[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