Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 146 / Wednesday, July 30, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 44117 

(48) Section 12309 of the Agricultural 

Act of 2014 regarding produce 

represented as grown in the United 

States (19 U.S.C. 1304a). 

* * * * * 

Subpart O—Delegations of Authority 

by the Assistant Secretary for 

Congressional Relations 

§ 2.85 [Amended] 

■ 38. Amend § 2.85 by removing 

paragraph (a)(5). 

Subpart P—Delegations of Authority 

by the Assistant Secretary for 

Administration 

§ 2.90 [Removed] 

■ 39. Remove § 2.90. 

§ 2.91 [Amended] 

■ 40. Amend § 2.91 by removing 

paragraph (a)(10)(xxvi). 

§ 2.92 [Removed] 

■ 41. Remove § 2.92. 

■ 42. Amend § 2.93 by revising the 

introductory text of paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 2.93 Director, Office of Procurement and 

Property Management. 

(a) Delegations. Pursuant to 

§ 2.24(a)(6) of this chapter, and with due 

deference for delegations to other 

Departmental Management officials, the 

following delegations of authority are 

made by the Assistant Secretary for 

Administration to the Director, Office of 

Procurement and Property Management: 

* * * * * 

■ 43. Amend § 2.94 by adding a new 

paragraph (a)(15), to read as follows: 

§ 2.94 Director, Office of Advocacy and 

Outreach. 

(a) * * * 

(15) Serve as a lead agency in carrying 

out student internship programs (7 

U.S.C. 2279c). 

* * * * * 

Subpart T—Delegations of Authority 

by the Chief Financial Officer 

■ 44. Revise § 2.500 to read as follows: 

§ 2.500 Deputy Chief Financial Officer. 

Pursuant to § 2.28, the following 

delegation of authority is made by the 

Chief Financial Officer to the Deputy 

Chief Financial Officer, to be exercised 

only during the absence or 

unavailability of the Chief Financial 

Officer: Perform all the duties and 

exercise all the powers which are now 

or which may hereafter be delegated to 

the Chief Financial Officer. 

§ 2.501 [Removed] 

■ 45. Remove § 2.501. 

CHAPTER XVII—RURAL UTILITIES 

SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 

AGRICULTURE 

PART 1700—GENERAL INFORMATION 

■ 46. The authority citation for part 

1700 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552; 7 U.S.C. 901 

et seq., 1921 et seq., 6941 et seq.; 7 CFR 2.7. 

Subpart B—Agency Organization and 

Functions 

■ 47. Revise § 1700.25 to read as 

follows: 

§ 1700.25 Office of the Administrator. 

The Administrator of the Rural 

Utilities Service (RUS) and of the Rural 

Telephone Bank (RTB) is appointed by 

the President. The Under Secretary, 

Rural Development delegated to the 

Administrator, in 7 CFR part 2, 

responsibility for administering the 

programs and activities of RUS and 

RTB. The Administrator is aided 

directly by Deputy Administrators and 

by Assistant Administrators for the 

electric program, telecommunications 

program, the water and environmental 

programs, and program accounting and 

regulatory analysis, and by other staff 

offices. The work of the agency is 

carried out as described in this part. 

■ 48. Revise § 1700.26 to read as 

follows: 

§ 1700.26 Deputy Administrator. 

The Deputy Administrator aids and 

assists the Administrator. The Deputy 

Administrator provides overall policy 

direction to all RUS programs. The 

Deputy Administrator reviews agency 

policies and, as necessary, implements 

changes and participates with the 

Administrator and other officials in 

planning and formulating the programs 

and activities of the agency, including 

the making and servicing of loans and 

grants. 

Subpart C—Loan and Grant Approval 

Authorities 

§ 1700.53 [Removed] 

■ 49. Remove § 1700.53. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII—WORLD 

AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK BOARD, 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

PART 3800—ORGANIZATION AND 

FUNCTIONS 

■ 50. The authority citation for part 

3800 is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301 and 552, and 7 

CFR 2.72, except as otherwise noted. 

