This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

9573 

Vol. 74, No. 42 

Thursday, March 5, 2009 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Part 701 

RIN 3133–AD60 

Operating Fees 

AGENCY: National Credit Union 

Administration (NCUA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: NCUA proposes to amend its 

rule on the assessment of the federal 

credit union (FCU) operating fee to 

exclude investments made under the 

Credit Union System Investment 

Program (CU SIP) and the Credit Union 

Homeowners Affordability Relief 

Program (CU HARP) from the 

calculation of total assets; total assets is 

the basis on which the operating fee is 

currently calculated. The Board believes 

this amendment will remove a 

disincentive for some FCUs from 

participating in the CU SIP or the CU 

HARP. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 4, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods (Please 

send comments by one method only): 

• NCUA Web Site: http:// 

www.ncua.gov/news/proposed_regs/ 

proposed_regs.html. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: Address to 

regcomments@ncua.gov. Include ‘‘[Your 

name] Comments on Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (Operating Fee)’’ in the email subject line. 

• Fax: (703) 518–6319. Use the 

subject line described above for e-mail. 

• Mail: Address to Mary Rupp, 

Secretary of the Board, National Credit 

Union Administration, 1775 Duke 

Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314– 

3428. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as 

mail address. 

Public inspection: All public 

comments are available on the agency’s 

Web site at http://www.ncua.gov/ 

RegulationsOpinionsLaws/comments as 

submitted, except as may not be 

possible for technical reasons. Public 

comments will not be edited to remove 

any identifying or contact information. 

Paper copies of comments may be 

inspected in NCUA’s law library, at 

1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 

22314, by appointment weekdays 

between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. To make an 

appointment, call (703) 518–6546 or 

send an e-mail to OGCMail@ncua.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Justin M. Anderson, Staff Attorney, 

Office of General Counsel, at the above 

address or telephone (703) 518–6540. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

Section 1755 of the Federal Credit 

Union Act (the Act) requires FCUs to 

pay an annual operating fee to NCUA. 

12 U.S.C. 1755(a). This section of the 

Act provides the NCUA Board (the 

Board) with broad discretion in 

deciding how the amount of the 

operating fee is determined. 

Specifically, this section states: 

The fee assessed under this section shall be 

determined according to a schedule, or 

schedules, or other method determined by 

the Board to be appropriate, which gives due 

consideration to the expenses of the 

Administration in carrying out its 

responsibilities under this Act and to the 

ability of Federal credit unions to pay the fee. 

12 U.S.C. 1755(b). 

Currently, § 701.6 sets out the basis on 

which NCUA assesses the operating fee. 

Briefly summarized, this section 

provides that FCUs must pay NCUA an 

annual operating fee based on the credit 

union’s total assets. 12 CFR 701.6(a). 

NCUA calculates an FCU’s operating fee 

by multiplying the dollar amount of the 

total assets by a percentage set by the 

Board after considering the expenses of 

NCUA and the ability of FCUs to pay 

the fee. The term ‘‘total assets’’ generally 

includes all assets created on an FCU’s 

books related to investments made by an 

FCU that are currently outstanding as of 

the close of the previous fiscal year. 

Based on this calculation, an increase in 

the dollar amount of investments will 

increase total assets and, thereby, may 

increase an FCU’s operating fee. The 

Board recognizes that an FCU making 

investments under the CU SIP or the CU 

HARP may be subject to a higher 

operating fee and this may act as a 

disincentive for FCU participation in 

the programs. 

B. CU SIP and CU HARP 

On December 9, 2008, after receiving 

concurrences from the Federal Reserve 

Board and the Secretary of the Treasury, 

the NCUA Board announced two, new 

initiatives for Central Liquidity Facility 

(CLF) extensions of credit to credit 

unions for system liquidity needs. The 

two initiatives were the CU SIP and the 

CU HARP. 

Under the CU SIP, participating credit 

unions can borrow from the CLF and 

invest the proceeds in participating 

corporate credit unions. Specifically, 

the CLF will make a secured, one-year 

advance to the credit union, which it 

must, in turn, concurrently invest in a 

fixed-rate, matched term, guaranteed CU 

SIP Note issued by a participating 

corporate credit union. As of February 

10, 2009, the CLF has dispersed over 

seven billion dollars under the CU SIP. 

The CU HARP is a two-year, $2 

billion program intended to assist 

homeowners who are facing 

delinquency, default, or foreclosure on 

their mortgages, especially in the face of 

diminished home prices. Under the CU 

HARP, participating creditworthy credit 

unions can borrow from the CLF, and 

receive as much as an additional 100- 

basis point spread over the cost of 

borrowing if they modify at-risk 

mortgages, primarily by lowering 

interest rates and corresponding 

monthly payments. Under the CU 

HARP, the CLF makes a secured, one 

year advance to the credit union, which 

is renewable for a term of one year. The 

credit union must, in turn, concurrently 

invest the proceeds in a two-year, 

guaranteed CU HARP Note issued by a 

participating corporate credit union. 

The Board recognizes the CU SIP and 

the CU HARP are valuable tools to 

infuse liquidity into the corporate credit 

union system and support the overall 

national economic interest. The Board, 

however, is concerned that requiring 

FCU’s to include CU SIP and CU HARP 

investments in their total assets, for 

purposes of calculating their operating 

fees, may deter participation in the 

programs. The Board, therefore, is 

proposing to amend § 701.6 to address 

the potential disincentive FCUs may 

face when deciding to participate in the 

CU SIP and CU HARP. 

