Title 12

SECTION 1240.20

1240.20 Capital components and eligibility criteria for regulatory capital instruments.

§ 1240.20 Capital components and eligibility criteria for regulatory capital instruments.

(a) Regulatory capital components. An Enterprise's regulatory capital components are:

(1) Common equity tier 1 capital;

(2) Additional tier 1 capital;

(3) Tier 2 capital;

(4) Core capital; and

(5) Total capital.

(b) Common equity tier 1 capital. Common equity tier 1 capital is the sum of the common equity tier 1 capital elements in this paragraph (b), minus regulatory adjustments and deductions in § 1240.22. The common equity tier 1 capital elements are:

(1) Any common stock instruments (plus any related surplus) issued by the Enterprise, net of treasury stock, that meet all the following criteria:

(i) The instrument is paid-in, issued directly by the Enterprise, and represents the most subordinated claim in a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding of the Enterprise;

(ii) The holder of the instrument is entitled to a claim on the residual assets of the Enterprise that is proportional with the holder's share of the Enterprise's issued capital after all senior claims have been satisfied in a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding;

(iii) The instrument has no maturity date, can only be redeemed via discretionary repurchases with the prior approval of FHFA to the extent otherwise required by law or regulation, and does not contain any term or feature that creates an incentive to redeem;

(iv) The Enterprise did not create at issuance of the instrument through any action or communication an expectation that it will buy back, cancel, or redeem the instrument, and the instrument does not include any term or feature that might give rise to such an expectation;

(v) Any cash dividend payments on the instrument are paid out of the Enterprise's net income, retained earnings, or surplus related to common stock, and are not subject to a limit imposed by the contractual terms governing the instrument.

(vi) The Enterprise has full discretion at all times to refrain from paying any dividends and making any other distributions on the instrument without triggering an event of default, a requirement to make a payment-in-kind, or an imposition of any other restrictions on the Enterprise;

(vii) Dividend payments and any other distributions on the instrument may be paid only after all legal and contractual obligations of the Enterprise have been satisfied, including payments due on more senior claims;

(viii) The holders of the instrument bear losses as they occur equally, proportionately, and simultaneously with the holders of all other common stock instruments before any losses are borne by holders of claims on the Enterprise with greater priority in a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding;

(ix) The paid-in amount is classified as equity under GAAP;

(x) The Enterprise, or an entity that the Enterprise controls, did not purchase or directly or indirectly fund the purchase of the instrument;

(xi) The instrument is not secured, not covered by a guarantee of the Enterprise or of an affiliate of the Enterprise, and is not subject to any other arrangement that legally or economically enhances the seniority of the instrument;

(xii) The instrument has been issued in accordance with applicable laws and regulations; and

(xiii) The instrument is reported on the Enterprise's regulatory financial statements separately from other capital instruments.

(2) Retained earnings.

(3) Accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) as reported under GAAP. 1

1 See § 1240.22 for specific adjustments related to AOCI.

(4) Notwithstanding the criteria for common stock instruments referenced above, an Enterprise's common stock issued and held in trust for the benefit of its employees as part of an employee stock ownership plan does not violate any of the criteria in paragraph (b)(1)(iii), (iv), or (xi) of this section, provided that any repurchase of the stock is required solely by virtue of ERISA for an instrument of an Enterprise that is not publicly-traded. In addition, an instrument issued by an Enterprise to its employee stock ownership plan does not violate the criterion in paragraph (b)(1)(x) of this section.

(c) Additional tier 1 capital. Additional tier 1 capital is the sum of additional tier 1 capital elements and any related surplus, minus the regulatory adjustments and deductions in § 1240.22. Additional tier 1 capital elements are:

(1) Subject to paragraph (e)(2) of this section, instruments (plus any related surplus) that meet the following criteria:

(i) The instrument is issued and paid-in;

(ii) The instrument is subordinated to general creditors and subordinated debt holders of the Enterprise in a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding;

(iii) The instrument is not secured, not covered by a guarantee of the Enterprise or of an affiliate of the Enterprise, and not subject to any other arrangement that legally or economically enhances the seniority of the instrument;

(iv) The instrument has no maturity date and does not contain a dividend step-up or any other term or feature that creates an incentive to redeem; and

(v) If callable by its terms, the instrument may be called by the Enterprise only after a minimum of five years following issuance, except that the terms of the instrument may allow it to be called earlier than five years upon the occurrence of a regulatory event that precludes the instrument from being included in additional tier 1 capital, a tax event, or if the issuing entity is required to register as an investment company pursuant to the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.). In addition:

(A) The Enterprise must receive prior approval from FHFA to exercise a call option on the instrument.

