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FCA Regulatory Projects Plan

The Agency posts its Regulatory Projects Plan twice a year, coinciding with its semiannual update of the Unified Regulatory Agenda, which is published on the Web at RegInfo.gov in the spring and fall of each year.

The plan lists the regulatory and policy projects that are active for a 12-month period and describes the types of regulatory and policy actions planned for each quarter and their purpose. The goal in providing the plan is to make upcoming regulatory actions transparent.

The plan is also available as a PDF (4 pages, 110 KB).

**Spring 2013 Regulatory Projects Plan**
Regulation Project/Date	Type of Action	Purpose
January–March 2013
Amortization Limits – Agricultural Credit Associations and Production Credit Associations 3052-XXXX	Begin Review 01/00/13	Would consider clarifying or changing the amortization limits for agricultural credit associations and production credit associations.
Farmer Mac – Corporate Governance and Standards of Conduct 3052-XXXX	Begin Review 02/00/13	Would consider whether to clarify and strengthen Board governance regulations found throughout Part 652 and to establish Standards of Conduct regulations.
Farmer Mac—Operational and Business Planning—Diversity and Inclusion 3052-AC79	End Review 02/00/13	Would consider amendments to require Farmer Mac to establish strategies in its business plan to promote and encourage mission achievement through inclusion of all types of qualified loans and borrowers, including small and family farm loans, in its secondary market programs; and consider amendments to enhance diversity and inclusion in Farmer Mac’s human capital planning.
Liquidity and Funding 3052-AC54	Final Rule 03/00/13	Would consider regulatory changes to ensure that FCS funding and liquidity requirements are safe, sound, and appropriate, including the discounts applied to investments to ensure they reflect marketability in volatile financial markets and economic conditions. Would consider removing references to credit ratings as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Bank/Association Lending Relationship 3052-XXXX	Begin Review 03/00/13	Evaluate regulatory requirements on general financing agreements between banks and associations under 614.4125 and consider whether bank authorities to address safety and soundness issues in affiliated associations could be enhanced.
GAAP References and Other Conforming Amendments 3052-AC75	Direct Final Rule 03/00/13	Would replace outdated references to GAAP in the FCA’s regulations resulting from the establishment of the Accounting Standards Codification with appropriate references and other conforming amendments.
Financing Farm-Related Service Businesses 3052-AC82	Begin Review 03/00/13	Evaluate the System’s lending to farm related service businesses under 613.3020 and determine whether these regulations provide the appropriate framework for determining eligibility and purposes of financing for service providers, including service providers within local food systems, in accordance with the Farm Credit Act.
April–June 2013
Rules of Practice and Procedure; Adjusting Civil Money Penalties--12 CFR Part 622 – Flood Insurance 3052-XXXX	Direct Final Rule 04/00/13	Would implement inflationary adjustments to civil money penalties (CMPs) that the FCA may impose under the Farm Credit Act of 1971, as amended, and as prescribed in 42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)(5).
Repeal of Part 610—Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators 3052-AC78	Interim Final Rule 04/00/13	This rule would repeal FCA regulations at Part 610 that are duplicative of CFPB regulations that implement the SAFE Act, which requires employees of covered financial institutions, including employees of FCS institutions, who take residential mortgage loan applications to register as loan originators with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.
Farmer Mac—Liquidity Management 3052-AC83	Final Rule 04/00/13	Would consider appropriate changes related to liquidity investment operations to ensure that appropriate guidance is in place covering policies, procedures and best practices, as well as revised regulatory limits on liquidity risk. Also would consider removing references to credit ratings as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Investment Eligibility 3052-AC84	NPRM 04/00/13	Would consider revisions to the investment eligibility regulation at 615.5140, including modifications to remove references to credit ratings and substitute an appropriate standard of creditworthiness as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
FCS Institutions’ Investment in Unincorporated Business Entities 3052-AC65	Final Rule 04/00/13	Would consider rules that would define the parameters under which an FCS institution could organize or invest in LLCs, LLPs, and other unincorporated business entities.
