1044 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 4 / Wednesday, January 7, 1998 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Thrift Supervision

12 CFR Part 563

[No. 97–127]

RIN 1550–AA72

Capital Distributions; Withdrawal of

Proposed Rule

AGENCY: Office of Thrift Supervision

(OTS), Treasury.

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

SUMMARY: The OTS is withdrawing the

proposed rule amending its capital

distributions regulation originally

published on December 5, 1994.

Elsewhere in today’s issue of the

Federal Register, the OTS has published

a new proposal making more extensive

revisions to the regulation.

DATES: Proposed amendment to

§ 563.134 is withdrawn on January 7,

1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Edward J. O’Connell, III, Project

Manager, (202) 906–5694; Robyn

Dennis, Manager, (202) 906–5751,

Supervision Policy; Evelyne

Bonhomme, Counsel (Banking and

Finance), (202) 906–7052; or Karen

Osterloh, Assistant Chief Counsel, (202)

906–6639, Regulations and Legislation

Division, Chief Counsel’s Office, Office

of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street,

N.W., Washington, DC 20552.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In 1990, the OTS adopted the current

capital distributions rule at 12 CFR

563.134. The rule permits a savings

association to make a capital

distribution based on its level of

capitalization. The regulation was

originally intended to restrict capital

distributions by savings associations

that did not meet the capital

requirements imposed in the Financial

Institutions Reform, Recovery, and

Enforcement Act of 1989.

On December 5, 1994, the OTS issued

a proposed rule revising the capital

distributions regulation. 59 FR 62356.

The proposed rule was designed to

incorporate statutory changes contained

in the prompt corrective action statute

at 12 U.S.C. 1831o (PCA requirements)

and to reflect the improved capital

position of the thrift industry.

Section 303 of the CDRIA (12 U.S.C.

4803) requires the OTS to streamline

and modify its regulations to improve

efficiency, reduce unnecessary costs,

and eliminate unwarranted constraints

on credit availability. Section 303 also

requires the OTS to remove

inconsistencies and outmoded and

duplicative requirements from its

regulations.

Consistent with these requirements,

elsewhere in today’s Federal Register

the OTS is proposing a new rule that

updates, simplifies, and streamlines

§ 563.134. Like the 1994 proposal,

today’s proposed rule reflects PCA

requirements. The new proposal also

contains changes designed to simplify

the rule and to conform OTS’s capital

distributions requirements with those

that apply to banks. The proposal

utilizes plain English drafting

techniques to make the regulation easier

to understand.

Withdrawal of the Proposed Rule

In light of the newly proposed

revisions to § 563.134, the OTS

withdraws its proposal published in the

Federal Register on December 5, 1994 at

59 FR 62358.

Dated: December 10, 1997.

By the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Ellen S. Seidman,

Director.

[FR Doc. 98–204 Filed 1–6–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6720–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Thrift Supervision

12 CFR Parts 563, 563b

[No. 97–128]

RIN 1550–AA72

Capital Distributions

AGENCY: Office of Thrift Supervision,

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Office of Thrift

Supervision (OTS) is proposing

amendments to its capital distributions

regulation. Today’s rule updates,

simplifies, and streamlines this

regulation to reflect OTS’s

implementation of the system of prompt

corrective action (PCA) established

under the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation Improvement Act of 1991

(FDICIA). The proposal is also designed

to conform OTS’s capital distribution

requirements to those of the other

banking agencies.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before March 9, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Manager,

Dissemination Branch, Records

Management and Information Policy,

Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G

Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20552,

Attention Docket No. 97–128. These

submissions may be hand-delivered to

1700 G Street, N.W., from 9:00 a.m. to

5:00 p.m. on business days; they may be

sent by facsimile transmission to FAX

Number (202) 906–7755; or they may be

sent by e-mail:

public.info@ots.treas.gov. Those

commenting by e-mail should include

their name and telephone number.

Comments will be available for

inspection at 1700 G Street, N.W., from

9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on business

days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Edward J. O’Connell, III, Project

Manager, (202) 906–5694; Robyn

Dennis, Manager, (202) 906–5751,

Supervision Policy; Evelyne

Bonhomme, Counsel (Banking and

Finance), (202) 906–7052; Karen

Osterloh, Assistant Chief Counsel, (202)

906–6639, Regulations and Legislation

Division, Chief Counsel’s Office, Office

of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street

NW., Washington, D.C. 20552.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

The OTS is proposing to update,

simplify, and streamline its capital

distributions regulation. This proposal

follows a detailed review of the

regulation to determine whether it

should be revised, reduces burden

consistent with statutory requirements,

and is written in a clear, straightforward

style. Today’s proposal is made

pursuant to the Regulatory Reinvention

Initiative of the Vice President’s

National Performance Review and

section 303 of the Community

Development and Regulatory

Improvement Act of 1994 (CDRIA).

Consistent with section 303, the

proposed amendments would bring the

OTS’s capital distributions regulation

into greater conformity with the

requirements of the Office of the

Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the

Federal Reserve Board (FRB), and the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

(FDIC).

The proposal reduces regulatory

burden and compliance costs associated

with some capital distributions. Under

the existing rules, all savings

associations must file a notice or an

application for approval before making

any capital distribution. Under the

proposed rule, however, certain savings

associations would not be required to

file with the OTS. Specifically, for

savings associations that would remain

at least adequately capitalized following

the capital distribution and meet other

specified requirements, the OTS is

proposing to eliminate any requirement