§ 3800.3 [Amended] 

■ 51. Amend § 3800.3 by removing 

paragraph (d). 

Dated: July 14, 2014. 

Thomas J. Vilsack, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 

[FR Doc. 2014–17352 Filed 7–29–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–90–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2013–0016] 

RIN 0579–AD81 

Importation of Fresh Blueberries From 

Morocco Into the Continental United 

States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations concerning the importation 

of fruits and vegetables to allow the 

importation of fresh blueberries from 

Morocco into the continental United 

States. As a condition of entry, the 

blueberries must be produced under a 

systems approach employing a 

combination of mitigation measures for 

two quarantine pests, Ceratitis capitata 

and Monilinia fructigena, and must be 

inspected prior to exportation from 

Morocco and found free of these pests. 

The blueberries may be imported in 

commercial consignments only and 

must be treated with one of two 

approved postharvest treatments to 

mitigate C. capitata. The blueberries 

will have to be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate with an 

additional declaration stating that the 

conditions for importation have been 

met. This action will allow the 

importation of blueberries from 

Morocco while continuing to protect 

against the introduction of plant pests 

into the United States. 

DATES: Effective Date: August 29, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Dorothy Wayson, Senior Regulatory 

Policy Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 

River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1231; (301) 851–2036. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart–Fruits 

and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 


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44118 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 146 / Wednesday, July 30, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

1To view the proposed rule, PRA, RMD, and the 

comments we received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2013-0016. 

through 319.56–68, referred to below as 

the regulations) prohibit or restrict the 

importation of fruits and vegetables into 

the United States from certain parts of 

the world to prevent the introduction 

and dissemination of plant pests that are 

new to or not widely distributed within 

the United States. 

On December 31, 2013, we published 

in the Federal Register (78 FR 79634– 

79636, Docket No. APHIS–2013–0016) a 

proposal 1 to amend the regulations to 

allow the importation of fresh 

blueberries from Morocco into the 

continental United States. We prepared 

a pest risk assessment (PRA), titled 

‘‘Importation of Fresh Fruit of Highbush 

Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum 

Linnaeus) and its hybrid varieties 

Southern Highbush Blueberry [V. 

corymbosum × angustifolium (V. × 

atlanticum) and V. corymbosum × 

virgatum] into the Continental United 

States from Morocco’’ (March 2012). 

The PRA evaluated the risks associated 

with the importation of blueberries into 

the continental United States from 

Morocco. Based on the information 

contained in the PRA, we have 

determined that measures beyond 

standard port-of-entry inspection are 

required to mitigate the risks posed by 

these quarantine pests. To recommend 

specific measures to mitigate those 

risks, we prepared a risk management 

document (RMD). 

Based on the RMD, we proposed to 

require the blueberries to be produced 

under a systems approach employing a 

combination of mitigation measures for 

two quarantine pests, Ceratitis capitata 

and Monilinia fructigena, and inspected 

prior to exportation from Morocco and 

found free of those pests. We proposed 

to require the blueberries to be imported 

in commercial consignments only and 

to be treated with one of two approved 

postharvest treatments to mitigate the 

risk of C. capitata. We also proposed to 

require the blueberries to be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate with an additional 

declaration stating that the conditions 

for importation have been met. 

We solicited comments concerning 

the proposed rule for 60 days ending 

March 3, 2014. We received six 

comments by that date, all from private 

citizens. The comments are discussed 

below. 

General Comments on Proposed Rule 

One commenter stated that the 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) should prohibit the 

importation of blueberries from other 

countries into the United States. 

Another commenter agreed, stating that 

the distance between Morocco and the 

United States is great, and therefore, 

blueberries would need to be picked 

prematurely, which would negatively 

affect the quality of the fruit. 

