Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 64661 

handlers, manufacturers, and 

consumers. 

This rule increases the quantity of 

Scotch spearmint oil that handlers may 

purchase from, or handle on behalf of, 

producers during the 2014–2015 

marketing year, which ends on May 31, 

2015. The 2014–2015 Scotch spearmint 

oil salable quantity was initially 

established at 1,149,030 pounds and the 

allotment percentage initially set at 55 

percent. This rule increases the Scotch 

spearmint oil salable quantity to 

1,984,423 pounds and the allotment 

percentage from 55 percent to 95 

percent. 

Based on the information and 

projections available at the September 

11, 2014, meeting, the Committee 

considered a number of alternatives to 

this increase. The Committee not only 

considered leaving the salable quantity 

and allotment percentage unchanged, 

but also considered other potential 

levels of increase. The Committee 

reached its recommendation to increase 

the salable quantity and allotment 

percentage for Scotch spearmint oil after 

careful consideration of all available 

information and input from all 

interested industry participants, and 

believes that the levels recommended 

will achieve the objectives sought. 

Without the increase, the Committee 

believes the industry would not be able 

to satisfactorily meet market demand. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, 

Vegetable and Specialty Crop Marketing 

Orders. No changes in those 

requirements as a result of this action 

are necessary. Should any changes 

become necessary, they would be 

submitted to OMB for approval. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

spearmint oil handlers. As with all 

Federal marketing order programs, 

reports and forms are periodically 

reviewed to reduce information 

requirements and duplication by 

industry and public sector agencies. 

AMS is committed to complying 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. 

In addition, USDA has not identified 

any relevant Federal rules that 

duplicate, overlap or conflict with this 

rule. 

Further, the Committee’s meeting was 

widely publicized throughout the 

spearmint oil industry, and all 

interested persons were invited to 

attend the meeting and participate in 

Committee deliberations. Like all 

Committee meetings, the September 11, 

2014, meeting was a public meeting, 

and all entities, both large and small, 

were able to express their views on this 

issue. Finally, interested persons are 

invited to submit information on the 

regulatory and informational impacts of 

this action on small businesses. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: www.ams.usda.gov/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Jeffrey Smutny 

at the previously mentioned address in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

This rule invites comments on a 

change to the salable quantity and 

allotment percentage for Scotch 

spearmint oil for the 2014–2015 

marketing year. Any comments received 

will be considered prior to finalization 

of this rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that this 

interim rule, as hereinafter set forth, 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) This rule increases the 

quantity of Scotch spearmint oil that 

may be marketed during the marketing 

year, which ends on May 31, 2015; (2) 

the current quantity of Scotch spearmint 

oil may be inadequate to meet demand 

for the 2014–2015 marketing year, thus 

making the additional oil available as 

soon as is practicable will be beneficial 

to both handlers and producers; (3) the 

Committee recommended these changes 

at a public meeting and interested 

parties had an opportunity to provide 

input; and (4) this rule provides a 60- 

day comment period, and any 

comments received will be considered 

prior to finalization of this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 985 

Marketing agreements, Oils and fats, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Spearmint oil. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 985 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 985—MARKETING ORDER 

REGULATING THE HANDLING OF 

SPEARMINT OIL PRODUCED IN THE 

FAR WEST 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 985 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. In § 985.233, remove the note 

preceding the section that states ‘‘[Note: 

This section will not appear in the 

annual Code of Federal Regulations.]’’ 

and revise paragraph (a) to read as 

follows: 

§ 985.233 Salable quantities and allotment 

percentages—2014–2015 marketing year. 

* * * * * 

(a) Class 1 (Scotch) oil—a salable 

quantity of 1,984,423 pounds and an 

allotment percentage of 95 percent. 

* * * * * 

Dated: October 23, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25646 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD 

12 CFR Part 907 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE 

AGENCY 

12 CFR Parts 1201 and 1211 

RIN 2590–AA66 

Procedures and General Definitions 

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance 

Agency; Federal Housing Finance 

Board. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance 

Agency (FHFA) is amending its 

regulations by relocating to the FHFA 

chapter of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) a Federal Housing 

Finance Board (Finance Board) 

regulation relating to procedures under 

which the Federal Home Loan Banks 

(Banks) and the Office of Finance (OF) 

may request waivers, approvals, noaction letters, and regulatory 

interpretations. The final rule modifies 

these regulations to make them also 

applicable to the Federal National 

Mortgage Association and the Federal 

Home Loan Mortgage Corporation 

(collectively, Enterprises) and repeals 


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64662 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

1 79 FR 15257 (March 19, 2014). 

provisions relating to the procedures for 

requesting case-by-case determinations. 