(B) The Enterprise does not create at issuance of the instrument, through any action or communication, an expectation that the call option will be exercised.

(C) Prior to exercising the call option, or immediately thereafter, the Enterprise must either: Replace the instrument to be called with an equal amount of instruments that meet the criteria under paragraph (b) of this section or this paragraph (c); 2 or demonstrate to the satisfaction of FHFA that following redemption, the Enterprise will continue to hold capital commensurate with its risk.

2 Replacement can be concurrent with redemption of existing additional tier 1 capital instruments.

(vi) Redemption or repurchase of the instrument requires prior approval from FHFA.

(vii) The Enterprise has full discretion at all times to cancel dividends or other distributions on the instrument without triggering an event of default, a requirement to make a payment-in-kind, or an imposition of other restrictions on the Enterprise except in relation to any distributions to holders of common stock or instruments that are pari passu with the instrument.

(viii) Any distributions on the instrument are paid out of the Enterprise's net income, retained earnings, or surplus related to other additional tier 1 capital instruments.

(ix) The instrument does not have a credit-sensitive feature, such as a dividend rate that is reset periodically based in whole or in part on the Enterprise's credit quality, but may have a dividend rate that is adjusted periodically independent of the Enterprise's credit quality, in relation to general market interest rates or similar adjustments.

(x) The paid-in amount is classified as equity under GAAP.

(xi) The Enterprise, or an entity that the Enterprise controls, did not purchase or directly or indirectly fund the purchase of the instrument.

(xii) The instrument does not have any features that would limit or discourage additional issuance of capital by the Enterprise, such as provisions that require the Enterprise to compensate holders of the instrument if a new instrument is issued at a lower price during a specified time frame.

(xiii) If the instrument is not issued directly by the Enterprise or by a subsidiary of the Enterprise that is an operating entity, the only asset of the issuing entity is its investment in the capital of the Enterprise, and proceeds must be immediately available without limitation to the Enterprise or to the Enterprise's top-tier holding company in a form which meets or exceeds all of the other criteria for additional tier 1 capital instruments. 3

3 De minimis assets related to the operation of the issuing entity can be disregarded for purposes of this criterion.

(xiv) The governing agreement, offering circular, or prospectus of an instrument issued after February 16, 2021 must disclose that the holders of the instrument may be fully subordinated to interests held by the U.S. government in the event that the Enterprise enters into a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding.

(2) Notwithstanding the criteria for additional tier 1 capital instruments referenced above, an instrument issued by an Enterprise and held in trust for the benefit of its employees as part of an employee stock ownership plan does not violate any of the criteria in paragraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section, provided that any repurchase is required solely by virtue of ERISA for an instrument of an Enterprise that is not publicly-traded. In addition, an instrument issued by an Enterprise to its employee stock ownership plan does not violate the criteria in paragraphs (c)(1)(v) or (c)(1)(xi) of this section.

(d) Tier 2 capital. Tier 2 capital is the sum of tier 2 capital elements and any related surplus, minus the regulatory adjustments and deductions in § 1240.22. Tier 2 capital elements are:

(1) Subject to paragraph (e)(2) of this section, instruments (plus related surplus) that meet the following criteria:

(i) The instrument is issued and paid-in.

(ii) The instrument is subordinated to general creditors of the Enterprise.

