Collapse to view only § 2261. Cease and desist proceedings
- § 2261. Cease and desist proceedings
- § 2262. Temporary cease and desist orders
- § 2263.
- § 2264. Suspension or removal of director or officer
- § 2265. Suspension or removal of director or officer charged with felony
- § 2265a. Removal and prohibition authority; industry-wide prohibition
- § 2266. Hearings and judicial review
- § 2267. Jurisdiction and enforcement
- § 2267a. Jurisdiction over institution-affiliated parties
- § 2268. Penalty
- § 2269. Further penalties
- § 2270. Replacement of suspended or removed directors
- § 2271. Definitions
- § 2272. Notice of service
- § 2273. Ancillary provisions; subpena power; etc.
- § 2274. Power to remove directors and officers
In the case of violation or threatened violation of, or failure to obey, a temporary cease and desist order issued under section 2262 of this title, the Farm Credit Administration may apply to the United States district court, or the United States court of any territory, within the jurisdiction of which the home office of the institution is located, for an injunction to enforce such order, and, if the court shall determine that there has been such violation or threatened violation or failure to obey, it shall be the duty of the court to issue such injunction.
Whenever, in the opinion of the Farm Credit Administration, any director or officer of any institution in the Farm Credit System has committed any violation of law, rule, or regulation or of a cease and desist order that has become final, or has engaged or participated in any unsafe or unsound practice in connection with the institution, or has committed or engaged in any act, omission, or practice which constitutes a breach of a fiduciary duty as such director or officer, and the Farm Credit Administration determines that the institution has suffered or will probably suffer substantial financial loss or other damage or that the interests of its shareholders or investors in Farm Credit System obligations could be seriously prejudiced by reason of such violation or practice or breach of fiduciary duty, or that the director or officer has received financial gain by reason of such violation or practice or breach of fiduciary duty, and that such violation or practice or breach of fiduciary duty is one involving personal dishonesty on the part of such director or officer, or one that demonstrates a willful or continuing disregard for the safety or soundness of the System institution, the Farm Credit Administration may serve upon such director or officer a written notice of its intention to remove him from office.
Whenever, in the opinion of the Farm Credit Administration, any director or officer of an institution in the Farm Credit System, by conduct or practice with respect to another institution in the Farm Credit System or other business institution that resulted in substantial financial loss or other damage, has evidenced either his personal dishonesty or a willful or continuing disregard for its safety and soundness and, in addition, has evidenced his unfitness to continue as a director or officer, and whenever, in the opinion of the Farm Credit Administration, any other person participating in the conduct of the affairs of an institution in the Farm Credit System, by the conduct or practice with respect to such institution or other institution in the Farm Credit System or other business institution that resulted in substantial financial loss or other damage, has evidenced either personal dishonesty or a willful or continuing disregard for its safety and soundness and, in addition, has evidenced his unfitness to participate in the conduct of the affairs of such institution, the Farm Credit Administration may serve upon such director, officer, or other person a written notice of its intention to remove that director, officer, or other person from office or to prohibit his further participation in any manner in the conduct of the affairs of the institution.
In respect to any director or officer of an institution in the Farm Credit System or any other person referred to in subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the Farm Credit Administration may, if it deems it necessary for the protection of the institution or the interests of its shareholders and the investors in the Farm Credit System obligations, by written notice to such effect served upon such director, officer, or other person, suspend such director, officer, or other person from office or prohibit such director, officer, or other person from further participation in any manner in the conduct of the affairs of the institution. Such suspension or prohibition shall become effective upon service of such notice and, unless stayed by a court in proceedings authorized by subsection (e) of this section, shall remain in effect pending the completion of the administrative proceedings pursuant to the notice served under subsection (a) or (b) and until such time as the Farm Credit Administration shall dismiss the charges specified in such notice, or, if an order of removal or prohibition is issued against the director or officer or other person, until the effective date of any such order. Copies of any such notice shall also be served upon the institution of which the person is a director or officer or in the conduct of whose affairs the person has participated.
A notice of intention to remove a director, officer, or other person from office or to prohibit such director’s, officer’s, or other person’s participation in the conduct of the affairs of an institution in the Farm Credit System, shall contain a statement of the facts constituting grounds therefor, and shall fix a time and place at which a hearing will be held thereon. Such hearing shall be fixed for a date not earlier than thirty days nor later than sixty days after the date of service of such notice, unless an earlier or a later date is set by the Farm Credit Administration at the request of (1) such director or officer or other person, and for good cause shown, or (2) the Attorney General of the United States. Unless such director, officer, or other person shall appear at the hearing in person or by a duly authorized representative, such director, officer, or other person shall be deemed to have consented to the issuance of an order of such removal or prohibition. In the event of such consent, or if upon the record made at any such hearing the Farm Credit Administration shall find that any of the grounds specified in such notice have been established, the Farm Credit Administration may issue such orders of suspension or removal from office, or prohibition from participation in the conduct of the affairs of the institution, as it may deem appropriate. A copy of an order issued under this subsection shall be served upon the institution concerned. Any such order shall become effective at the expiration of thirty days after service upon such institution and the director, officer, or other person concerned (except in the case of an order issued upon consent, which shall become effective at the time specified therein). Such order shall remain effective and enforceable except to such extent as it is stayed, modified, terminated, or set aside by action of the agency or a reviewing court.