The final rule also relocates a definition 

to the general definitions section of the 

FHFA regulations. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

December 1, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Bogdon, Amy.Bogdon@fhfa.gov, 

(202) 649–3320, Associate Director, 

Division of Federal Home Loan Bank 

Regulation; or Michou Nguyen, 

Michou.Nguyen@fhfa.gov, (202) 649– 

3081 (not toll free numbers), Assistant 

General Counsel, Office of General 

Counsel, Federal Housing Finance 

Agency, 400 7th Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. The telephone 

number for the Telecommunications 

Device for the Hearing Impaired is (800) 

877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

A. Proposed Rule 

On March 19, 2014, FHFA published 

in the Federal Register a proposed rule 

to adopt as its own, and extend to the 

Enterprises, certain provisions of the 

Finance Board regulations, located at 12 

CFR 907 (part 907), pertaining to 

waivers, approvals, no-action letters, 

and regulatory interpretations.1 The 

proposal was part of FHFA’s ongoing 

project to repeal or relocate all of the 

regulations of its predecessor agencies. 

Proposed 12 CFR 1211 (part 1211) set 

forth procedures that the Banks and the 

Enterprises (collectively, the regulated 

entities) and the OF must follow in 

order to request waivers, approvals, 

non-objection letters, and regulatory 

interpretations from FHFA. It consisted 

of a section for definitions, sections 

describing the nature of requests for 

waivers, approvals, non-objection 

letters, and regulatory interpretations, 

and a section that set forth submission 

requirements for such requests. The 

proposed rule would have also repealed 

those provisions of part 907 that pertain 

to case-by-case determinations. Nearly 

all of the content of part 1211 was 

derived from part 907, with 

modifications as were necessary to 

apply the regulation to the Enterprises, 

or to clarify, update, or supplement the 

existing regulation, as appropriate. The 

proposed rule also stated in both the 

regulatory text and in the 

supplementary information that the 

procedures within proposed part 1211 

were intended to be used to address 

regulatory matters pertaining to the 

Banks and the Enterprises, and were not 

intended to be used to address 

conservatorship matters. 

B. Considerations of Differences 

Between the Banks and the Enterprises 

When promulgating regulations or 

taking other actions that relate to the 

Banks, the FHFA Director (Director) is 

required by section 1313(f) of the 

Federal Housing Enterprises Financial 

Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 

U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) to consider the 

differences between the Banks and the 

Enterprises with respect to the Banks’ 

cooperative ownership structure; 

mission of providing liquidity to 

members; affordable housing and 

community development mission; 

capital structure; and joint and several 

liability. 12 U.S.C. 4513(f). In preparing 

this final rule, the Director has 

considered the differences between the 

Banks and the Enterprises as they relate 

to the above factors and has determined 

that the rule would not adversely affect 

any of the statutory factors. 

II. Final Rule and Comments 

FHFA received three comment letters 

in response to the proposed rule, one 

each from the Federal National 

Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the 

Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, 

and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San 

Francisco (San Francisco Bank). Each of 

the comment letters recommended ways 

in which FHFA could revise certain 

aspects of the proposed rule. In 

considering those recommendations, 

FHFA has decided to revise two 

provisions of the proposed rule that 

pertain to which executives must sign 

submissions made under these 

procedures and the circumstances in 

which a resolution of the board of 

directors must accompany the 

submission. In all other respects, the 

final rule is unchanged from the 

proposed rule. The following 

paragraphs describe the two revisions 

being made to the final rule, as well as 

the reasons why FHFA has not revised 

the regulation in response to any of the 

other recommendations made by the 

commenters. 

Signature Requirements 

The proposed rule required all 

submissions under part 1211 to be 

signed by the president of the regulated 

entity or by the chairperson of the board 

of directors of the OF. Currently, part 

907 of the Finance Board regulations 

only requires this for requests for noaction letters and permits the other 

types of submissions to be signed by 

authorized representatives of the entity. 

All three commenters argued that the 

proposal was too stringent, principally 

because there are likely to be 

circumstances in which executives 

other than the president or chairperson 

will be more familiar with the particular 

matter and thus would be the 

appropriate person for submitting the 

requests. Commenters also suggested 

that it would be more appropriate to 

allow each entity to decide which of its 

officers should sign submissions made 

under these rules. In addition, different 

regulated entities use different terms for 

their principal executive officers. The 

Enterprises are managed by ‘‘chief 

executive officers,’’ while the term for 

that officer used by the Banks, 

incorporated in the Bank Act and in 

FHFA’s regulations, is ‘‘president.’’ 

