For purposes of this chapter:
(1) Affiliate
Except as provided by the Director, the term affiliate means any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, an enterprise.
(2) Agency The term Agency means the Federal Housing Finance Agency established under section
4511 of this title.
(3) Authorizing statutes The term authorizing statutes means
(A) the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act;
(B) the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act; and
(C) the Federal Home Loan Bank Act.
(4) Board The term Board means the Federal Housing Finance Oversight Board established under section
4513a of this title.
(5) Capital distribution
(A) In general The term capital distribution means
(i) any dividend or other distribution in cash or in kind made with respect to any shares of, or other ownership interest in, an enterprise, except a dividend consisting only of shares of the enterprise;
(ii) any payment made by an enterprise to repurchase, redeem, retire, or otherwise acquire any of its shares, including any extension of credit made to finance an acquisition by the enterprise of such shares; and
(iii) any transaction that the Director determines by regulation to be, in substance, the distribution of capital.
(B) Exception Any payment made by an enterprise to repurchase its shares for the purpose of fulfilling an obligation of the enterprise under an employee stock ownership plan that is qualified under section
401 of title
26 or any substantially equivalent plan, as determined by the Director, shall not be considered a capital distribution.
(6) Compensation
The term compensation means any payment of money or the provision of any other thing of current or potential value in connection with employment.
(7) Core capital The term core capital means, with respect to an enterprise, the sum of the following (as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles):
(A) The par or stated value of outstanding common stock.
(B) The par or stated value of outstanding perpetual, noncumulative preferred stock.
(C) Paid-in capital.
(D) Retained earnings.
The core capital of an enterprise shall not include any amounts that the enterprise could be required to pay, at the option of investors, to retire capital instruments.
(8) Default; in danger of default
(A) Default
The term default means, with respect to a regulated entity, any adjudication or other official determination by any court of competent jurisdiction, or the Agency, pursuant to which a conservator, receiver, limited-life regulated entity, or legal custodian is appointed for a regulated entity.
(B) In danger of default The term in danger of default means a regulated entity with respect to which, in the opinion of the Agency
(i) the regulated entity is not likely to be able to pay the obligations of the regulated entity in the normal course of business; or
(ii) the regulated entity
(I) has incurred or is likely to incur losses that will deplete all or substantially all of its capital; and
(II) there is no reasonable prospect that the capital of the regulated entity will be replenished.
(9) Director
The term Director means the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
(10) Enterprise The term enterprise means
(A) the Federal National Mortgage Association and any affiliate thereof; and
(B) the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and any affiliate thereof.
(11) Entity-affiliated party The term entity-affiliated party means
(A) any director, officer, employee, or controlling stockholder of, or agent for, a regulated entity;
(B) any shareholder, affiliate, consultant, or joint venture partner of a regulated entity, and any other person, as determined by the Director (by regulation or on a case-by-case basis) that participates in the conduct of the affairs of a regulated entity, provided that a member of a Federal Home Loan Bank shall not be deemed to have participated in the affairs of that Bank solely by virtue of being a shareholder of, and obtaining advances from, that Bank;
(C) any independent contractor for a regulated entity (including any attorney, appraiser, or accountant), if
(i) the independent contractor knowingly or recklessly participates in
(I) any violation of any law or regulation;
(II) any breach of fiduciary duty; or
(III) any unsafe or unsound practice; and
(ii) such violation, breach, or practice caused, or is likely to cause, more than a minimal financial loss to, or a significant adverse effect on, the regulated entity;
(D) any not-for-profit corporation that receives its principal funding, on an ongoing basis, from any regulated entity; and
(E) the Office of Finance.
(12) Executive officer
The term executive officer means, with respect to an enterprise, the chairman of the board of directors, chief executive officer, chief financial officer, president, vice chairman, any executive vice president, and any senior vice president in charge of a principal business unit, division, or function.
(13) Limited-life regulated entity The term limited-life regulated entity means an entity established by the Agency under section
4617 (i) of this title with respect to a Federal Home Loan Bank in default or in danger of default or with respect to an enterprise in default or in danger of default.
(14) Low-income The term low-income means
(A) in the case of owner-occupied units, income not in excess of 80 percent of area median income; and
(B) in the case of rental units, income not in excess of 80 percent of area median income, with adjustments for smaller and larger families, as determined by the Director.
(15) Median income
The term median income means, with respect to an area, the unadjusted median family income for the area, as determined and published annually by the Director.
(16) Moderate-income The term moderate-income means
(A) in the case of owner-occupied units, income not in excess of area median income; and
(B) in the case of rental units, income not in excess of area median income, with adjustments for smaller and larger families, as determined by the Director.