(iv) The instrument has a minimum original maturity of at least five years. At the beginning of each of the last five years of the life of the instrument, the amount that is eligible to be included in tier 2 capital is reduced by 20 percent of the original amount of the instrument (net of redemptions) and is excluded from regulatory capital when the remaining maturity is less than one year. In addition, the instrument must not have any terms or features that require, or create significant incentives for, the Enterprise to redeem the instrument prior to maturity. 4

4 An instrument that by its terms automatically converts into a tier 1 capital instrument prior to five years after issuance complies with the five-year maturity requirement of this criterion.

(v) The instrument, by its terms, may be called by the Enterprise only after a minimum of five years following issuance, except that the terms of the instrument may allow it to be called sooner upon the occurrence of an event that would preclude the instrument from being included in tier 2 capital, a tax event. In addition:

(A) The Enterprise must receive the prior approval of FHFA to exercise a call option on the instrument.

(B) The Enterprise does not create at issuance, through action or communication, an expectation the call option will be exercised.

(C) Prior to exercising the call option, or immediately thereafter, the Enterprise must either: Replace any amount called with an equivalent amount of an instrument that meets the criteria for regulatory capital under this section; 5 or demonstrate to the satisfaction of FHFA that following redemption, the Enterprise would continue to hold an amount of capital that is commensurate with its risk.

5 An Enterprise may replace tier 2 capital instruments concurrent with the redemption of existing tier 2 capital instruments.

(vi) The holder of the instrument must have no contractual right to accelerate payment of principal or interest on the instrument, except in the event of a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding of the Enterprise.

(vii) The instrument has no credit-sensitive feature, such as a dividend or interest rate that is reset periodically based in whole or in part on the Enterprise's credit standing, but may have a dividend rate that is adjusted periodically independent of the Enterprise's credit standing, in relation to general market interest rates or similar adjustments.

(viii) The Enterprise, or an entity that the Enterprise controls, has not purchased and has not directly or indirectly funded the purchase of the instrument.

(ix) If the instrument is not issued directly by the Enterprise or by a subsidiary of the Enterprise that is an operating entity, the only asset of the issuing entity is its investment in the capital of the Enterprise, and proceeds must be immediately available without limitation to the Enterprise or the Enterprise's top-tier holding company in a form that meets or exceeds all the other criteria for tier 2 capital instruments under this section. 6

6 An Enterprise may disregard de minimis assets related to the operation of the issuing entity for purposes of this criterion.

(x) Redemption of the instrument prior to maturity or repurchase requires the prior approval of FHFA.

(xi) The governing agreement, offering circular, or prospectus of an instrument issued after February 16, 2021 must disclose that the holders of the instrument may be fully subordinated to interests held by the U.S. government in the event that the Enterprise enters into a receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding.

(2) Any eligible credit reserves that exceed expected credit losses to the extent that the excess reserve amount does not exceed 0.6 percent of credit risk-weighted assets.

(e) FHFA approval of a capital element. (1) An Enterprise must receive FHFA prior approval to include a capital element (as listed in this section) in its common equity tier 1 capital, additional tier 1 capital, or tier 2 capital unless the element:

(i) Was included in an Enterprise's tier 1 capital or tier 2 capital prior to June 30, 2020 and the underlying instrument may continue to be included under the criteria set forth in this section; or

(ii) Is equivalent, in terms of capital quality and ability to absorb losses with respect to all material terms, to a regulatory capital element FHFA determined may be included in regulatory capital pursuant to paragraph (e)(3) of this section.

(2) An Enterprise may not include an instrument in its additional tier 1 capital or a tier 2 capital unless FHFA has determined that the Enterprise has made appropriate provision, including in any resolution plan of the Enterprise, to ensure that the instrument would not pose a material impediment to the ability of an Enterprise to issue common stock instruments following the appointment of FHFA as conservator or receiver under the Safety and Soundness Act.

(3) After determining that a regulatory capital element may be included in an Enterprise's common equity tier 1 capital, additional tier 1 capital, or tier 2 capital, FHFA will make its decision publicly available, including a brief description of the material terms of the regulatory capital element and the rationale for the determination.

(f) FHFA prior approval. An Enterprise may not repurchase or redeem any common equity tier 1 capital, additional tier 1, or tier 2 capital instrument without the prior approval of FHFA to the extent such prior approval is required by paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of this section, as applicable.