FHFA agrees with the commenters and 

is revising § 1211.6(b) of the final rule 

so that it would permit the principal 

executive officer or any other authorized 

executive officer of a regulated entity to 

sign any submissions made under part 

1211. The final rule makes a similar 

change with respect to the OF, which 

allows for the chairperson of the board 

of directors or any authorized executive 

officer to sign submissions under these 

procedures. 

Board Resolution 

The proposed rule would have carried 

over from the Finance Board regulations 

a provision requiring an entity seeking 

a waiver or approval to submit a 

resolution of its board of directors 

concurring in the substance of the 

submission and authorizing its filing, 

which would be in addition to the 

requirement that the submission be 

signed by the entity’s president. Fannie 

Mae contended this requirement was 

not necessary and also could be 

burdensome in light of the limited 

number of board meetings that an entity 

may have each year. FHFA agrees that 

although the Finance Board may have 

had policy reasons for requiring 

evidence of the board’s approval of 

waivers and approvals when these 

procedures were first adopted, there is 

no compelling reason to require a board 

resolution in support of a request for a 

waiver or approval when board 

resolutions are not required for 

regulatory interpretations or nonobjection letters. Most submissions that 

have been made under these procedures 

generally are related to operational 

matters, which are the responsibility of 

management. Accordingly, FHFA is 

persuaded that it is not necessary for the 

board of directors to formally endorse 

these requests, and this requirement has 

been eliminated from the final rule. 


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2For purposes of assessing prospective effect, 

particular situations may need to be evaluated on 

their own circumstances, e.g., a pre-existing 

contract that is automatically renewing in 

perpetuity. 

Alternative Procedures for Approvals 

Section 1211.3(b) of the proposed rule 

carried over from the Finance Board 

regulations a provision that stated that 

the procedures for obtaining FHFA’s 

approval under part 1211 would not 

apply if alternative procedures for 

obtaining FHFA’s approval are 

prescribed by a different statute, rule, 

regulation, policy, or order. Fannie Mae 

contended that the rule’s reference to 

‘‘alternative application procedures,’’ 

along with a reference to a single 

regulation that applies only to the 

Banks, did not make clear what other 

regulatory provisions might supersede 

the approval procedures in the proposed 

rule. To clarify the provision, Fannie 

Mae asked that FHFA list within the 

body of the regulation eight specific 

regulations with approval procedures 

that it believed would supersede those 

of part 1211. FHFA does not believe that 

the reference to ‘‘alternative application 

procedures’’ is either vague or 

ambiguous, and believes that the 

concept embodied in the language can 

be readily applied, i.e., if Congress or 

FHFA has established a specific 

procedure by which a regulated entity is 

required to obtain the agency’s 

approval, then that other procedure 

controls. FHFA also does not believe it 

is necessary, or appropriate, to list 

specific regulations within the body of 

the regulatory text of part 1211 because 

regulations change periodically and the 

list could become outdated or 

inaccurate. FHFA agrees with Fannie 

Mae’s contention that the procedures for 

obtaining prior approval for Enterprise 

products under 12 CFR part 1253 and 

for obtaining approval of a housing goal 

plan, when such plan is required, and 

for petitioning for adjustments of 

housing goals under the Enterprise 

housing goals provisions of 12 CFR part 

1282 are examples of alternative 

procedures that would supersede the 

approval procedures of this rule. 

Informal Procedures for Obtaining a 

Non-Objection 

Fannie Mae stated that from time to 

time it informally asks that FHFA, in its 

conservatorship capacity, agree to a 

proposed activity by stating that it has 

no objection to the Enterprise 

undertaking the activity. Fannie Mae 

expressed concern that the extension of 

the formal procedures in part 1211 to 

the Enterprises could adversely affect 

these existing informal arrangements 

between the conservator and the 

Enterprises. To prevent that from 

happening, Fannie Mae has asked that 

FHFA codify these existing informal 

arrangements into the final rule. As was 

stated in the proposed rule, and as the 

final rule continues to state, the 

procedures of part 1211 apply only to 

regulatory matters pertaining to the 

Enterprises and the Banks. They do not 

apply to conservatorship matters. For 

that reason, it would be inappropriate to 

codify these existing informal 

conservatorship arrangements in this 

regulation. Moreover, because the final 

rule does not apply to any 

conservatorship matters, it will not 

affect the functioning of the existing 

channels through which the Enterprises 

currently obtain guidance or nonobjection from FHFA in its capacity as 

conservator. 

