[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 112 (Monday, June 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38051-38053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12445]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

[No. 2023-N-8]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

ACTION: 60-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) is seeking 
public comments concerning an information collection known as ``Members 
of the Banks,'' which has been assigned control number 2590-0003 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 September 
30, 2023.

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before August 11, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to FHFA, identified by ``Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request: `Members of the Banks, (No. 2023-N-8)' '' 
by any of the following methods:
     Agency Website: 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, Office 
of General Counsel, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219, 
ATTENTION: Proposed Collection; Comment Request: ``Members of the 
Banks, (No. 2023-N-8).''
    We will post all public comments we receive without change, 
including any

[[Page 38052]]

personal information you provide, such as your name and address, email 
address, and telephone number, on the FHFA website at http://www.fhfa.gov.
    Copies of all comments received will be available for examination 
by the public through the electronic comment docket for this PRA Notice 
also located on the FHFA website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsay Spadoni, Assistant General 
Counsel, [email protected], (202) 649-3634 or Angela 
Supervielle, Senior Counsel, [email protected], (202) 649-
3973 (these are not toll-free numbers). For TTY/TRS users with hearing 
and speech disabilities, dial 711 and ask to be connected to any of the 
contact numbers above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain 
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. ``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) 
and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency requests or requirements that ten 
or more persons submit information to a third party. Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day 
notice \1\ in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection 
of information, including each proposed extension of an existing 
collection of information, before submitting the collection of 
information to OMB for approval. FHFA's collection of information set 
forth in this document is titled ``Members of the Banks'' (assigned 
control number 2590-0003 by OMB). To comply with the PRA requirement, 
FHFA is publishing notice of a proposed three-year extension of this 
collection of information and reinstatement of the control number, 
which is due to expire on September 30, 2023.
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    \1\ Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, 
FHFA will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period as 
required by 44 U.S.C. 3507(b) and 5 CFR 1320.10(a).
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B. Background

    The Federal Home Loan Bank System consists of eleven regional 
Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks) and the Office of Finance (a joint 
office that issues and services the Banks' debt securities). The Banks 
are wholesale financial institutions, organized under the authority of 
the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank Act) to serve the public interest 
by enhancing the availability of residential housing finance and 
community lending credit through their member institutions and, to a 
limited extent, through certain eligible nonmembers. Each Bank is 
structured as a regional cooperative that is owned and controlled by 
member institutions located within its district, which are also its 
primary customers. The Banks carry out their public policy functions 
primarily by providing low-cost loans, known as advances, to their 
members. With limited exceptions, an institution may obtain advances 
and access other products and services provided by a Bank only if it is 
a member of that Bank.
    The Bank Act limits membership in any Bank to specific types of 
financial institutions located within the Bank's district that meet 
specific eligibility requirements. Section 4 of the Bank Act specifies 
the types of institutions that may be eligible for membership and 
establishes eligibility requirements that each type of applicant must 
meet in order to become a Bank member.\2\ That provision also specifies 
that (with limited exceptions) an eligible institution may become a 
member only of the Bank of the district in which the institution's 
``principal place of business'' is located.\3\ With respect to the 
termination of Bank membership, section 6(d) of the Bank Act sets forth 
requirements pursuant to which an institution may voluntarily withdraw 
from membership or a Bank may terminate an institution's membership for 
cause.\4\
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    \2\ See 12 U.S.C. 1424(a).
    \3\ See 12 U.S.C. 1424(b).
    \4\ See 12 U.S.C. 1426(d).
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C. Need for and Use of the Information Collection

