2012-17063. Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 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. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning its information collection titled, “Procedures to Enhance the Accuracy and Integrity of Information Furnished to Consumer Reporting Agencies under Section 312 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act).” The OCC is also giving notice that it has submitted this collection to OMB for review.

DATES:

Comments must be received by August 13, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

Communications Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Public Information Room, Mailstop 2-3, Attention: 1557-0238, 250 E Street SW., 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, 250 E 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]. Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present valid government-issued photo identification and to submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy comments.

Additionally, you should send a copy of your comments to OCC Desk Officer, 1557-0238, by mail to U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street NW., #10235, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

You can request additional information or a copy of the collection from Mary H. Gottlieb, OCC Clearance Officer, [phone], Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The OCC is requesting extension of OMB approval for this information collection titled, “Procedures to Enhance the Accuracy and Integrity of Information Furnished to Consumer Reporting Agencies under Section 312 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act).” There have been no changes to the requirements of the regulations; however, the regulations have been transferred to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) pursuant to title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 2036, July 21, 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act), and republished as CFPB regulations (76 FR 79308 (December 21, 2011)). The burden estimates have been revised to remove the burden for OCC-regulated institutions with over $10 billion in assets, now carried by CFPB pursuant to section 1025 of the Dodd-Frank Act, and to remove the initial start-up burden. The OCC retains enforcement authority for its institutions with $10 billion in total assets or less.

Title: Procedures to Enhance the Accuracy and Integrity of Information Furnished to Consumer Reporting Agencies under Section 312 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act).

OMB Number: 1557-0238.

Description: Section 312 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act) required the issuance of guidelines for use by furnishers regarding the accuracy and integrity of the information about consumers that they furnish to consumer reporting agencies and to prescribe regulations requiring furnishers to establish reasonable policies and procedures for implementing the guidelines. Section 312 also required the issuance of regulations identifying the circumstances under which a furnisher must reinvestigate disputes about the accuracy of information contained in a consumer report based on a direct request from a consumer.

Twelve CFR 1022.42(a) requires furnishers to establish and implement reasonable written policies and procedures regarding the accuracy and integrity of information relating to consumers that they provide to a consumer reporting agency (CRA). Furnishers' accuracy and integrity policies and procedures may include their existing policies and procedures that are relevant and appropriate.

Section 1022.43(a) permits consumers to initiate disputes directly with the furnishers in certain circumstances. Furnishers are required to have procedures to ensure that disputes received directly from consumers are handled in a substantially similar manner to those complaints received through CRAs.

Section 1022.43(f)(2) incorporates the statutory requirement that a furnisher must notify a consumer by mail or other means (if authorized by the consumer) not later than five business days after making a determination that a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant. Section 1022.43(f) incorporates the statute's content requirements for the notices.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

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

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,918.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 185,523 hours.

The OCC issued a Federal Register Notice for 60 days of comment on May 4, 2012 (77 FR 26605). No comments were received. Comments continue to be 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: July 6, 2012.

Michele Meyer,

Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division.