Proposed Transactions 

Section 1211.5(a) of the proposed rule 

carried over from the Finance Board 

regulations language allowing the 

General Counsel to issue a regulatory 

interpretation providing guidance with 

respect to a proposed transaction or 

activity. The Supplementary 

Information discussion of that provision 

further explained that requests for a 

regulatory interpretation must not relate 

to a hypothetical situation. Fannie Mae 

expressed concern about the reference 

to a hypothetical situation, believing 

that it may be difficult in practice to 

distinguish between a proposed 

business transaction that is at an early 

stage of development, and for which 

some interpretive guidance is needed, 

and a hypothetical situation. Fannie 

Mae contended that, without the ability 

to obtain FHFA guidance at an early 

stage in a proposal’s development, it 

could expend significant resources on 

developing a proposal only to have 

FHFA later decline to issue an 

interpretation that would have 

authorized the contemplated 

transaction. Fannie Mae recommended 

that FHFA address this issue by deleting 

from the final rule the reference to 

‘‘proposed transaction or activity’’ and 

allowing the General Counsel to 

determine on a case-by-case basis 

whether a particular proposal was 

sufficiently developed to allow the 

issuance of a regulatory interpretation. 

FHFA agrees that the reference to 

‘‘hypothetical situations’’ could cause 

confusion and wishes to make clear that 

the operative language of § 1211.5(a)— 

‘‘proposed transaction or activity’’— 

does not mean that a specific business 

proposal needs to be fully developed in 

order for a regulated entity to request a 

regulatory interpretation. However, 

FHFA does not believe it would be 

appropriate to delete the reference to 

‘‘proposed transaction or activity’’ from 

the regulatory text. In order for FHFA to 

properly consider a request to interpret 

its statutes or regulations in a particular 

manner, it needs some factual context 

within which to frame and assess the 

legal issues. By retaining the 

requirement that a request for a 

regulatory interpretation must pertain to 

a proposed transaction or activity FHFA 

believes that it is more likely to receive 

a well-reasoned legal analysis as part of 

the request, and that the regulatory 

interpretation will be justified by an 

actual need. 

Prospective Effect of FHFA Action 

The proposed rule explicitly reserved 

to the Director the right to modify, 

rescind, or supersede any previously 

granted waiver, approval, non-objection 

letter, or regulatory interpretation, 

provided that any such action by the 

Director would be effective only on a 

prospective basis. The San Francisco 

Bank expressed concern that such 

actions taken by the Director might 

inadvertently impair existing 

contractual rights that had been 

established in reliance on the previously 

issued guidance. To avoid that 

possibility, the San Francisco Bank 

recommended that FHFA amend part 

1211 to explicitly state that any such 

action by the Director would not 

adversely affect any existing contractual 

rights that had been established in 

reliance on previously granted 

guidance. FHFA does not believe that it 

is necessary for the regulatory text to 

state that actions by the Director that are 

effective only on a prospective basis 

also do not have retrospective effect. 

FHFA believes that the commonly 

understood meaning of a regulatory 

action that is to be ‘‘effective only on a 

prospective basis’’ is that it affects only 

actions to be taken subsequently, and 

does not affect any actions taken by the 

regulated entities prior to the date of the 

Director’s action, which would include 

any contractual rights established in 

reliance on the prior guidance. As a 

general proposition, FHFA evaluates 

actions taken by the regulated entities 

based on the law or regulations in effect 

at the time that the regulated entity 

acted, regardless of whether the statute, 

regulation or, in this case, regulatory 

guidance were to change at a subsequent 

date.2

Conservatorship Protocols 

The introductory language of § 1211.6 

of the proposed rule stated that requests 

submitted under these procedures 

‘‘shall pertain to regulatory matters 


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64664 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

relating to the Banks or Enterprises, and 

not to conservatorship matters.’’ The 

preamble to the proposed rule repeated 

that statement. The intent behind that 

provision was to recognize that FHFA, 

as conservator, has established a series 

of procedures for communications 

between the conservator and the 

Enterprises relating to their business 

operations, and to make clear that 

matters that are currently handled under 

those conservatorship protocols and 

letters of instruction should continue to 

be handled under those procedures, 

rather than the part 1211 procedures. 

