2010-25169. Fair Credit Reporting Affiliate Marketing Regulations

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 December 6, 2010.

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, 1700 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 Suzanne McQueen [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: Fair Credit Reporting Affiliate Marketing Regulations.

OMB Number: 1550-0112.

Form Number: N/A.

Description: Section 214 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, which added new section 624 to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, generally prohibits a person from using certain information received from an affiliate to make a solicitation for marketing purposes to the consumer, unless the consumer is given notice and an opportunity and simple method to opt out of making such solicitations. Section 214 also required the OTS, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission, in consultation and coordination with each other, to issue regulations implementing section 214 that, to the extent possible, are consistent and comparable.

Consumers will use the information in the disclosures to decide whether to opt out of their institutions' affiliate marketing practices. Respondent entities will use the opt out notices to manage their affiliate marketing practices appropriately.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 193,479.

Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Burden: 25,834 hours.

Dated: October 1, 2010.

Ira L. Mills,

Paperwork Clearance Officer, Office of Chief Counsel, Office of Thrift Supervision.