E8-20565. Loans in Areas Having Special Flood Hazards

AGENCY:

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The proposed information collection request (ICR) described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. OTS is soliciting public comments on the proposal.

DATES:

Submit written comments on or before October 6, 2008. A copy of this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, can be obtained from RegInfo.gov at http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments, referring to the collection by title of the proposal or by OMB approval number, to OMB and OTS at these addresses: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for OTS, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 725—17th Street, NW., Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to [phone]; and Information Collection Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552, by fax to [phone], or by e-mail to [e-mail]. OTS will post comments and the related index on the OTS Internet Site at http://www.ots.treas.gov. In addition, interested persons may inspect comments at the Public Reading 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:

For further information or to obtain a copy of the submission to OMB, please contact Ira L. Mills at, [e-mail] [phone], or facsimile number [phone], Regulations and Litigation Division, Chief Counsel's Office, 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.

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

OMB Number: 1550-0088.

Form Number: N/A.

Description: The borrower uses the notice to make decisions regarding the collateral to be used to secure a loan. This notice advises the borrower as to whether the property securing the loan is or will be located in a special flood hazard area, whether flood insurance on the property securing the loan is required, and includes a description of the flood insurance purchase requirements. This notice also provides the borrower with information regarding the availability of Federal assistance in the event of a declared Federal flood disaster. If a loan is being serviced by a loan servicer, this notice also is provided by the savings association to the loan servicer to assist in making the servicer aware of its responsibility for performing certain tasks on behalf of the lender (e.g., collecting insurance premiums). The statute and OTS implementing regulations require the lending institution to retain a record of the receipt of the notice to the borrower. OTS uses this record to verify compliance.

A second notice to the borrower is required if the lending institution determines at any time during the life of a loan that adequate (required) flood insurance is not in place. This notice is used by the borrower to determine how much flood insurance to purchase.

The notice to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) advises FEMA of the identity of the initial loan servicer and, if necessary, of changes in servicers. FEMA uses this notice to maintain current information regarding the persons to whom it should direct inquiries regarding flood insurance, or to send notices of flood insurance policy renewals.

A lending institution is required by statute and OTS implementing regulations to use the standard flood hazard determination form developed by FEMA when determining whether the property securing the loan is or will be located in a special flood hazard area.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 832.

Estimated Number of Responses: 214,660.

Estimated Burden Hours per Response: 15 minutes.

Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Burden: 54,497 hours.

Clearance Officer: Ira L. Mills, [phone], Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.

Dated: August 29, 2008.

Deborah Dakin,

Senior Deputy Chief Counsel, Regulations and Legislation Division.