[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42014-42015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18639]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
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 a 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 the renewal of its
information collection titled ``Fair Housing Home Loan Data System
Regulation.'' The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the
collection to OMB for review.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 5, 2017.
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, Washington, DC
20219. In addition, comments may be sent by fax to (571) 465-4326 or by
electronic mail to [email protected]. 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 (202) 649-
6700 or, for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, TTY, (202) 649-
5597. 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.
All 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.
Additionally, please send a copy of your comments by mail to: OCC
Desk Officer, 1557-0159, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th
Street NW., #10235, Washington, DC 20503 or by email to
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance
Officer, (202) 649-5490 or, for persons who are deaf or hard of
hearing, TTY, (202) 649-5597, Legislative and Regulatory Activities
Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street
SW., 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 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.
The OCC is requesting that OMB extend its 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
[[Page 42015]]
origin. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) (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 (CCPA) (15 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.). The OCC is responsible for ensuring that national banks
and federal savings associations comply with those laws. This
information collection is needed to promote compliance and for the OCC
to fulfill its statutory responsibilities.
The OCC uses the data to determine whether an institution treated
applicants consistently and made credit decisions commensurate with the
applicants' qualifications and in compliance with ECOA and CCPA.
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 12 CFR part 203 \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 report this information to the OCC pursuant to 12 CFR
128.6 and the CFPB's Regulation C, 12 CFR part 1003.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This regulation has been transferred to the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (12 CFR part 1003).
\2\ Loan Application Register, http://www.ffiec.gov/hmda/pdf/hmdalar2011.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 CFR 27.3(b) lists the information national banks shall
attempt to obtain from an applicant as part of a home loan application
and sets forth the information that banks must disclose to an
applicant.
12 CFR 27.3(c) sets forth additional information national
banks 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. Section 27.4(a)(2) also requires a log if
complaints filed with the Comptroller or letters in the Community
Reinvestment Act file are found to be substantive in nature, indicating
that the bank's home lending practices are, or may be, discriminatory.
12 CFR 27.5 requires a national bank to maintain the
information required by Sec. 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 Sec. Sec. 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. Section 27.7(c)(3) states that a bank
with fewer than 75 home loan applications in the preceding year will
not be required to submit such forms unless the home loan activity is
concentrated in the few months preceding the request for data,
indicating the likelihood of increased activity over the subsequent
year or there is cause to believe that a bank is not in compliance with
the fair housing laws based on prior examinations and/or complaints,
among other factors.
Section 27.7(d) provides that if there is cause to believe
that a bank is in noncompliance with fair housing laws, the Comptroller
may require submission of additional Home Loan Data Submission Forms.
The Comptroller may also require submission of the information
maintained under Sec. 27.3(a) and Home Loan Data Submission Forms at
more frequent intervals.
OCC-regulated institutions now have access to a CFPB-developed web-
based data submission and edit-check system (the HMDA Platform) that
may be used to process HMDA data. Some institutions, typically those
with small volumes of reported loans or those who do not use a vendor
or other software to prepare their HMDA data for submission, will still
need a software solution for integrating HMDA data from paper records
or electronic systems. Therefore, the CFPB created a prototype ``LAR
Formatting Tool'' which will allow financial institutions with small
volumes of reported loans, or those who do not use a vendor or other
software to prepare their HMDA data for submission, to enter HMDA data
and to create a pipe delimited text file to upload to the HMDA
Platform. The institution can then proceed through the interactive Web
pages of the HMDA Platform to process HMDA data.
Type of Review: Regular.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,927.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 31,704 hours.
The OCC issued a notice for 60 days of comment regarding this
collection on June 5, 2017, 82 FR 25917. 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: August 28, 2017.
Karen Solomon,
Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2017-18639 Filed 9-1-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P