Within ten days after any director, officer, or other person has been suspended from office or prohibited from participation in the conduct of the affairs of a System institution under subsection (c) of this section, such director, officer, or other person may apply to the United States district court for the judicial district in which the home office of the institution is located, or the United States district court for the District of Columbia, for a stay of either such suspension or prohibition, or both, pending the completion of the administrative proceedings pursuant to the notice served upon such director, officer, or other person under subsection (a) or (b), and such court shall have jurisdiction to stay either such suspension or prohibition, or both.
The agencies described in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(B) shall consult with each other before providing any written consent under that paragraph.
A violation of subsection (b) by any person who is subject to an order described in that subsection shall be treated as violation 2
Any hearing provided for in this part (other than the hearing provided for in section 2265 of this title) shall be held in the Federal judicial district or in the territory in which the home office of the institution is located unless the party afforded the hearing consents to another place, and shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 5 of title 5. Such hearing shall be private, unless the Farm Credit Administration, in its discretion, after fully considering the views of the party afforded the hearing, determines that a public hearing is necessary to protect the public interest. After such hearing, and within ninety days after the Farm Credit Administration has notified the parties that the case has been submitted to it for final decision, it shall render its decision (which shall include findings of fact upon which its decision is predicated) and shall issue and serve upon each party to the proceeding an order or orders consistent with the provisions of this part. Judicial review of any such order shall be exclusively as provided in this section. Unless a petition for review is timely filed in a court of appeals of the United States, as hereinafter provided in subsection (b), and thereafter until the record in the proceeding has been filed as so provided, the Farm Credit Administration may at any time, upon such notice and in such manner as it shall deem proper, modify, terminate, or set aside any such order. Upon such filing of the record, the Farm Credit Administration may modify, terminate, or set aside any such order with permission of the court.
Any party to the proceeding, or any person required by an order issued under this part to cease and desist from any of the violations or practices stated therein, may obtain a review of any order served under subsection (a) (other than an order issued with the consent of the System institution or the director or officer or other person concerned, or an order issued under section 2265 of this title) by the filing in the court of appeals of the United States for the circuit in which the home office of the institution is located, or in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, within thirty days after the date of service of such order, a written petition praying that the order of the Farm Credit Administration be modified, terminated, or set aside. A copy of such petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the court to the Farm Credit Administration, and thereupon the Farm Credit Administration shall file in the court the record in the proceeding, as provided in section 2112 of title 28. Upon the filing of such petition, such court shall have jurisdiction, which upon the filing of the record shall except as provided in the last sentence of subsection (a) be exclusive, to affirm, modify, terminate, or set aside, in whole or in part, the order of the Farm Credit Administration. Review of such proceedings shall be had as provided in chapter 7 of title 5. The judgment and decree of the court shall be final, except that the same shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court upon certiorari, as provided in section 1254 of title 28.
The commencement of proceedings for judicial review under subsection (b) shall not, unless specifically ordered by the court, operate as a stay of any order issued by the Farm Credit Administration.
The Farm Credit Administration may in its discretion apply to the United States district court, or the United States court of any territory, within the jurisdiction of which the home office of the institution is located, for the enforcement of any effective and outstanding notice or order issued under this part, and such courts shall have jurisdiction and power to order and require compliance herewith; but except as otherwise provided in this part no court shall have jurisdiction to affect by injunction or otherwise the issuance or enforcement of any notice or order under this part, or to review, modify, suspend, terminate, or set aside any such notice or order. For purposes of this section, any directive issued under section 2154(b)(2), 2154a(e), or 2202a(h) of this title shall be treated as an effective and outstanding order issued under section 2261 of this title that has become final.
For purposes of sections 2261, 2262, and 2268 of this title, the jurisdiction of the Farm Credit Administration over parties, and the authority of the Farm Credit Administration to initiate actions, shall include enforcement authority over institution-affiliated parties.
Subject to subsection (c), the resignation, termination of employment or participation, or separation of an institution-affiliated party (including a separation caused by the merger, consolidation, conservatorship, or receivership of a Farm Credit System institution) shall not affect the jurisdiction and authority of the Farm Credit Administration to issue any notice or order and proceed under this part against that party.
To proceed against a party under subsection (b), the notice or order described in that subsection shall be served not later than 6 years after the date on which the party ceased to be an institution-affiliated party with respect to the applicable Farm Credit System institution.
The date on which a party ceases to be an institution-affiliated party described in subsection (c) may occur before, on, or after December 20, 2018.
Any institution in the System that violates or any officer, director, employee, agent, or other person participating in the conduct of the affairs of such an institution who violates the terms of any order that has become final and was issued under section 2261 or 2262 of this title, shall forfeit and pay a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 per day for each day during which such violation continues. Any such institution or person who violates any provision of this chapter or any regulation issued under this chapter shall forfeit and pay a civil penalty of not more than $500 per day for each day during which such violation continues. Notwithstanding the preceding sentences, the Farm Credit Administration may, in its discretion, compromise, modify, or remit any civil money penalty that is subject to imposition or has been imposed under such authority. The penalty may be assessed and collected by the Farm Credit Administration by written notice.
