2022-26345. Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Renewal; Submission for OMB Review; Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies and Diversity Self-Assessment, ...

AGENCY:

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting comment on the renewal of its information collection titled “Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies and Diversity Self-Assessment Template for OCC-Regulated Entities.” The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the information collection to OMB for review.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before January 4, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• Email: [e-mail].

• Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment Processing, 1557-0334, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.

• Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.

• Fax: [phone].

Instructions: You must include “OCC” as the agency name and “1557-0334” in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish comments on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or personal information provided, such as name and address, email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.

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

On September 8, 2022, the OCC published a 60-day notice for this information collection, (87 FR 55082). No comments were received. You may review any comments and other related materials that pertain to this information collection at the beginning of the 30-day comment period for this notice by the method set forth in the next bullet.

• Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. Hover over the “Information Collection Review” tab and click on “Information Collection Review” from the drop-down menu. From the “Currently under Review” drop-down menu, select “Department of Treasury” and then click “submit.” This information collection can be located by searching by OMB control number “1557-0334” or “Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies and Diversity Self-Assessment Template for OCC-Regulated Entities.” Upon finding the appropriate information collection, click on the related “ICR Reference Number.” On the next screen, select “View Supporting Statement and Other Documents” and then click on the link to any comment listed at the bottom of the screen.

• For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shaquita Merritt, Clearance Officer, [phone], Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of information that they conduct or sponsor. “Collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. The OCC asks that OMB renew its approval of the collection in this notice.

Title: Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies and Diversity Self-Assessment Template for OCC-Regulated Entities.

OMB Control No.: 1557-0334.

Abstract: This information collection sets forth standards for OCC-regulated entities to voluntarily self-assess their diversity and inclusion policies and practices and includes a template to assist with the self-assessment. The template is now a PDF fillable form, which replaces the current Excel spreadsheet template. No other substantive changes were made to the template. The template (1) asks for general information about a respondent; (2) includes questions and solicits comments for certain standards about program successes and challenges; (3) asks for a description of current practices for the self-assessment standards; (4) seeks additional diversity and inclusion data; and (5) provides an opportunity for a respondent to provide other information regarding or comment on the self-assessment of its diversity and inclusion policies and practices. The OCC may use the information submitted to monitor progress and trends in the financial services industry regarding diversity and inclusion in employment and contracting activities and to identify and highlight diversity and inclusion policies and practices that have been successful. The OCC will continue to reach out to the entities it regulates and other interested parties to discuss diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry and share leading practices. Finally, if an OCC-regulated entity submits confidential commercial information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by the entity, the entity can designate the information as private, and the OCC will treat the self-assessment information as private to the extent permitted by law, including the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, et seq.

Type of Review: Regular.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.

Burden Estimates:

Estimated Number of Respondents: 82 (24 new respondents; 58 repeat respondents) of 327 institutions with greater than 100 employees that are requested to submit.

Frequency of Collection: Annual.

Average Annual Response Time per Respondent: 8 hours for new respondents and 4 hours for repeat respondents.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 424 hours.

Comments: On September 8, 2022, the OCC published a 60-day notice for this information collection, (87 FR 55082), in response to which the OCC received no comments. Comments continue to be solicited on:

(a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the OCC, including whether the information has practical utility;

(b) Whether the OCC has accurately estimated the information collection burden;

(c) How the OCC can enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

(d) How the OCC can minimize the burden of the collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and

(e) The respondents' estimated capital or start-up costs, as well as the costs of operating, maintaining, and purchasing services necessary to provide the information being collected.

Theodore J. Dowd,

Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.