[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 166 (Friday, August 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52747-52749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21422]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

[No. 2010-N-12]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

ACTION: 30-Day notice of submission of information collection for 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking 
public comments concerning a currently approved information collection 
``Monthly Survey of Rates and Terms on Conventional 1-Family Non-Farm 
Mortgage Loans,'' known as the Monthly Interest Rate Survey or MIRS. 
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) assigned MIRS control number 
2590-0004, which is due to expire on September 30, 2010. FHFA will 
submit the information collection to OMB for review and approval for a 
three-year extension of the control number.

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before September 
27, 2010.

COMMENTS: Submit comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer 
for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Washington, DC 20503, Fax: 202-
395-6974, E-mail: [email protected]. Please also submit the 
comments to FHFA using any one of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Please include ``Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request: Monthly Interest Rate Survey (No. 2010-N-
12)'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. If you submit your 
comment to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, please also send it by e-
mail to FHFA at [email protected] to ensure timely receipt by the 
agency. Please include ``Proposed Collection; Comment Request: Monthly 
Interest Rate Survey (No. 2010-N-12)'' in the subject line of the 
message.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fourth 
Floor, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552, ATTENTION: Public 
Comments Proposed Collection; Comment Request: ``Monthly Interest Rate 
Survey,'' (No. 2010-N-12).
    FHFA will post all public comments it receives without change, 
including

[[Page 52748]]

any personal information you provide, such as your name and address, on 
FHFA's Web site at http://www.fhfa.gov. In addition, copies of all 
comments received will be available for examination by the public on 
business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., at the Federal 
Housing Finance Agency, Fourth Floor, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20552. To make an appointment to inspect comments, please call the 
Office of General Counsel at 202-414-6924.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David L. Roderer, Senior Financial 
Analyst, 202-408-2540 (not a toll-free number), 
[email protected]. The telephone number for the 
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf is 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Need For and Use of the Information Collection

    The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), Public Law 
110-289, 122 Stat. 2654, amended the Federal Housing Enterprises 
Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (Safety and Soundness Act) 
(12 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) and the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (12 U.S.C. 
1421 et seq.) to establish FHFA as an independent agency of the Federal 
government.\1\ One of FHFA's predecessor agencies, the former Federal 
Housing Finance Board (Finance Board), provided data concerning a 
survey of mortgage interest rates until HERA transferred those 
responsibilities to FHFA. This survey, known as the Monthly Interest 
Rate Survey or MIRS, is described in 12 CFR 906.5.
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    \1\ See Division A, titled the ``Federal Housing Finance 
Regulatory Reform Act of 2008,'' tit. I, section 1101 of HERA.
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    The information collection is used by FHFA to produce the MIRS and 
for general statistical purposes and program evaluation. The MIRS 
provides monthly information on interest rates, loan terms, and house 
prices by property type (all, new, previously occupied), by loan type 
(fixed- or adjustable-rate), and by lender type (savings associations, 
mortgage companies, commercial banks, and savings banks), as well as 
information on 15-year and 30-year fixed-rate loans. In addition, the 
MIRS provides quarterly information on conventional loans by major 
metropolitan area and by FHLBank district.
    To conduct the MIRS, FHFA asks a sample of mortgage lenders to 
report voluntarily the terms and conditions on all single-family, fully 
amortized, purchase-money, non-farm loans that they close during the 
last five business days of the month. The MIRS excludes FHA-insured and 
VA-guaranteed loans, multifamily loans, mobile home loans, and loans 
created by refinancing another mortgage.
    Information concerning the MIRS is published regularly on FHFA's 
Web site, http://www.fhfa.gov, in FHFA press releases, in the popular 
and trade press, including a monthly 1-page ARM index release, a 
monthly 8- or 12-page release with mortgage rate and term data, an 
annual summary all available via FHFA's Web site, and in publications 
of other Federal agencies, including The Economic Report of the 
President and Statistical Abstract of the United States. FHFA publishes 
on its Web site the phone number for an automated telephone answering 
system that provides callers a recorded message about the ARM index and 
other MIRS information.
    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, such as the Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System and the Council of Economic Advisors, use 
the MIRS results for research purposes.
    FHFA considers MIRS, among other indexes or measures FHFA 
determines are appropriate, in establishing and maintaining a method to 
assess the national average one-family house price for use for 
adjusting the conforming loan limitations of Freddie Mac and Fannie 
Mae. 12 U.S.C. 4542. Other statutory references of the MIRS include the 
following:
     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, section 402, paragraphs (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 FHFA to substitute a different 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.
     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 
Sec. Sec.  1916.7 and 1916.8 (mortgage rates); Mich. Comp. Laws Sec.  
445.1621(d) (mortgage index rates); Minn. Stat. Sec.  92.06 (payments 
for state land sales); N.J. Rev. Stat. 31:1-1 (interest rates); Wis. 
Stat. Sec.  138.056 (variable loan rates); V.I. Code Ann. tit. 11, 
Sec.  951 (legal rate of interest).
    The respondents include a sample of major mortgage lenders, such as 
savings institutions, commercial banks, and mortgage loan companies. 
Most of the respondents submit the requested information electronically 
using the MIRS software in a format similar to FHFA Form 075 
(supersedes FHFB Form 10-91). Some respondents elect to complete FHFA 
Form 075 and submit it by facsimile. Respondents are requested 
to submit the information on a monthly basis.
    The OMB number for the information collection is 2590-0004. The OMB 
clearance for the information collection expires on September 30, 2010.

B. Burden Estimate

    FHFA estimates the total annual number of respondents at 76 with 8 
responses per respondent. The estimate for the average hours per 
response is 20 minutes. The estimate for the total annual hour burden 
is 200 hours (76 respondents x 8 responses x 0.33 hours).

C. Comment Request

    In accordance with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.8(d), FHFA 
published a request for public comments regarding this information 
collection in the Federal Register on January 10, 2001. See 75 FR 26756 
(May 12, 2010). The 60-day comment period closed on July 12, 2010. FHFA 
received comments from three organizations, which are posted on its Web 
site at http://www.fhfa.gov/Default.aspx?Page=89&ListNumber=5&ListID=14707&ListYear=2010&SortBy=#14707. All three commenters support continuation of the MIRS. One of the 
three commenters suggested enhancing the utility of the MIRS by 
including mortgages that are backed by FHA or the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. Another commenter suggested a new sampling frame 
using HMDA data to enhance the utility of the MIRS data. FHFA has 
determined not to make any changes to the MIRS at this time but will 
consider the recommendations when the MIRS is reviewed for enhancement 
as part of a

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comprehensive review of data collection.
    FHFA requests written comments on the following: (1) Whether the 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
FHFA functions, including whether the information has practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of FHFA 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, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

    Dated: August 19, 2010.
Edward J. DeMarco,
Acting Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2010-21422 Filed 8-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8070-01-P