Fannie Mae has expressed concern that 

it could be difficult for an Enterprise to 

distinguish between a conservatorship 

matter and a regulatory matter, given the 

breadth and complexity of the 

conservatorship operations, which 

could create uncertainty about whether 

a particular matter should be addressed 

under the existing conservatorship 

protocols or under the part 1211 

procedures. To avoid that uncertainty, 

Fannie Mae has recommended that 

FHFA amend part 1211 to permit the 

Enterprises to submit all requests for 

guidance to the conservator, who could 

then decide whether it involved a 

regulatory matter to be considered 

under part 1211 or a conservatorship 

matter to be considered under the 

existing conservatorship procedures. 

FHFA acknowledges that, by 

themselves, the terms ‘‘regulatory 

matters’’ and ‘‘conservatorship matters’’ 

are imprecise, but also believes that 

within the context of the 

conservatorships, including the 

procedures that the conservator has 

established for communications with 

the Enterprises while in conservatorship 

and the types of matters that have been 

subject to those procedures, both 

Enterprises should be able to determine 

which requests for agency guidance fall 

within the conservatorship procedures 

and which would be more appropriate 

for submission under part 1211. 

Accordingly, the final rule does not 

include the revisions requested by 

Fannie Mae but instead retains the 

language from the proposed rule 

distinguishing ‘‘conservatorship 

matters’’ from ‘‘regulatory matters.’’ To 

the extent that an Enterprise is unable 

to determine which procedures to 

follow in a particular case, it should 

raise the matter with the conservator 

under the informal channels of 

communication that they currently use 

for discussions about a variety of other 

matters. 

Waiver of the Entire Regulation 

Section 1211.6(d) of the proposed rule 

would allow FHFA, for supervisory 

reasons or administrative efficiency, to 

accept from a regulated entity a 

submission or class of submissions that 

does not comply with all of the 

requirements of the proposed 

procedures. Fannie Mae speculated that 

there could be circumstances in which 

the application of any portion of part 

1211 would not be appropriate, and 

thus suggested that FHFA amend the 

final rule to allow FHFA to waive the 

entirety of part 1211 if that need were 

to arise. FHFA does not believe that it 

would be appropriate to add such a 

blanket waiver provision to the final 

rule, principally because the existing 

provision, which authorizes the agency 

to accept any submissions that do not 

comply with the requirements of part 

1211, affords significant latitude for a 

regulated entity to submit, and for 

FHFA to consider, a request for 

guidance that includes less information 

than might otherwise be required. 

Moreover, procedures established under 

part 1211 are for situations in which a 

regulated entity initiates the 

communication with the agency in 

order to obtain guidance on a regulatory 

matter that is not fully addressed by the 

statute or regulations. The part 1211 

procedures do not address or limit the 

informal communications that occur 

between a regulated entity and FHFA as 

part of the regulatory or examination 

processes. 

Case-by-Case Determinations 

The proposed rule would have 

repealed a portion of the Finance Board 

regulations that allowed the Banks to 

seek ‘‘case-by-case determinations’’ 

from the agency for any legal or policy 

issues of first impression. FHFA 

reasoned that those procedures, which 

have never been used, are apt to be 

cumbersome and inefficient, in that they 

require a quasi-judicial hearing before 

the agency that would be binding only 

on the parties appearing before the 

agency, and that they do not allow the 

same broad public airing of proposed 

changes to FHFA policy as is provided 

by a notice and comment rulemaking. 

The San Francisco Bank objected to the 

proposed repeal of these provisions, 

contending that they could serve as an 

efficient means to resolve certain issues. 

For the reasons stated above and in the 

proposed rule, FHFA believes that there 

is little benefit to preserving these 

never-used procedures for case-by-case 

determinations of policy issues, and that 

matters of revisions to the agency’s 

regulatory policy are better addressed 

through an administrative rulemaking 

process. 

Bank Members 

The Finance Board regulations had 

permitted the Banks, members of the 

Banks, the Office of Finance, and other 

interested parties to seek regulatory 

guidance under these procedures. The 

proposed rule would have limited the 

universe of requesters to the Banks, the 

Enterprises, and the Office of Finance 

because those are the only institutions 

that FHFA regulates. The San Francisco 

Bank believes that because Bank 

members and other parties may be 

indirectly affected by FHFA regulations, 

they also should be permitted to file 

submissions under part 1211. FHFA 

appreciates that regulations that directly 

affect the Banks may have some indirect 

effect on the members of the Banks. 

