[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 3, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10382-10383]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5377]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

[No. 98-N-3]


Submission for OMB Review; 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 has submitted 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'', to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval of a three-year extension of the OMB control number, which is 
due to expire on April 30, 1998.

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before April 2, 
1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Housing Finance 
Board, Washington, D.C. 20503. Address requests for copies of the 
information collection and supporting documentation 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, Financial Analysis and Reporting Division, Office of Policy, 
202/408-2968, 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 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), Public Law 101-73, 
Title IV, section 402(e)(3)-(4), 103 Stat. 183, codified at 12 U.S.C. 
1437 note, and Title VII, section 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

[[Page 10383]]

Corporation (also known as Freddie Mac) use the MIRS results as the 
basis for 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, 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 an 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 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 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 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

    In accordance with the requirements of 5 C.F.R. 1320.8(d), the 
Finance Board published a request for public comments regarding this 
information collection in the Federal Register on December 11, 1997. 
See 62 FR 65265 (Dec. 11, 1997). The 60-day comment period closed on 
February 9, 1998. The Finance Board received no public comments. 
Written comments are requested on: (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. Comments may be submitted to OMB in writing at 
the address listed above.

    By the Federal Housing Finance Board.

    Dated: February 25, 1998.

William W. Ginsberg,
Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 98-5377 Filed 3-2-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6725-01-P