2014-21965. Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Renewal; Submission for OMB Review; Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation

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 (PRA).

In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

The OCC is soliciting comment concerning renewal of its information collection titled, “Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation.” The OCC is also giving notice that it has sent the collection to OMB for review.

DATES:

You should submit your comments by October 15, 2014.

ADDRESSES:

Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at the OCC is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email if possible. Comments may be sent to: Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-0159, 400 7th Street SW., Suite 3E-218, Mail Stop 9W-11, 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, 400 7th 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.

All comments received, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Do not enclose any information in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.

Additionally, please send a copy of your comments by mail to: OCC Desk Officer, 1557-0318, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street NW., #10235, Washington, DC 20503, or by email to: oira [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Johnny Vilela or Mary H. Gottlieb, OCC Clearance Officers, [phone], for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, TTY, [phone], Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW., Suite 3E-218, Mail Stop 9W-11, Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. “Collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party.

The OCC is proposing to extend approval of the following information collection:

Title: Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation.

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 (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). The OCC is responsible for ensuring that national banks and Federal savings associations comply with those laws. The OCC needs this information to fulfill its statutory responsibilities.

The information collection requirements are as follows:

• 12 CFR 27.3(a) requires national banks that are required to collect data on home loans under Regulation C ^[1] to present the data on Form FR HMDA-LAR,^[2] 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. Federal savings associations generate this information pursuant to the CFPB's Regulation C, 12 CFR part 1003.

• 12 CFR 27.3(b) lists the information national banks should seek to obtain from an applicant as part of a home loan application, and also sets forth the information that banks must disclose in collecting certain information from an applicant.
• 12 CFR 27.3(c) sets forth additional information a national bank must maintain in the loan file.
• 12 CFR 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.
• 12 CFR 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.
• 12 CFR 27.7 requires a national bank to submit the information required by §§ 27.3 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: Regular.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,927.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 31,704 hours.

The OCC issued a Federal Register notice for 60 days of comment on June 20, 2014. 79 FR 34513. 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 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 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: September 10, 2014.

Stuart Feldstein,

Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division.

Footnotes

1.  12 CFR 27.3(a) references Regulation C as 12 CFR part 203, as it was adopted prior to the transfer of Regulation C to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Regulation C is now codified at 12 CFR part 1003.

2.  Loan Application Register, http://www.ffiec.gov/​hmda/​pdf/​hmdalar2011.pdf.