Such prohibitions would be beyond 

the scope of APHIS’ statutory authority 

under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 

7701 et seq., referred to below as the 

PPA). Under the PPA, APHIS will 

prohibit the importation of a fruit or 

vegetable into the United States only if 

we determine that the prohibition is 

necessary in order to prevent the 

introduction or dissemination of a plant 

pest or noxious weed within the United 

States. 

Additionally, as a signatory to the 

World Trade Organization Agreement 

on Sanitary and Phytosanitary 

Measures, the United States has agreed 

that any prohibitions it places on the 

importation of fruits and vegetables will 

be based on scientific evidence, and will 

not be maintained without sufficient 

scientific evidence. The blanket 

prohibitions requested by the 

commenters would not be in keeping 

with this agreement. 

A few commenters expressed concern 

that the importation of blueberries from 

Morocco poses a high risk of 

introducing quarantine pests into the 

United States. 

For the reasons explained in the 

proposed rule, the RMD, and this final 

rule, we are confident that the systems 

approach and other requirements of this 

final rule will adequately mitigate the 

risks associated with the importation of 

blueberries from Morocco. 

Comment Regarding Inspections for M. 

fructigena 

We proposed to include in the 

regulations that blueberries would have 

to be inspected in the fields for signs of 

M. fructigena infestation 30 days prior 

to harvest. This inspection will have to 

be conducted by the national plant 

protection organization (NPPO) of 

Morocco. If M. fructigena is detected 

during the inspection, APHIS would 

prohibit the importation of blueberries 

from Morocco into the continental 

United States from that place of 

production for the remainder of the 

growing season. We also proposed that 

the exportation of blueberries from the 

rejected place of production may 

resume in the next growing season if 

APHIS and the NPPO of Morocco agree 

that appropriate remedial actions have 

been taken. If M. fructigena is not 

detected during the field inspections, 

the NPPO of Morocco must certify that 

the consignment of blueberries has been 

inspected again prior to exportation and 

found free of the fungus. 

One commenter stated that inspecting 

a crop 30 days prior to harvest may not 

ensure that the crop is free from M. 

fructigena. 

We note that in addition to field 

inspections, which have been shown to 

be effective, the blueberries are 

inspected for signs of M. fructigena 

prior to exportation from Morocco and 

are re-inspected at the port of entry by 

U.S. officials. These mitigation options 

have been used successfully to mitigate 

the risk of M. fructigena on fruit 

imported from other countries. 

Comment Regarding Treatments for C. 

capitata 

To mitigate the risks associated with 

C. capitata on blueberries from 

Morocco, we proposed that each 

consignment of blueberries be treated in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 305 for C. 

capitata. Within part 305, § 305.2 

provides that approved treatment 

schedules are set out in the Plant 

Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) 

Treatment Manual. As the RMD 

discusses, there are two approved 

treatments to reduce the risk of C. 

capitata: Fumigation with methyl 

bromide (treatment schedule T101–i–1– 

1) and cold treatment (treatment 

schedule T107–a). 

One commenter stated that the use of 

methyl bromide to treat the blueberries 

for C. capitata would not eliminate the 

pest from the fruit and would 

contaminate the fruit, making it unsafe 

for human consumption. 

Fumigation with methyl bromide is 

an established and proven treatment for 

blueberries and other fruits and 

vegetables that is routinely employed to 

successfully mitigate the risk of C. 

capitata and other pests. Methyl 

bromide is approved for use on articles 

for human consumption. The 

Environmental Protection Agency sets 

tolerances, or maximum residue limits, 

for pesticides used on products for 

human consumption, and the Food and 

Drug Administration tests imported fruit 

and vegetables for compliance with 

those residue limits. 

Comment Regarding the Economic 

Impacts on Small Businesses 

A commenter recommended changes 

to the proposal to address the economic 

impacts on small business entities 

relative to the importation of blueberries 

from Morocco. Specifically, he 

suggested that we restrict the volume of 

blueberries imported from Morocco 

each year and guarantee the sales price 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 146 / Wednesday, July 30, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 44119 

of blueberries from Morocco to be no 

lower than blueberries produced in the 

United States. 

