01-26735. Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507. The Office of Thrift Supervision within the Department of the Treasury will submit the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. Today, OTS is soliciting public comments on the proposal.

DATES:

Submit written comments on or before December 24, 2001.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments, referring to the collection by title of the proposal or by OMB approval number, to Information Collection Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552; send a facsimile transmission to [phone]; or send an e-mail to [e-mail]. OTS will post comments and the related index on the OTS Internet Site at www.ots.gov. In addition, interested persons may inspect comments at the Public Reference Room, 1700 G Street, NW., by appointment. To make an appointment, call [phone], send an e-mail to [e-mail], or send a facsimile transmission to [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

You can request additional information about this proposed information collection from Deborah Goddard, Program Analyst (Compliance), Compliance Policy and Specialty Examinations, [phone], Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OTS may not conduct or sponsor an information collection, and respondents are not required to respond to an information collection, unless the information collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. As part of the approval process, we invite comments on the following information collection.

Comments should address one or more of the following points:

a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of OTS;

b. The accuracy of OTS's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection;

c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

d. Ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use information technology.

We will summarize the comments that we receive and include them in the OTS request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. In this notice, OTS is soliciting comments concerning the following information collection.

Title of Proposal: Loans in Areas Having Special Flood Hazards.

OMB Number: 1550-0088.

Form Number: N/A.

Regulation requirement: 12 CFR 572.

Description: Lending institutions are required by statute and OTS regulations to use the standard flood hazard determination form developed by FEMA when determining whether property securing the loan is or will be located in a special flood hazard and is required to retain a copy of the completed form.

Type of Review: Renewal.

Affected Public: Savings Associations and Savings Banks.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,035.

Estimated Frequency of Response: Annually.

Estimated Burden Hours per Response: .25 hours.

Estimated Total Burden: 27,168.75 hours.

Clearance Officer: Sally W. Watts, [phone], Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.

OMB Reviewer: Alexander Hunt, [phone], Office of Management and Budget, Room 10202, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: October 18, 2001.

Deborah Dakin,

Deputy Chief Counsel, Regulations and Legislation Division.