Loans Get a 50 Percent Risk Weight for Trial Modification

     WASHINGTON (CN) - Home loans reorganized under the Home Affordable Mortgage Program can be carried on the books of banks, and other organizations insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, with a 50 percent risk weighting, as if the original loan had never been modified. The June 30 rule establishing the program has been adopted as final with changes clarifying that the 50 percent risk factor applies to the 90-day trial modification as well as the permanent modification.       The Home Affordable Mortgage Program was established to promote sustainable loan modifications for homeowners at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. The program allows homeowners to obtain more affordable mortgage payments.
     Before June 30, the conditions that lead homeowners to default on their home loans, like late, missing or erratic payments, or drastic changes in their credit rating, would have required lenders to carry the loans at a 100 percent risk factor. The 50 percent risk weight allows banks to lend money that otherwise would have to be held in reserve to meet risk-based capital reserve requirements.
     The financial agencies adopting this rule are the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Treasury Department, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Treasury Department's Office of Thrift Supervision.

Snowmobiles Are Still
Allowed at Yellowstone

     WASHINGTON (CN) - The National Park Service will limit the number and type of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and the scenic highway that joins them, until a permanent plan is created.
     The rules also require that most recreational snowmobiles in the park meet air and sound emissions requirements, and that snowmobilers and snowcoach riders be accompanied by a commercial guide. The rule sets daily limits on the numbers of snowmobiles at 318, instead of 720, and snowcoaches at 78, and requires that recreational snowmobiles on Jackson Lake be for the sole purpose of accessing ice fishing.
     The vehicles also must be of the best available technology. The makes of such snowmobiles are Cat, Bombardier, Polaris and Yamaha, according to the National Park Service's Web site.
     Traveling off designated oversnow routes remains prohibited.
     Click the document icon for this and other regulations.

FAA Is Warming Up
for a De-Icing Rule

     WASHINGTON (CN) - The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into adopting a rule that requires airplanes allowed to fly in icy weather to have either equipment that can detect ice and alert the crew, or better flight manual instructions on the conditions that require a plane's de-icer to be activated.
     Click the document icon for this and other regulations.