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FCA Regulatory Performance Plan

The Agency posts its Regulatory Performance 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 15-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 (3 pages, 39 KB).

**Fall 2011 Regulatory Performance Plan**
Regulation Project/Date	Type of Action	Purpose
October–December 2011
Review Agency Lending Guidance 3052-xxxx (New Project)	Begin Review 10/00/11	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.
Review Agency Young, Beginning and Small Farmer (YBS) Guidance 3052-xxxx (New Project)	Begin Review 10/00/11	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.
Update GAAP References and Other Conforming Amendments 3052-xxxx (New Project)	Begin Review 10/00/11	Would review references to GAAP in the FCA’s regulations and identify areas where the regulations should be updated to reflect changes in GAAP resulting from the establishment of the Accounting Standards Codification.
Liquidity and Funding 3052-AC54	NPRM 10/00/11	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 also consider removing references to credit ratings as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Farmer Mac-Investments and Liquidity Management 3052-AC56	NPRM 11/00/11	Would review liquidity investment operations to ensure that appropriate guidance is in place covering diversification, eligible investment types, and purchase and divestiture procedures. Would also consider removing references to credit ratings as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Rural Community Investments 3052-AC42	NPRM 12/00/11	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.
January–March 2012
Operating and Strategic Business Planning 3052-AC66	Final Rule 01/00/12	Would consider whether to enhance existing guidance to FCS institutions to ensure operating and strategic business plans address service and outreach to credit worthy borrowers in all marketplace segments while also giving appropriate consideration to diversity in both the workforce and the marketplace.
Compensation, Retirement Programs and Related Benefits 3052-AC41	NPRM 01/00/12	Would consider regulatory changes addressing disclosure and compliance requirements for executive compensation, pension, and other benefit programs in the FCS.
Margin and Capital Requirements for Non-Cleared Swaps 3052-AC69	Final Rule 02/00/12	nteragency rulemaking to implement sections 731 and 764 of the Dodd-Frank Act by establishing margin and capital requirements for FCS instutitions, including Farmer Mac, that engage in non-cleared swaps and non-cleared swaps security-based swap transactions.
Limited Liability Subsidiaries of FCS Institutions (Name Change) 3052-AC65	NPRM 02/00/12	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.
Standards of Conduct 3052-AC44	NPRM 03/00/12	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.
April–June 2012
Investment Management 3052-AC50	Final Rule 04/00/12	Would consider regulatory changes relating to eligible investment assets to ensure that prudent practices are in place for the safe and sound management of investment portfolios and divestiture procedures. Would also consider removing references to credit ratings as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Loan Portfolio Data Submissions—Common Loan Identifier 3052-xxxx (New Project)	NPRM 04/00/12	Would consider minimum regulatory FCA data needs for evaluating risk in Farm Credit System (FCS) loan portfolios through a common loan identifier or alternative for shared assets.
Liquidity and Funding 3052-AC54	Final Rule 05/00/12	Would make 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 also consider removing references to credit ratings as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Farmer Mac-Investments and Liquidity Management 3052-AC56	Final Rule 06/00/12	Would consider appropriate changes related to liquidity investment operations to ensure that appropriate guidance is in place covering diversification, eligible investment types, and purchase and divestiture procedures. Would also consider removing references to credit ratings as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Capital Adequacy-Risk Weightings 3052-AC57	NPRM 06/00/12	Would consider making changes to the capital risk weighting requirements in consideration of revisions to the standardized approach for credit risk under the Basel Accord.
Revisions to Requirements for Mergers of Banks and Mergers of Associations 3052-AC72	NPRM 06/00/12	Would consider revisions to regulations in Part 611 on the requirements for the merger or consolidation of bank and of associations.
July – September 2012
Rural Community Investments 3052-AC42	Final Rule 08/00/12	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.
Compensation, Retirement Programs and Related Benefits 3052-AC41	Final Rule 09/00/12	Would consider regulatory changes addressing disclosure and compliance requirements for executive compensation, pension, and other benefit programs in the FCS.
Capital Adequacy—Capital Components; Basel Accord Tier 1 and Tier 2 3052-AC25	NPRM 09/00/12	Would consider revisions to the core and total surplus capital standards that would establish greater uniformity with the two tiered regulatory capital structure consistent with the Basel Accord and the other U.S. financial regulatory agencies. Also would consider establishing a leverage ratio for System institutions.
Investments in Rural America 3052-AB92	End Review 09/00/12	Evaluates how System partnerships and investments could help increase the availability of funds to agriculture and rural America through pilot programs.
Loan Portfolio Data Submissions 3052-AC68	End Review 09/00/12	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.

ANPRM = advance notice of proposed rulemaking; NPRM = notice of proposed rulemaking