2022-08534. Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Revision; Comment Request; Regulation C-Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

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). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and respondents are 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 the revision of the information collection titled “Regulation C—Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.”

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before June 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• Email: [e-mail].

• Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-0345, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.

• Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.

• Fax: [phone].

Instructions: You must include “OCC” as the agency name and “1557-0345” in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish comments on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or personal information provided, such as name and address information, email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.

Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, the OCC will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period. You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to this information collection beginning on the date of publication of the second notice for this collection by the method set forth in the next bullet. Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, the OCC will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period.

• Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. Hover over the “Information Collection Review” drop down menu. From the “Currently under Review” drop-down menu, select “Department of Treasury” and then click “submit.” This information collection can be located by searching by OMB control number “1557-0345” or “Regulation C—Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.” Upon finding the appropriate information collection, click on the related “ICR Reference Number.” On the next screen, select “View Supporting Statement and Other Documents” and then click on the link to any comment listed at the bottom of the screen.

• For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance Officer, [phone], Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. ), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the OMB for each collection of information that 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. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed revision of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the OCC is publishing this notice.

Title: Regulation C—Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

OMB Control No.: 1557-0345.

Type of Review: Regular review.

Abstract: Regulation C,^[1] which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) ^[2] requires certain depository and non-depository institutions that make certain mortgage loans to collect, report, and disclose data about originations and purchases of mortgage loans as well as data about loan applications that do not result in originations. HMDA requires the generation of loan data that can be used to: (1) Help determine whether depository and non-depository institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities; (2) assist public officials in distributing public-sector investments so as to attract private investment to areas where it is needed; and (3) assist in identifying possible discriminatory lending patterns and enforcing anti-discrimination statutes.

Twelve CFR 1003.5 requires the disclosure and reporting of data on mortgage loans. Section 1003.5(a)(1)(i) provides that by March 1 following the calendar year for which data are collected and recorded, a financial institution must submit its annual loan/application register in electronic format to the appropriate Federal agency at the address identified by such agency. An authorized representative of the financial institution with knowledge of the data submitted must certify to the accuracy and completeness of data submitted. The financial institution must retain a copy of its annual loan/application register for at least three years.

Section 1003.5(a)(1)(ii) provides that within 60 calendar days after the end of each calendar quarter except the fourth quarter, a financial institution that reported for the preceding calendar year at least 60,000 covered loans and applications, combined, excluding purchased covered loans, must submit to the appropriate Federal agency its loan/application register containing all data required to be recorded for that quarter. The financial institution must submit its quarterly loan/application register pursuant to in electronic format at the address identified by the appropriate Federal agency for the institution.

Under section 1003.5(a)(2), a financial institution that is a subsidiary of a bank or savings association must complete a separate loan/application register. The subsidiary must submit the loan/application register, directly or through its parent, to the appropriate Federal agency for the subsidiary's parent at the address identified by the agency.

Section 1003.5(b)(1) provides that the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) will make available a disclosure statement based on the data each financial institution submits for the preceding calendar year.

Section 1003.5(b)(2) provides that no later than three business days after receiving notice from the FFIEC that a financial institution's disclosure statement is available, the financial institution must make available to the public upon request at its home office, and each branch office physically located in each Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and each Metropolitan Division (MD), a written notice that clearly conveys that the institution's disclosure statement may be obtained on the CFPB's website. A financial institution must make this notice available for a period of three years.

Section 1003.5(c)(1) provides that a financial institution must make available to the public upon request at its home office, and each branch office physically located in each MSA and each MD, a written notice that clearly conveys that the institution's loan/application register, as modified by the CFPB to protect applicant and borrower privacy, may be obtained on the CFPB's website. A financial institution shall make available the notice following the calendar year for which the data are collected. A financial institution must make the notice available to the public for a period of five years.

Section 1003.5(d)(2) provides that a financial institution may make available to the public, at its discretion its disclosure statement or its loan/application register, as modified by the CFPB to protect applicant and borrower privacy.

Section 1003.5(e) provides that a financial institution must post a general notice about the availability of its HMDA data in the lobby of its home office and of each branch office physically located in each MSA and each MD. This notice must clearly convey that the institution's HMDA data is available on the CFPB's website.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.

Burden Estimates:

Estimated Number of Respondents: 437.

Estimated Annual Burden: 609,100 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. Comments are 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 information collection burden;

(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.

Theodore J. Dowd,

Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Footnotes

1.  12 CFR part 1003.

2.  12 U.S.C. 2801-2811.