Farmer Mac—Investment Eligibility 3052-AC86	NPRM 04/00/13	Would consider appropriate changes related to eligible investment asset classes and address the removal of references to credit ratings as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Data Submissions and Management 3052-AC76 Note: Name Change	NPRM 05/00/13	Would consider minimum regulatory FCA data needs for evaluating risk in Farm Credit System (FCS) loan portfolios, including authorities for data submissions and management.
Standards of Conduct 3052-AC44	NPRM 05/00/13	Would make regulatory changes to clarify and strengthen the existing standards of conduct regulations at Subpart A, Part 612, including issues surrounding director fiduciary duties.
Association Investments 3052-XXXX	NPRM 06/00/13	Would consider revisions to the association investments’ regulation at 615.5142.
Institution Stockholder Voting Procedures 3052-AC85	NPRM 06/00/13	Would amend FCA regulations to clarify and enhance voting procedures related to procedures for tabulating votes, the use of teller committees, the distribution and handling of ballots, and other items as identified.
Agency Lending Guidance 3052-AC73	End Review 06/00/13	Would consider changes to policy guidance for providing credit and related services to all eligible credit worthy agricultural producers in the institution’s chartered territory. This would include identifying any barriers to efficiently and cost-effectively providing credit for newer products or marketing systems such as local foods and organic agriculture.
Agency Young, Beginning and Small Farmer (YBS) Guidance 3052-AC74	End Review 06/00/13	Would consider further policy guidance for YBS lending. Would review the role of banks in supporting association YBS lending. Also would evaluate alternative means of reviewing YBS lending efforts and results.
Investments in Rural America 3052-AB92	End Review 06/00/13	Evaluates how System partnerships and investments could help increase the availability of funds to agriculture and rural America through pilot programs.
July–September 2013
Regulatory Burden 3052-XXXX	Notice with Request for Comment 07/00/13	In support of section 212(b) of the Farm Credit System Report Act of 1996 and FCA’s Policy Statement on Regulatory Philosophy, would solicit comments for the removal or revision of outdated, unnecessary, or burdensome regulations.
Margin and Capital Requirements for Non-cleared Swaps 3052-AC69	Final Rule 07/00/13	Interagency rulemaking to implement sections 731 and 764 of the Dodd-Frank Act by establishing margin and capital requirements for FCS institutions, including Farmer Mac, that engage in non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swap transactions.
Revisions to Requirements for Mergers of Banks and Mergers of Associations 3052-AC72	NPRM 07/00/13	Would consider revisions to regulations in Part 611 on the requirements for the merger or consolidation of banks and the merger and consolidation of associations.
Capital—Basel 3 3052-AC81	NPRM 08/00/13	Would revise sections of the capital rules at Part 615 so that they are consistent with Basel 3, as appropriate.
Farmer Mac—Capital Planning 3052-AC80	Final Rule 09/00/13	Would consider whether to amend the existing capital planning requirements to ensure Farmer Mac’s capital planning process and strategies are sufficiently robust to meets its regulatory and statutory minimum requirements under expected and stressed conditions.
October–December 2013
Investment Eligibility 3052-AC84	Final Rule 11/00/13	Would consider revisions to the investment eligibility regulation at 615.5140, including modifications to remove references to credit ratings and substitute an appropriate standard of creditworthiness as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Farmer Mac—Investment Eligibility 3052-AC86	Final Rule 11/00/13	Would consider appropriate changes related to eligible investment asset classes and address the removal of references to credit ratings as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Association Investments 3052-XXXX	Final Rule 12/00/13	Would consider revisions to the association investments’ regulation at 615.5142.
Data Submissions and Management 3052-AC76	Final Rule 12/00/13	Would consider minimum regulatory FCA data needs for evaluating risk in Farm Credit System (FCS) loan portfolios, including authorities for data submissions and management.
Loan Portfolio Data Submissions 3052-AC68	End Review 12/00/13	Evaluate FCA data needs for determining risk in Farm Credit System (FCS) loan portfolios, including sufficiency of data to evaluate shared assets and collateral risk.
Pending
Farmer Mac Risk-Based Capital Stress Test, Ver. 5.0 3052-AC70	Pending	Would consider removing credit ratings data as inputs in the Risk Based Capital model pursuant to section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act. Also, consider requirements to include diversity and inclusion in operational and strategic planning regulations.
Rural Community Investments 3052-AC42	Pending	Would replace prior proposal and provide guidance on System institutions’ statutory and regulatory investment authority focusing on rural community essential facilities and infrastructure projects in collaboration with Federal and state agencies and other rural lenders and Rural Business Investment Companies as licensed by USDA.

NPRM = notice of proposed rulemaking