Redelegation of Fair Housing And Other Authorities Respecting the Government Sponsored Enterprises Under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4461-D-02]

Redelegation of Fair Housing And Other Authorities Respecting the

Government Sponsored Enterprises Under the Federal Housing Enterprises

Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to the Assistant Secretary

for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing

Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of redelegation of authority.

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SUMMARY: This notice redelegates from the Assistant Secretary for

Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner to the Assistant Secretary for

Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity the Fair Housing authority, and

other authorities necessary to carry out the Fair Housing authority,

under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness

Act of 1992.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 5, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Greene, Acting Director of

Policy and Program Evaluation, Office of Fair Housing and Equal

Opportunity, Room 5246, telephone (202) 708-1145; or for legal

questions, contact Kenneth Markison, Assistant General Counsel for GSE/

RESPA, room 9262, telephone (202) 708-3137 (these are not toll-free

numbers). The address for both persons is Department of Housing and

Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, S.W.,

[[Page 7408]]

Washington, D.C. 20410. For hearing-and speech-impaired persons, the

telephone numbers may be accessed via TTY (text telephone) by calling

the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Federal Housing Enterprises

Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (FHEFSSA) (12 U.S.C. 4501 et

seq.), the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has general and

specific regulatory authorities respecting the Federal National

Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage

Corporation (Freddie Mac) (collectively, the Government-Sponsored

Enterprises or GSEs) which have been delegated to the Assistant

Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner, the notice of which

is published elsewhere in today's Federal Register.

The Fair Housing provisions of FHEFSSA (12 U.S.C. 4545) mandate

that the Secretary: prohibit the GSEs from discriminating in their

mortgage purchases; require the GSEs to submit data to assist in

investigations of mortgage lenders under the Fair Housing Act and the

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA); obtain information on Fair Housing

Act and ECOA violations and provide such information to the GSEs;

direct the GSEs to take remedial actions against lenders with

discriminatory lending practices; and periodically review and comment

on the GSEs' underwriting and appraisal guidelines to ensure that the

guidelines are consistent with FHEFSSA and the Fair Housing Act. Under

HUD's GSE regulations (24 CFR 81.47), as appropriate, the Secretary is

required to refer violations of 12 U.S.C. 4545 to the Director of the

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) to initiate

enforcement actions for GSE violations or potential violations of its

provisions pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 4513 and 4631 of FHEFSSA.

FHEFSSA establishes the Secretary's authority to require reports on

GSE activities as the Secretary deems appropriate (12 U.S.C, 4547).

This includes the authority under 24 CFR 81.65 to require that a GSE

furnish the data underlying any reports and conduct additional analyses

concerning any such report. Under 24 CFR 81.102, the Secretary is also

authorized to independently verify the accuracy and completeness of the

data, information, and reports provided by each GSE, including

conducting on-site verification, when such steps are reasonably related

to determining whether a GSE is complying with 12 U.S.C. 4541-4589 of

FHEFSSA and the GSEs' Charter Acts. FHEFFSA provides at 12 U.S.C. 4546

that the Secretary may by regulation or order provide that certain

information shall be treated as proprietary information and not subject

to public disclosure under 12 U.S.C. 4543.

The Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity is

delegated the Secretary's authority under the Fair Housing Act (42

U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), which includes authority over the GSEs under that

Act. This redelegation of Fair Housing authority under FHEFSSA

complements those authorities of the Assistant Secretary for Fair

Housing and Equal Opportunity.

In carrying out the Fair Housing authority under FHEFSSA, the

Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will receive

confidential and proprietary information of the GSEs. The Assistant

Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will establish all

necessary safeguards to protect such information, including

establishment of appropriate organizational walls and confidentiality

agreements.

The Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner

is, therefore, redelegating to the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing

and Equal Opportunity all of the Fair Housing authority under FHEFSSA.

To carry out this authority, the Assistant Secretary for Housing-

Federal Housing Commissioner is also redelegating the authority to

refer violations of FHEFSSA to OFHEO for enforcement in accordance with

24 CFR 81.47; to require necessary reports, underlying data, and

analyses; and to verify the accuracy and completeness of the data,

information, and reports provided by the GSEs, including conducting on-

site verification.

The authority under FHEFSSA that is redelegated under this notice

does not include the Secretary's general regulatory power, authority

provided to Administrative Law Judges in 24 CFR part 81, or the

authority to: issue rules and regulations; waive regulations; determine

whether data is proprietary; issue orders providing that data is

proprietary; submit annual reports to Congress; make certain income

adjustments or determinations; issue cease-and-desist orders and impose

civil money penalties; request the Attorney General to bring actions;

settle and deposit civil money penalties; or make orders and agreements

publicly available.

Accordingly, the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing

Commissioner hereby redelegates to the Assistant Secretary for Fair

Housing and Equal Opportunity the following:

Section A. Authorities Redelegated

1. All power and authority under the Fair Housing provisions of

FHEFSSA at 12 U.S.C. 4545 and under regulations at 24 CFR part 81,

subpart C, including, but not limited to: prohibiting each GSE from

discriminating in any manner in the purchase of any mortgage because of

race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, age, or national

origin, including any consideration of the age or location of the

dwelling or the age of the neighborhood or census tract where the

dwelling is located in a manner that has a discriminatory effect;

requiring each GSE to submit data to assist the Secretary in

investigating whether a mortgage lender with which the GSE does

business has failed to comply with the Fair Housing Act; requiring each

GSE to submit data to the Secretary to assist in investigating whether

a mortgage lender with which the GSE does business has failed to comply

with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and to submit information

to ECOA enforcement agencies; obtaining information on Fair Housing Act

and ECOA violations and providing that to the GSEs; directing the GSEs

to take remedial actions against lenders with discriminatory lending

practices; and periodically reviewing and commenting on the GSEs'

underwriting and appraisal guidelines to ensure that such guidelines

are consistent with the Fair Housing Act and FHEFSSA.

2. All power and authority necessary to carry out the Fair Housing

provisions of FHEFSSA at 12 U.S.C. 4545 including, but not limited to:

requiring additional reports or other information concerning GSE

activities; requiring the GSEs to provide data underlying any of the

reports required under 24 CFR part 81 and to conduct additional

analyses concerning any report required under 24 CFR part 81;

requesting the Director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise

Oversight to bring actions to enforce violations of 12 U.S.C. 4545; and

under 24 CFR 81.102 to independently verify the accuracy and

completeness of the data, information, and reports provided by each

GSE, including conducting on-site verification when such steps are

reasonably related to determining whether a GSE is complying with 12

U.S.C. 4541-4589 and the GSEs' Charter Acts.

3. All power and authority to carry out the Fair Housing provisions

of FHEFSSA at 12 U.S.C. 4545 respecting access to information at 12

U.S.C. 4543 and 4546 including, but not limited to, recommending the

invocation of 5

[[Page 7409]]

U.S.C. 552(b)(4), (6), and (8); and not providing public access to

proprietary data.

Section B. No Authority to Redelegate

The Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity may

not redelegate to employees of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal

Opportunity any of the power and authority delegated under this

redelegation.

Authority: Secs. 1321, 1323, 1325, 1326 and 1327 of the Federal

Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, 12

U.S.C. 4541, 4543, 4545, 4546 and 4547; section 7(d), Department of

Housing and Urban Development Act, 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).

Dated: February 5, 1999.

William Apgar,

Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner.

[FR Doc. 99-3466 Filed 2-11-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210-27-P