Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 104 / Thursday, May 31, 2007 / Notices 30383 

D. Unaffordable loans. Consumer 

advocates state that some lenders extend 

loans without adequately considering 

the borrower’s ability to repay the loan. 

For example, lenders may qualify 

borrowers based on an ARM’s 

introductory rate and not at the fullyindexed rate that will apply once the 

introductory rate expires. Lenders state 

that it is appropriate to make such loans 

in certain circumstances, for example, 

where the borrower is likely to be able 

to refinance the loan at a lower rate 

before the reset date. Other 

circumstances include those in which 

borrowers expect to sell their home 

within a few years, or expect a 

significant decrease in their monthly 

obligations or a significant increase in 

income, such as a borrower who is 

completing professional training. 

Because loans are frequently sold to 

purchasers who generally cannot be 

held liable for the loan originator’s 

actions, and because the risk of default 

is spread out among investors in loan 

pools, some consumer advocates believe 

that there is insufficient accountability 

for making loans that consumers cannot 

repay. 

Recently the Board and the other 

banking and thrift regulators issued 

guidance on underwriting 

nontraditional mortgage products. The 

guidance provides that: 

An institution’s analysis of a borrower’s 

repayment capacity should include an 

evaluation of their ability to repay the debt 

by final maturity at the fully indexed rate, 

assuming a fully amortizing repayment 

schedule. In addition, for products that 

permit negative amortization, the repayment 

analysis should be based upon the initial 

loan amount plus any balance increase that 

may accrue from the negative amortization 

provision. 

71 FR 58609, 58614 (Oct. 4, 2006) 

(footnotes omitted). 

Some have urged that lenders should 

be required to underwrite all mortgage 

loans based on a fully-indexed rate and 

a fully amortizing payment. Some have 

also advocated a rebuttable presumption 

that a borrower cannot afford to repay 

a loan if the borrower’s debt-to-income 

ratio exceeds 50 percent and that such 

loans should be prohibited by 

regulation. 

The Board requests comment on the 

following questions: 

• Should lenders be required to 

underwrite all loans based on the fullyindexed rate and fully amortizing 

payments? 

• Should there be a rebuttable 

presumption that a loan is unaffordable 

if the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio 

exceeds 50 percent (at loan origination)? 

• Are there specific consumer 

disclosures that would help address 

concerns about unaffordable loans? 

• How would such provisions affect 

consumers and the type and terms of 

credit offered? 

By order of the Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System, May 24, 2007. 

Jennifer J. Johnson, 

Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. E7–10395 Filed 5–30–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–P 

FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT 

INVESTMENT BOARD 

Employee Thrift Advisory Council 

Sunshine Act Meeting 

TIME AND DATE: 1:30 p.m. (Eastern Time), 

June 12, 2007. 

PLACE: 4th Floor, Conference Room, 

1250 H Street, NW., Washington, DC. 

STATUS: Open. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

1. Approval of the minutes of the 

February 7, 2007 meeting. 

2. Nomination of Council Chairman 

and election of Vice Chairman. 

3. Report of the Executive Director on 

Thrift Savings Plan Status. 

4. Discussion of three potential FRTIB 

legislative proposals (automatic 

enrollment, L Fund default investments, 

Roth feature). 

5. Other proposals. 

6. New business. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Thomas K. Emswiler, Committee 

Management Officer, (202) 942–1660. 

Dated: May 25, 2007. 

Thomas K. Emswiler, 

General Counsel, Federal Retirement Thrift 

Investment Board. 

[FR Doc. 07–2703 Filed 5–29–07; 9:44 am] 

BILLING CODE 6760–01–P 

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY 

OFFICE 

Appointments to the Medicare 

Payment Advisory Commission 

AGENCY: Government Accountability 

Office (GAO). 

ACTION: Notice of appointments. 

SUMMARY: The Balanced Budget Act of 

1997 established the Medicare Payment 

Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and 

gave the Comptroller General 

responsibility for appointing its 

members. This notice announces three 

new appointments and four 

reappointments to fill the vacancies 

occurring this year. 

DATES: Appointments are effective May 

1, 2007 through April 30, 2010, except 

as noted. 

ADDRESSES: GAO: 441 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20548. MedPAC: 601 

New Jersey Avenue, NW., Suite 9000, 

Washington, DC 20001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

GAO Office of Public Affairs, (202) 512–

4800. MedPAC: Mark E. Miller, PhD, 

(202) 220–3700. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To fill this 

year’s vacancies I am announcing the 

following: 

Newly appointed members are 

Thomas M. Dean, M.D., Chief of Staff, 

Avera Weskota Memorial Medical 

Center; Jack C. Ebeler, Independent 

consultant; and Bruce Stuart, PhD, 

professor and executive director, Peter 

Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and 

Aging, University of Maryland 

Baltimore. Professor Stuart is appointed 

to complete the remaining two years of 

Douglas Holtz-Eakin’s three-year term 

that began in 2006. Holtz-Eakin resigned 

from his position on MedPAC effective 

May 2, 2007. 

Reappointed members are John M. 

Bertko, F.S.A., M.A.A.A., vice president 

and chief actuary, Humana Inc.; Francis 

J. Crosson, M.D., executive director, the 

Permanente Federation, LLC; Arnold 

Milstein, M.D., M.P.H., medical 

director, Pacific Business Group on 

Health; and William J. Scanlon, PhD, 

health policy consultant. 

(Sec. 4022, Pub. L. 105–33, 111 Stat. 251, 

350) 

David M. Walker, 

Comptroller General of the United States. 

[FR Doc. 07–2680 Filed 5–30–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1610–02–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Notice of Meeting 

In accordance with section 10(d) of 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

U.S.C., Appendix 2), announcement is 

made of a Health Care Policy and 

Research Special Emphasis Panel (SEP) 

meeting. 

A Special Emphasis Panel is a group 

of experts in fields related to health care 

research who are invited by the Agency 

for Healthcare Research and Quality 

(AHRQ), and agreed to be available, to 

conduct on an as needed basis, 


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