APHIS does not have the authority to 

set market price on commodities in the 

United States, nor can we place quotas 

or other limitations on the volume of 

fruits and vegetables imported into the 

United States. 

Miscellaneous Changes 

In the preamble to the proposed rule, 

we included the requirement that ‘‘30 

days prior to harvest, blueberries be 

inspected in the field by the NPPO of 

Morocco for signs of M. fructigena 

infestation.’’ However, we did not 

include in the proposed regulations that 

the NPPO of Morocco would be required 

to conduct this inspection. For this 

reason, we are amending paragraph (c) 

of § 319.56–69 to include this 

information. 

In addition, we stated in proposed 

paragraph (c) that ‘‘the exportation of 

blueberries from the rejected place of 

production may resume in the next 

growing season if an investigation is 

conducted and APHIS and the NPPO of 

Morocco agree that appropriate remedial 

actions have been taken.’’ In reviewing 

this statement, we realized that, as 

worded, it is not clear what entity is 

responsible for conducting the 

investigation. While such an 

investigation must be conducted by the 

NPPO of Morocco, or by APHIS, or in 

combination, the point we wished to 

emphasize was that no exports of 

blueberries can resume from such places 

of production until APHIS and the 

NPPO of Morocco agree that appropriate 

remedial actions have been taken. For 

this reason, we are amending this 

statement in paragraph (c) to reflect our 

intended emphasis. 

Therefore, for the reasons given in the 

proposed rule and in this document, we 

are adopting the proposed rule as a final 

rule, with the changes discussed in this 

document. 

Note: In our December 2013 proposed rule, 

we proposed to add the conditions governing 

the importation of blueberries from Morocco 

as § 319.56–63. In this final rule, those 

conditions are added as § 319.56–69. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, 

has not been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, we have analyzed the 

potential economic effects of this action 

on small entities. The analysis is 

summarized below. Copies of the full 

analysis are available on the 

Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 1 

in this document for a link to 

Regulations.gov) or by contacting the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

The analysis examines the expected 

economic impact for U.S small entities 

of a rule that will allow the importation 

of fresh blueberries from Morocco into 

the continental United States. Morocco 

expects to annually export 360,000 

pounds of fresh blueberries to the 

continental United States. This quantity 

is equivalent to about one-tenth of 1 

percent of U.S. domestic supply 

(utilized production plus imports minus 

exports) between 2007 and 2012. We 

expect shipments to arrive in July and 

August, during the latter part of the U.S. 

season. Any impact on U.S. producers is 

expected to be negligible, given the 

relatively small quantity that Morocco 

intends to export to the United States. 

Under these circumstances, the 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service has 

determined that this action will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule allows blueberries to 

be imported into the continental United 

States from Morocco. State and local 

laws and regulations regarding 

blueberries imported under this rule 

will be preempted while the fruit is in 

foreign commerce. Fresh fruits are 

generally imported for immediate 

distribution and sale to the consuming 

public, and remain in foreign commerce 

until sold to the ultimate consumer. The 

question of when foreign commerce 

ceases in other cases must be addressed 

on a case-by-case basis. No retroactive 

effect will be given to this rule, and this 

rule will not require administrative 

proceedings before parties may file suit 

in court challenging this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with section 3507(d) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information 

collection or recordkeeping 

requirements included in this final rule, 

which were filed under 0579–0421, 

have been submitted for approval to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). When OMB notifies us of its 

decision, if approval is denied, we will 

publish a document in the Federal 

Register providing notice of what action 

we plan to take. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is committed to 

compliance with the E-Government Act 

to promote the use of the Internet and 

other information technologies, to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. For information pertinent to 

E-Government Act compliance related 

to this rule, please contact Mrs. Celeste 

Sickles, APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2908. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319 

Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, 

Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Rice, 

Vegetables. 

Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR 

part 319 as follows: 

PART 319—FOREIGN QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 319 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, and 

7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 

2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

■ 2. Section 319.56–69 is added to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.56–69 Fresh blueberries from 

Morocco. 

Fresh fruit of highbush blueberry 

(Vaccinium corymbosum L.) and its 

hybrid varieties southern highbush 

blueberry [V. corymbosum × 

angustifolium (V. × atlanticum) and V. 

corymbosum × virgatum] may be 

imported into the continental United 

States from Morocco only under the 

conditions described in this section. 

These conditions are designed to 

prevent the introduction of the 

following quarantine pests: Ceratitis 

capitata, the Mediterranean fruit fly, 

and the fungus Monilinia fructigena 

Honey ex Whetzel. 

(a) The blueberries may be imported 

in commercial consignments only. 

(b) The blueberries must be grown at 

places of production that are registered 

with the national plant protection 

organization (NPPO) of Morocco. 

(c) During the growing season, 

blueberries must be inspected in the 

field by the NPPO of Morocco for signs 

of M. fructigena infestation 30 days 

prior to harvest. If the fungal disease is 

detected, the NPPO of Morocco must 

notify APHIS. APHIS will prohibit the 

importation of blueberries from 

Morocco into the continental United 

States from the place of production for 

the remainder of the growing season. 

The exportation of blueberries from the 

rejected place of production may not 

resume until APHIS and the NPPO of 


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44120 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 146 / Wednesday, July 30, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

1 79 FR 24618 (May 1, 2014). 

2 78 FR 55340 (September 10, 2013) (FDIC) and 

78 FR 62018 (October 11, 2013) (OCC and Board). 

On April 8, 2014, the FDIC adopted as final the 

2013 revised capital rule, with no substantive 

changes. 

3See BCBS, ‘‘Basel II: International Convergence 

of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards: A 

Revised Framework’’ (November 2005 and revised 

in June 2006), available at http://www.bis.org/publ/ 

bcbs128.pdf. See BCBS, ‘‘Basel III: A Global 

Regulatory Framework for More Resilient Banks 

and Banking Systems’’ (December 2010 and revised 

in June 2011), available at http://www.bis.org/publ/ 

bcbs189.htm. The BCBS is a committee of banking 

supervisory authorities, which was established by 

the central bank governors of the G–10 countries in 

1975. More information regarding the BCBS and its 

membership is available at http://www.bis.org/bcbs/ 

about.htm. Documents issued by the BCBS are 

available through the Bank for International 

Settlements Web site at http://www.bis.org. 

Morocco agree that appropriate remedial 

actions have been taken. 

(d) Each consignment of blueberries 

must be treated in accordance with 7 

CFR part 305 for C. capitata. 

(e) Each consignment of blueberries 

must be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate issued by the 

NPPO of Morocco with an additional 

declaration stating that the conditions of 

this section have been met, and that the 

consignment has been inspected prior to 

export from Morocco and found free of 

M. fructigena. 

(Approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget under control number 0579– 

0421) 

Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of 

July 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–17843 Filed 7–29–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

12 CFR Part 3 

[Docket ID OCC–2014–0012] 

RIN 1557–AD83 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

12 CFR Part 217 

[Regulation Q; Docket No. R–1488] 

RIN 7100–AE17 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

12 CFR Part 324 

RIN 3064–AE13 

Regulatory Capital Rules: Advanced 

Approaches Risk-Based Capital Rule, 

Revisions to the Definition of Eligible 

Guarantee 

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of 

the Currency, Treasury; the Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System; and the Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller 

of the Currency (OCC), the Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System (Board), and the Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 

(collectively, the agencies) are adopting 

a final rule that revises the definition of 

eligible guarantee in the agencies’ 

advanced approaches risk-based capital 

rule, adopted in the agencies’ July 2013 

regulatory capital rule (2013 capital 

rule). The final rule removes the 

requirement that an eligible guarantee 

be made by an eligible guarantor for 

purposes of calculating the riskweighted assets of an exposure (other 

than a securitization exposure) under 

the advanced approaches risk-based 

capital rule as incorporated into the 

2013 capital rule (advanced 

approaches). The change to the 

definition of eligible guarantee applies 

to all banks, savings associations, bank 

holding companies, and savings and 

loan holding companies that are subject 

to the advanced approaches. 

