FHFA Issues Final Rule Regarding Federal Home Loan Bank Membership
By Anna DeSimone
January 20, 2016, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a final rule revising its regulations governing Federal Home Loan Bank Membership. This final rule adopts several provisions including, but not limited to:
- Preventing the circumvention of the statute’s membership restrictions by ineligible entities by defining the term “insurance company” to exclude captive insurers;
- Requiring a bank to obtain and review an insurance company’s audited financial statements when considering its application for membership; and
- Clarifying the standards by which a bank is to determine the “principal place of business” for its members.
This final rule is effective on February 19, 2016.
Eligibility Requirements from the Notice is provided:
Subpart C—Eligibility Requirements
§ 1263.6 General eligibility requirements.
(a) Requirements. Any building and loan association, savings and loan association, cooperative bank, homestead association, insurance company, savings bank, community development financial institution (including a CDFI credit union), or insured depository institution shall be eligible for Bank membership if:
- It is duly organized under tribal law, or under the laws of any State or of the United States;
- It is subject to inspection and regulation under the banking laws, or under similar laws, of any State or of the United States or, in the case of a CDFI, is certified by the CDFI Fund;
- It makes long-term home mortgage loans;
- Its financial condition is such that advances may be safely made to it;
- The character of its management is consistent with sound and economical home financing;
- Its home financing policy is consistent with sound and economical home financing; and
- It has complied with any applicable requirement of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section.
- (b) Additional eligibility requirement for insured depository institutions other than community financial institutions. In order to be eligible to become a member of a Bank, an insured depository institution applicant other than a community financial institution also must have at least 10 percent of its total assets in residential mortgage loans.
- (c) Additional eligibility requirement for applicants that are not insured depository institutions. In order to be eligible to become a member of a Bank, an applicant that is not an insured depository institution also must have mortgage-related assets that reflect a commitment to housing finance, as determined by the Bank in its discretion.
- (d) Ineligibility. Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, an institution that does not satisfy the requirements of this part shall be ineligible for membership.
- (e) Treatment of captives previously admitted to membership. A Bank that admitted one or more captives to membership prior to February 19, 2016 shall wind down its relationship with, and terminate the membership of, each of those captives as provided in this paragraph (e).
- (1) Captives admitted prior to September 12, 2014.—(i) A Bank shall have until February 19, 2021 to wind down its business transactions with any captive that it had admitted to membership prior to September 12, 2014, notwithstanding the captive’s ineligibility for Bank membership. The Bank may make or renew an advance to such a captive only if:
- (A) After making or renewing the advance, its total outstanding advances to that captive would not exceed 40 percent of the captive’s total assets; and
- (B) The new or renewed advance has a maturity date no later than February 19, 2021.
- (ii) A Bank shall terminate the membership of any captive described in paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section no later than February 19, 2021, as provided under § 1263.27. After termination, the Bank shall require the liquidation of any outstanding indebtedness owed by, and the settlement of all other outstanding business transactions with, such terminated captive, and shall redeem or repurchase the Bank stock owned by the captive in accordance with § 1263.29; provided that the Bank may allow the captive to repay any outstanding advance made or last renewed in accordance with the applicable requirements then in effect and having a maturity date later than its date of termination in accordance with its terms and delay the repurchase of any Bank stock held in support of that advance until after the advance has been repaid, in accordance with the Bank’s capital plan.
- (ii) A Bank shall terminate the membership of any captive described in paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section no later than February 19, 2017, as provided under § 1263.27. Upon termination, the Bank shall require the liquidation of any outstanding indebtedness owed by, and the settlement of all other outstanding business transactions with, such terminated captive, and shall redeem or repurchase the Bank stock owned by the captive in accordance with § 1263.29; provided that all advances outstanding to that member must be repaid in full by the termination date.
About the Author
Anna DeSimone is President and Founder of Bankers Advisory and Principal of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. She can be reached at Anna@bankersadvisory.com
Anna DeSimone founded Bankers Advisory in 1986 and is a nationally recognized authority in residential mortgage lending. She has received numerous industry awards and has authored more than 40 best practices guides and hundreds of articles.
Hey thanks for sharing this informative blog, it seems very helpful. i was looking for same kind of content about Home Loan