[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 28503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13264]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-4493-N-01]
Ginnie Mae Release of Certain Geographic and Other Data on
Mortgage-Backed Securities
AGENCY: Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the intent of Ginnie Mae, a government
corporation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD), to release certain geographic and other data submitted by Ginnie
Mae issuers.
DATES: Effective date: May 26, 1999. Comments due date: Comments
objecting to the release of the information described in this notice
are due on or before June 9, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Fry, Director, Capital Markets,
Room 6210, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410; telephone 1-202-401-8970 (this is not
a toll free number). Speech or hearing impaired individuals may access
this number via TTY by calling the toll free Federal Information Relay
Service at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Government National Mortgage Association
(Ginnie Mae), a corporation that is wholly owned by the federal
government, was created in 1968 to assist in the movement of funds from
investors into the housing market. Ginnie Mae guarantees the timely
payment of principal and interest on single and multiclass mortgage-
backed securities issued by private institutions. The securities are
backed by pools of mortgage loans which are insured or guaranteed by
the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA), the Rural Housing Service, and the Secretary of HUD under
section 184 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992
(Pub.L. 102-550, approved October 28, 1992; 106 Stat. 3672, 3739; 12
U.S.C. 1715z-13a).
The Public Securities Association, now The Bond Market Association
(TBMA), has long requested various information about the mortgages
backing the securities. Specifically, TBMA has requested information
regarding the geographic location of the loans in each pool by State,
the number of loans in the pool, and the breakdown of loans in each
pool by insurance or guaranty program, generally FHA or VA. Ginnie Mae
has made an initial policy determination that release and publication
of this information for each pool in the Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed
securities (MBS) program would be advantageous to investors and to the
MBS program. At present, the Government Sponsored Entities disclose
such information with respect to their MBS. Unless this information is
available, investors may use less favorable assumptions when pricing
Ginnie Mae guaranteed securities. If this information is available to
investors, the net effect should be more accurate pricing and tighter
yield spreads. Those yield spreads will inure to the benefit of the
ultimate beneficiaries of the Ginnie Mae MBS program--the purchasers of
homes financed through federally insured or guaranteed loans.
Ginnie Mae presently intends to respond to TBMA's request by
commencing publication of this information at a date in July 1999, and
to continue to publish this information on a quarterly basis
thereafter.
The Department of Justice has advised HUD that, in the case of
numerous information submitters, disclosure by an agency is permitted
after publication of the agency's intent to release such information in
a manner calculated to provide notice and affording affected parties an
opportunity to comment. Such notice and opportunity to comment serves
in lieu of publication of a notice and comment regulation. HUD first
used this procedure in connection with disclosure of past note sale
bids by publication in the Federal Register and the Commerce Business
Daily (see 63 FR 36255 (July 2, 1998) and CBDNet Submission No. 230722
(July 30, 1998)). Following this procedure, Ginnie Mae is publishing
this notice of Ginnie Mae's intent to release this information and to
continue the quarterly release of this information.
Commenters should submit their statements to the Ginnie Mae contact
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section of this notice.
Ginnie Mae is particularly interested in receiving comments from Ginnie
Mae submitters and investors. Commenters shall have until June 9, 1999
to provide Ginnie Mae with a detailed written statement of their
objections, if any, to release of the information. Such statement shall
specify all grounds for withholding the information and shall
specifically demonstrate why the information is a trade secret or
commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential.
If a commenter maintains that disclosure would cause competitive harm,
for example, the statement should show that disclosure would reasonably
be expected to cause such harm. Conclusory statements that the
information would be useful to competitors or similar conclusory
statements generally will not be considered sufficient to justify
confidential treatment.
Ginnie Mae will carefully consider commenters' objections before
determining whether to disclose the information. If Ginnie Mae decides
to disclose the information over the objections of a submitter, Ginnie
Mae will advise the submitter in a written notice of its intent to
disclose the information 10 working days before the specified
disclosure date.
Dated: May 19, 1999.
George S. Anderson,
Executive Vice President, Government National Mortgage Association.
[FR Doc. 99-13264 Filed 5-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-01-P