That said, FHFA has no direct 

regulatory authority over members and 

has few, if any, regulations that apply 

directly to the members. Similarly, 

FHFA has no authority over other third 

parties who may have an interest in 

Bank matters and has no regulations 

that would apply solely to third parties. 

Therefore, FHFA remains of the view 

that it is not appropriate for entities that 

are not subject to FHFA’s regulatory 

oversight to invoke these procedures, 

which are primarily intended to provide 

a means by which the entities that are 

subject to the statute and regulations 

may obtain guidance about how the 

provisions are to be applied to them. To 

the extent that Bank members or other 

third parties wish to bring matters to the 

attention of the agency, they can do so 

through other avenues, such as through 

the FHFA ombudsman or through 

correspondence to the agency. The 

Finance Board procedures were rarely, 

if ever, used by such third parties. 

Definitions 

The final rule relocates the definition 

of the term ‘‘Authorizing Statutes,’’ 

which refers to the Bank Act and the 

chartering act of each Enterprise, from 

part 1211 to part 1201, the general 

definitions section for all FHFA 

regulations. No substantive 

modifications are being made to the 

definition, and FHFA believes that this 

relocation will facilitate the use of the 

term throughout FHFA’s regulations. 

III. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The final rule does not contain any 

information collection requirement that 

requires the approval of the Office of 

Management and Budget under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.). 

IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires an agency to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 64665 

analyze a regulation’s impact on small 

entities if it is expected to have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 5 

U.S.C. 605(b). FHFA has considered the 

impact of this final regulation and 

determined that it is not likely to have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

because it applies only to the regulated 

entities and the OF, which are not small 

entities for purposes of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

List of Subjects 

12 CFR Part 907 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Federal Home Loan Banks. 

12 CFR Part 1201 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Federal Home Loan Banks, 

Government Sponsored Enterprises, 

Office of Finance, Regulated Entities. 

12 CFR Part 1211 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Federal Home Loan Banks, 

Government-Sponsored Enterprises. 

Accordingly, for reasons stated in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION and under 

the authority of 12 U.S.C. 4511, 4513, 

and 4526, FHFA hereby amends 

subchapter B of chapter IX and 

subchapter A of chapter XII of title 12 

of the Code of Federal Regulations as 

follows: 

CHAPTER IX—FEDERAL HOUSING 

FINANCE BOARD 

SUBCHAPTER B—FEDERAL HOUSING 

FINANCE BOARD ORGANIZATION AND 

OPERATIONS 

PART 907—[REMOVED] 

■ 1. Remove part 907. 

CHAPTER XII—FEDERAL HOUSING 

FINANCE AGENCY 

SUBCHAPTER A—ORGANIZATION AND 

OPERATIONS 

PART 1201—GENERAL DEFINITIONS 

APPYING TO ALL FEDERAL HOUSING 

FINANCE AGENCY REGULATIONS 

■ 2. The authority citation for part 1201 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4511(b), 4513(a), 

4513(b). 

■ 3. Amend § 1201.1 by adding in 

correct alphabetical order a definition 

for the term ‘‘Authorizing Statutes’’ to 

read as follows: 

§ 1201.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Authorizing Statutes means the 

Federal National Mortgage Association 

Charter Act, the Federal Home Loan 

Mortgage Corporation Act, and the 

Federal Home Loan Bank Act. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Part 1211 is added to read as 

follows: 

PART 1211—PROCEDURES 

Subpart A—Definitions 

Sec. 

1211.1 Definitions. 

Subpart B—Waivers, Approvals, NonObjection Letters, and Regulatory 

Interpretations 

Sec. 

1211.2 Waivers. 

1211.3 Approvals. 

1211.4 Non-Objection Letters. 

1211.5 Regulatory Interpretations. 

1211.6 Submission requirements. 

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4511(b), 4513(a), 

4526. 

Subpart A—Definitions 

§ 1211.1 Definitions. 

As used in this part: 

Approval means a written statement 

issued to a regulated entity or the Office 

of Finance approving a transaction, 

activity, or item that requires FHFA 

approval under a statute, rule, 

regulation, policy, or order. 

Non-Objection Letter means a written 

statement issued to a regulated entity or 

the Office of Finance providing that 

FHFA does not object to a proposed 

transaction or activity. 

Regulatory Interpretation means a 

written interpretation issued by the 

FHFA General Counsel with respect to 

the application of a statute, rule, 

regulation, or order to a proposed 

transaction or activity. 

