

other pertinent information. Such 

sources of publicity may include, but 

are not limited to, print and radio; and 

(2) By such other means as the agent 

may deem advisable. 

(d) Mail to eligible domestic 

producers and importers whose names 

and addresses are known to the 

referendum agent, the instructions on 

voting, a ballot, and a summary of the 

terms and conditions of the proposed 

Order. No person who claims to be 

eligible to vote shall be refused a ballot. 

(e) At the end of the voting period, 

collect, open, number, and review the 

ballots and tabulate the results in the 

presence of an agent of a third party 

authorized to monitor the referendum 

process. 

(f) Prepare a report on the referendum. 

(g) Announce the results to the public. 

§ 1214.104 Subagents. 

The referendum agent may appoint 

any individual or individuals necessary 

or desirable to assist the agent in 

performing such agent’s functions of 

this subpart. Each individual so 

appointed may be authorized by the 

agent to perform any or all of the 

functions which, in the absence of such 

appointment, shall be performed by the 

agent. 

§ 1214.105 Ballots. 

The referendum agent and subagents 

shall accept all ballots cast. However, if 

an agent or subagent deems that a ballot 

should be challenged for any reason, the 

agent or subagent shall endorse above 

their signature, on the ballot, a 

statement to the effect that such ballot 

was challenged, by whom challenged, 

the reasons therefore, the results of any 

investigations made with respect 

thereto, and the disposition thereof. 

Ballots invalid under this subpart shall 

not be counted. 

§ 1214.106 Referendum report. 

Except as otherwise directed, the 

referendum agent shall prepare and 

submit to the Administrator a report on 

the results of the referendum, the 

manner in which it was conducted, the 

extent and kind of public notice given, 

and other information pertinent to the 

analysis of the referendum and its 

results. 

§ 1214.107 Confidential information. 

The ballots and other information or 

reports that reveal, or tend to reveal, the 

vote of any person covered under the 

Order and the voter list shall be strictly 

confidential and shall not be disclosed. 

§ 1214.108 OMB control number. 

The control number assigned to the 

information collection requirement in 

this subpart by the Office of 

Management and Budget pursuant to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. chapter 35 is OMB control 

number 0581–NEW. 

Dated: November 2, 2010. 

David R. Shipman, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28040 Filed 11–5–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Part 615 

RIN 3052–AC25 

Funding and Fiscal Affairs, Loan 

Policies and Operations, and Funding 

Operations; Capital Adequacy; Capital 

Components—Basel Accord Tier 1 and 

Tier 2 

AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking (ANPRM); extension of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: The Farm Credit 

Administration (FCA, Agency or we) is 

extending the comment period on our 

ANPRM that seeks comments to 

facilitate the development of 

enhancements to our regulatory capital 

framework to more closely align 

minimum capital requirements with 

those of the Federal banking regulators 

and with risks taken by Farm Credit 

System (FCS or System) institutions, 

taking into consideration the System’s 

public mission as a Governmentsponsored enterprise (GSE) and its 

unique cooperative structure. We are 

extending the comment period so all 

interested parties will have additional 

time to provide comments. 

DATES: You may send comments on or 

before May 4, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: There are several methods 

for you to submit your comments. For 

accuracy and efficiency reasons, 

commenters are encouraged to submit 

comments by e-mail or through the 

Agency’s Web site. As facsimiles (faxes) 

are difficult for us to process and 

achieve compliance with section 508 of 

the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), 

we are no longer accepting comments 

submitted by fax. Regardless of the 

method you use, please do not submit 

your comments multiple times via 

different methods. You may submit 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• E-mail: Send us an e-mail at regcomm@fca.gov. 

• FCA Web site: http://www.fca.gov. 

Select ‘‘Public Commenters,’’ then 

‘‘Public Comments,’’ and follow the 

directions for ‘‘Submitting a Comment.’’ 

• Federal E-Rulemaking Web site: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Gary K. Van Meter, Deputy 

Director, Office of Regulatory Policy, 

Farm Credit Administration, 1501 Farm 

Credit Drive, McLean, VA 22102–5090. 

You may review copies of comments 

we receive at our office in McLean, 

Virginia, or on our Web site at http:// 

www.fca.gov. Once you are in the Web 

site, select ‘‘Legal Info,’’ and then select 

‘‘Public Comments.’’ We will show your 

comments as submitted, but for 

technical reasons we may omit items 

such as logos and special characters. 

Identifying information that you 

provide, such as phone numbers and 

addresses, will be publicly available. 

However, we will attempt to remove email addresses to help reduce Internet 

spam. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laurie Rea, Associate Director, Office of 

Regulatory Policy, Farm Credit 

Administration, McLean, VA 22102– 

5090, (703) 883–4232, TTY (703) 883– 

4434, or Chris Wilson, Financial 

Analyst, Office of Regulatory Policy, 

Farm Credit Administration, McLean, 

VA 22102–5090, (703) 883–4204, TTY 

(703) 883–4434, or Rebecca S. Orlich, 

Senior Counsel, Office of General 

Counsel, Farm Credit Administration, 

McLean, VA 22102–5090, (703) 883– 

4020, TTY (703) 883–4020. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 8, 

2010, FCA published a notice in the 

Federal Register seeking public 

comment to facilitate the development 

of a proposed rule that would minimize 

the differences, to the extent 

appropriate, in regulatory capital 

requirements between System 

institutions and Federally regulated 

banking organizations.1


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
68534 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 215 / Monday, November 8, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

1The twelve Banks are located in: Boston, New 

York, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, 

Chicago, Des Moines, Dallas, Topeka, San 

Francisco, and Seattle. 

