Proposed Rules. Proposed rule; extension of comment period

Agency: Farm Credit Administration
Action: Proposed rule; extension of comment period
Citation: FR Doc. 2012-6806 · RIN 3052-AC41 · 12 CFR 611, 612, 619, 620, 630

Summary

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA, us, we, or our) published a proposed rule to amend our regulations related to Farm Credit System (System) bank and association disclosures to shareholders and investors. The proposed rule would require enhanced reporting of senior officer compensation and retirement programs and reporting to shareholders of significant events that occur between annual reporting periods. The proposed rule would also identify the minimum responsibilities a compensation committee must perform and require that System banks and associations provide for a nonbinding, advisory vote on senior officer compensation. To allow interested parties additional time to submit comments, we are extending the comment period on the proposed rule from March 23, 2012 to April 16, 2012.

Dates

Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted on or before April 16, 2012.

Supplementary Information

On January 23, 2012, the FCA published a proposed rule in the Federal Register seeking public comment on proposed changes to senior officer compensation disclosures and related topics. See 77 FR 3172. The comment period is scheduled to close on March 23, 2012. The FCA received several letters in response to the proposed rule requesting we extend the comment period by 60 days. Many of the commenters explained that the proposed rule was published while System institutions were fully engaged in completion of their annual reports. The commenters emphasized that System institutions have significant interest in the proposed rule and were, therefore, requesting more time to evaluate and comment in a thoughtful and coordinated manner. The FCA supports public involvement and participation in its regulatory process and invites all interested parties to review and comment on our proposed rule. We balanced the request for more time against the fact that most of the issues in the proposed rule were previously subject to a 120-day comment period under an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (75 FR 70619, November 18, 2010). We also considered that a related proposed rule on the System Audit Committee (77 FR 8179, February 14, 2012) has a comment period closing April 16. As a result, we are extending the comment period 24 days instead of the requested 60 days to coincide with the related proposed rule. Dated: March 15, 2012. Dale L. Aultman, Secretary, Farm Credit Administration Board. [FR Doc. 2012-6806 Filed 3-20-12; 8:45 am]