DATES: This rule is effective on October 

1, 2014. Any company subject to the 

rule may elect to adopt it before this 

date. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

OCC: Margot Schwadron, Senior Risk 

Expert; or Roger Tufts, Senior Economic 

Advisor, Capital Policy, (202) 649–6370; 

or Carl Kaminski, Counsel, Legislative 

and Regulatory Activities Division, 

(202) 649–5490, for persons who are 

deaf or hard of hearing, TTY, (202) 649– 

5597, Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency, 400 7th Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20219. 

Board: Anna Lee Hewko, Deputy 

Associate Director, (202) 530–6260; 

Constance M. Horsley, Assistant 

Director, (202) 452–5239; Thomas 

Boemio, Manager, (202) 452–2982; 

Andrew Willis, Supervisory Financial 

Analyst, (202) 912–4323; or Justyna 

Milewski, Financial Analyst, (202) 452– 

3607, Capital and Regulatory Policy, 

Division of Banking Supervision and 

Regulation; or Benjamin McDonough, 

Senior Counsel, (202) 452–2036; April 

C. Snyder, Senior Counsel, (202) 452– 

3099; Christine Graham, Counsel, (202) 

452–3005; or Mark Buresh, Attorney, 

(202) 452–5270, Legal Division, Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, 20th and C Streets NW., 

Washington, DC 20551. For the hearing 

impaired only, Telecommunication 

Device for the Deaf (TDD), (202) 263– 

4869. 

FDIC: Bobby R. Bean, Associate 

Director, bbean@fdic.gov; Ryan 

Billingsley, Chief, Capital Policy 

Section, rbillingsley@fdic.gov; Benedetto 

Bosco, Capital Markets Policy Analyst, 

bbosco@fdic.gov, Capital Markets 

Branch, Division of Risk Management 

Supervision, regulatorycapital@fdic.gov 

or (202) 898–6888; or Michael Phillips, 

Counsel, mphillips@fdic.gov; Rachel 

Ackmann, Senior Attorney, rackmann@

fdic.gov; or Grace Pyun, Senior 

Attorney, gpyun@fdic.gov, Supervision 

Branch, Legal Division, Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street 

NW., Washington, DC 20429. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On May 1, 2014, the Office of the 

Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the 

Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System (Board), and the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 

(collectively, the agencies) published in 

the Federal Register a joint notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPR or proposed 

rule)1 seeking public comment on 

revisions to the definition of eligible 

guarantee for purposes of calculating the 

risk-weighted assets of an exposure 

(other than a securitization exposure) 

under the advanced approaches riskbased capital rule as incorporated into 

subpart E (advanced approaches) of the 

agencies’ July 2013 regulatory capital 

rule (2013 capital rule).2

Among other changes, the 2013 

capital rule amended the methodologies 

for calculating risk-weighted assets 

under the advanced approaches, as well 

as the standardized approach for 

regulatory capital in subpart D 

(standardized approach) of the 2013 

capital rule, which is generally 

consistent with the methodologies for 

calculating risk-weighted assets 

established by the Basel Committee on 

Banking Supervision (BCBS) through its 

international framework.3 Specifically, 

the 2013 capital rule included a 

definition of ‘‘eligible guarantee’’ for 

purposes of both the standardized 

approach and the advanced approaches 

and introduced a definition of ‘‘eligible 

guarantor.’’ 

The definition of eligible guarantee 

provided that an eligible guarantee 

could be provided only by an eligible 

guarantor. The definition of eligible 

guarantor includes a sovereign, the Bank 

for International Settlements, the 


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