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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76927-76928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30061]

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FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

12 CFR Parts 607, 614, 615, 620 and 628

RIN 3052-AC81

Regulatory Capital Rules: Regulatory Capital, Implementation of 
Tier 1/Tier 2 Framework

AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Farm Credit Administration (FCA or we) published a 
proposed rule that would revise our regulatory capital requirements for 
Farm Credit System (System) institutions to include tier 1 and tier 2 
risk-based capital ratio requirements (replacing core surplus and total 
surplus requirements), a tier 1 leverage requirement (replacing a net 
collateral requirement for System banks), a capital conservation 
buffer, revised risk weightings, and additional public disclosure 
requirements. The revisions to the risk weightings would include 
alternatives to the use of credit ratings, as required by section 939A 
of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. To 
allow interested parties additional time to submit comments, we are 
extending the comment period on the proposed rule from January 2, 2015 
to February 16, 2015.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted on or before 
February 16, 2015.

ADDRESSES: For accuracy and efficiency reasons, commenters are 
encouraged to submit comments by email or through the FCA's Web site. 
As facsimiles (fax) are difficult for us to process and achieve 
compliance with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, we no longer 
accept comments submitted by fax. Regardless of the method you use, 
please do not submit your comments multiple times via different 
methods. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: Send an email to [email protected].
     FCA Web site: http://www.fca.gov. Select ``Public 
Commenters,'' then ``Public Comments,'' and follow the directions for 
``Submitting a Comment.''
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Barry F. Mardock, Deputy Director, Office of 
Regulatory Policy, Farm Credit Administration, 1501 Farm Credit Drive, 
McLean, VA 22102-5090.
    You may review copies of all comments we receive at our office in 
McLean, Virginia or on our Web site at http://www.fca.gov. Once you are 
in the Web site, select ``Public Commenters,'' then ``Public 
Comments,'' and follow the directions for ``Reading Submitted Public 
Comments.'' We will show your comments as submitted, including any 
supporting data provided, but for technical reasons we may omit items 
such as logos and special characters. Identifying information that you 
provide, such as phone numbers and addresses, will be publicly 
available. However, we will attempt to remove email addresses to help 
reduce Internet spam.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J. C. Floyd, Associate Director, 
Finance and Capital Markets Team, Office of Regulatory Policy, Farm 
Credit Administration, McLean, VA 22102-5090, (703) 883-4414, TTY (703) 
883-4434, or Rebecca S. Orlich, Senior Counsel, or Jennifer A. Cohn, 
Senior Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Farm Credit Administration, 
McLean,

[[Page 76928]]

VA 22102-5090, (703) 883-4020, TTY (703) 883-4020.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 4, 2014, the FCA published a 
proposed rule in the Federal Register seeking public comment on 
proposed changes to our capital regulations. See 79 FR 52814. The 
comment period is scheduled to close on January 2, 2015. The FCA 
received several letters in response to the proposed rule requesting we 
extend the comment period by 90 days. The requesters asserted that the 
proposed rule would have the most impact of any rule the FCA has ever 
adopted and is the longest and most complex proposal in the System's 
history. In addition, they noted that its comment period overlapped 
with the comment periods of several other important regulations and 
also with year-end business planning. They would like additional time 
to evaluate the impact of the rule.
    The FCA supports public involvement and participation in its 
regulatory process and invites all interested parties to review and 
comment on our proposed rule. We balanced the reasons provided with the 
request for more time against the substantial time period the 
requesters have had to consider and provide comments on the rule.\1\ As 
a result, we are extending the comment period 45 days instead of the 
requested 90 days.
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    \1\ As of December 10, 2014, the Agency has received over 560 
comment letters on the proposed rule.

    Dated: December 17, 2014.
Mary Alice Donner,
Acting Secretary, Farm Credit Administration Board.
[FR Doc. 2014-30061 Filed 12-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6705-01-P
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