Requester means an entity that has 

submitted an application for a Waiver or 

Approval or a request for a NonObjection Letter or Regulatory 

Interpretation. 

Waiver means a written statement 

issued by the Director to a regulated 

entity or the Office of Finance that 

waives a provision, restriction, or 

requirement of an FHFA rule, 

regulation, policy, or order, or a 

required submission of information, not 

otherwise required by law, in 

connection with a particular transaction 

or activity. 

Subpart B—Waivers, Approvals, NonObjection Letters, and Regulatory 

Interpretations 

§ 1211.2 Waivers. 

(a) Authority. The Director reserves 

the right, in his or her discretion and in 

connection with a particular transaction 

or activity, to waive any provision, 

restriction, or requirement of this 

chapter (or of any Office of Federal 

Housing Enterprise Oversight or Federal 

Housing Finance Board regulation), or 

any required submission of information, 

not otherwise required by law, if such 

Waiver is not inconsistent with the law 

and does not adversely affect any 

substantial existing rights, upon a 

determination that application of the 

provision, restriction, or requirement 

would adversely affect achievement of 

the purposes of the Authorizing Statutes 

or the Safety and Soundness Act, or 

upon a requester’s showing of good 

cause. The Director also reserves the 

right to modify, rescind, or supersede 

any previously issued Waiver, with 

such action being effective only on a 

prospective basis. 

(b) Application. A regulated entity or 

the Office of Finance may apply for a 

Waiver in accordance with § 1211.6. 

§ 1211.3 Approvals. 

(a) Authority. The Deputy Directors 

for Enterprise Regulation and for 

Federal Home Loan Bank Regulation, or 

their designees, may grant requests 

submitted by an Enterprise or by a Bank 

or the Office of Finance, respectively, 

seeking approval of any transaction, 

activity, or item that requires FHFA 

approval under any applicable statute, 

rule, regulation, policy, or order. The 

Director reserves the right to modify, 

rescind, or supersede an Approval, with 

such action being effective only on a 

prospective basis. 

(b) Requests. A regulated entity or the 

Office of Finance may apply for an 

Approval in accordance with § 1211.6, 

unless alternative application 

procedures are prescribed by the 

applicable statute, rule, regulation, 

policy, or order for the transaction, 

activity, or item at issue. 

(c) Reservation. The Deputy Directors 

for Enterprise Regulation and for 

Federal Home Loan Bank Regulation, as 

appropriate, may, in their discretion, 

prescribe additional or alternative 

procedures for any application for 

approval of a transaction, activity, or 

item. 

§ 1211.4 Non-Objection Letters. 

(a) Authority. The Deputy Directors 

for Enterprise Regulation and for 

Federal Home Loan Bank Regulation, or 

their designees, may, in their discretion, 

issue to an Enterprise or to a Bank or the 

Office of Finance, respectively, a NonObjection Letter stating that FHFA does 

not object to a proposed transaction or 

activity for supervisory, regulatory, or 

policy reasons. The Director reserves the 

right to modify, rescind, or supersede a 


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Non-Objection Letter, with such action 

being effective only on a prospective 

basis. 

(b) Requests. A regulated entity or the 

Office of Finance may request a NonObjection Letter in accordance with 

§ 1211.6. 

§ 1211.5 Regulatory Interpretations. 

(a) Authority. The General Counsel 

may, in his or her discretion, issue a 

Regulatory Interpretation to a regulated 

entity or the Office of Finance, 

providing guidance with respect to the 

application of any applicable statute, 

rule, regulation, or order to a proposed 

transaction or activity. The Director 

reserves the right to modify, rescind, or 

supersede a Regulatory Interpretation, 

with such action being effective only on 

a prospective basis. 

(b) Requests. A regulated entity or the 

Office of Finance may request a 

Regulatory Interpretation in accordance 

with § 1211.6. 

§ 1211.6 Submission requirements. 

Applications for a Waiver or Approval 

and requests for a Non-Objection Letter 

or Regulatory Interpretation shall 

comply with the requirements of this 

section and shall pertain to regulatory 

matters relating to the Banks or 

Enterprises, and not to conservatorship 

matters. 

(a) Filing. Each application or request 

shall be in writing. A Bank or the Office 

of Finance shall submit its filing to the 

Deputy Director for the Division of 

Federal Home Loan Bank Regulation, 

and an Enterprise shall submit its filing 

to the Deputy Director for Enterprise 

Regulation. Applications for regulatory 

interpretations shall be submitted also 

to the General Counsel. 

