§ 1.597-8 Transitional rules for Federal financial assistance. ( a ) *Scope.* This section provides transitional rules for the tax consequences of Federal financial assistance received or accrued on or after May 10, 1989, if the assistance payment relates to an acquisition that occurred before that date.
( b ) *Transitional rules.* The tax consequences of any payment of Federal financial assistance received or accrued on or after May 10, 1989, are governed by the applicable provisions of section 597 that were in effect prior to the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) if either— ( 1 ) The payment— ( i ) Is pursuant to an acquisition of a bank or domestic building and loan association before May 10, 1989,
( ii ) Is provided pursuant to an assistance agreement executed before May 10, 1989,
( iii ) Is provided to a party to that agreement or to such other party as the Commissioner may determine appropriate by letter ruling or other written guidance, and
( iv ) Would, if provided before May 10, 1989, have been governed by applicable provisions of section 597 that were in effect prior to FIRREA; or
( 2 ) The payment— ( i ) Represents a prepayment of (or a payment in lieu of) a fixed or contingent right to Federal financial assistance that would have satisfied the conditions of paragraphs (b)(1)(i), (ii) and (iv) of this section, and
( ii ) Is provided to a party described in paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section
( c ) *Definition of Federal financial assistance.* Federal financial assistance for purposes of this section has the meaning prescribed by section 597(c) as amended by FIRREA.
( d ) *Examples.* The following examples illustrate the provisions of this section: Example 1. X corporation acquired Y, a domestic building and loan association on September 10, 1988. Pursuant to a written agreement executed at the time of the acquisition, Y received Federal financial assistance that included a note bearing a market rate of interest, the right to future payments if certain assets were sold at a loss, and the right to future payments if the income produced by certain assets was less than an agreed upon amount. On December 1, 1991, an agreement was executed in which Y relinquished its rights to Federal financial assistance under the September 10, 1988 agreement in return for a lump sum payment. The lump sum payment represented a prepayment of the principal and accrued but unpaid interest for the note, and the rights to the contingent future loss and income payments. The entire prepayment is excluded from the income of Y because it is a prepayment of Federal financial assistance and the assistance (i) would have been provided pursuant to an acquisition that occurred before May 10, 1989, would have been provided pursuant to an assistance agreement executed before May 10, 1989, and would, if it had been provided prior to May 10, 1989, have been governed by a pre-FIRREA version of section 597; and (ii) the prepayment is paid to a party to the assistance agreement.
Example 2. The facts are the same as those in *Example 1,* except that the note bears an above market rate of interest and part of the lump sum represents a premium payment for the note. The portion of the lump sum allocable to the premium payment is also excluded from the income of Y because the payment represents the present value of the right to future Federal financial assistance in the form of interest.
Example 3. The facts are the same as those in *Example 1,* except that a portion of the lump sum payment represents compensation for additional expenses Y may incur in the future because of termination of the September 10, 1988 agreement. The portion of the lump sum payment allocable to the compensation for additional expenses must be included in the income of Y because it is not a prepayment of Federal financial assistance provided for by a written agreement entered into prior to May 10, 1989.
Example 4. The facts are the same as those in *Example 1,* except that instead of a new assistance agreement, the September 10, 1988 assistance agreement was modified on December 1, 1991. The modified agreement provided new Federal financial assistance in addition to the amounts previously agreed to. None of the new Federal financial assistance is governed by this regulation because the new assistance was not provided for by a written agreement entered into prior to May 10, 1989. The modification does not, however, affect the tax treatment of assistance provided for by the agreement prior to its modification.
( e ) *Effective date.* This section is effective April 23, 1992 for assistance received or accrued on or after May 10, 1989 in connection with acquisitions before that date.
[T.D. 8406, 57 FR 14795, Apr. 23, 1992. Redesignated and amended by T.D. 8471, 58 FR 18149, Apr. 8, 1993]