[Federal Register: February 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 32)]
[Notices]
[Page 7638-7639]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18fe04-43]
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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD
[No. 2004-N-03]
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 three-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.
DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before April 19,
2004.
ADDRESSES: Send comments by e-mail to comments@fhfb.gov, by facsimile
to 202/408-2580, or by regular mail to the Federal Housing Finance
Board, 1777 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006, ATTN: Public Comments.
Comments will be available on the Finance Board Web site at http://www.fhfb.gov/pressroom/pressroom_regs.htm
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Roderer, Financial Analyst, Risk
Monitoring Division, Office of Supervision, , by e-mail at
rodererd@fhfb.gov, by telephone at 202/408-2540, or by regular mail at
the Federal Housing Finance Board, 1777 F 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), Pub. L. 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 Pub. L. 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
[[Page 7639]]
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 Pub. L. 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 359 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 June 30, 2004.
B. Burden Estimate
The Finance Board estimates the total annual number of respondents
at 359, with 12 responses per respondent. The estimate for the average
hours per response is 30 minutes. The estimate for the total annual
hour burden is 2,154 hours (359 respondents x 12 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: February 12, 2004.
By the Federal Housing Finance Board.
Donald Demitros,
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-3460 Filed 2-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6725-01-P