    FHFA's ``Members of the Banks'' regulation, set forth at 12 CFR 
part 1263, implements those statutory provisions and otherwise 
establishes substantive and procedural requirements relating to the 
initiation and termination of Bank membership. Many of the provisions 
in the membership regulation require that an institution submit 
information to a Bank or to FHFA, in most cases to demonstrate 
compliance with statutory or regulatory requirements or to request 
action by the Bank or FHFA.
    There are four types of information collections that may occur 
under part 1263. First, the regulation provides that (with limited 
exceptions) no institution may become a member of a Bank unless it has 
submitted to that Bank an application that documents the applicant's 
compliance with the statutory and regulatory membership eligibility 
requirements and that otherwise includes all required information and 
materials.\5\ Second, the regulation provides applicants that have been 
denied membership by a Bank the option of appealing the decision to 
FHFA. To file such an appeal, an applicant must submit to FHFA a copy 
of the Bank's decision resolution denying its membership application 
and a statement of the basis for the appeal containing sufficient 
facts, information, and analysis to support the applicant's 
position.\6\ Third, the regulation provides that, in order to initiate 
a voluntary withdrawal from Bank membership, a member must submit to 
its Bank a written notice of intent to withdraw.\7\ Fourth, under 
certain circumstances, the regulation permits a member of one Bank to 
transfer its membership to a second Bank ``automatically'' without 
either initiating a voluntary withdrawal from the first Bank or 
submitting a membership application to the second Bank. Despite the 
regulatory reference to such a transfer as being ``automatic,'' a 
member meeting the criteria for an automatic transfer must initiate the 
transfer process by filing a request with its current Bank, which will 
then arrange the details of the transfer with the second Bank.\8\
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    \5\ See 12 CFR 1263.2(a), 1263.6-1263.9, 1263.11-1263.18.
    \6\ See 12 CFR 1263.5.
    \7\ See 12 CFR 1263.26.
    \8\ See 12 CFR 1263.4(b), 1263.18(d), (e).
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    The Banks use most of the information collected under part 1263 to 
determine whether an applicant satisfies the statutory and regulatory 
requirements for Bank membership and should be approved as a Bank 
member. The Banks may use some of the information collected under part 
1263 as a means of learning that a member wishes to withdraw or to 
transfer its membership to a different Bank so that the Bank can begin 
to process those requests. FHFA may also use the collected information 
to determine whether an institution that has been denied membership by 
a Bank should be permitted to become a member of that Bank.
    The OMB control number for this information collection is 2590-
0003, which is due to expire on September 30, 2023. The likely 
respondents are financial institutions that are, or are applying to 
become, Bank members.

D. Burden Estimate

    FHFA has analyzed the time burden imposed on respondents by the 
four collections under this control number and estimates that the 
average annual burden imposed on all respondents by those collections 
over the next three

[[Page 38053]]

years will be 2,181 hours. This estimate is derived from the following 
calculations:

1. Membership Applications

    FHFA estimates that the average number of applications for Bank 
membership submitted annually will be 141 and that the average time to 
prepare and submit an application and supporting materials will be 15 
hours. Accordingly, the estimate for the annual hour burden associated 
with preparation and submission of applications for Bank membership is 
(141 applications x 15 hours per application) = 2,115 hours.

2. Appeals of Membership Denials

    FHFA estimates that the average number of applicants that have been 
denied membership by a Bank that will appeal such a denial to FHFA will 
be 1 and that the average time to prepare and submit an application for 
appeal will be 50 hours. Accordingly, the estimate for the annual hour 
burden associated with the preparation and submission of membership 
appeals is (1 appellants x 50 hours per application) = 50 hours.

3. Notices of Intent To Withdraw From Membership

    FHFA estimates that the average number of Bank members submitting a 
notice of intent to withdraw from membership annually will be 4 and 
that the average time to prepare and submit a notice will be 1.5 hours. 
Accordingly, the estimate for the annual hour burden associated with 
preparation and submission of notices of intent to withdraw is (4 
withdrawing members x 1.5 hours per application) = 6 hours.

4. Requests for Transfer of Membership to Another Bank District

    FHFA estimates that the average number of Bank members submitting a 
request for transfer to another Bank will be 5 and that the average 
time to prepare and submit a request will be 2 hours. Accordingly, the 
estimate for the annual hour burden associated with preparation and 
submission of requests for automatic transfer is (5 transferring 
members x 2 hours per request) = 10 hours.

D. Comment Request

    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'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.

Shawn Bucholtz,
Chief Data Officer, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2023-12445 Filed 6-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8070-01-P