Before determining whether to assess a civil money penalty and determining the amount of such penalty, the Farm Credit Administration shall notify the institution or person to be assessed of the violation or violations alleged to have occurred or to be occurring, and shall solicit the views of the institution or person regarding the imposition of such penalty. In determining the amount of the penalty, the Farm Credit Administration shall take into account the appropriateness of the penalty with respect to the size of financial resources and good faith of the System institution or person charged, the gravity of the violation, the history of previous violations, and such other matters as justice may require.
The System institution or person assessed shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing by the Farm Credit Administration, upon request made within ten days after issuance of the notice of assessment. In such hearing all issues shall be determined on the record pursuant to section 554 of title 5. The Farm Credit Administration determination shall be made by final order which may be reviewed only as provided in subsection (d). If no hearing is requested as herein provided, the assessment shall constitute a final and unappealable order.
Any System institution or person against whom an order imposing a civil money penalty has been entered after a Farm Credit Administration hearing under this section may obtain review by the United States court of appeals for the circuit in which the home office of the System institution is located, or the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, by filing a notice of appeal in such court within twenty days after the service of such order, and simultaneously sending a copy of such notice by registered or certified mail to the Farm Credit Administration. The Farm Credit Administration shall promptly certify and file in such Court the record upon which the penalty was imposed, as provided in section 2112 of title 28. Final orders of the Farm Credit Administration issued under subsection (c) shall be reviewable under chapter 7 of title 5.
If any System institution or person fails to pay an assessment after it has become a final and unappealable order, or after the court of appeals has entered final judgment in favor of the Farm Credit Administration, the Farm Credit Administration shall refer the matter to the Attorney General, who shall recover the amount assessed by action in the appropriate United States district court. In such action, the validity and appropriateness of the final order imposing the penalty shall not be subject to review.
The Farm Credit Administration shall promulgate regulations establishing procedures necessary to implement section 2267 of this title and this section.
All penalties collected under authority of this section shall be covered into the Treasury of the United States.
For purposes of this section, any directive issued under section 2154(b)(2), 2154a(e), or 2202a(h) of this title shall be treated as an order that has become final and was issued under section 2261 of this title.
Any director or officer, or former director or officer of a System institution, or any other person, against whom there is outstanding and effective any notice or order (which is an order which has become final) served upon such director, officer, or other person under section 2264 or 2265 of this title, and who (1) participates in any manner in the conduct of the affairs of the institution involved, or directly or indirectly solicits or procures, or transfers or attempts to transfer, or votes or attempts to vote, any proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of any voting rights in such institution, or (2) without the prior written approval of the Farm Credit Administration, votes for a director, serves or acts as a director, officer, or employee of any System institution, shall upon conviction be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
If at any time, because of the suspension or removal of one or more directors pursuant to section 2264 or 2265 of this title, there shall be on the board of directors of a System institution less than a quorum of directors not so suspended, the Chairman shall appoint persons to serve temporarily as directors in their place and stead so as to establish a quorum until such time as those who have been removed are reinstated or their respective successors are duly elected and take office.
Any service required or authorized to be made by the Farm Credit Administration under this section may be made by registered mail, or in such other manner reasonably calculated to give actual notice as the Farm Credit Administration may by regulation or otherwise provide. Any such service by mail is complete upon mailing. Copies of any notice or order served by the Farm Credit Administration on any association or any director or officer thereof or other person participating in the conduct of its affairs, under the provisions of this part, shall also be sent to the supervisory bank.
In the course of or in connection with any proceeding under this part or any examination or investigation under this chapter, the Farm Credit Administration or any designated representative thereof, including any person designated to conduct any hearing under this part, shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations, to take or cause to be taken depositions, and to issue, revoke, quash, or modify subpenas and subpenas duces tecum; and the Farm Credit Administration is empowered to make rules and regulations with respect to any such proceedings, examinations, or investigations. The attendance of witnesses and the production of documents provided for in this section may be required from any place in any State or in any territory or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States at any designated place where such proceeding is being conducted. The Farm Credit Administration or any party to proceedings under this part may apply to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, or the United States district court for the judicial district or the United States court in any territory in which such proceeding is being conducted, or where the witness resides or carries on business, for enforcement of any subpena or subpena duces tecum issued pursuant to this part, and such courts shall have jurisdiction and power to order and require compliance therewith. Witnesses subpenaed under this section shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the district courts of the United States. Any court having jurisdiction of any proceeding instituted under this part by a System institution or a director or officer thereof, may allow to any such party such reasonable expenses and attorneys’ fees as it deems just and proper; and such expenses and fees shall be paid by the System institution or from its assets. Any person who willfully shall fail or refuse to attend or testify or to answer any lawful inquiry or to produce books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, contracts, agreements, or other records, if in such person’s power so to do, in obedience to the subpena of the Farm Credit Administration, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year or both.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a Farm Credit Bank board, officer, or employee shall not remove any director or officer of any association.