(b) Authorization. An application for 

a Waiver or Approval and a request for 

a Non-Objection Letter or Regulatory 

Interpretation shall be signed by the 

principal executive officer or other 

authorized executive officer of the 

regulated entity or by the chairperson of 

the board of directors or authorized 

executive officer of the Office of 

Finance, as appropriate. 

(c) Information requirements. Each 

application or request shall contain: 

(1) The name of the requester, and the 

name, title, business address, telephone 

number, and business electronic mail 

address, if any, of the official filing the 

application or request on its behalf; 

(2) The name, business address, 

telephone number, and business 

electronic mail address, if any, of a 

contact person from whom FHFA staff 

may seek additional information if 

necessary; 

(3) The section numbers of the 

particular provisions of the applicable 

statutes or rules, regulations, policies, or 

orders to which the application or 

request relates; 

(4) Identification of the determination 

or relief requested, including any 

alternative relief requested if the 

primary relief is denied, and a clear 

statement of why such relief is needed; 

(5) A statement of the particular facts 

and circumstances giving rise to the 

application or request and identifying 

all relevant legal and factual issues; 

(6) References to all other relevant 

authorities that the regulated entity or 

Office of Finance believes should be 

considered in evaluating the application 

or request, including the Authorizing 

Statutes, Safety and Soundness Act, 

FHFA rules, regulations, policies, 

orders, judicial decisions, 

administrative decisions, relevant 

statutory interpretations, and policy 

statements; 

(7) References to any Waivers, NonObjection Letters, Approvals, or 

Regulatory Interpretations issued in the 

past in response to circumstances 

similar to those surrounding the request 

or application; 

(8) For any application or request 

involving interpretation of the 

Authorizing Statutes, Safety and 

Soundness Act, or FHFA regulations, a 

reasoned opinion of counsel supporting 

the relief or interpretation sought and 

distinguishing any adverse authority; 

(9) Any other non-duplicative, 

relevant supporting documentation; and 

(10) A certification by a person with 

knowledge of the facts that the 

representations made in the application 

or request are accurate and complete. 

The following form of certification is 

sufficient for this purpose: ‘‘I hereby 

certify that the statements contained in 

the submission are true and complete to 

the best of my knowledge. [Name and 

Title].’’ 

(d) Exceptions. In any given matter or 

class of matters, the Director, the Deputy 

Director for Federal Home Loan Bank 

Regulation, the Deputy Director for 

Enterprise Regulation, or the General 

Counsel, as appropriate, may accept an 

application or request that does not 

comply with the requirements of this 

section, for supervisory reasons or 

administrative efficiency. 

(e) Withdrawal. Once filed, an 

application or request may be 

withdrawn only upon written request, 

and only if FHFA has not yet acted on 

the application or request. 

Dated: October 27, 2014. 

Melvin L. Watt, 

Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25973 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8070–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 33 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0376; Notice No. 33– 

014–SC] 

Special Conditions: SNECMA, 

Silvercrest-2 SC–2D; Rated 10-Minute 

One Engine Inoperative Takeoff Thrust 

at High Ambient Temperature 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions. 

SUMMARY: These final special conditions 

are issued for the SNECMA, Silvercrest2 SC–2D engine model. This engine will 

have a novel or unusual design 

feature—an additional takeoff rating that 

increases the exhaust gas temperature 

(EGT) limit to maintain takeoff thrust in 

certain high ambient temperature 

conditions with one engine inoperative 

(OEI) for a maximum of 10 minutes. The 

applicable airworthiness regulations do 

not contain adequate or appropriate 

safety standards for this design feature. 

These final special conditions contain 

the additional safety standards that the 

Administrator considers necessary to 

establish a level of safety equivalent to 

that established by the existing 

airworthiness standards. 

DATES: The effective date of these 

special conditions is December 1, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical questions concerning this rule, 

contact Tara Fitzgerald, ANE–111, 

Engine and Propeller Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service, 12 New 

England Executive Park, Burlington, 

Massachusetts 01803–5213; telephone 

(781) 238–7130; facsimile (781) 238– 

7199; email tara.fitzgerald@faa.gov. For 

legal questions concerning this rule, 

contact Vincent Bennett, ANE–7, Engine 

and Propeller Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, 

Massachusetts 01803–5299; telephone 

(781) 238–7044; facsimile (781) 238– 

7055; email vincent.bennett@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On April 19, 2011, SNECMA applied 

for a new type certificate (TC) for the 

Silvercrest-2 SC–2D engine model. For 


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