31 CFR § 30.4 - Q-4: What actions are necessary for a TARP recipient to comply with the standards established under sections 111(b)(3)(A), 111(b)(3)(E), 111(b)(3)(F) and 111(c) of EESA (evaluation of employee plans and potential to encourage excessive risk or manipulation of earnings)?

(a) General rule. To comply with the standards established under sections 111(b)(3)(A), 111(b)(3)(E), 111(b)(3)(F) and 111(c) of EESA, a TARP recipient must establish a compensation committee by the later of ninety days after the closing date of the agreement between the TARP recipient and Treasury or September 14, 2009, and maintain a compensation committee during the remainder of the TARP period. If a compensation committee is already established before the later of the closing date or September 14, 2009, the TARP recipient must maintain its compensation committee. During the remainder of the TARP period after the later of ninety days after the closing date of the agreement between the TARP recipient and Treasury or September 14, 2009, the compensation committee must:

(1) Discuss, evaluate, and review at least every six months with the TARP recipient's senior risk officers the SEO compensation plans to ensure that the SEO compensation plans do not encourage SEOs to take unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten the value of the TARP recipient;

(2) Discuss, evaluate, and review with senior risk officers at least every six months employee compensation plans in light of the risks posed to the TARP recipient by such plans and how to limit such risks;

(3) Discuss, evaluate, and review at least every six months the employee compensation plans of the TARP recipient to ensure that these plans do not encourage the manipulation of reported earnings of the TARP recipient to enhance the compensation of any of the TARP recipient's employees;

(4) At least once per TARP recipient fiscal year, provide a narrative description of how the SEO compensation plans do not encourage the SEOs to take unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten the value of the TARP recipient, including how these SEO compensation plans do not encourage behavior focused on short-term results rather than long-term value creation, the risks posed by employee compensation plans and how these risks were limited, including how these employee compensation plans do not encourage behavior focused on short-term results rather than long-term value creation, and how the TARP recipient has ensured that the employee compensation plans do not encourage the manipulation of reported earnings of the TARP recipient to enhance the compensation of any of the TARP recipient's employees; and

(5) Certify the completion of the reviews of the SEO compensation plans and employee compensation plans required under paragraphs (a)(1), (2), and (3) of this section.

(b) Exclusion of TARP recipients with no employees or no affected employees. For any period during which a TARP recipient has no employees, or has no SEO or compensation plan subject to the review process, the TARP recipient is not subject to the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) Application to private TARP recipients. The rules provided in paragraph (a) of this section are also applicable to TARP recipients that do not have securities registered with the SEC pursuant to the Federal securities laws. A TARP recipient that does not have securities registered with the SEC pursuant to the Federal securities laws and has received $25,000,000 or less in financial assistance is subject to paragraph (a) of this section, except that, in lieu of establishing and maintaining a compensation committee, such a TARP recipient is permitted to ensure that all the members of the board of directors carry out the duties of the compensation committee as described in paragraph (a) of this section. However, such a TARP recipient will be required to establish and maintain a compensation committee satisfying the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section for the first fiscal year following a fiscal year during which the TARP recipient either registers securities with the SEC pursuant to the Federal securities laws or has received more than $25,000,000 in financial assistance, and during subsequent years of the TARP period.

(d) Application to TARP recipients that have never had an outstanding obligation. For TARP recipients that have never had an outstanding obligation, only paragraphs (a)(2), (a)(4), (a)(5) (but for the narrative and certification requirements of (a)(4) and (a)(5), applied only to the requirements of paragraph (a)(2)), (b) and (c) of this § 30.4 (Q-4) shall apply.