Each semiannual assessment under the provisions of subsection (b) of section 18 of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, as amended, to meet the estimated expenses of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (referred to in this subchapter as "Board") shall be made on the following basis: Each Federal Home Loan Bank will be assessed such amount as may be necessary to meet the Board's expenses, such assessment to be upon the several Banks in the same proportion as the total gross operating income of the respective Banks for the 6 months' period next preceding, hereinafter prescribed, bears to the total gross operating income of all the Banks for the same period of time. For the assessment for the first half of a calendar year, total gross operating income shall be determined from information contained in the reports of the respective Banks for each month during the period from June 1 through November 30, and for the assessment for the last half of a calendar year such determination shall be made from information contained in the reports of the respective Banks for each month during the period from December 1 through May 31.

(Secs. 17, 18, 47 Stat. 736, as amended, 737; 12 U.S.C. 1437, 1438, Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1947; 3 CFR 1943-1948 Comp.) [23 F.R. 9878, Dec. 23, 1958]

ration shall attempt collection of all claims for money or property arising out of their respective activities in conformity with the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 (31 U.S.C. 951), and the Joint Regulations of the Attorney General and the Comptroller General thereunder (4 CFR Ch. II). This section does not apply to the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation in its capacity as conservator, receiver, or other legal custodian of a financial institution.

(b) Compromise and termination of collection action. The Board may compromise, or suspend or terminate collection action on, any claims arising out of its activities, other than claims arising under section 5 of the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1464), not exceeding $20,000, exclusive of interest, in conformity with the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 and the Joint Regulations of the Attorney General and the Comptroller General thereunder. Claims of the Board arising under section 5 of the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933, as amended, and claims of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, may be compromised and collection action may be suspended or terminated without regard to the amount of the claim.

(c) Referral to General Accounting Office or for litigation. The Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation may refer claims to the General Accounting Office, or to the Department of Justice for litigation, pursuant to the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 and the Joint Regulations of the Attorney General and the Comptroller General thereunder.

(d) Delegation of authority; referral to Board. (1) The Comptroller of the Board is delegated the authority to collect all claims of the Board, and claims of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation for insurance premiums and for the cost of examinations and audits, and as to the uncollected balance of any such claim not in excess of $5,000, exclusive of interest, said Comptroller is delegated the authority to compromise, suspends or terminate collection action, or refer the claim to the General Accounting Office, except that:

(i) The advice of the General Counsel shall be obtained before any action, other than collection action, is taken by the Comptroller under this section, and

(ii) The concurrence of the Director or Deputy Director of the Office of Examinations and Supervision shall be obtained before any action, other than collection action, is taken by the Comptroller under this section concerning claims for the cost of examinations and audits.

(2) The Director, Office of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, is delegated the authority to collect all claims of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation other than for insurance premiums and for the cost of examinations and audits. As to the uncollected balance of any claim arising out of, pursuant to or in connection with action taken by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation under section 406 (f) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1729 (f)), or any other claim (except claims for insurance premiums and claims for the cost of examinations and audits) not in excess of $5,000, exclusive of interest, said Director is delegated the authority to compromise, suspend or terminate collection action on, or refer the claim to the General Accounting Office, except that the advice of the General Counsel of the Board shall be obtained before any action, other than collection action, is taken by the Director, Office of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, under this section.

(3) The authority to refer claims of the Board and of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation which do not exceed $5,000, exclusive of interest to the Department of Justice for litigation is delegated to the General Counsel.

(4) Claims of the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, other than claims arising out of, pursuant to or in connection with action taken by said Corporation under section 406 (f) of the National Housing Act, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1729 (f)), which exceed $5,000, exclusive of interest, and which are determined by the Director, Office of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, the Comptroller, or the General Counsel to be uncollectible in full, shall be referred to the Board with a recommendation as to whether the claim should be compromised, collection action suspended or terminated, or other action taken thereon.

[33 F.R. 14102, Sept. 18, 1968]

§ 501.10 Officers as agents.

For the following purposes, officers and employees of a Federal Home Loan Bank, when designated by the Board, shall be the agents of the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and the counsel of the Bank shall render to said agents such legal services as may be necessary to enable them properly to carry out such duties:

(a) It shall be the specific duty of said agents to give consideration to applications pertaining to organization of Federal savings and loan associations, conversions, and insurance of accounts by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, together with such supplemental information as may be available to them, and promptly to make comments and recommendations upon such applications. Said agents shall transmit such applications to the Board, together with their comments and recommendations thereon. Such comments and recommendations shall be signed by the agents favoring same, and any agent disagreeing therewith shall make a separate report which shall be forwarded at the same time. An agent shall forward to applicants advices of actions taken by the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation upon applications, and instructions and other communications from the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.

