[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 3, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9334-9335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4520]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the Community Development Financial 
Institutions Fund (the ``Fund''), an office within the Department of 
the Treasury, is soliciting comments concerning the CDFI Program 
Application.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before May 4, 2009 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Ruth Jaure, CDFI Program Manager, at 
the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, U.S. Department 
of the Treasury, 601 13th Street, NW., Suite 200 South, Washington, DC 
20005, by e-mail to [email protected] or by facsimile to (202) 
622-7754. Please note this is not a toll free number.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The CDFI Program Application may be 
obtained from the CDFI Program page of the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. Requests for additional information should be 
directed to Ruth Jaure, CDFI Program Manager, Community Development 
Financial Institutions Fund, U.S.

[[Page 9335]]

Department of the Treasury, 601 13th Street, NW., Suite 200 South, 
Washington, DC 20005, or call (202) 622-9156. Please note this is not a 
toll free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: CDFI Program Application.
    OMB Number: 1559-0021.
    Abstract: The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) 
Program was established by the Riegle Community Development and 
Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to use Federal resources to invest 
in and build the capacity of CDFIs to serve low-income people and 
communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products 
and services. Through the CDFI Program, the CDFI Fund provides: (1) 
Financial Assistance (FA) awards to CDFIs that have Comprehensive 
Business Plans for creating demonstrable community development impact 
through the deployment of credit, capital, and financial services 
within their respective Target Markets or the expansion into new 
Investment Areas, Low-Income Targeted Populations, or Other Targeted 
Populations, and (ii) Technical Assistance (TA) grants to CDFIs and 
entities proposing to become CDFIs in order to build their capacity to 
better address the community development and capital access needs of 
their existing or proposed Target Markets and/or to become certified 
CDFIs. The regulations governing the CDFI Program are found at 12 CFR 
part 1805 and provide guidance on evaluation criteria and other 
requirements of the CDFI Program. The questions that the application 
contains, and the information generated thereby, will enable the Fund 
to evaluate applicants' activities and determine the extent of 
applicants' eligibility for a CDFI Program award. Failure to collect 
this information could result in improper uses of Federal funds.
    Current Actions: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Type of Review: Regular review.
    Affected Public: Certified CDFIs and entities seeking CDFI 
Certification.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 200.
    Estimated Annual Time per Respondent: 100 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 20,000 hours.
    Requests for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this 
notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of 
Management and Budget approval. All comments will become a matter of 
public record and may be published on the Fund Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the Fund, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Fund's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including 
through the use of technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up 
costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to 
provide information.
    The Fund specifically requests comments concerning the following: 
(1) Whether offering separate applications for the FA and TA components 
would reduce the burden on applicants; (2) whether the distinct 
business models followed by different types of CDFIs (such as banks, 
credit unions, and venture capital funds) merit individualized 
applications; (3) if an applicant eligibility screen should be applied 
before the application deadline, allowing applicants to determine 
beforehand if they would be qualified to receive an award; (4) if 
detailed Matching Funds documentation should be collected later in the 
application review process, and a reasonable amount of time to expect 
an applicant to provide this data; (5) the merit of further reducing 
the narrative page limits in the application; (6) the potential burden 
of requiring specific documents to support proposed uses of TA funds, 
namely Statements of Work for professional services, and 
r[eacute]sum[eacute]s and/or position descriptions for personnel; and 
(7) the potential burden of requiring additional documentation to 
support the application, namely tax returns (Form 990), Certificates of 
Good Standing, operating budgets, lists of sources of capital, rate 
sheets for products and services, and borrower characteristic profiles.

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1834a, 4703, 4703 note, 4713, 4717; 31 
U.S.C 321; 12 CFR part 1806.

    Dated: February 25, 2009.
Donna J. Gambrell,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. E9-4520 Filed 3-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P