2022-25704. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Departmental Offices Information Collection Requests

AGENCY:

Departmental Offices, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of the Treasury will submit the following information collection requests to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The public is invited to submit comments on these requests.

DATES:

Comments should be received on or before December 27, 2022 to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

Copies of the submissions may be obtained from Melody Braswell by emailing [e-mail], calling [phone], or viewing the entire information collection request at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

 

Title: Emergency Capital Investment Program Initial Supplemental Report and Quarterly Supplemental Report.

OMB Control Number: 1505-0275.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Description: Authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) was created to encourage low- and moderate-income community financial institutions to augment their efforts to support small businesses and consumers in their communities.

Under the program, Treasury will provide approximately $8.75 billion in capital directly to depository institutions that are certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) or minority depository institutions (MDIs) to, among other things, provide loans, grants, and forbearance for small businesses, minority-owned businesses, and consumers, especially in low-income and underserved communities, that may be disproportionately impacted by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ECIP capital is eligible for a reduction in the dividend or interest rate payable on the instruments depending on the increase in lending by the recipients of the capital (Recipients) within minority, rural, and urban low-income and underserved communities and to low- and moderate-income borrowers over a baseline amount of lending. Recipients are required to submit an Initial Supplemental Report and quarterly reports to determine their increase in lending to the specified targeted communities over the baseline and therefore their qualification for rate reductions on the dividend or interest rates payable on the ECIP instruments. In addition, these reports will collect data necessary for Treasury and other oversight bodies to evaluate program outcomes over time.

Treasury uses the Initial Supplemental Report to establish a baseline amount of qualified lending. Treasury proposes to continue use of this form to collect additional or restated data on a Recipient's amount of baseline lending, such as in connection with mergers, acquisitions, or other business combinations. Instructions may be modified from time to time to accommodate these uses.

Treasury proposes to use the Quarterly Supplemental Report to collect the information required to establish a Recipient's increase in lending. The Quarterly Supplemental Report has two components: (1) schedules which must be completed each quarter that collect data on activity for the preceding quarter and (2) schedules that collect data on the preceding four quarters of activity that are submitted annually. There are separate schedules and instructions for insured depository institutions, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies; and credit unions.

Quarterly Report Schedules: Recipients of ECIP investments will be required to submit two schedules on a quarterly basis. Schedule A—Summary Qualified Lending is used to collect the Qualified Lending and Deep Impact Lending, as defined in the Glossary in the Instructions to the Quarterly Supplemental Report, of a Recipient for a given quarter. Schedule A is therefore used to establish the growth in a Recipient's Qualified Lending over its baseline Qualified Lending for the purposes of calculating the payment rate on the ECIP preferred shares or subordinated debt issued by the Recipient. Schedule B—Disaggregated Qualified Lending is used to present further detail on the composition of the Participant's Qualified and Deep Impact Lending.

Annual Report Schedules: Annually, Recipients will report on up to ten (10) additional schedules, depending on the origination activity that took place during the prior year. Schedule C—Additional Demographic Data on Qualified Lending collects additional demographic data on certain categories of Qualified Lending and Deep Impact Lending. Schedule D—Additional Place-based Data on Qualified Lending collects additional geographic data on certain categories of Qualified Lending and Deep Impact Lending.

Forms: Initial Supplemental Report and Instructions, Quarterly Supplemental Report Instructions and Schedules.

Affected Public: Recipients of investments through the Emergency Capital Investment Program.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 190 (5 for the Initial Supplemental Report; 185 for the Quarterly Supplemental Report).

Frequency of Response: Initial Supplemental Report—One time annually; Quarterly Supplemental Report—Four times annually for Schedules A and B, Annually for Schedules C and D.

Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: Initial Supplemental Report—5; Quarterly Supplemental Report—740 for Schedules A & B and 185 for Schedule C and D.

Estimated Time per Response: 8 hours annually for the Initial Supplemental Report; 40 hours annually for the Quarterly Supplemental Report Schedules A & B + 120 hours for Schedules C & D.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 29,640.

Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. Comments are invited on: (a) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency'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 required to provide information.

In addition, Treasury seeks comments on the following:

1. For the Quarterly Supplemental Report, Treasury is considering updating the datasets used to identify certain place-based targeted communities periodically, based on availability. For example, from time to time, updated Area Median Income data is published by the Census Bureau or other relevant data sources. Recipients would be required to use this new data in order to classify originations going forward. How frequently should Treasury update this data—never, annually, every five years, some other time period? Treasury anticipates that a transition period would be implemented each time such reference data is updated. Would a one-year transition period be sufficient?

2. Treasury welcomes comments on sources of data through which origination data requested by ECIP is already reported to the federal government and for which Treasury may determine that collection of the data by the Quarterly Supplemental Report represents a duplication of reporting.

3. Are there additional data points that Treasury should consider collecting, in addition to those proposed?

4. Treasury seeks comments on the instructions or other guidance that would be helpful to Recipients to better understand their reporting obligations on the Initial Supplemental Report or Quarterly Supplemental Report.

Authority:44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

Melody Braswell,

Treasury PRA Clearance Officer.