§ 501.11 President as agent.

For the following purposes, the President of each Federal Home Loan Bank shall be the agent of the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and the counsel of the Bank shall render to said agent such legal services as may be necessary to enable him properly to carry out such duties: Provided, however, That when designated by the Board, some officer or employee of the Bank other than, or in addition to, the President, may act as agent of the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. Said agent shall represent the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation in supervising Federal savings and loan associations and other institutions in the Bank's district which are insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. When, in his opinion, such action should be taken, he shall advise and en

deavor to assist Federal savings and loan associations and other insured institutions in his Bank district to conduct their operations in conformity with the statutes and the rules and regulations governing them. He shall confer and negotiate, pursuant to instructions from the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, with applicants and with officers, directors, members or creditors of applicant institutions, individually or in group meetings, and otherwise as the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation may request in writing. He shall see that all Federal savings and loan associations and other insured institutions in his Bank district submit to him for his consideration such matters as applications for Board approval of amendments to charters or bylaws, petitions for Board permission to establish branch offices, applications for Board approval of the purchase of assets or of consolidations, dissolutions, or mergers, and such other similar matters as are required to be approved by the Board or the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation under the statutes and rules and regulations. When these matters come to the attention of said agent he shall, after giving them due consideration, submit them, together with such supplemental information as may be available to him, to the Board with his recommendations thereon. After the issuance by the Board of a charter for a Federal savings and loan association, said agent shall follow up the corporate actions taken by the association in the completion of its organization, ana shall require the association to comply with the laws, the rules and regulations made thereunder, and such other requirements as may be applicable thereto. Upon receiving from the District Examiner two copies of a report of a supervisory examination of a Federal savings and loan association or other insured institution, together with the District Examiner's analysis thereof, said agent shall make a careful study of such report and analysis, and shall transmit to the institution examined its copy of the report of the examination, and, if necessary, a supervisory letter on stationery provided by the Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation for such purposes. Said agent shall forward promptly to the Board copies of all transmittal and other supervisory letters, and reports of super

Board or of a Federal Home Loan Bank, or elsewhere, including any examination report or related information in connection with examinations made by examiners selected or approved by the Board.

(b) "Records of the Board"-For purposes of this part, the term "records of the Board" means rules, statements, opinions, orders, memoranda, interpretations, letters, reports, accounts, and other papers that contain information of the Board.

(c) "Member institution" shall have the meaning set forth in § 511.735-2(f) of this subchapter.

§ 505.3

Published information.

(a) FEDERAL REGISTER: As required by sections 552 and 553 of Title 5 of the United States Code and subject to the provisions of §§ 505.5 and 505.6, the Board publishes in the FEDERAL REGISTER for the guidance of the public, in addition to this part:

(1) Descriptions of its central and field organization;

(2) Statements of the general course and method by which its functions are channeled and determined, including the nature and requirements of all formal and informal procedures available;

(3) Rules of procedure, descriptions of forms available or the places at which forms may be obtained, and instructions as to the scope and contents of all papers, reports, or examinations;

(4) Substantive rules of general applicability adopted as authorized by law, and statements of general policy or interpretations of general applicability formulated and adopted by the Board;

(5) Every amendment, revision, or repeal of the foregoing; and

(6) General notices of proposed rule making.

(b) Annual Report: The Board's Annual Report to Congress, made pursuant to section 17(b) of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (12 U.S.C. 1437(b)), which is published after its submission to Congress, contains a report of the Board's operations during the year. It also contains an economic review of the savings and loan industry for the year.

(c) Federal Home Loan Bank Board Digest: In the Federal Home Loan Bank Board Digest, which is issued monthly, the Board publishes brief summaries of economic and statistical information; special articles on subjects of economic interest; brief summaries of regulations,

statements of general policy, and interpretations of general interest to the public; notices of actions by the Board on certain types of applications, such as applications for membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank System; and a directory which includes a listing of new insured members of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, new Federal associations, and new branch offices of Federal associations.

