[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 238 (Thursday, December 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65265-65266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32395]
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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD
[No. 97-N-9]
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) hereby
gives notice that it is seeking public comments concerning a three-year
extension by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the
previously approved information collection entitled ``Monthly Survey of
Rates and Terms on Conventional, 1-Family, Nonfarm Loans,'' usually
referred to as the ``Monthly Interest Rate Survey'' or ``MIRS.''
DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before February 9,
1998.
ADDRESSES: Address written comments and requests for copies of the
information collection to Elaine L. Baker, Secretary to the Board, 202/
408-2837, Federal Housing Finance Board, 1777 F Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy D. Forsberg, Financial
Analyst, 202/408-2968, Financial Research Division, Office of Policy,
Federal Housing Finance Board, 1777 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
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 survey data on 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
[[Page 65266]]
(FIRREA), Pub. L. 101-73, Title IV, sec. 402(e)(3)-(4), 103 Stat. 183,
codified at 12 U.S.C. 1437 note, and Title 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 902.3. 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, the Federal
National Mortgage Association (also known as Fannie Mae) and the
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (also known as Freddie Mac) use
the MIRS results as the basis for allowable annual adjustments to the
maximum dollar limits for their purchase of conventional mortgages. See
12 U.S.C. 1454(a)(2), 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, Title III, section 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), 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,
Title 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 id. Title IV, section 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, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and
the Virgin Islands, refer to, or rely upon, the MIRS. See, e.g., Cal.
Rev. & Tax 439.2 (Deering 1996) (value of owner-occupied single family
dwellings for tax purposes); Cal. Civ. 1916.7, 1916.8 (mortgage rates);
Ind. Code Ann. 28-1-21.5-1 (Burns 1996) (mortgage instruments); Iowa
Code 534.205 (1995) (real estate loan practices); Mich. Stat. Ann.
23.1125(21) (1996) (enforcement of mortgages); Minn. Stat. 92.06 (1996)
(payments for state land sales); N.J. Rev. Stat. 31:1-1 (1996)
(interest rates); Wis. Stat. 138.056 (1996) (variable loan rates); V.I.
Code Ann. tit. 11, section 951 (1996) (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 in the
popular trade press, in Finance Board releases and on its web-site, and
in publications of other federal agencies.
The likely respondents include a sample of 390 savings
associations, mortgage companies, commercial banks, and savings banks.
The information collection requires each respondent to complete FHFB
Form 10-91 or an equivalent electronic submission on a monthly basis.
The OMB number for the information collection is 3069-0001. The OMB
clearance for the information collection expires on April 30, 1998.
B. Burden Estimate
The Finance Board estimates the total annual average number of
respondents at 390, with twelve annual responses per respondent. The
estimate for the average hours per response is 1.0 hours. The estimate
for the total annual hour burden is 4,680 hours (390 respondents x 12
responses/respondent x approximately 1.0 hour).
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: December 3, 1997.
By the Federal Housing Finance Board.
William W Ginsberg,
Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 97-32395 Filed 12-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6725-01-P
