BUSINESS SUBMITTER NOTICE RE FOIA Business Submitter Notice Concerning Release by HUD of Mortgage Sales Bids under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This is not a procurement notice or announcement. The "bidders" referred to below are past bidders on HUD's mortgage note sales which were performed by financial advisers to HUD. This CBD announcement is placed in order to reach the business community which may have been bidders on such sales. Contact William Barth, Managing Attorney, FOIA Division, Room 10250, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW; Washington, DC; 20410. Telephone (202) 708-3866. This is not a toll-free number. TTY 1-800-877-8339. On February 27, 1998 the Department of Housing and Urban Development published in the Federal Register a statement of policy regarding disclosure of mortgage loan sales information (63 FR 10031). The notice stated that, when requested to provide records pursuant to FOIA the Department would produce relevant records in its files, including, where available (1) all potential bidders receiving bid materials; (2) the identity of all successful and unsuccessful bidders and their bids and the mortgage loans attributable to such bids; (3) the aggregate proceeds the Department received from the sale; and (4) the aggregate number of bidders. This notice serves as the business submitter notice authorized by 24 CFR 15.54 of the Department's FOIA regulations and provides bidders the opportunity to object to disclosure within 10 working days from the date of publication of this notice. Any bidder objecting must provide a detailed written statement supporting their objections to disclosure. The statement shall specify all grounds for withholding the information and demonstrating why the bid information is a trade secret or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. Conclusory statements that the information would be useful to competitors or similarly conclusory statements generally will not be considered sufficient to justify confidential treatment. Mortgage sales bidders should submit their statements to the agency contact identified in this notice. The Department will carefully consider a submitter's objections before determining whether to disclose the information. If the Department decides to disclose the information over the objections of the submitters, the Department will advise the submitter in a written notice of its intent to disclose the information 10 working days before the specified disclosure date. Posted 07/30/98 (W-SN230722).

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