C. Proposed Amendment 

The proposed rule would amend 

§ 701.6 by excluding investments made 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with PROPOSALS
9574 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 42 / Thursday, March 5, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

under the CU SIP and the CU HARP 

from an FCU’s total assets for purposes 

of calculating its operating fee. 

Specifically, the Board is excluding, 

from the calculation of total assets, the 

asset that is created on the books of a 

natural person federal credit union 

when it makes a CU SIP or CU HARP 

related investment in a corporate credit 

union. Under this proposed rule, 

participating FCUs would continue to 

calculate their total assets in the same 

manner, except they would not include 

the dollar amount of any outstanding 

CU SIP or CU HARP investments in the 

calculation. This amendment would 

insure an increase in operating fees 

would not deter FCUs from 

participating in the programs. Because 

the operating fee is based on an FCU’s 

total assets as of the close of the 

previous fiscal year and funding for the 

CU SIP and CU HARP took place after 

January 1, 2009, the amendments made 

in this rule will not affect the 

computation of the operating fee until 

2010. 

Regulatory Procedures 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

requires NCUA to prepare an analysis to 

describe any significant economic 

impact a proposed rule may have on a 

substantial number of small credit 

unions (those under $10 million in 

assets). This proposed rule revises the 

calculation of total assets for purposes 

of the assessment of the FCU operating 

fee and would exclude investments 

made under the CU SIP and the CU 

HARP from the calculation. The 

operating fee is calculated as a 

percentage of total assets and, as such, 

the calculation already is geared to 

impose a lesser fee on smaller credit 

unions. In addition, the operating fee 

schedule has historically imposed no 

operating fee on FCUs with assets up to 

$500,000 and a flat fee of $100 for FCUs 

of up to $750,000 in assets. The benefit 

of the proposed amendment would 

apply equally to small credit unions, to 

the extent they participate in the CU SIP 

or the CU HARP, and would not have 

a significant effect on their operating 

fees. The proposed rule, therefore, will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small credit 

unions and a regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

NCUA has determined that the 

proposed amendments will not increase 

paperwork requirements and a 

paperwork reduction analysis is not 

required. 

Executive Order 13132 

Executive Order 13132 encourages 

independent regulatory agencies to 

consider the impact of their actions on 

state and local interests. In adherence to 

fundamental federalism principles, 

NCUA, an independent regulatory 

agency as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(5), 

voluntarily complies with the executive 

order. The proposed rule would not 

have substantial direct effects on the 

states, on the connection between the 

national government and the states, or 

on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. NCUA has 

determined that this proposed rule does 

not constitute a policy that has 

federalism implications for purposes of 

the executive order. 

The Treasury and General Government 

Appropriations Act, 1999—Assessment 

of Federal Regulations and Policies on 

Families 

NCUA has determined that this 

proposed rule would not affect family 

well-being within the meaning of 

section 654 of the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 1999, 

Public Law 105–277, 112 Stat. 2681 

(1998). 

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 701 

Credit unions, Low income, 

Nonmember deposits, Secondary 

capital, Shares. 

By the National Credit Union 

Administration Board on February 26, 2009. 

Mary Rupp, 

Secretary of the Board. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the National Credit Union 

Administration proposes to amend 12 

CFR part 701 as set forth below: 

PART 701—ORGANIZATION AND 

OPERATIONS OF FEDERAL CREDIT 

UNIONS 

1. The authority citation for part 701 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1752(5), 1755, 1756, 

1757, 1759, 1761a, 1761b, 766, 1767, 1782, 

1784, 1787, 1789. Section 701.6 is also 

authorized by 15 U.S.C. 3717. Section 701.31 

is also authorized by 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.; 

42 U.S.C. 1981 and 3601–3610. Section 

701.35 is also authorized by 42 U.S.C. 4311– 

4312. 

2. In § 701.6, add a new sentence to 

the end of paragraph (a) to read as 

follows: 

§ 701.6 Fees paid by Federal credit unions. 

(a) * * * The term total assets does 

not include the assets created on the 

books of a natural person federal credit 

union by investments made in a 

corporate credit union under the Credit 

Union System Investment Program or 

the Credit Union Homeowners 

Affordability Relief Program. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E9–4575 Filed 3–4–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7535–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

15 CFR Part 922 

RIN 0648–AX34 

Changes to the Florida Keys National 

Marine Sanctuary Regulations; 

Technical Corrections and Minor 

Substantive Changes 

AGENCY: Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA), Department of Commerce 

(DOC). 

ACTION: Correction; Extend public 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: On December 19, 2008, 

NOAA published a proposed rule in the 

Federal Register that makes technical 

corrections and minor modifications to 

the Florida Keys National Marine 

Sanctuary (FKNMS) regulations. The 

preamble of that document contained an 

inaccurate reference to U.S. Coast Guard 

regulations, which was a basis for one 

of the proposed modifications. This 

document eliminates that reference and 

clarifies the rationale for making this 

regulation change. The ONMS is 

preparing an environmental assessment 

pursuant to the National Environmental 

Policy Act. 

DATES: The public comment period on 

the proposed rule published at 73 FR 

77557, December 19, 2008, is reopened. 

Comments will be accepted through 

March 26, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Submit 

electronic comments via the Federal 

e-Rulemaking Portal; 

• Mail: David A. Score, 

Superintendent, Florida Keys National 

Marine Sanctuary, 33 East Quay Road, 

Key West, FL 33040. 

• Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

be generally posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with PROPOSALS