2018-02305. Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Renewal; Comment Request; Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators

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 the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and respondents are 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 concerning the renewal of its information collection titled, “Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators.”

DATES:

You should submit written comments by: April 9, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at the OCC is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if possible. Comments may be sent to: Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-0243, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219. In addition, comments may be sent by fax to [phone] or by electronic mail to [e-mail]. You may personally inspect and photocopy comments at the OCC, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. For security reasons, the OCC requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. You may do so by calling [phone] or, for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired, TTY, [phone]. Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present valid government-issued photo identification and submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy comments.

All 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance Officer, [phone] or, for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired, TTY, [phone], Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the 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. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 requires federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed renewal of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the OCC is publishing notice of the proposed renewal of information set forth in this document.

Title: Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators.

OMB Number: 1557-0243.

Description: The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (the S.A.F.E. Act) ^[1] requires an employee of a bank, savings association, or credit union and their subsidiaries regulated by a federal banking agency or an employee of an institution regulated by the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) (collectively, institutions) who engages in the business of a residential mortgage loan originator (MLO) to register with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (Registry) and obtain a unique identifier. Institutions must require their employees who act as residential MLOs to comply with the Act's requirements to register and obtain a unique identifier and also adopt and follow written policies and procedures to assure compliance with these requirements.

Among other things, the Registry is intended to aggregate and improve the flow of information to and between regulators; provide increased accountability and tracking of mortgage loan originators; enhance consumer protections; reduce fraud in the residential mortgage loan origination process; and provide consumers with easily accessible information at no charge regarding the employment history of, and the publicly adjudicated disciplinary and enforcement actions against, mortgage loan originators.

Along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Farm Credit Administration, the OCC issued a final rule implementing the SAFE Act.^[2] The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), Public Law 111-203, later transferred this rule to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the CFPB republished this rule as 12 CFR part 1007.^[3] However, the OCC retains enforcement authority for this rule for national banks, federal savings associations and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks with total assets of $10 billion or less.^[4]

MLO Reporting Requirements

Except in situations where the de minimis exception applies, 12 CFR 1007.103 requires an employee of an institution who is engaged in the business of a MLO to register with the Registry, maintain and update such registration, and obtain a unique identifier. This section also requires an institution to require its MLO employees to comply with these requirements. Section 1007.103(d) sets forth the categories of information that an institution must require its employees to submit to the Registry, or to submit on the employee's behalf. This section also requires the employee to submit to the Registry an attestation as to the correctness of the information submitted and an authorization for the Registry to obtain further information.

MLO Disclosure Requirement

Section 1007.105(b) requires the MLO to provide the unique identifier to a consumer upon request, before acting as a mortgage loan originator, and through the originator's initial written communication with a consumer, if any, whether on paper or electronically.

Financial Institution Reporting Requirements

Section 1007.103(e) specifies the institution and employee information that an institution must submit to the Registry in connection with the registration of one or more MLOs and annually thereafter. The institution also must update this information within 30 days of it becoming inaccurate. Employees of the institution who submit information to the Registry on behalf of the institution also must verify their identity and attest to the accuracy of the information submitted.

Financial Institution Disclosure Requirements

Section 1007.105(a) requires the institution to make the unique identifier of MLO employees available to consumers in a manner and method practicable to the institution.

Financial Institution Recordkeeping Requirements

Section 1007.104 requires that an institution that employs MLOs to adopt and follow written policies and procedures, at a minimum addressing certain specified areas, but otherwise appropriate to the nature, size and complexity of their mortgage lending activities.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Individuals; Businesses or other for-profit.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 85,353.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 51,384 hours.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized, included in the request for OMB approval, and 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 OCC, including whether the information has practical utility;

(b) The accuracy of the OCC'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 on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and

(e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

Dated: January 31, 2018.

Karen Solomon,

Acting Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Footnotes

1.  The S.A.F.E. Act was enacted as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Pub. L. 110-289, Division A, Title V, sections 1501-1517, 122 Stat. 2654, 2810-2824 (July 30, 2008), codified at 12 U.S.C. 5101-5116.

2.  75 FR 44656 (July 28, 2010), as corrected in 75 FR 51623 (Aug. 23, 2010).

3.  76 FR 78487 (Dec. 19, 2011).

4.  See section 1025 of the Dodd-Frank Act, codified at 12 U.S.C. 5515.