[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 11, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18246-18248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6823]
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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD
[No. 2007-N-06]
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Board.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, the Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) is
seeking public comments concerning a 3-year extension by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) of the information collection entitled
``Monthly Survey of Rates and Terms on Conventional, 1-Family, Nonfarm
Loans,'' commonly known as the Monthly Interest Rate Survey or MIRS.
OMB has been assigned control 3069-0001, which is due to expire on July
31, 2007.
DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before June 11,
2007.
Comments: Submit comments only once by any of the following
methods:
[[Page 18247]]
E-mail: comments@fhfb.gov.
Fax: 202-408-2580.
Mail/Hand Delivery: Federal Housing Finance Board, 1625 Eye Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20006, ATTENTION: Public Comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments. Include the following information
in the subject line of your submission: Federal Housing Finance Board.
Proposed Collection; Comment Request: Monthly Interest Rate Survey.
2007-N-06.
We will post all public comments we receive on this notice without
change, including any personal information you provide, such as your
name and address, on the Finance Board Web site at http://www.fhfb.gov/Default.aspx?Page=93&Top=93.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Roderer, Senior Financial
Analyst, Risk Monitoring Division, Office of Supervision, by e-mail at
rodererj@fhfb.gov, by telephone at 202-408-2540, or by regular mail at
the Federal Housing Finance Board, 1625 Eye Street, NW., Washington DC
20006.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Need For and Use of Information Collection
The Finance Board's predecessor, the former Federal Home Loan Bank
Board (FHLBB), first provided data concerning a survey of mortgage
interest rates in 1963. No statutory or regulatory provision explicitly
required the FHLBB to conduct the MIRS although references to the MIRS
did appear in several federal and state statutes. Responsibility for
conducting the MIRS was transferred to the Finance Board upon
dissolution of the FHLBB in 1989. See Financial Institutions Reform,
Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), Public Law 101-73, tit.
IV, sec. 402(e)(3)-(4), 103 Stat. 183, codified at 12 U.S.C. 1437 note,
and tit. VII, sec. 731(f)(1), (f)(2)(B), 103 Stat. 433 (Aug. 9, 1989).
In 1993, the Finance Board promulgated a final rule describing the
method by which it conducts the MIRS. See 58 FR 19195 (Apr. 13, 1993),
codified at 12 CFR 906.3. Since its inception, the MIRS has provided
the only consistent source of information on mortgage interest rates
and terms and house prices for areas smaller than the entire country.
Statutory references to the MIRS include the following:
Pursuant to their respective organic statutes, Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac use the MIRS results as the basis for the annual
adjustments to the maximum dollar limits for their purchase of
conventional mortgages. See 12 U.S.C. 1454(a)(2) and 1717(b)(2). The
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac limits were first tied to the MIRS by the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1980. See Public Law 96-399,
tit. III, sec. 313(a)-(b), 94 Stat. 1644-1645 (Oct. 8, 1980). At that
time, the nearly identical statutes required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
to base the dollar limit adjustments on ``the national average one-
family house price in the monthly survey of all major lenders conducted
by the [FHLBB].'' See 12 U.S.C. 1454(a)(2) and 1717(b)(2) (1989). When
Congress abolished the FHLBB in 1989, it replaced the reference to the
FHLBB in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac statutes with a reference to
the Finance Board. See FIRREA, tit. VII, sec. 731(f)(1), (f)(2)(B), 103
Stat. 433.
Also in 1989, Congress required the Chairperson of the
Finance Board to take necessary actions to ensure that indices used to
calculate the interest rate on adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) remain
available. See FIRREA, tit. IV, sec. 402(e)(3)-(4), 103 Stat. 183,
codified at 12 U.S.C. 1437 note. At least one ARM index, known as the
National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously
Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders, is derived from the MIRS data. The
statute permits the Finance Board to substitute a substantially similar
ARM index after notice and comment only if the new ARM index is based
upon data substantially similar to that of the original ARM index and
substitution of the new ARM index will result in an interest rate
substantially similar to the rate in effect at the time the new ARM
index replaces the existing ARM index. See 12 U.S.C. 1437 note.
Congress indirectly connected the high cost area limits
for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) of
the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the MIRS in 1994
when it statutorily linked these FHA insurance limits to the purchase
price limitations for Fannie Mae. See Public Law 103-327, 108 Stat.
2314 (Sept. 28, 1994), codified at 12 U.S.C. 1709(b)(2)(A)(ii).
The Internal Revenue Service uses the MIRS data in
establishing ``safe-harbor'' limitations for mortgages purchased with
the proceeds of mortgage revenue bond issues. See 26 CFR 6a.103A-
2(f)(5).
Statutes in several states and U.S. territories, including
California, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Wisconsin and the Virgin
Islands, refer to, or rely upon, the MIRS. See, e.g., Cal. Civ. Code
1916.7 and 1916.8 (mortgage rates); Iowa Code 534.205 (1995) (real
estate loan practices); Mich. Comp. Laws 445.1621(d) (mortgage index
rates); Minn. Stat. 92.06 (payments for state land sales); N.J. Rev.
Stat. 31:1-1 (interest rates); Wis. Stat. 138.056 (variable loan
rates); V.I. Code Ann. tit. 11, sec. 951 (legal rate of interest).
The Finance Board uses the information collection to produce the
MIRS and for general statistical purposes and program evaluation.
Economic policy makers use the MIRS data to determine trends in the
mortgage markets, including interest rates, down payments, terms to
maturity, terms on ARMs and initial fees and charges on mortgage loans.
Other federal banking agencies use the MIRS results for research
purposes. Information concerning the MIRS is regularly published on the
Finance Board's Web site (http://www.fhfb.gov/mirs) and in press
releases, in the popular trade press, and in publications of other
Federal agencies.
The likely respondents include a sample of savings associations,
mortgage companies, commercial banks, and savings banks. The
information collection requires each respondent to complete FHFB Form
10-91 on a monthly basis.
The OMB number for the information collection is 3069-0001. The OMB
clearance for the information collection expires on July 31, 2007.
B. Burden Estimate
The Finance Board estimates the total annual number of respondents
at 200 with 6 responses per respondent. The estimate for the average
hours per response is 30 minutes. The estimate for the total annual
hour burden is 600 hours (200 respondents x 6 responses x 0.5 hours).
C. Comment Request
The Finance Board requests written comments on the following: (1)
Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper
performance of Finance Board functions, including whether the
information has practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the Finance
Board's estimates of the burdens of the collection of information; (3)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including through the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Dated: April 5, 2007.
[[Page 18248]]
By the Federal Housing Finance Board.
Neil R. Crowley,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E7-6823 Filed 4-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6725-01-P