12 U.S.C. § 1452
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
The Corporation shall have power (1) to adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal; (2) to have succession until dissolved by Act of Congress; (3) to make and enforce such bylaws, rules, and regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes or provisions of this chapter; (4) to make and perform contracts, agreements, and commitments; (5) to prescribe and impose fees and charges for services by the Corporation; (6) to settle, adjust, and compromise, and with or without consideration or benefit to the Corporation to release or waive in whole or in part, in advance or otherwise, any claim, demand, or right of, by, or against the Corporation; (7) to sue and be sued, complain and defend, in any State, Federal, or other court; (8) to acquire, take, hold, and own, and to deal with and dispose of any property; and (9) to determine its necessary expenditures and the manner in which the same shall be incurred, allowed, and paid, and appoint, employ, and fix and provide for the compensation and benefits of officers, employees, attorneys, and agents as the Board of Directors determines reasonable and comparable with compensation for employment in other similar businesses (including publicly held financial institutions or other major financial services companies) involving similar duties and responsibilities, except that a significant portion of potential compensation of all executive officers (as such term is defined in subsection (h)(3)) of the Corporation shall be based on the performance of the Corporation, all without regard to any other law except as may be provided by the Corporation or by laws hereafter enacted by the Congress expressly in limitation of this sentence. The Corporation, with the consent of any such department, establishment, or instrumentality, including any field services thereof, may utilize and act through any such department, establishment, or instrumentality and may avail itself of the use of information, services, facilities, and personnel thereof, and may pay compensation therefor, and all of the foregoing are hereby authorized to provide the same to the Corporation as it may request.
Funds of the Corporation may be invested in such investments as the Board of Directors may prescribe. Any Federal Reserve bank or Federal home loan bank, or any bank as to which at the time of its designation by the Corporation there is outstanding a designation by the Secretary of the Treasury as a general or other depositary of public money, may be designated by the Corporation as a depositary or custodian or as a fiscal or other agent of the Corporation, and is hereby authorized to act as such depositary, custodian, or agent. When designated for that purpose by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Corporation shall be a depositary of public money, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and may also be employed as fiscal or other agent of the United States, and it shall perform all such reasonable duties as such depositary or agent as may be required of it.
The Corporation, including its franchise, activities, capital, reserves, surplus, and income, shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by any territory, dependency, or possession of the United States or by any State, county, municipality, or local taxing authority, except that any real property of the Corporation shall be subject to State, territorial, county, municipal, or local taxation to the same extent according to its value as other real property is taxed.
Notwithstanding section 1349 of title 28 or any other provision of law, (1) the Corporation shall be deemed to be an agency included in sections 1345 and 1442 of such title 28; (2) all civil actions to which the Corporation is a party shall be deemed to arise under the laws of the United States, and the district courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction of all such actions, without regard to amount or value; and (3) any civil or other action, case or controversy in a court of a State, or in any court other than a district court of the United States, to which the Corporation is a party may at any time before the trial thereof be removed by the Corporation, without the giving of any bond or security, to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where the same is pending, or, if there is no such district court, to the district court of the United States for the district in which the principal office of the Corporation is located, by following any procedure for removal of causes in effect at the time of such removal.
All mortgages, obligations, or other securities which are or have been sold by the Corporation pursuant to section 1454 or section 1455 of this title shall be lawful investments, and may be accepted as security for all fiduciary, trust, and public funds, the investment or deposits of which shall be under the authority and control of the United States or any officers thereof.
2008—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1162(b)(1)(A), substituted “13 persons, or such other number as the Director determines appropriate, who” for “18 persons, 5 of whom shall be appointed annually by the President of the United States and the remainder of whom” in first sentence and struck out “appointed by the President of the United States” after “as members” in second sentence.
Pub. L. 110–289, § 1153(b)(3), substituted “Except to the extent action under section 4636a of this title temporarily results in a lesser number, the” for “The” in second sentence.
Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1162(b)(1)(B), struck out “such or” before “elected” and “, except that any appointed member may be removed from office by the President for good cause” before period at end.
Subsec. (a)(2)(C). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1162(b)(1)(C), struck out “elective” after “Any” in second sentence and struck out first sentence which read as follows: “Any appointive seat on the Board of Directors that becomes vacant shall be filled by appointment by the President of the United States, but only for the unexpired portion of the term.”
Subsecs. (b)(2), (h)(2). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1161(c)(1), substituted “Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency” for “Director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development”.
Subsec. (h)(4). Pub. L. 110–289, § 1113(b)(2), added par. (4).
1992—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 102–550, § 1382(c)(1), in second sentence, struck out “and” after “mortgage lending industry,” and inserted before period “, and at least 1 person from an organization that has represented consumer or community interests for not less than 2 years or 1 person who has demonstrated a career commitment to the provision of housing for low-income households”.
Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 102–550, § 1382(d), inserted before period at end “, except that any appointed member may be removed from office by the President for good cause”.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–550, § 1382(e), amended subsec. (b) generally, substituting present provisions for provisions which outlined general regulatory authority of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development over Corporation in such areas as mortgage purchases, dividends, examinations and audits, outstanding obligations, conversion of stock and debt obligations, residential mortgage transactions, and approval or disapproval of requests.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–550, § 1382(f)(1), (g), in cl. (9) of first sentence, inserted “as the Board of Directors determines reasonable and comparable with compensation for employment in other similar businesses (including publicly held financial institutions or other major financial services companies) involving similar duties and responsibilities, except that a significant portion of potential compensation of all executive officers (as such term is defined in subsection (h)(3)) of the Corporation shall be based on the performance of the Corporation” and struck out after first sentence “Nothing in this chapter or any other law shall be construed to prevent the appointment, employment, and provision for compensation and benefits, as an officer, employee, attorney, or agent of the Corporation, of any officer, employee, attorney, or agent of any department, establishment, or corporate or other instrumentality of the Government, including any Federal home loan bank or member thereof.”
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 102–550, § 1382(h), struck out at end “No attachment or execution shall be issued against the Corporation or any of its property before final judgment in any State, Federal, or other court.”
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 102–550, § 1382(f)(2), added subsec. (h).
1989—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–73, § 731(b)(1), amended subsec. (a) generally, reorganizing provisions into pars. (1) and (2), and substituting provisions setting forth general policies as governing Board, membership requirements and vacancies, for provisions setting forth status of members, liabilities, and conditions and limitations.
Subsecs. (b) to (g). Pub. L. 101–73, § 731(c), added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsecs. (b) to (f) as (c) to (g), respectively.
1984—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 98–369 struck out “by the United States,” before “by any territory”, substituted “possession of the United States” for “possession thereof,” and struck out “The provisions of this subsection shall be applicable without regard to any other law, including without limitation on the generality of the foregoing section 3301 of title 26, except laws hereafter enacted by Congress expressly in limitation of this subsection.”
1979—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 96–153 added subsec. (f).
Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of House of Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Banking and Financial Services of House of Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104–14, set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 2, The Congress. Committee on Banking and Financial Services of House of Representatives abolished and replaced by Committee on Financial Services of House of Representatives, and jurisdiction over matters relating to securities and exchanges and insurance generally transferred from Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Seventh Congress,
Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1382(c)(2),
Amendment by Pub. L. 98–369, effective
Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, § 1162(b)(2),
Pub. L. 101–73, title VII, § 731(b)(2),