Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
                -                       the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory                      Actions                    

                    See the                                          Document Drafting Handbook                                        for more details.                  

###### Federal Housing Finance Agency

          - [No. 2023-N-11]

# AGENCY:

Federal Housing Finance Agency.

# ACTION:

Members of Federal Home Loan Banks—30-day notice of submission of information collection for approval from Office of Management and Budget.

# 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 October 25, 2023.

# 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:                         *OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov.*                         Please also submit comments to FHFA, identified by “Proposed Collection; Comment Request: `Members of the Banks, (No. 2023-N-11)' ” 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                          RegComments@fhfa.gov                          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-11).”                    

                        We will post all public comments we receive without change, including any 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,                         *Lindsay.Spadoni@fhfa.gov,*                         (202) 649-3634 or Angela Supervielle, Senior Counsel,                         *Angela.Supervielle@fhfa.gov,*                         (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. 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 renewal of the control number, which is due to expire on September 30, 2023.

## A. Background

The Federal Home Loan Bank System consists of eleven regional Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks) and the Office of Finance (a joint office of the Banks 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.[1]                                          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.[2]                                          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.[3] 

## B. Need For and Use of the Information Collection

FHFA's regulation entitled “Members of the Banks,” located at 12 CFR part 1263, implements the statutory provisions on Bank membership and otherwise establishes substantive and procedural requirements relating to the initiation and termination of 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 Agency.

                    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                           ( print page 65682)                        statutory and regulatory membership eligibility requirements and that otherwise includes all required information and materials.[4]                                          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.[5]                                          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.[6]                                          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.[7] 

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. In rare cases, FHFA may 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.

## C. 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 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 × 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 appellant × 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 × 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 × 2 hours per request) = 10 hours.

## D. Comment Request

                    In accordance with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.8(d), FHFA published an initial notice and request for public comments regarding this information collection in the                     **Federal Register**                     on June 12, 2023.[8]                                          The 60-day comment period closed on August 11, 2023. FHFA received no comments.                

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.

# Footnotes

1.                                                     *See*12 U.S.C. 1424(a).                    
        Back to Citation      

2.                                                     *See*12 U.S.C. 1424(b).                    
        Back to Citation      

3.                                                     *See*12 U.S.C. 1426(d).                    
        Back to Citation      

4.                                                     *See*12 CFR 1263.2(a), 1263.6-1263.9, 1263.11-1263.18.                    
        Back to Citation      

5.                                                     *See*12 CFR 1263.5.                    
        Back to Citation      

6.                                                     *See*12 CFR 1263.26.                    
        Back to Citation      

7.                                                     *See*12 CFR 1263.4(b), 1263.18(d), (e).                    
        Back to Citation      

8.                                                     *See*88 FR 38051 (June 12, 2023).                    
        Back to Citation      

[FR Doc. 2023-20679 Filed 9-22-23; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8070-01-P