[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 145 (Monday, July 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35524-35526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16042]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

[No. 2017-N-07]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

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

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the 
Agency) is seeking public comments concerning an information collection 
known as the ``Monthly Survey of Rates and Terms on Conventional 1-
Family Nonfarm Mortgage Loans (MIRS),'' which has been assigned control 
number 2590-0004 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA 
intends to submit the information collection to OMB for review and 
approval of a three-year extension of the control number, which is due 
to expire on July 31, 2017.

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before August 30, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: 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) 395-3047, Email: [email protected]. Please also submit 
comments to FHFA, identified by ``Proposed Collection; Comment Request: 
`Monthly Survey of Rates and Terms on Conventional 1-Family Nonfarm 
Mortgage Loans (MIRS), (No. 2017-N-07)' '' by any of the following 
methods:
     Agency Web site: www.fhfa.gov/open-for-comment-or-input.
     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 email 
to FHFA at [email protected] to ensure timely receipt by the agency.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Federal Housing Finance Agency, Eighth 
Floor, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20219, ATTENTION: 
Proposed Collection; Comment Request: ``Monthly Survey of Rates and 
Terms on Conventional 1-Family Nonfarm Mortgage Loans (MIRS), (No. 
2017-N-07)''.
    We will post all public comments we receive without change, 
including any

[[Page 35525]]

personal information you provide, such as your name and address, email 
address, and telephone number, on the FHFA 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, 
Eighth Floor, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. To make an 
appointment to inspect comments, please call the Office of General 
Counsel at (202) 649-3804.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David L. Roderer, Senior Financial 
Analyst, [email protected], (202) 649-3206; or Eric Raudenbush, 
Associate General Counsel, [email protected], (202) 649-3084 
(these are not toll-free numbers); Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. The Telecommunications Device 
for the Hearing Impaired is (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Need for and Use of the Information Collection

    FHFA's Monthly Survey of Rates and Terms on Conventional 1-Family 
Nonfarm Mortgage Loans, commonly referred to as the ``Monthly Interest 
Rate Survey'' or ``MIRS,'' is a monthly survey of mortgage lenders that 
solicits information on the terms and conditions on all conventional, 
single-family, fully amortized, purchase-money mortgage loans closed 
during the last five working days of the preceding month. The MIRS 
collects monthly information on interest rates, loan terms, and house 
prices by property type (i.e., new or previously occupied), by loan 
type (i.e., fixed- or adjustable-rate), and by lender type (i.e., 
mortgage companies, savings associations, commercial banks, and savings 
banks), as well as information on 15-year and 30-year fixed-rate loans. 
In addition, the survey collects quarterly information on conventional 
loans by major metropolitan area and by Federal Home Loan Bank 
district. The MIRS does not collect information on loans insured by the 
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or guaranteed by the Veterans 
Administration (VA), loans secured by multifamily property or 
manufactured housing, or loans created by refinancing another mortgage. 
The MIRS is one of the most timely and comprehensive sources of 
information on conventional mortgage rates and terms in the United 
States.
    The MIRS originated with one of FHFA's predecessor agencies, the 
former Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB), in the 1960s and was 
conducted by the former Federal Housing Finance Board from 1989 through 
2008. Data collected through the MIRS was used to derive the FHLBB's 
National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously 
Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders (ARM Index), which was used by 
lenders to set mortgage rates on adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). For 
a period of years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were required by statute 
to use MIRS data in making annual adjustments to their conforming loan 
limits.
    Since 2008, FHFA has continued to conduct the MIRS and to produce 
the ARM Index.\1\ For various reasons, the number of loans reported to 
MIRS has fallen dramatically over the long term, which has resulted in 
the data sample sizes becoming deficient.\2\ Although the volume of 
loans reported has increased moderately over the last several years, 
FHFA possesses limited means to compel survey recipients to provide 
additional data. Despite this, the agency believes it has a legal 
obligation to continue to carry out the survey, and its results 
continue to be relied upon by many outside parties.
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    \1\ The MIRS and the ARM Index are described at 12 CFR 906.5.
    \2\ All publications of MIRS data include a note stating, ``The 
indices are based on a small monthly survey of mortgage lenders, 
which may not be representative. The sample is not a statistical 
sample but is rather a convenience sample.''
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    While adjustments in the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae and 
Freddie Mac are no longer based solely on data collected through the 
MIRS, MIRS data remains one of the factors that FHFA is required to 
consider in assessing the national average one-family house price for 
purposes of making those adjustments.\3\ A few lenders use FHFA's ARM 
Index, derived from MIRS data, to set interest rates on fixed rate 
loans. In addition, businesses, trade associations, and government 
agencies at both the federal and state level rely upon the MIRS data 
for various business and regulatory purposes. For example, economic 
policy makers have used 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, 
have used the MIRS results for research purposes. The Bureau of 
Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce uses MIRS as a key 
component of some of the economic statistics it is responsible for 
tracking. In addition, statutes in several states and U.S. territories 
refer to, or rely upon, the MIRS or the ARM Index for various 
purposes.\4\
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    \3\ See 12 U.S.C. 4542.
    \4\ See, e.g., Cal. Civ. Code Sec. Sec.  1916.7(b)(5)(A) and 
1916.8(b)(1) (mortgage rates); Mich. Comp. Laws Sec.  445.1621(d), 
445.1624 (mortgage index rates); N.J. Rev. Stat. 31:1-1(d) (interest 
rates); Wis. Stat. Sec.  138.056(1)(a) (variable loan rates); V.I. 
Code Ann. tit. 11, Sec.  951(b)(2) (legal rate of interest).
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    The OMB control number for this information collection is 2590-
0004. The current clearance for the information collection expires on 
July 31, 2017.

