[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 11 (Thursday, January 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2742-2744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00634]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment
Request
AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
ACTION: Notice, request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board)
invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without
revision, the Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators (CFPB G; OMB
No. 7100-0328).
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 16, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by CFPB G, by any of the
following methods:
Agency Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
Email: [email protected]. Include the OMB
number in the subject line of the message.
FAX: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20551.
All public comments are available from the Board's website at
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as
submitted, unless modified for technical reasons or to remove
personally identifiable information at the commenter's request.
Accordingly, comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or
contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically
or in paper in Room 146, 1709 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006,
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. For security reasons, the
Board requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments.
You may do so by calling (202) 452-3684. 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.
[[Page 2743]]
Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA) OMB submission, including the reporting form and instructions,
supporting statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's
public docket files, if approved. These documents will also be made
available on the Board's public website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested
from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of
the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 452-3829.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board
authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to
collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In
exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take
every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to
approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all
comments received from the public and other agencies.
Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal
The Board invites public comment on the following information
collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the
OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the
information has practical utility;
b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the
proposed information collection, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected;
d. Ways to minimize the burden of information 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.
At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations
received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board
should modify the proposal.
Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years,
Without Revision, the Following Information Collection
Report title: Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators.
Agency form number: CFPB G.
OMB control number: 7100-0328.
Frequency: Annually.
Respondents: State member banks (SMBs) with $10 billion or less in
total assets that are not affiliates of insured depository institutions
with total assets of more than $10 billion; subsidiaries of such SMBs
that are not functionally regulated within the meaning of section
5(c)(5) of the Bank Holding Company Act; branches and agencies of
foreign banks (other than federal branches, federal agencies, and
insured state branches of foreign banks); and commercial lending
companies owned or controlled by foreign banks (collectively, ``banking
organizations''), as well as employees of banking organizations who act
as residential mortgage loan originators (MLOs).
Estimated number of respondents: MLO's (new)--initial set up, 396
respondents; MLO's (new)--disclosure, 396 respondents; MLO's
(existing)--updates for changes, 11,422 respondents; MLO's (existing)--
maintenance and disclosures, 22,844 respondents; Banking organizations,
674 respondents.
Estimated average hours per response: MLO's (new)--initial set up,
2.5 hours; MLO's (new)--disclosure, 1 hour; MLO's (existing)--updates
for changes, 0.25 hour; MLO's (existing)--maintenance and disclosures,
0.85 hour; Depository Institutions and subsidiaries, 118 hours.
Estimated annual burden hours: MLO's (new)--initial set up, 990
hours; MLO's (new)--disclosure, 396 hours; MLO's (existing)--updates
for changes, 2,856 hours; MLO's (existing)--maintenance and
disclosures, 19,417 hours; Banking organizations, 79,532 hours.
General description of report: In accordance with the Secure and
Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (S.A.F.E. Act), the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Regulation G requires
MLOs to register with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and
Registry (NMLS or Registry),\1\ maintain this registration, obtain a
unique identifier, and disclose to consumers upon request and through
the Registry their unique identifier and the MLO's employment history
and publicly adjudicated disciplinary and enforcement actions. The
CFPB's regulation also requires the institutions employing MLOs to
adopt and follow written policies and procedures to ensure that their
employees comply with these requirements and to conduct annual
independent compliance tests.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/Pages/default.aspx.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legal authorization and confidentiality: The CFPB's Regulation G is
authorized pursuant to the S.A.F.E. Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, which
transferred to the CFPB the ``consumer financial protection
functions,'' including the S.A.F.E. Act, previously vested in certain
other Federal agencies.\2\ The Board is authorized to enforce consumer
financial protection functions, including the CFPB's Regulation G, with
respect to SMBs with $10 billion or less in total assets that are not
affiliates of insured depository institutions with total assets of more
than $10 billion and the subsidiaries of such SMBs that are not
functionally regulated within the meaning of section 5(c)(5) of the
Bank Holding Company Act (see 12 U.S.C. 1844(c)(5)) under section 1061
of the Dodd Frank Act.\3\ The International Banking Act (IBA) requires
``every branch or agency of a foreign bank and every commercial lending
company controlled by one or more foreign banks . . . [to] conduct its
operations in the United States in full compliance with provisions of
any law of the United States . . . which impose requirements that
protect the rights of consumers in financial transactions, to the
extent that the branch, agency, or commercial lending company engages
in activities that are subject to such laws.'' \4\ The Board has
authority to examine branches and agencies of foreign banks and
commercial lending companies owned or controlled by foreign banks and
to enforce the provisions of the IBA pursuant to sections 7 and 13 of
the IBA.\5\ The CFPB G is mandatory.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.; 12 U.S.C. 5581.
\3\ 12 U.S.C. 5581(c).
\4\ 12 U.S.C. 3106a(1).
\5\ 12 U.S.C. 3105(c) and 3108(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The unique identifier of MLOs must be made public and is not
considered confidential. In addition, most of the information that MLOs
submit in order to register with the NMLS will be publicly available.
However, certain
[[Page 2744]]
identifying data about individuals who act as MLOs may be treated as
confidential pursuant to exemption 6 of the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA), which protects from disclosure information that ``would
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.'' \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With respect to the information collection requirements imposed on
banking organizations, because banking organizations are required to
retain their own records and make certain disclosures to customers, the
FOIA would only be implicated if the Board's examiners obtained a copy
of these records as part of the examination or supervision of a
financial institution. Records obtained in this manner may be exempt
from disclosure under FOIA exemption 8, regarding examination-related
materials.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8).
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, January 13,
2020.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2020-00634 Filed 1-15-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P