12 U.S.C. § 4541 — Prior approval authority for products

Page 1662 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 4526 § 4526. Regulations and orders (a) Authority The Director shall issue any regulations, guidelines, or orders necessary to carry out the duties of the Director under this chapter or the authorizing statutes, and to ensure that the pur- poses of this chapter and the authorizing stat- utes are accomplished. (b) Notice and comment Any regulations issued by the Director under this section shall be issued after notice and op- portunity for public comment pursuant to the provisions of section 553 of title 5. (Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1319G, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3952; Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, § 1107, July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2672.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original ‘‘this title’’, meaning title XIII of Pub. L. 102–550, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3941, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of title XIII to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 4501 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1107(1), added sub- sec. (a) and struck out former subsec. (a). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The Director shall issue any regulations and orders necessary to carry out the duties of the Director and to carry out this chapter before the expiration of the 18-month period beginning on the appointment of the Director under section 4512 of this title. Such regulations and orders shall be sub- ject to the approval of the Secretary only to the extent provided in subsections (b) and (c) of section 4513 of this title.’’ Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1107(2), struck out sub- sec. (c). Text read as follows: ‘‘The Director may not publish any regulation for comment under subsection (b) of this section unless, not less than 15 days before it is published for comment, the Director has submitted a copy of the regulation, in the form it is intended to be proposed, to the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.’’ § 4527. Data standards (a) Requirement The Agency shall, by rule, adopt data stand- ards for all collections of information that are regularly filed with or submitted to the Agency. (b) Consistency The data standards required under subsection (a) shall incorporate, and ensure compatibility with (to the extent feasible), all applicable data standards established in the rules promulgated under section 5334 of this title, including, to the extent practicable, by having the characteristics described in clauses (i) through (vi) of sub- section (c)(1)(B) of such section 5334. (Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1319H, as added Pub. L. 117–263, div. E, title LVIII, § 5881, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3437.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries RULEMAKING Pub. L. 117–263, div. E, title LVIII, § 5883, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3437, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal Hous- ing Finance Agency shall issue rules to carry out the amendments made by this subtitle [subtitle H (§§ 5881–5884) of title LVIII of div. E of Pub. L. 117–263, enacting this section and section 4528 of this title], which shall take effect not later than 2 years after the date on which final rules are promulgated under sec- tion 124(b)(2) of the Financial Stability Act of 2010 [12 U.S.C. 5334(b)(2)], as added by section 5811(a) of this title. ‘‘(b) MINIMIZING DISRUPTION.—In issuing the regula- tions required under subsection (a), the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency shall seek to mini- mize disruptive changes to the persons affected by those rules.’’ RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING NO NEW DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS Pub. L. 117–263, div. E, title LVIII, § 5884, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3438, provided that: ‘‘Nothing in this subtitle [subtitle H (§§ 5881–5884) of title LVIII of div. E of Pub. L. 117–263, enacting this section, section 4528 of this title, and provisions set out as a note under this sec- tion], or the amendments made by this subtitle, shall be construed to require the Federal Housing Finance Agency to collect or make publicly available additional information under the Federal Housing Enterprises Fi- nancial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.), beyond information that was collected or made publicly available under that Act, as of the day before the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2022].’’ § 4528. Open data publication All public data assets published by the Agency shall be— (1) made available as an open Government data asset (as defined in section 3502 of title 44); (2) freely available for download; (3) rendered in a human-readable format; and (4) accessible via application programming interface where appropriate. (Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1319I, as added Pub. L. 117–263, div. E, title LVIII, § 5882, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3437.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING NO NEW DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS Enactment of section not to be construed to require certain additional information to be collected or dis- closed, see section 5884 of Pub. L. 117–263, set out as a note under section 4527 of this title. PART B—ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES OF THE DIRECTOR SUBPART 1—GENERAL AUTHORITY § 4541. Prior approval authority for products (a) In general The Director shall require each enterprise to obtain the approval of the Director for any prod- uct of the enterprise before initially offering the product. (b) Standard for approval In considering any request for approval of a product pursuant to subsection (a), the Director shall make a determination that— (1) in the case of a product of the Federal National Mortgage Association, the product is Page 1663 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 4541 authorized under paragraph (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 1717(b) or section 1719 of this title; (2) in the case of a product of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the prod- uct is authorized under paragraph (1), (4), or (5) of section 1454(a) of this title; (3) the product is in the public interest; and (4) the product is consistent with the safety and soundness of the enterprise or the mort- gage finance system. (c) Procedure for approval (1) Submission of request An enterprise shall submit to the Director a written request for approval of a product that describes the product in such form as pre- scribed by order or regulation of the Director. (2) Request for public comment Immediately upon receipt of a request for approval of a product, as required under para- graph (1), the Director shall publish notice of such request and of the period for public com- ment pursuant to paragraph (3) regarding the product, and a description of the product pro- posed by the request. The Director shall give interested parties the opportunity to respond in writing to the proposed product. (3) Public comment period During the 30-day period beginning on the date of publication pursuant to paragraph (2) of a request for approval of a product, the Di- rector shall receive public comments regard- ing the proposed product. (4) Offering of product (A) In general Not later than 30 days after the close of the public comment period described in paragraph (3), the Director shall approve or deny the product, specifying the grounds for such decision in writing. (B) Failure to act If the Director fails to act within the 30- day period described in subparagraph (A), then the enterprise may offer the product. (C) Temporary approval The Director may, subject to the rules of the Director, provide for temporary approval of the offering of a product without a public comment period, if the Director finds that the existence of exigent circumstances makes such delay contrary to the public in- terest. (d) Conditional approval If the Director approves the offering of any product by an enterprise, the Director may es- tablish terms, conditions, or limitations with respect to such product with which the enter- prise must