E8-20682. 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, “Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation—12 CFR 27.” The OCC is also giving notice that it has submitted the collection to OMB for review.

DATES:

You should submit your comments by October 8, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

You should direct all written comments to: Communications Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Public Information Room, Mailstop 1-5, Attention: 1557-0159, 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 can inspect and photocopy the comments at the OCC's Public Information Room, 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 submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy comments.

Additionally, you should send a copy of your comments to OCC Desk Officer, 1557-0159, 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 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 revise the following information collection:

Title: Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation—12 CFR Part 27.

OMB Control No.: 1557-0159.

Description: The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3605) prohibits discrimination in the financing of housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.) prohibits discrimination in any aspect of a credit transaction on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, receipt of income from public assistance, or exercise of any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The OCC is responsible for ensuring that national banks comply with those laws. This information collection is needed to promote national bank compliance and for OCC to fulfill its statutory responsibilities.

The information collection requirements in 12 CFR part 27 are as follows:

• Section 27.3(a) requires a national bank that is required to collect data on home loans under 12 CFR part 203 to present the data on Federal Reserve Form FR HMDA-LAR,^[1] or in automated format in accordance with the HMDA-LAR instructions, and to include one additional item (the reason for denial) on the HMDA-LAR. Section 27.3(a) also lists exceptions to the HMDA-LAR recordkeeping requirements.

• Section 27.3(b) lists the information banks should obtain from an applicant as part of a home loan application, and states information that a bank must disclose to an applicant.
• Section 27.3(c) sets forth additional information required to be kept in the loan file.
• Section 27.4 states that the OCC may require a national bank to maintain a Fair Housing Inquiry/Application Log found in Appendix III to part 27 if there is reason to believe that the bank is engaging in discriminatory practices or if analysis of the data compiled by the bank under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (12 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) and 12 CFR part 203 indicates a pattern of significant variation in the number of home loans between census tracts with similar incomes and home ownership levels differentiated only by race or national origin.
• Section 27.5 requires a national bank to maintain the information required by § 27.3 for 25 months after the bank notifies the applicant of action taken on an application, or after withdrawal of an application.
• Section 27.7 requires a national bank to submit the information required by §§ 27.3(a) and 27.4 to the OCC upon its request, prior to a scheduled examination using the Monthly Home Loan Activity Format form in Appendix I to part 27 and the Home Loan Data Form in Appendix IV to part 27.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,712.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 2,871.

Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Time Per Respondent: 2.68 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4,595.84 hours.

A 60-day Federal Register notice was issued on June 24, 2008. 73 FR 35722. 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 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: September 2, 2008.

Michele Meyer,

Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division.

Footnotes

1.  Loan Application Register, http://www.ffiec.gov/​hmda/​doc/​hmdalar2007.doc.