12 USC 1455 - Obligations and securities of the Corporation

View all text of Chapter 11 A [§ 1451 - § 1459]

§ 1455. Obligations and securities of the Corporation

(a) Authority to issue; terms and conditions; validity

(b) Prohibitions and restrictions; creation of liens and charges; rank and priority; causes of action to enforce; jurisdiction; service of process

(1) The Secretary of the Treasury may purchase any obligations issued under subsection (a). For such purpose, the Secretary may use as a public debt transaction the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under such chapter are extended to include such purpose.

(2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall not at any time purchase any obligations under this subsection if the purchase would increase the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding holdings of obligations under this subsection by the Secretary to an amount greater than $2,250,000,000.

(3) Each purchase of obligations by the Secretary of the Treasury under this subsection shall be upon terms and conditions established to yield a rate of return determined by the Secretary to be appropriate, taking into consideration the current average rate on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States as of the last day of the month preceding the making of the purchase.

(4) The Secretary of the Treasury may at any time sell, upon terms and conditions and at prices determined by the Secretary, any of the obligations acquired by the Secretary under this subsection.

(5) All redemptions, purchases and sales by the Secretary of the Treasury of obligations under this subsection shall be treated as public debt transactions of the United States.

(d) Validity of provisions; validity of restrictions, prohibitions, liens, or charges

(e) Authority to purchase, hold, or invest by person, trust, or organization

(1) Any person, trust, or organization created pursuant to or existing under the laws of the United States or any State shall be authorized to purchase, hold, and invest in mortgages, obligations, or other securities which are or have been sold by the Corporation pursuant to this section or pursuant to section 1454 of this title to the same extent that such person, trust, or organization is authorized under any applicable law to purchase, hold, or invest in obligations issued by or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof. Where State law limits the purchase, holding, or investment in obligations issued by the United States by such a person, trust, or organization, such Corporation mortgages, obligations, and other securities shall be considered to be obligations issued by the United States for purposes of the limitation.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to a particular person, trust, or organization or class thereof in any State which, after December 21, 1979, enacts a statute which specifically names the Corporation and either prohibits or provides for a more limited authority to purchase, hold, or invest in such securities by such person, trust, or organization or class thereof than is provided in paragraph (1). The enactment by any State of any statute of the type described in the preceding sentence shall not affect the validity of any contractual commitment to purchase, hold, or invest which was made prior thereto.

(3) Any authority granted by paragraph (1) and not granted by any other Federal statute shall expire as of the end of June 30, 1985. Such expiration shall not affect the validity of any contractual commitment to purchase, hold, or invest which was made prior thereto pursuant to paragraph (1), and shall not affect the validity of any contractual commitment or other action to purchase, hold, or invest pursuant to any other authorization.

(f) Preferred stock

(g) Securities exempt from regulation

(h) Securities backed by mortgages not purchased by Corporation

(1) The Corporation may not guarantee mortgage-backed securities or mortgage related payment securities backed by mortgages not purchased by the Corporation.

(2) The Corporation shall insert appropriate language in all of the obligations and securities of the Corporation issued under this section and section 1454 of this title clearly indicating that such obligations and securities, together with the interest thereon, are not guaranteed by the United States and do not constitute a debt or obligation of the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof other than the Corporation.

(i) Prohibition on assessment or collection of fee or charge by United States

(j) Notes, debentures, or substantially identical types of unsecured obligations; issuance, maturities, interest rates, etc.

(1) Any notes, debentures, or substantially identical types of unsecured obligations of the Corporation evidencing money borrowed, whether general or subordinated, shall be issued upon the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury and shall have such maturities and bear such rate or rates of interest as may be determined by the Corporation with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.

(2) Any notes, debentures, or substantially identical types of unsecured obligations of the Corporation having maturities of 1 year or less that the Corporation has issued or is issuing as of August 9, 1989, shall be deemed to have been approved by the Secretary of the Treasury as required by this subsection. Such deemed approval shall expire 365 days after August 9, 1989.

(3) Any notes, debentures, or substantially identical types of unsecured obligations of the Corporation having maturities of more than 1 year that the Corporation has issued or is issuing as of August 9, 1989, shall be deemed to have been approved by the Secretary of the Treasury as required by this subsection. Such deemed approval shall expire 60 days after August 9, 1989.

(k) Securities in form of debt obligations or trust certificates of beneficial interest; issuance, maturities, interest rates, etc.

(1) Any securities in the form of debt obligations or trust certificates of beneficial interest, or both, and based upon mortgages held and set aside by the Corporation, shall be issued upon the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury and shall have such maturities and shall bear such rate or rates of interest as may be determined by the Corporation with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.

(2) Any securities in the form of debt obligations or trust certificates of beneficial interest, or both, and based upon mortgages held and set aside by the Corporation, that the Corporation has issued or is issuing as of August 9, 1989, shall be deemed to have been approved by the Secretary of the Treasury as required by this subsection.

(l) Temporary authority of Treasury to purchase obligations and securities; conditions

(1) Authority to purchase

(A) General authority

(B) Emergency determination required

In connection with any use of this authority, the Secretary must determine that such actions are necessary to—

(i) provide stability to the financial markets;

(ii) prevent disruptions in the availability of mortgage finance; and

(iii) protect the taxpayer.

To protect the taxpayers, the Secretary of the Treasury shall take into consideration the following in connection with exercising the authority contained in this paragraph:

(i) The need for preferences or priorities regarding payments to the Government.

(ii) Limits on maturity or disposition of obligations or securities to be purchased.

(iii) The Corporation’s plan for the orderly resumption of private market funding or capital market access.

(iv) The probability of the Corporation fulfilling the terms of any such obligation or other security, including repayment.

(v) The need to maintain the Corporation’s status as a private shareholder-owned company.

(vi) Restrictions on the use of Corporation resources, including limitations on the payment of dividends and executive compensation and any such other terms and conditions as appropriate for those purposes.

(D) Reports to Congress

(2) Rights; sale of obligations and securities

(A) Exercise of rights

(B) Sale of obligation and securities

The Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit in the General Fund of the Treasury any amounts received by the Secretary from the sale of any obligation acquired by the Secretary under this subsection, where such amounts shall be—

(i) dedicated for the sole purpose of deficit reduction; and

(ii) prohibited from use as an offset for other spending increases or revenue reductions.

(D) Application of sunset to purchased obligations or securities

(3) Funding

(4) Termination of authority

(5) Authority of the Director with respect to executive compensation

(Pub. L. 91–351, title III, § 306, July 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 455; Pub. L. 96–153, title III, § 316(a), Dec. 21, 1979, 93 Stat. 1118; Pub. L. 97–289, § 6, Oct. 6, 1982, 96 Stat. 1232; Pub. L. 98–35, § 5, May 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 198; Pub. L. 98–440, title II, §§ 210, 211, Oct. 3, 1984, 98 Stat. 1697; Pub. L. 100–242, title IV, § 441(b), Feb. 5, 1988, 101 Stat. 1921; Pub. L. 101–73, title VII, § 731(g)–(i), Aug. 9, 1989, 103 Stat. 434; Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1382(n), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4005; Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, §§ 1117(b), 1161(c)(2), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2684, 2780; Pub. L. 111–203, title XIII, § 1304(b), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2134.)