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The Federal Reserve Board has issued SR Letter 16-8 to announce the implementation of new procedures for examiners to conduct off-site loan reviews for community and small regional banks. The option is offered as part of an ongoing effort to improve efficiency and provide burden reduction while maintaining quality supervision. State member banks and U.S. branches and agencies for foreign banking organizations with less than $50 billion in total assets can opt to allow Federal Reserve examiners to review loan files off-site, during both full-scope or target examinations, so long as loan documents can be sent securely and with the required information. While some banks may prefer an off-site loan review, the program is optional so that any bank can still choose an on-site review.

HUD and the Census Bureau have released the new residential construction statistics for March 2016.

• Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,086,000; 7.7 percent below the revised February rate, but 4.6 percent above the March 2015 estimate. Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 727,000;1.2 percent below the revised February figure of 736,000.
• Privately owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,089,000; 8.8 percent below the revised February estimate of 1,194,000, but 14.2 percent above the March 2015 rate. Single-family housing starts in March were at a rate of 764,000; 9.2 percent below the revised February figure.
• Privately owned housing completions in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,061,000; 3.5 percent above the revised February estimate of 1,025,000 and 31.6 percent above the March 2015 rate. Single-family housing completions in March were at a rate of 734,000; 0.3 percent below the revised February rate.

The April 2016 issue of The NCUA Report has been posted, featuring the recent changes made by the Department of Defense that will extend the protections of the Military Lending Act to a broader range of closed-end and open-end credit union products.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced it is charging landlords in Beloit, Kansas, with violating the Fair Housing Act after allegedly discriminating against a female tenant with disabilities by not renewing her lease, sending her a notice containing discriminatory statements about her disability, and retaliating against her for filing a previous fair housing complaint.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has released a statement providing a public update on its review of potential risks to U.S. financial stability that may arise from asset management products and activities. The statement details the Council’s views regarding potential financial stability risks and next steps to respond to these potential risks. The Council’s evaluation of risks focused on: (1) liquidity and redemption; (2) leverage; (3) operational functions; (4) securities lending; and (5) resolvability and transition planning. Remarks by Treasury Secretary Lew prepared for delivery at the FSOC meeting were also released.

The Federal Reserve has released the March 2016 G.17 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization Report. Industrial production decreased 0.6 percent in March for a second month in a row. For the first quarter as a whole, industrial production fell at an annual rate of 2.2 percent. A substantial portion of the overall decrease in March resulted from declines in the indexes for mining and utilities, which fell 2.9 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively; in addition, manufacturing output fell 0.3 percent. The sizable decrease in mining production continued the industry's recent downward trajectory; the index has fallen in each of the past seven months, at an average pace of 1.6 percent per month. At 103.4 percent of its 2012 average, total industrial production in March was 2.0 percent below its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector decreased 0.5 percentage point in March to 74.8 percent, a rate that is 5.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2015) average.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that existing agreements under HUD’s Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program for 39 public housing authorities will now continue in effect until 2028.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced that Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will offer principal reduction modifications to certain seriously delinquent, underwater borrowers who are still struggling in the aftermath of the financial crisis to help them avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. The new Principal Reduction Modification program is a one-time offering for borrowers whose loans are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and who meet specific eligibility criteria. The modification will be available to owner-occupant borrowers who are 90 days or more delinquent as of March 1, 2016, whose mortgages have an outstanding unpaid principal balance of $250,000 or less, and whose mark-to-market loan-to-value (MTMLTV) ratios exceed 115 percent. See a Fact Sheet for eligibility criteria.

The April 13, 2016, issue of the Beige Book has been published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in HTML and PDF formats. The report is compiled eight times a year. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by District and sector. An overall summary of the twelve district reports is prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotating basis.

The Federal Reserve Board has released the minutes of its February 8 and March 14, 2016, discount rate meetings.