comply in order to offer such prod- uct. (e) Exclusions (1) In general The requirements of subsections (a) through (d) do not apply with respect to— (A) the automated loan underwriting sys- tem of an enterprise in existence as of July 30, 2008, including any upgrade to the tech- nology, operating system, or software to op- erate the underwriting system; (B) any modification to the mortgage terms and conditions or mortgage under- writing criteria relating to the mortgages that are purchased or guaranteed by an en- terprise, provided that such modifications do not alter the underlying transaction so as to include services or financing, other than res- idential mortgage financing; or (C) any other activity that is substantially similar, as determined by rule of the Direc- tor to— (i) the activities described in subpara- graphs (A) and (B); and (ii) other activities that have been ap- proved by the Director in accordance with this section. (2) Expedited review (A) Enterprise notice For any new activity that an enterprise considers not to be a product, the enterprise shall provide written notice to the Director of such activity, and may not commence such activity until the date of receipt of a notice under subparagraph (B) or the expira- tion of the period described in subparagraph (C). The Director shall establish, by regula- tion, the form and content of such written notice. (B) Director determination Not later than 15 days after the date of re- ceipt of a notice under subparagraph (A), the Director shall determine whether such activ- ity is a product subject to approval under this section. The Director shall, imme- diately upon so determining, notify the en- terprise. (C) Failure to act If the Director fails to determine whether such activity is a product within the 15-day period described in subparagraph (B), the en- terprise may commence the new activity in accordance with subparagraph (A). (f) No limitation Nothing in this section may be construed to restrict— (1) the safety and soundness authority of the Director over all new and existing products or activities; or (2) the authority of the Director to review all new and existing products or activities to determine that such products or activities are consistent with the statutory mission of an enterprise. (Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1321, as added Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, § 1123, July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2689.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 4541, Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1321, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3952, related to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development’s regulatory author- ity, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, § 1121(2), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2689. Page 1664 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 4542 § 4542. Housing Price Index The Director shall establish and maintain a method of assessing the national average 1-fam- ily house price for use for adjusting the con- forming loan limitations of the enterprises. In establishing such method, the Director shall take into consideration the monthly survey of all major lenders conducted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to determine the na- tional average 1-family house price, the House Price Index maintained by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development before the effective date of the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008, any appropriate house price indexes of the Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce, and any other indexes or measures that the Director considers appropriate. (Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1322, as added Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, § 1124(d), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2693.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The effective date of the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008, referred to in text, probably means the date of enactment of div. A of Pub. L. 110–289, which was approved July 30, 2008. PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 4542, Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1322, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3953, related to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development’s prior approval au- thority for new programs, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, § 1121(2), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2689. § 4543. Public access to mortgage information (a) Availability (1) In general The Director shall make available to the public, in forms useful to the public (including forms accessible by computers), the data sub- mitted by the enterprises in the reports re- quired under section 1723a(m) of this title or section 1456(e) of this title. (2) Census tract level reporting Such data shall include the data elements required to be reported under the Home Mort- gage Disclosure Act of 1975 [12 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.], at the census tract level. (b) Access (1) Proprietary data Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Di- rector may not make available to the public data that the Director determines pursuant to section 4546 of this title are proprietary infor- mation. (2) Exception The Director shall not restrict access to the data provided in accordance with section 1723a(m)(1)(A) of this title or section 1456(e)(1)(A) of this title or with subsection (a)(2). (c) Fees The Director may charge reasonable fees to cover the cost of making data available under this section to the public. (d) Timing Data submitted under this section by an enter- prise in connection with a provision referred to in subsection (a) shall be made publicly avail- able in accordance with this section not later than September 30 of the year following the year to which the data relates. (Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1323, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3954; Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, §§ 1122(a)(1), 1126, July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2689, 2695.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is title III of Pub. L. 94–200, Dec. 31, 1975, 89 Stat. 1125, which is classified principally to chapter 29 (§ 2801 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2801 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2008—Pub. L. 110–289, § 1122(a)(1), substituted ‘‘Direc- tor’’ for ‘‘Secretary’’ wherever appearing in subsecs. (a) to (c). Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1126(1), substituted ‘‘Availability’’ for ‘‘In general’’ in subsec. heading, in- serted par. (1) designation and heading, and added par. (2). The amendment was executed to reflect the prob- able intent of Congress, notwithstanding an error in the directory language which did not take into consid- eration the prior amendment by Pub. L. 110–289, § 1122(a)(1). See above. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1126(2), inserted ‘‘or with subsection (a)(2)’’ before period at end. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1126(3), added subsec. (d). § 4544. Annual housing report (a) In general After reviewing and analyzing the reports sub- mitted under section 1723a(n) of this title and section 1456(f) of this title, the Director shall submit a report, not later than October 30 of each year, to the Committee on Banking, Hous- ing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, on the activities of each en- terprise. (b) Contents The report required under subsection (a) shall— (1) discuss— (A) the extent to and manner in which— (i) each enterprise is achieving the an- nual housing goals established under sub- part 2; (ii) each enterprise is complying with its duty to serve underserved markets, as es- tablished under section 4565 of this title; (iii) each enterprise is complying with section 4567 of this title; (iv) each enterprise received credit to- wards achieving each of its goals resulting from a transaction or activity pursuant to section 4561(b)(2) of this title; and (v) each enterprise is achieving the pur- poses of the enterprise established by law; and (B) the actions that each enterprise could undertake to promote and expand the pur- poses of the enterprise;