E9-19474. Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

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. 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, “Identity Theft Red Flags and Address Discrepancies under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act).” The OCC also gives notice that it has sent the information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.

DATES:

You should submit comments by September 14, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Communications Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Mailstop 2-3, Attention: 1557-0237, 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. 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 submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy comments.

Additionally, you should send a copy of your comments to OCC Desk Officer, 1557-0237, 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 proposing to extend OMB approval of the following information collection:

Title: Identity Theft Red Flags and Address Discrepancies under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act).

OMB Number: 1557-0237.

Description: 12 CFR 41.90, 41.91, 41.82 and Appendix J to part 41 implement sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act), Public Law 108-159 (2003).

Section 114 amended section 615 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to require the OCC, FRB, FDIC, OTS, NCUA, and FTC (Agencies) to issue jointly: (1) Guidelines for financial institutions and creditors regarding identity theft with respect to their account holders and customers; (2) regulations requiring each financial institution and creditor to establish reasonable policies and procedures for implementing the guidelines to identify possible risks to account holders or customers or to the safety and soundness of the institution or creditor; and (3) regulations generally requiring credit and debit card issuers to assess the validity of change of address requests under certain circumstances. Section 315 amended section 605 of the FCRA to require the Agencies to issue regulations providing guidance regarding reasonable policies and procedures that a user of consumer reports must employ when a user receives a notice of address discrepancy from a consumer reporting agency (CRA).

The information collections in § 41.90 require each financial institution and creditor that offers or maintains one or more covered accounts to develop and implement a written Identity Theft Prevention Program (Program). In developing the Program, financial institutions and creditors are required to consider the guidelines in Appendix J to part 41 and include those that are appropriate. The initial Program must be approved by the board of directors or an appropriate committee thereof and the board, an appropriate committee thereof or a designated employee at the level of senior management must be involved in the oversight of the Program. In addition, staff must be trained to carry out the Program. Pursuant to § 41.91, each credit and debit card issuer is required to establish and implement policies and procedures to assess the validity of a change of address request under certain circumstances. Before issuing an additional or replacement card, the card issuer must notify the cardholder or use another means to assess the validity of the change of address.

The information collections in § 41.82 require each user of consumer reports to develop and implement reasonable policies and procedures designed to enable the user to form a reasonable belief that a consumer report relates to the consumer about whom it requested the report when the user receives a notice of address discrepancy from a CRA. A user of consumer reports must also develop and implement reasonable policies and procedures for furnishing an address for the consumer that the user has reasonably confirmed to be accurate to the CRA from which it receives a notice of address discrepancy when (1) the user can form a reasonable belief that the consumer report relates to the consumer about whom the user has requested the report; (2) the user establishes a continuing relationship with the consumer; and (3) the user regularly and in the ordinary course of business furnishes information to the CRA from which it received the notice of address discrepancy.

Type of Review: Regular.

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

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,635.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 6,550.

Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 183,985 hours.

The OCC issued a 60-day notice for comment on May 8, 2009. 74 FR 21740. Two comments were received. The burden estimates have been adjusted to take into consideration the comments. A summary of the comments can be found in the supporting statement contained in the collection, which is available from the contact person listed above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Comments continued to be invited on:

(a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has 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 on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and

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

Dated: August 10, 2009.

Michele Meyer,

Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division.