07-4097. Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request-Community Reinvestment Act

AGENCY:

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507. The Office of Thrift Supervision within the Department of the Treasury will submit the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. Today, OTS is soliciting public comments on its proposal to extend this information collection.

DATES:

Submit written comments on or before October 22, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments, referring to the collection by title of the proposal or by OMB approval number, to Information Collection Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552; send a facsimile transmission to [phone]; or send an e-mail to [e-mail]. OTS will post comments and the related index on the OTS Internet Site at http://www.ots.treas.gov. In addition, interested persons may inspect comments at the Public Reading Room, 170 G Street, NW., by appointment. To make an appointment, call [phone], send an e-mail to [e-mail], or send a facsimile transmission to [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

You can request additional information about this proposed information collection from Celeste Anderson, Senior Project Manager, Compliance and Consumer Protection, [phone], Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OTS may not conduct or sponsor an information collection, and respondents are not required to respond to an information collection, unless the information collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. As part of the approval process, we invite comments on the following information collection.

Comments should address one or more of the following points:

a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of OTS;

b. The accuracy of OTS's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection;

c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

d. Ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of information technology.

We will summarize the comments that we receive and include them in the OTS request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. In this notice, OTS is soliciting comments concerning the following information collection.

Title of Proposal: Community Reinvestment Act.

OMB Number: 1550-0012.

Form Number: N/A.

Regulation Requirement: 12 CFR 563e.

Description: This submission covers an extension of OTS's currently approved information collection in 12 CFR part 563e. The submission involves no change to the regulations or to the information collection.

OTS needs the information collected to fulfill its obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) (12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) to evaluate and assign ratings to the performance of institutions, in connection with helping to meet the credit needs of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound banking practices. OTS uses the information in the examination process and in evaluating applications for mergers, branches, and certain other corporate activities. Financial institutions maintain and provide the information to OTS.

Type of Review: Revisions to a currently approved collection.

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

Estimated Number of Respondents: 838.

Estimated Number of Responses: 838.

Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Burden: 76,463 hours.

Clearance Officer: Ira L. Mills, [phone], Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.

Dated: August 15, 2007.

Deborah Dakin,

Senior Deputy Chief Counsel, Regulations and Legislation Division.