B. Burden Estimate

    The Agency received a total of 1,369 monthly MIRS data submissions 
from 45 unique survey respondents over the period 2014-2016, 
representing an average of 456.3 monthly submissions per year from all 
respondents. Based on that figure and the expectation that it may 
receive slightly fewer data submissions going forward as compared to 
the last three years, FHFA estimates that it will receive an average of 
450 data submissions annually over the next three years.
    Most MIRS respondents submit their monthly MIRS data electronically 
through FHFA's MIRS web interface. Several, primarily larger, 
respondents transmit an electronic data file to FHFA, which then 
uploads the data to the same web interface. A few respondents still 
elect to complete FHFA Form #075 and submit it by facsimile. FHFA 
believes that, on average, a respondent will spend 20 minutes 
transmitting each monthly MIRS data set.
    Thus, FHFA estimates that the annualized hour burden on all 
respondents imposed by this information collection over the next three 
years will be 150 hours (450 submissions x 0.33 hours).

C. Comments 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 May 25, 2017.\5\ The 60-day 
comment period closed on July 24, 2017. FHFA received one comment 
letter, from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of 
Commerce (BEA). In its letter, BEA states that it strongly supports 
FHFA's continued collection of data for the MIRS, noting that the data 
are ``crucial to key components of BEA's economic statistics.'' 
Specifically, BEA uses MIRS data to track contract rates of interest

[[Page 35526]]

and to estimate financial costs as part of its estimate of rental 
income of persons in the national income and product accounts (NIPAs). 
Indirectly, the data are used in the industry annual and quarterly 
Input-Output and GDP-by-Industry accounts in the estimates of gross 
output and value added for the real estate sub-sector.
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    \5\ See 82 FR 24127 (May 25, 2017).
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    In accordance with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.10(a), FHFA is 
publishing this second notice to request comments regarding 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'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 should be 
submitted in writing to both OMB and FHFA as instructed above in the 
COMMENTS section.

    Dated: July 25, 2017.
Kevin Winkler,
Chief Information Officer, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2017-16042 Filed 7-28-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8070-01-P