2022-07482. Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Renewal; Comment Request; Lending Limits

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 the opportunity to comment on the renewal of an information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). An agency 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 renewal of its information collection titled, “Lending Limits.”

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before June 7, 2022.

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, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-0221, 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 “1557-0221” 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 information, 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.

Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, the OCC will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period. You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to this information collection beginning on the date of publication of the second notice for this collection by the method set forth in the next bullet.

• Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. Hover over the “Information Collection Review” drop-down menu. Click on “Information Collection Review.” 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 “1557-0221” or “Lending Limits.” 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 et seq. ), 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 extension 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 renewal of the collection of information set forth in this document.

Title: Lending Limits.

OMB Control No.: 1557-0221.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Abstract: 12 CFR 32.7(a) provides that, in addition to the amount that a national bank or savings association may lend to one borrower under 12 CFR 32.3, an eligible bank or savings association may make:

• Residential real estate loans or extensions of credit to one borrower in the lesser of the following two amounts: 10 percent of its capital and surplus; or the percent of its capital and surplus, in excess of 15 percent, that a State bank or savings association is permitted to lend under the State lending limit that is available for residential real estate loans or unsecured loans in the State where the main office of the national bank or savings association is located. Any such loan or extension of credit must be secured by a perfected first-lien security interest in 1-4 family real estate in an amount that does not exceed 80 percent of the appraised value of the collateral at the time the loan or extension of credit is made;
• Loans to small businesses to one borrower in the lesser of the following two amounts: 10 percent of its capital and surplus; or the percent of its capital and surplus, in excess of 15 percent, that a State bank is permitted to lend under the State lending limit that is available for loans to small businesses or unsecured loans in the State where the main office of the national bank or home office of the savings association is located; and
• Loans or extensions of credit to small farms to one borrower in the lesser of the following two amounts: 10 percent of its capital and surplus; or the percent of its capital and surplus, in excess of 15 percent, that a State bank or savings association is permitted to lend under the State lending limit that is available for loans or extensions of credit to small farms or unsecured loans in the State where the main office of the national bank or savings association is located.

An eligible national bank or savings association must submit an application to, and receive approval from, its supervisory office before using the supplemental lending limits in 12 CFR 32.7(a)(1)-(3). The supervisory office may approve a completed application if it finds that approval is consistent with safety and soundness. Section 32.7(b) provides that, in order for an application to be deemed complete, the application must include:

• Certification that the bank or savings association is an “eligible bank” or “eligible savings association;”
• Citations to relevant state laws or regulations;

• A copy of a written resolution by a majority of the bank's or savings association's board of directors approving the use of the limits in § 32.7(a) and confirming the terms and conditions for use of this lending authority; and

• A description of how the board will exercise its continuing responsibility to oversee the use of this lending authority.

12 CFR 32.9(b)(1) outlines three alternative methods (the Internal Model Method, the Conversion Factor Matrix Method, and the Current Exposure Method) for national banks and savings associations to use in calculating the credit exposure of non-credit derivative transactions. 12 CFR 32.9(c) outlines two alternative methods for national banks and savings associations to use in calculating credit exposure arising from their securities financing transactions.

Under 12 CFR 32.9(b)(1)(i)(C), the use of a model (other than the model approved for purposes of the Advanced Measurement Approach in the capital rules) must be approved in advance and in writing by the OCC specifically for part 32 purposes. If a national bank or savings association proposes to use an internal model that has been approved by the OCC for purposes of the Advanced Measurement Approach, the institution must provide prior written notification to the OCC prior to use of the model for lending limits purposes. OCC approval also is required for any substantive revisions to an approved model before that model is used for lending limit purposes.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 295.

Estimated Annual Burden: 1,958 hours.

All comments will be considered in formulating the subsequent submission 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 information collection burden;

(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.

Theodore J. Dowd,

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