(d) Other published information: From time to time, the Board issues statements to the press regarding particular dividend and credit actions, regulatory actions, statements of policy, actions with respect to certain types of applications, and other matters. In addition, it issues various publications, among which is an annual compilation of statistics relating to the savings and loan industry called the "Combined Financial Statements". Compilations of the various statutes under which the Board operates, and the regulations, rulings and statements of policy which it promulgates, are published in looseleaf form and are from time to time brought upto-date by supplements.

(e) The publications referred to in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of this section may be examined, and in many instances copies thereof are available, at the offices of the Board, at the address set forth in paragraph (d) of § 505.4. § 505.4 Access to records.

(a) General rule. All records of the Board are made available to any person for inspection and copying in accordance with the provisions of this section and subject to the limitations stated in §§ 505.5 and 505.6. It is the policy of the Board to disclose its records to the public, even though such records may, in the Board's discretion, be exempted from disclosure by section 552 of Title 5 of the United States Code or by § 505.6, wherever such disclosure can be made without resulting in injury to a public or private interest intended to be protected by the foregoing statute or in a significant interference with the statutory responsibilities of the Board and the national interest.

(b) Opinions, orders, statements of policy, interpretations, and staff manuals and instructions. Subject to the provisions of §§ 505.5 and 505.6, the Board makes available for inspection and copying (1) all final opinions (including concurring and dissenting opinions) and all orders made in the adjudication of cases;

(2) statements of policy and interpretations adopted by the Board that are not published in the FEDERAL REGISTER; and (3) administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect any member of the public. However, to the extent required to prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, the Board may delete identifying details in any material of the kinds above described; and in each such case the justification for such deletion will be fully explained in writing. The Board maintains and makes available for public inspection and copying a current index providing identifying information for the public as to any material described in this paragraph which is issued, adopted, or promulgated after July 4, 1967.

(c) Other records. Subject to the provisions of §§ 505.5 and 505.6, a record of the final votes of each member of the Board in any proceeding of the Board is available for public inspection.

(d) Obtaining access to records. Records of the Board subject to this section are available for public inspection or copying during regular business hours on regular business days at the offices of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Federal Home Loan Bank Board Building, 101 Indiana Aveune NW., Washington, D.C. 20552. Any person requesting access, or copying of, such records shall submit such request in writing to the Secretary of the Board. The request shall state the full name and address of the person requesting access to, or copying of, such records and a description of the records sought that is reasonably sufficient to permit their identification without undue difficulty. Wherever possible requests should be submitted in advance of the date inspection or copying is desired, preferably by mail. A person requesting access to or copies of particular records shall pay a prescribed fee based upon the estimated cost of locating, preparing for inspection, or copying such records. § 505.5

Deferment of availability of certain information.

(a) Deferment of availability. In some instances, certain types of information of the Board are not published in the FEDERAL REGISTER or made available for public inspection or copying until after such period of time as the Board may determine to be reasonably necessary to avoid the effects describd in paragraph (b) of this section or as may otherwise be necessary to prevent impairment of

the effective discharge of the Board's statutory responsibilities. For example, such deferment of publication or availability of information to the public may be necessary with respect to information relating to the determination of dividend and credit policies, including but not limited to advance rates, reserve and liquidity requirements of member institutions, and maximum interest or dividend rates payable by member institutions on withdrawable accounts.

(b) Reasons for deferment of availability. Publication of, or public access to, information of the kinds described in paragraph (a) of this section may be deferred because earlier disclosure of such information would:

(1) Interfere with the accomplishment of the objectives of the Board's actions in the discharge of its statutory responsibilities;

(2) Interfere with the orderly execution of the objectives or policies of other Government agencies concerned with economic or fiscal matters; or

(3) Result in unnecessary and unwarranted disturbances in the savings and loan industry.

§ 505.6 Information not disclosed.

(a) General rule. Except as otherwise provided in this part or as may be specifically authorized by the Board, information of the Board that has not been published in accordance with § 505.3 and is not available to the public through other sources will not be made available to the public or otherwise disclosed if such information:

(1) Is exempted from disclosure by statute or Executive order:

(2) Is contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of, the Board or a Federal Home Loan Bank, relating to the affairs of any member institution or affiliate thereof, or any other person engaged, or proposing to engage, in the savings and loan business;

(3) Is privileged or relates to the business, personal, or financial affairs of any person and is furnished in confidence;

(4) Is contained in investigatory files complied for law enforcement purposes (except to the extent available by law to a private party), including, but not limited to, information relating to matters involving: (i) The issuance of a ceaseand-desist order, or order of suspension