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November 29, 2012

VIA FAX (202) 289-4101 

and E-MAIL: webmaster@asc.gov

Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 

Appraisal Subcommittee 

Attention: Lori Schuster 

1401 H Street N.W. 

Suite 760 

Washington, D.C. 20005

Re: Appraisal Subcommittee; Proposed Policy Statements; Docket No. AS12-16 (the “NPR”)

Response of The Risk Management Association’s Chief Appraiser’s Roundtable

Dear Ms. Schuster: 

This letter comprises the response of participants of the Chief Appraiser’s Roundtable of 

The Risk Management Association (“RMA”) to the above-referenced NPR. RMA is a memberdriven professional association whose sole purpose is to advance the use of sound risk principles 

in the financial services industry. RMA helps its members use sound risk principles to improve 

institutional performance and financial stability, and enhance the risk competency of individuals 

through information, education, peer-sharing and networking. 

One of the most important components of RMA's mission is to provide independent 

analysis on matters pertaining to risk and capital regulation. In this regard, the comments 

contained herein are informed by subject matter experts from member institutions of RMA’s 

Chief Appraiser’s Roundtable. The Chief Appraiser’s Roundtable (the “CART”) is an ad hoc 

working group formed by RMA to facilitate peer-sharing among RMA member institutions with 

respect to issues of importance to and affecting appraisers. The participants of the CART are 

listed in Attachment A to this letter. They are listed for identification purposes only. This letter 

does not necessarily represent the views of RMA’s institutional membership at large, or the 

views of the individual institutions whose staff have participated in the CART. 

Proposed Policy Statement 2 set forth in the NPR is designed to replace current Policy 

Statement 5 (Temporary Practice) and is intended to address the second area of review in the 

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November 29, 2012

ASC Compliance Review Process pertaining to temporary practice for compliance with Title XI 

of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, as amended.

According to the NPR, the language in current Policy Statement 5 concerning the 

requirements of an appraiser to register for temporary practice in a State to perform a “technical 

review” is not included in Proposed Policy Statement 2 because that text has been deemed 

unnecessary and outdated. While the term “technical review” is not defined in the Policy 

Statement, it is a term of art that is well understood and generally accepted and, importantly, 

relied upon in the appraisal industry. We respectfully request that the Appraisal Subcommittee 

reconsider including the following language of current Policy Statement 5 in Proposed Policy 

Statement 2:

For federally related transactions the review appraiser need not register for 

temporary practice or otherwise be subjected to the regulatory jurisdiction of the 

State agency in which the appraisal was performed, so long as the review appraiser 

does not perform the technical review in the State within which the property is 

located. 

The removal of the foregoing language from Policy Statement 5 is being interpreted by 

many of our members as potentially requiring reviewers employed by financial service 

institutions to acquire state licenses or temporary practice permits in order to review appraisal 

reports of properties located in states where they are not currently licensed.

Policy Statement 5 as presently effective provides the foundation upon which federally 

regulated institutions permit their reviewers who are licensed or certified to perform appraisal 

reviews in states where they are not certified providing they don’t enter the subject property 

state. If this statement is removed, and in the presence of a state law requiring local certification, 

there is no authority to rely upon for this standard and necessary industry practice. Our member 

institutions and their employees comply with the law[s] of the state where they are domiciled, the 

states where they directly provide services, and federal law and regulatory guidance. The 

members of the CART have consistently considered Statement 5 as federal guidance and have 

relied upon it to support the way that the member institutions conduct business. 

The removal would significantly increase complexity and costs for federally regulated 

institutions and significantly hamper interstate commerce. This would result in an unintended 

negative impact to federally-regulated financial services institutions and the consumers they 

serve. 
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November 29, 2012

While the Appraisal Subcommittee may not feel it has the jurisdiction to address 

individual state licensing, the national effect of the existing patchwork of individual state 

requirements and the resulting impact on interstate commerce is certainly within the purview of a 

federal organization. We respectfully request that Proposed Policy Statement 5 be retained and 

modified only as necessary to satisfy the express requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Thank you, on behalf of the CART, for the opportunity to comment on the Proposed 

Policy Statement. The CART would be pleased to engage in a dialogue about our response.

Please contact us should you have any questions.

Sincerely, 

James M. Nelson, CRC, 

 Director, Credit Risk
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November 29, 2012

Attachment A

The members of the CART that participated in the preparation of this letter are listed below. They are 

provided for identification purposes only. This letter does not necessarily reflect the views of RMA’s 

institutional membership at large, or the views of the individual institutions whose staff have participated 

in the drafting or reviewing of this letter.

Astoria Federal Savings & Loan

Bank of America

Bank of the West

Banner Bank

BBVA Compass

CapitalOne Bank

Comerica Bank

First Merit Bank

Hancock Bank

M&T Bank

OneWest Bank

Renasant Bank

Sterling Bank

Synovus

TD Bank

The PrivateBank

Trustmark National Bank

Union Bank

U.S. Bank

Washington Trust Bank

Wells Fargo

Whitney Bank