[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7638-7639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3460]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

[No. 2004-N-03]


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) is 
seeking public comments concerning a three-year extension by the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) of 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.

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before April 19, 
2004.

ADDRESSES: Send comments by e-mail to [email protected], by facsimile 
to 202/408-2580, or by regular mail to the Federal Housing Finance 
Board, 1777 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006, ATTN: Public Comments. 
Comments will be available on the Finance Board Web site at http://www.fhfb.gov/pressroom/pressroom_regs.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Roderer, Financial Analyst, Risk 
Monitoring Division, Office of Supervision, , by e-mail at 
[email protected], by telephone at 202/408-2540, or by regular mail at 
the Federal Housing Finance Board, 1777 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 
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), Pub. L. 101-73, tit. IV, 
sec. 402(e)(3)-(4), 103 Stat. 183, codified at 12 U.S.C. 1437 note, and 
tit. 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 906.3. 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, 
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac use the MIRS results as the basis for the 
annual adjustments to the maximum dollar limits for their purchase of 
conventional mortgages. See 12 U.S.C. 1454(a)(2) and 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 Pub. L. 96-399, tit. 
III, sec. 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) and 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, tit. 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 FIRREA, tit. 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 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

[[Page 7639]]

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 Pub. L. 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, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Wisconsin and 
the Virgin Islands, refer to, or rely upon, the MIRS. See, e.g., Cal. 
Civ. Code 1916.7 and 1916.8 (mortgage rates); Iowa Code 534.205 (1995) 
(real estate loan practices); Mich. Comp. Laws 445.1621(d) (mortgage 
index rates); Minn. Stat. 92.06 (payments for state land sales); N.J. 
Rev. Stat. 31:1-1 (interest rates); Wis. Stat. 138.056 (variable loan 
rates); V.I. Code Ann. tit. 11, sec. 951 (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 on the 
Finance Board's Web site (http://www.fhfb.gov/mirs) and in press 
releases, in the popular trade press, and in publications of other 
Federal agencies.
    The likely respondents include a sample of 359 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 June 30, 2004.

B. Burden Estimate

    The Finance Board estimates the total annual number of respondents 
at 359, with 12 responses per respondent. The estimate for the average 
hours per response is 30 minutes. The estimate for the total annual 
hour burden is 2,154 hours (359 respondents x 12 responses x 0.5 
hours).

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: February 12, 2004.

    By the Federal Housing Finance Board.
Donald Demitros,
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-3460 Filed 2-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6725-01-P