Clarifying processes available for federal regulators to consider temporary waiver relief for appraisals by making “a clear distinction” between a request by a state appraiser regulatory agency and via petition by others is the aim of a rule proposed this week by the umbrella group for federal financial institution regulators.
The Federal Financial Institution Examination Council (FFIEC) said the reason behind the distinction is in federal law. According to the proposal published in the Federal Register, the exam council’s Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) may, under the law, grant a temporary waiver only when the ASC or a state appraiser regulatory agency has made the statutorily required written determination with two parts. Those parts are: there is a scarcity of certified or licensed appraisers to perform appraisals in connection with federally related transactions (FRTs) in a state, or in any geographical political subdivision of a state; and such scarcity is leading to significant delays in the performance of such appraisals for FRTs.
“Accordingly, the proposed rules seek to clarify the procedural differences in processing a Request for Temporary Waiver accompanied by a written determination as compared to a Petition requesting the ASC exercise its discretion to initiate a temporary waiver proceeding,” the proposal states.
The proposal, the exam council said, clarifies who can file a request for a temporary waiver; what a request for the waiver should contain; ASC review of a request for temporary waiver for purposes of determining sufficiency of the document’s content and receipt by the ASC; and what is required in the event a request for temporary waiver is not deemed to be received, and thereby is either denied or referred back to the state appraisal agency.
For petitions, the exam council said the proposal clarifies: who can file a petition requesting that the ASC exercise its discretionary authority to issue an order (thereby initiating a temporary waiver proceeding); what a petition should contain; the need to forward a copy of a petition to the state appraisal agency of the affected state; what the ASC may review for purposes of determining whether the petition may be processed for further action; what is required in the event a petition does not meet the requirements of its Contents of a Petition and thereby is either denied or referred back to the petitioner; and what further action may be taken.
The proposal would also expand the timeframe for an ASC determination of a temporary waiver (or waiver request) to 90 days from the current 45. It also clarifies the distinction between mandatory waiver termination versus discretionary waiver termination.
Comments are due on the proposal on March 14 (60 days).
Appraisal Subcommittee; Appraiser Regulation; Temporary Waiver Requests