Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 210 / Monday, October 30, 2000 / Notices 64717

emergency health surveys for general

type medical facilities; specialized

medical facilities (those known for

cardiac surgery, obstetrics/gynecology

services, pediatric services, etc.); and

health professionals, but more typically

risk managers working in medical

facilities.

FDA will use the information

gathered from these surveys to quickly

obtain vital information from the

appropriate clinical sources so that FDA

may take appropriate public health or

regulatory action. FDA projects 10

emergency health surveys per year with

a sample of between 50 and 200

respondents per survey.

In the Federal Register of August 3,

2000 (65 FR 47734), the agency

requested comments on the proposed

collection of information. No comments

were received.

FDA estimates the burden of this

collection of information as follows:

TABLE 1.—ESTIMATED ANNUAL REPORTING BURDEN 1

No. of

Respondents

Annual

Frequency per

Response

Total Annual

Responses

Hours per

Response Total Hours

200 10 (maximum) 2,000 2 4,000

1There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.

These estimates are based on the

maximum sample size per questionnaire

that FDA could analyze in a timely

manner. The annual frequency of

respondent was determined by the

maximum number of questionnaires

that will be sent to any individual

respondent. Some respondents may be

contacted only one time per year, while

another respondent may be contacted

several times, depending on the medical

device under evaluation. It is estimated

that, given the expected type of issues

that will be addressed by the surveys, at

a maximum it will take 2 hours for a

respondent to gather the requested

information and fill in the answers.

Dated: October 23, 2000.

Margaret M. Dotzel,

Associate Commissioner for Policy.

[FR Doc. 00–27733 Filed 10–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–01–F

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR–4561–N–70]

Notice of Submission of Proposed

Information Collection to OMB;

Financial Statement of Corporate

Applicant for Cooperative Housing

Mortgage

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information

Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The proposed information

collection requirement described below

has been submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

review, as required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act. The Department is

soliciting public comments on the

subject proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: November

29, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit comments regarding

this proposal. Comments should refer to

the proposal by name and/or OMB

approval number (2502–0058) and

should be sent to: Joseph F. Lackey, Jr.,

OMB Desk Officer, Office of

Management and Budget, Room 10235,

New Executive Office Building,

Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Wayne Eddins, Reports Management

Officer, Q, Department of Housing and

Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street,

Southwest, Washington, DC 20410; email Wayne_Eddins@HUD.gov;

telephone (202) 708–2374. This is not a

toll- (2) the office of the agency to

collect the information; (3) the OMB

approval number, if applicable; (4) the

description of the need for the

information and its proposed use; (5)

the agency form number, if applicable;

(6) what members of the public will be

affected by the proposal; (7) how

frequently information submissions will

be required; (8) an estimate of the total

number of hours needed to prepare the

information submission including

number of respondents, frequency of

response, and hours of response; (9)

whether the proposal is new, an

extension, reinstatement, or revision of

an information collection requirement;

and (10) the name and telephone umber

of an agency official familiar with the

proposal and of the OMB Desk Officer

for the Department.

This Notice also lists the following

information:

Title of Proposal: Financial Statement

of Corporate Applicant for Cooperative

Housing Mortgage.

OMB Approval Number: HUD–93232–

A.

Description of The Need For The

Information and Its Proposed Use: HUD

insures mortgages covering property

held by a non-profit cooperative

ownership housing cooperation. The

Department requires information on the

applicant’s financial and credit history

to determine the capability and capacity

of the borrower corporation and the

individual members to meet the

statutory requirement for repayment.

Frequency of Submission: Monthly.

Reporting Burden:

Number of respondents x Frequency of response x Hours per response = Burden hours

1,500 1 2 3,000

64718 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 210 / Monday, October 30, 2000 / Notices

Total Estimated Burden Hours: 3,000.

Status: Reinstatement, with change.

Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 35, as

amended.

Dated: October 24, 2000

Wayne Eddins,

Departmental Reports Management Officer,

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–27710 Filed 10–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise

Oversight

Solicitation of Public Comments on

Systemic Risk

AGENCY: Office of Federal Housing

Enterprise Oversight, HUD.

ACTION: Solicitation of public comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of Federal Housing

Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) is

soliciting comments on systemic risk.

To fulfill its supervisory

responsibilities, OFHEO has initiated a

comprehensive study of the risks the

Federal National Mortgage Association

(Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home

Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie

Mac) may pose to the financial system

in general and to U.S. housing finance

markets in particular. The study will

examine the nature and magnitude of

any risks posed by the Enterprises,

whether and to what extent Fannie Mae

and Freddie Mac contribute to or

mitigate systemic risk, and actions that

OFHEO and others could take to limit

any systemic risk the Enterprises may

pose. The purpose of this notice is to

solicit public comment on specific

research questions that the study may

address.

DATES: Written comments regarding

systemic risk due by December 29, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

Robert S. Seiler, Jr., Manager of Policy

Analysis, Office of Federal Housing

Enterprise Oversight, 1700 G Street,

N.W., Fourth Floor, Washington, D.C.

20552. Written comments may also be

sent by electronic mail to

sysrisk@ofheo.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert S. Seiler, Jr., Manager of Policy

Analysis, Office of Federal Housing

Enterprise Oversight, 1700 G Street,

N.W., Fourth Floor, Washington, D.C.

20552, telephone (202) 414–3785 (a toll

free number). The telephone number for

the Telecommunications Device for the

Deaf is: (800) 877–8339.

Background

In 1992 the Congress created the

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise

Oversight (OFHEO) as an independent

office within the Department of Housing

and Urban Development (HUD) to

ensure that the Federal National

Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and

the Federal Home Loan Mortgage

Corporation (Freddie Mac) are

adequately capitalized and operating

safely. OFHEO’s mission is to promote

housing and a strong economy by

ensuring the safety and soundness of the

Enterprises and fostering the strength

and vitality of the nation’s housing

finance system. In fulfilling that

mission, OFHEO imposes capital

requirements on Fannie Mae and

Freddie Mac, conducts annual

examinations of each Enterprise, and

engages in a broad research program.

OFHEO’s research focuses on the

markets in which Fannie Mae and

Freddie Mac operate, the risks the

Enterprises face, the economic effects of

their activities, and any risks they may

pose to other participants in mortgage

and financial markets.

Financial firms that have large

amounts of liabilities or other financial

obligations pose risks to other financial

market participants. Default by a large

financial firm affects their

counterparties directly (by imposing

losses on them) and may affect other

financial firms indirectly (by leading

markets to increase their financing

costs, reduce their access to credit, or

lower the market values of their assets).

With respect to direct costs, firms with

sufficiently large credit exposures to a

large firm that fails may be rendered

insolvent by that failure if their losses

are sufficiently high. With respect to

indirect costs, the default of a large

financial firm may lead to temporary

distortions in financial markets that may

cause other firms to experience liquidity

and even solvency problems. Such

problems may also be caused by a loss

of investor confidence, should investors

believe that such firms have risk

exposures similar to those that caused

the large firm to default. Solvency and

liquidity problems induced by the

default of a large financial firm may also

adversely affect the functioning of

national or international systems for

clearing and settling financial

transactions, further distorting financial

markets.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have

financed over forty percent of

conventional single-family mortgages

outstanding in the U.S. and are among

the largest financial firms in the nation.

To date, OFHEO has consistently

classified the Enterprises as adequately

capitalized pursuant to applicable

minimum capital requirements, and

OFHEO’s examinations have found the

Enterprises to be financially sound and

well managed. However, despite the

current financial health of Fannie Mae

and Freddie Mac, unexpected economic

shocks, failures of Enterprise

management or operations, or other

factors could at some point cause either

Enterprise to fail to meet OFHEO’s

safety and soundness standards. The

pace at which the Enterprises are

growing and their increasingly central

role in mortgage and financial markets

raise the issue of whether, if either

Enterprise experienced severe financial

distress or failed, the functioning of the

financial system in general, or of U.S.

housing finance markets in particular,

could be disrupted to such an extent

that the U.S. or international economies

would be adversely affected. Financial

difficulties at Fannie Mae or Freddie

Mac could be caused by disruptions at

other financial firms.

To fulfill its supervisory

responsibilities, OFHEO has initiated a

comprehensive study of the risks Fannie

Mae and Freddie Mac may pose to the

financial system in general and to U.S.

housing finance markets in particular.

The study will examine the nature and

magnitude of any risks posed by the

Enterprises, whether and to what extent

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac contribute

to or mitigate systemic risk, and actions

that OFHEO and others could take to

limit any systemic risk the Enterprises

may pose. The study will help OFHEO

enhance its oversight of Fannie Mae and

Freddie Mac and improve OFHEO’s

ability to contribute to Federal

regulation of financial institutions and

markets more generally.

By systemic risk, OFHEO means the

possibility that the direct or indirect

effects of the failure of a large financial

firm would cause distortions or

disruptions in the financial system

significant enough to have a substantial

effect on real output and employment.

An event that caused changes in asset

values—even substantial losses in

values—would not rise to a systemic

threat if it was not expected to induce

a loss in employment or economic

output.

Questions on Which OFHEO Seeks

Public Comment

OFHEO has identified a number of

specific research questions that its study

may address. The purpose of this notice

is to solicit public comment on those

questions, as well as any other topics

that respondents believe OFHEO should

examine in analyzing the risks posed by