CFR > Title 12 - Banks and Banking > CHAPTER XVII—OFFICE OF FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE OVERSIGHT, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT > SUBCHAPTER C—SAFETY AND SOUNDNESS (parts 1710 to 1777) > PART 1732—RECORD RETENTION > SUBPART A—General (§1732.1 to §1732.3-1732.4) > 1732.2—Definitions.

1732.2—Definitions.

For purposes of this part, the term:
(a) Act means the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, Title XIII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, Public Law 102-550, section 1301, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3672, 3941 through 4012 (1993) (12 U.S.C. 4501 et seq. ).
(b) Active record means a record that is necessary to conduct the current business of an office or business unit of an Enterprise and, therefore, is readily available for consultation and reference.
(c) Director means the Director of OFHEO, or his or her designee.
(d) Electronic record means a record created, generated, communicated, or stored by electronic means.
(e) Employee means any officer or employee of an Enterprise or any conservator appointed by OFHEO.
(f) Enterprise means the Federal National Mortgage Association or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation; and the term “Enterprises” means, collectively, the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
(g) E-mail means electronic mail, which is a method of communication in which:
(1) Usually, text is transmitted (but sometimes also graphics and/or audio information);
(2) Operations include sending, storing, processing, and receiving information;
(3) Users are allowed to communicate under specified conditions; and
(4) Messages are held in storage until called for by the addressee, including any attachment of separate electronic files.
(h) Inactive record means a record that is seldom used but must be retained by an Enterprise for fiscal, legal, historical, or vital records purposes.
(i) OFHEO means the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
(j) Record means any information whether generated internally or received from outside sources by an Enterprise or employee maintained in connection with Enterprise business, regardless of the following:
(1) Form or format, including hard copy documents (e.g., files, logs, and reports) and electronic documents (e.g., e-mail, databases, spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, electronic reporting systems, electronic tapes and back-up tapes, optical discs, CD-ROMS, and DVDs), and voicemail records;
(2) Where the information is stored or located, including network servers, desktop or laptop computers and handheld computers, other wireless devices with text messaging capabilities, and on-site or off-site at a storage facility;
(3) Whether the information is maintained or used on Enterprise-owned equipment, or personal or home computer systems of an employee; or
(4) Whether the information is active or inactive.
(k) Record retention schedule means a schedule that details the categories of records an Enterprise is required to retain and the corresponding retention periods. The record retention schedule includes all media, such as microfilm and machine-readable computer records, for each record category. Reproductions are also included for each record category if the original of the official record is not available.
(l) Retention period means the length of time that records must be kept before they are destroyed. Records not authorized for destruction have a retention period of “permanent.”
(m) Vital records means records that are needed to meet operational responsibilities of an Enterprise under emergency or disaster conditions (emergency operating records) or to protect the legal and financial rights of an Enterprise. Emergency operating records are the type of vital records essential to the continued functioning or reconstitution of an Enterprise during and after an emergency. A vital record may be both an emergency operating record and a legal and financial rights record.