(17) Mortgage purchases
The term mortgage purchases includes mortgages purchased for portfolio or securitization.
(18) Multifamily housing
The term multifamily housing means a residence consisting of more than 4 dwelling units.
(19) Office of Finance
The term Office of Finance means the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Bank System (or any successor thereto).
(20) Regulated entity The term regulated entity means
(A) the Federal National Mortgage Association and any affiliate thereof;
(B) the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and any affiliate thereof; and
(C) any Federal Home Loan Bank.
(21) Single family housing
The term single family housing means a residence consisting of 1 to 4 dwelling units.
(22) State
The term State means the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States.
(23) Total capital The term total capital means, with respect to an enterprise, the sum of the following:
(A) The core capital of the enterprise;
(B) A general allowance for foreclosure losses, which
(i) shall include an allowance for portfolio mortgage losses, an allowance for nonreimbursable foreclosure costs on government claims, and an allowance for liabilities reflected on the balance sheet for the enterprise for estimated foreclosure losses on mortgage-backed securities; and
(ii) shall not include any reserves of the enterprise made or held against specific assets.
(C) Any other amounts from sources of funds available to absorb losses incurred by the enterprise, that the Director by regulation determines are appropriate to include in determining total capital.
(24) Very low-income
(A) In general The term very low-income means
(i) in the case of owner-occupied units, families having incomes not greater than 50 percent of the area median income; and
(ii) in the case of rental units, families having incomes not greater than 50 percent of the area median income, with adjustments for smaller and larger families, as determined by the Director.
(B) Rule of construction For purposes of section
4568 and 4569 of this title, the term very low-income means
(i) in the case of owner-occupied units, income in excess of 30 percent but not greater than 50 percent of the area median income; and
(ii) in the case of rental units, income in excess of 30 percent but not greater than 50 percent of the area median income, with adjustments for smaller and larger families, as determined by the Director.
(25) Violation
The term violation includes any action (alone or in combination with another or others) for or toward causing, bringing about, participating in, counseling, or aiding or abetting a violation.
(26) Conforming mortgage The term conforming mortgage means, with respect to an enterprise, a conventional mortgage having an original principal obligation that does not exceed the dollar amount limitation in effect at the time of such origination and applicable to such mortgage, under, as applicable
(A) section 302(b)(2) of the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act [
12 U.S.C.
1717 (b)(2)]; or
(B) section 305(a)(2) of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act [
12 U.S.C.
1454 (a)(2)].
(27) Extremely low-income The term extremely low-income means
(A) in the case of owner-occupied units, income not in excess of 30 percent of the area median income; and
(B) in the case of rental units, income not in excess of 30 percent of the area median income, with adjustments for smaller and larger families, as determined by the Director.
(28) Low-income area The term low-income area means a census tract or block numbering area in which the median income does not exceed 80 percent of the median income for the area in which such census tract or block numbering area is located, and, for the purposes of section
4562 (a)(1)(B) of this title, shall include families having incomes not greater than 100 percent of the area median income who reside in minority census tracts and shall include families having incomes not greater than 100 percent of the area median income who reside in designated disaster areas.
(29) Minority census tract
The term minority census tract means a census tract that has a minority population of at least 30 percent and a median family income of less than 100 percent of the area family median income.
(30) Shortage of standard rental units both affordable and available to extremely low-income renter households
(A) In general The term shortage of standard rental units both affordable and available to extremely low-income renter households means the gap between
(i) the number of units with complete plumbing and kitchen facilities with a rent that is 30 percent or less of 30 percent of the adjusted area median income as determined by the Director that are occupied by extremely low-income renter households or are vacant for rent; and
(ii) the number of extremely low-income renter households.
(B) Rule of construction
If the number of units described in subparagraph (A)(i) exceeds the number of extremely low-income households as described in subparagraph (A)(ii), there is no shortage.
(31) Shortage of standard rental units both affordable and available to very low-income renter households
(A) In general The term shortage of standard rental units both affordable and available to very low-income renter households means the gap between
(i) the number of units with complete plumbing and kitchen facilities with a rent that is 30 percent or less of 50 percent of the adjusted area median income as determined by the Director that are occupied by either extremely low- or very low-income renter households or are vacant for rent; and
(ii) the number of extremely low- and very low-income renter households.
(B) Rule of construction
If the number of units described in subparagraph (A)(i) exceeds the number of extremely low- and very low-income households as described in subparagraph (A)(ii), there is no shortage.