§ 3904a — Additional Reserve Requirements

(a) Each appropriate Federal banking agency shall review the exposure to risk of United States banking institutions arising from the medium- and long-term loans made by such institutions that are outstanding to any highly indebted country. Each agency shall provide direction to such institutions regarding additions to general reserves maintained by each banking institution for potential loan losses and special reserves required by such agency arising from such review. (b) In determining the exposure of an institution to risk for purposes of subsection (a), the appropriate Federal banking agency— (1) shall determine whether any country exposure that is, and has been for at least 2 years, rated in the category “Other Transfer Risk Problems” or the category “Substandard” by the Interagency Country Exposure Review Committee should be reevaluated; (2) may exempt, in full or in part, from reserve requirements established pursuant to subsection (a), any loan— (A) to a country that enters into a debt reduction, debt service reduction, or financing program with its bank creditors that is supported by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the International Monetary Fund; or (B) secured, in whole or in part, by appropriate collateral for payment of interest or principal; (3) take into account any other factors which bear on such exposure and the particular circumstances of the institution; and (4) shall consider as indicators of risk, where appropriate, the average reserve levels maintained by or required of banking institutions in foreign countries and secondary market prices for such loans. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), each appropriate Federal banking agency shall determine the timing of any addition to reserves required by subsection (a). (2) of this title after 1989 a report on the actions taken pursuant to this section. (3) Each Federal agency required to undertake a review described in subsection (a) shall complete the review not later than December 31, 1990. (d) As used in this section, the term “highly indebted country” means any country designated as a “Highly Indebted Country” in the annual World Debt Tables most recently published by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development before December 19, 1989.