[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 238 (Thursday, December 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65265-65266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32395]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

[No. 97-N-9]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Board.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) hereby 
gives notice that it is seeking public comments concerning a three-year 
extension by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the 
previously approved information collection entitled ``Monthly Survey of 
Rates and Terms on Conventional, 1-Family, Nonfarm Loans,'' usually 
referred to as the ``Monthly Interest Rate Survey'' or ``MIRS.''

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before February 9, 
1998.

ADDRESSES: Address written comments and requests for copies of the 
information collection to Elaine L. Baker, Secretary to the Board, 202/
408-2837, Federal Housing Finance Board, 1777 F Street, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy D. Forsberg, Financial 
Analyst, 202/408-2968, Financial Research Division, Office of Policy, 
Federal Housing Finance Board, 1777 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 
20006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

A. Need For and Use of Information Collection

    The Finance Board's predecessor, the former Federal Home Loan Bank 
Board (FHLBB), first provided survey data on mortgage interest rates in 
1963. No statutory or regulatory provision explicitly required the 
FHLBB to conduct the MIRS although references to the MIRS did appear in 
several Federal and State statutes. Responsibility for conducting the 
MIRS was transferred to the Finance Board upon dissolution of the FHLBB 
in 1989. See Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement 
Act of 1989

[[Page 65266]]

(FIRREA), Pub. L. 101-73, Title IV, sec. 402(e)(3)-(4), 103 Stat. 183, 
codified at 12 U.S.C. 1437 note, and Title VII, sec. 731(f)(1), 
(f)(2)(B), 103 Stat. 433 (Aug. 9, 1989). In 1993, the Finance Board 
promulgated a final rule describing the method by which it conducts the 
MIRS. See 58 FR 19195 (Apr. 13, 1993), codified at 12 CFR 902.3. Since 
its inception, the MIRS has provided the only consistent source of 
information on mortgage interest rates and terms and house prices for 
areas smaller than the entire country.
    Statutory references to the MIRS include the following:
    <bullet> Pursuant to their respective organic statutes, the Federal 
National Mortgage Association (also known as Fannie Mae) and the 
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (also known as Freddie Mac) use 
the MIRS results as the basis for allowable annual adjustments to the 
maximum dollar limits for their purchase of conventional mortgages. See 
12 U.S.C. 1454(a)(2), 1717(b)(2). The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac limits 
were first tied to the MIRS by the Housing and Community Development 
Act of 1980. See Public Law 96-399, Title III, section 313(a)-(b), 94 
Stat. 1644-1645 (Oct. 8, 1980). At that time, the nearly identical 
statutes required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to base the dollar limit 
adjustments on ``the national average one-family house price in the 
monthly survey of all major lenders conducted by the [FHLBB].'' See 12 
U.S.C. 1454(a)(2), 1717(b)(2) (1989). When Congress abolished the FHLBB 
in 1989, it replaced the reference to the FHLBB in the Fannie Mae and 
Freddie Mac statutes with a reference to the Finance Board. See FIRREA, 
Title VII, sec. 731(f)(1), (f)(2)(B), 103 Stat. 433.
    <bullet> Also 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 id. Title IV, section 402(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 the Finance Board to substitute a substantially similar 
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.
    <bullet> Congress indirectly connected the high cost area limits 
for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) of 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the MIRS in 1994 
when it statutorily linked these FHA insurance limits to the purchase 
price limitations for Fannie Mae. See Public Law 103-327, 108 Stat. 
2314 (Sept. 28, 1994), codified at 12 U.S.C. 1709(b)(2)(A)(ii).
    <bullet> The Internal Revenue Service uses the MIRS data in 
establishing ``safe-harbor'' limitations for mortgages purchased with 
the proceeds of mortgage revenue bond issues. See 26 CFR 6a.103A-
2(f)(5).
    <bullet> Statutes in several states and U.S. territories, including 
California, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and 
the Virgin Islands, refer to, or rely upon, the MIRS. See, e.g., Cal. 
Rev. & Tax 439.2 (Deering 1996) (value of owner-occupied single family 
dwellings for tax purposes); Cal. Civ. 1916.7, 1916.8 (mortgage rates); 
Ind. Code Ann. 28-1-21.5-1 (Burns 1996) (mortgage instruments); Iowa 
Code 534.205 (1995) (real estate loan practices); Mich. Stat. Ann. 
23.1125(21) (1996) (enforcement of mortgages); Minn. Stat. 92.06 (1996) 
(payments for state land sales); N.J. Rev. Stat. 31:1-1 (1996) 
(interest rates); Wis. Stat. 138.056 (1996) (variable loan rates); V.I. 
Code Ann. tit. 11, section 951 (1996) (legal rate of interest).
    The Finance Board uses the information collection to produce the 
MIRS and for general statistical purposes and program evaluation. 
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 use the MIRS results for research 
purposes. Information concerning the MIRS is regularly published in the 
popular trade press, in Finance Board releases and on its web-site, and 
in publications of other federal agencies.
    The likely respondents include a sample of 390 savings 
associations, mortgage companies, commercial banks, and savings banks. 
The information collection requires each respondent to complete FHFB 
Form 10-91 or an equivalent electronic submission on a monthly basis.
    The OMB number for the information collection is 3069-0001. The OMB 
clearance for the information collection expires on April 30, 1998.

B. Burden Estimate

    The Finance Board estimates the total annual average number of 
respondents at 390, with twelve annual responses per respondent. The 
estimate for the average hours per response is 1.0 hours. The estimate 
for the total annual hour burden is 4,680 hours (390 respondents x 12 
responses/respondent x approximately 1.0 hour).

C. Comment Request

    The Finance Board requests written comments on the following: (1) 
Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of Finance Board functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the Finance 
Board'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.
    Dated: December 3, 1997.

    By the Federal Housing Finance Board.
William W Ginsberg,
Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 97-32395 Filed 12-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6725-01-P