The comment period is scheduled to 

expire on November 5, 2010. In a letter 

dated October 20, 2010, the Farm Credit 

Council (FCC), on behalf of the System 

including the Federal Farm Credit 

Banks Funding Corporation, requested 

that the Agency extend the comment 

period until February 28, 2011. The FCC 

requested the extension in order to give 

the System the opportunity to study the 

rules developed by the Federal banking 

regulators. The Basel Committee on 

Banking Supervision is in the process of 

formulating a new regulatory capital 

framework, and the U.S. banking 

regulators are expected to revise their 

capital guidelines consistent with the 

new requirements. In view of the 

expected revisions in the near future, 

the FCA has decided to extend the 

comment period 180 days beyond the 

original expiration date and, therefore, 

the comment period will close on May 

4, 2011. The FCA supports public 

involvement and participation in its 

regulatory process and invites all 

interested parties to review and provide 

comments on our ANPRM. 

Dated: November 4, 2010. 

Roland E. Smith, 

Secretary, Farm Credit Administration Board. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28245 Filed 11–5–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6705–01–P 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD 

12 CFR Parts 965, 966, 969, and 987 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE 

AGENCY 

12 CFR Part 1270 

RIN 2590–AA36 

Federal Home Loan Bank Liabilities 

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance 

Board, Federal Housing Finance 

Agency. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance 

Agency (FHFA) is proposing to reorganize and re-adopt existing Federal 

Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) 

regulations dealing with consolidated 

obligations (COs), as well as related 

regulations addressing other authorized 

Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) 

liabilities and book-entry procedures for 

COs, as new part 1270 of the FHFA 

regulations. The proposed rule would 

also make changes to the regulations 

governing COs to reflect recent statutory 

amendments which removed authority 

from FHFA to issue COs on which the 

Banks are jointly and severally liable 

and provided this authority to the Banks 

themselves. Otherwise, FHFA is 

proposing to re-adopt most of the 

regulatory provisions addressed in this 

rulemaking without substantive 

amendment. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule 

must be received on or before January 7, 

2011. For additional information, see 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit your 

comments on the proposed rule, 

identified by regulatory information 

number (RIN) 2590–AA36 by any of the 

following methods: 

• E-mail: Comments to Alfred M. 

Pollard, General Counsel may be sent by 

e-mail to RegComments@FHFA.gov. 

Please include ‘‘RIN 2590–AA36’’ in the 

subject line of the message. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. If 

you submit your comments to the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal, please also 

send it by e-mail to FHFA at 

RegComments@FHFA.gov to ensure 

timely receipt by the agency. Please 

include ‘‘RIN 2590–AA36’’ in the subject 

line of the message. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: The hand 

delivery address is: Alfred M. Pollard, 

General Counsel, Attention: Comments/ 

RIN 2590–AA36, Federal Housing 

Finance Agency, Fourth Floor, 1700 G 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552. The 

package should be logged at the Guard 

Desk, First Floor, on business days 

between 9 a.m. and 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–AA36, 

Federal Housing Finance Agency, 

Fourth Floor, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20552. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joseph A. McKenzie, Chief Economist, 

Federal Home Loan Bank and System 

Analysis, 202–408–2845, Federal 

Housing Finance Agency, 1625 Eye 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006; or 

Thomas E. Joseph, Senior AttorneyAdvisor, 202–414–3095, Office of 

General Counsel, Federal Housing 

Finance Agency, Fourth Floor, 1700 G 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552. The 

telephone number for the 

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf 

is (800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Comments 

FHFA invites comments on all aspects 

of the proposed rule, and will adopt a 

final regulation with appropriate 

changes after taking all comments into 

consideration. Copies of all comments 

will be posted on the Internet Web site 

at https://www.fhfa.gov. In addition, 

copies of all comments received will be 

available for examination by the public 

on business days between the hours of 

10 a.m. and 3 p.m., at the Federal 

Housing Finance Agency, Fourth Floor, 

1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20552. To make an appointment to 

inspect comments, please call the Office 

of General Counsel at (202) 414–6924. 

II. Background 

A. Creation of the Federal Housing 

Finance Agency and Recent Legislation 

Effective July 30, 2008, the Housing 

and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 

(HERA), Public Law 110–289, 122 Stat. 

2654, created FHFA as a new 

independent agency of the Federal 

Government, and transferred to FHFA 

the supervisory and oversight 

responsibilities of the Office of Federal 

Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) 

over the Federal National Mortgage 

Association, and the Federal Home Loan 

Mortgage Corporation (collectively, the 

Enterprises), the oversight 

responsibilities of the Finance Board 

over the Banks and the Office of Finance 

(OF) (which acts as the Banks’ fiscal 

agent) and certain functions of the 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development. See id. at section 1101, 

122 Stat. 2661–62. FHFA is responsible 

for ensuring that the Enterprises and the 

Banks operate in a safe and sound 

manner, including that they maintain 

adequate capital and internal controls, 

that their activities foster liquid, 

efficient, competitive and resilient 

national housing finance markets, and 

that they carry out their public policy 

missions through authorized activities. 

See id. at section 1102, 122 Stat. 2663– 

64. The Enterprises, the Banks, and the 

OF continue to operate under 

regulations promulgated by OFHEO and 

the Finance Board until such 

regulations are superseded by 

regulations issued by FHFA. See id. at 

sections 1301, 1302, 1311, 1312, 122 

Stat. 2794–95, 2797–98. 

B. The Bank System Generally 

The twelve Banks are 

instrumentalities of the United States 

organized under the Federal Home Loan 

Bank Act (Bank Act).1 See 12 U.S.C. 

1423 and 1432(a). The Banks are 

cooperatives; only members of a Bank 

may purchase the capital stock of a 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS