[Federal Register: March 3, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 40)]
[Notices]
[Page 9334-9335]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03mr09-144]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment
on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund (the ``Fund''), an office within the Department of
the Treasury, is soliciting comments concerning the CDFI Program
Application.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before May 4, 2009 to
be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Ruth Jaure, CDFI Program Manager, at
the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, U.S. Department
of the Treasury, 601 13th Street, NW., Suite 200 South, Washington, DC
20005, by e-mail to cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov or by facsimile to (202)
622-7754. Please note this is not a toll free number.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The CDFI Program Application may be
obtained from the CDFI Program page of the Fund's Web site at http://
www.cdfifund.gov. Requests for additional information should be
directed to Ruth Jaure, CDFI Program Manager, Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund, U.S.
[[Page 9335]]
Department of the Treasury, 601 13th Street, NW., Suite 200 South,
Washington, DC 20005, or call (202) 622-9156. Please note this is not a
toll free number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: CDFI Program Application.
OMB Number: 1559-0021.
Abstract: The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI)
Program was established by the Riegle Community Development and
Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to use Federal resources to invest
in and build the capacity of CDFIs to serve low-income people and
communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products
and services. Through the CDFI Program, the CDFI Fund provides: (1)
Financial Assistance (FA) awards to CDFIs that have Comprehensive
Business Plans for creating demonstrable community development impact
through the deployment of credit, capital, and financial services
within their respective Target Markets or the expansion into new
Investment Areas, Low-Income Targeted Populations, or Other Targeted
Populations, and (ii) Technical Assistance (TA) grants to CDFIs and
entities proposing to become CDFIs in order to build their capacity to
better address the community development and capital access needs of
their existing or proposed Target Markets and/or to become certified
CDFIs. The regulations governing the CDFI Program are found at 12 CFR
part 1805 and provide guidance on evaluation criteria and other
requirements of the CDFI Program. The questions that the application
contains, and the information generated thereby, will enable the Fund
to evaluate applicants' activities and determine the extent of
applicants' eligibility for a CDFI Program award. Failure to collect
this information could result in improper uses of Federal funds.
Current Actions: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Type of Review: Regular review.
Affected Public: Certified CDFIs and entities seeking CDFI
Certification.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 200.
Estimated Annual Time per Respondent: 100 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 20,000 hours.
Requests for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this
notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of
Management and Budget approval. All comments will become a matter of
public record and may be published on the Fund Web site at http://
www.cdfifund.gov. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions
of the Fund, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Fund's estimate of the burden of the
collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including
through the use of technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up
costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to
provide information.
The Fund specifically requests comments concerning the following:
(1) Whether offering separate applications for the FA and TA components
would reduce the burden on applicants; (2) whether the distinct
business models followed by different types of CDFIs (such as banks,
credit unions, and venture capital funds) merit individualized
applications; (3) if an applicant eligibility screen should be applied
before the application deadline, allowing applicants to determine
beforehand if they would be qualified to receive an award; (4) if
detailed Matching Funds documentation should be collected later in the
application review process, and a reasonable amount of time to expect
an applicant to provide this data; (5) the merit of further reducing
the narrative page limits in the application; (6) the potential burden
of requiring specific documents to support proposed uses of TA funds,
namely Statements of Work for professional services, and
r[eacute]sum[eacute]s and/or position descriptions for personnel; and
(7) the potential burden of requiring additional documentation to
support the application, namely tax returns (Form 990), Certificates of
Good Standing, operating budgets, lists of sources of capital, rate
sheets for products and services, and borrower characteristic profiles.
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1834a, 4703, 4703 note, 4713, 4717; 31
U.S.C 321; 12 CFR part 1806.
Dated: February 25, 2009.
Donna J. Gambrell,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. E9-4520 Filed 3-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P