[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 236 (Monday, December 10, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69729-69733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5998]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Thrift Supervision

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Joint Comment Request

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury; 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); Office of Thrift Supervision 
(OTS), Treasury; National Credit Union Administration (NCUA); and the 
Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) (collectively, the 
Agencies).

ACTION: Joint information collection to be submitted to OMB for review 
and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, the OCC, FDIC, OTS, 
NCUA, and FTC are submitting for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
review the information collection associated with a proposed study that 
will use a written survey to be completed by financial institutions and 
other persons who are creditors or users of consumer reports. The Board 
has approved this information collection under its delegated authority 
from OMB. The Agencies will use the Survey responses to prepare the 
initial report to the Congress (the Report) on information sharing 
practices by financial institutions, creditors, or users of consumer 
reports with their affiliates. The Agencies are statutorily required to 
jointly submit the Report with any recommendations for legislative or 
regulatory action. To conduct the Survey, the OCC, FDIC, OTS, NCUA, and 
FTC first seek additional public comment regarding this notice, which 
is the second of two notices required by the PRA, and will seek OMB 
review of, and clearance for, the collection of information discussed 
herein.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 9, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact any of the individuals 
named below. In addition, copies of the Board's draft Survey instrument 
and related instructions will be made available on the Board's public 
Web site at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/reportforms/review.cfm under ``Recently Approved and Pending Implementation'' (see 
entry for FR 3214e). Please contact the other agencies to request a 
copy of their draft Survey instrument and instructions.
    OCC: Mary Gottlieb, OCC Clearance Officer, Legislative and 
Regulatory Activities Division, (202) 874-5090, 
[email protected].
    Board: Kathleen Conley, Supervisory Consumer Financial Services 
Analyst, Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, (202) 452-2389; or 
Michelle Shore, Federal Reserve Clearance Officer, Division of Research 
and Statistics, (202) 452-3829; Telecommunications Device for the Deaf 
(TDD) users may call (202) 263-4869.
    FDIC: Richard M. Schwartz, Counsel, (202) 898-7424; or Leneta G. 
Gregorie, Counsel, (202) 898-3719.
    OTS: Ira L. Mills, OTS Clearance Officer, (202) 906-6531; or 
Suzanne McQueen, Consumer Regulations Analyst, Compliance and Consumer 
Protection Division, (202) 906-6459.
    NCUA: Regina M. Metz, Staff Attorney, Office of General Counsel, 
(703) 518-6540; or Matthew Biliouris, Program Officer, Examination and 
Insurance, (703) 518-6394.
    FTC: Sandra McCarthy, Attorney, Division of Privacy and Identity 
Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection, (202) 326-2252; or Margaret 
Patterson, Economist, Bureau of Economics, (202) 326-3472.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Survey of Information Sharing Practices with Affiliates 
(``Survey'').
    Frequency of Response: Every three years.
    Affected Public: Business or other for profit.
    Type of Review: New collection.

OCC

    OMB Number: 1557-NEW.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 40.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.

[[Page 69730]]

    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 400 hours.

Board

    OMB Number: 7100-NEW.
    Form Number: FR 3214e.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 60.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 600 hours.

FDIC

    OMB Number: 3064-NEW.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 100.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,000 hours.

OTS

    OMB Number: 1550-NEW.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 30.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 300 hours.

NCUA

    OMB Number: 3133-NEW.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 500 hours.

FTC

    OMB Number: 3084-NEW.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 20.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 200 hours.

General Description of Report

    This information collection is voluntary for financial institution 
respondents and authorized pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 481 and 484 (national 
banks); 12 U.S.C. 248(a)(1) (state member banks); 12 U.S.C. 1463 and 
1464 (savings associations); 12 U.S.C. 1766(a) and 1789(a) (credit 
unions); and 12 U.S.C. 1819(a) (Eighth) (state non-member banks and 
state branches of any foreign bank). The FTC's authority to collect 
this information is 15 U.S.C. 46(b). Under this section, the FTC may 
issue compulsory process to persons, partnerships, and corporations 
from which it seeks to collect information. Confidentiality will be 
determined on a case-by-case basis under applicable Federal law. 
Confidentiality for respondents under the FTC's jurisdiction will be 
protected in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 
U.S.C. 41 et seq. (``FTC Act''), and the FTC's Rules of Practice.

Abstract

    The Agencies will gather information by means of a survey to be 
completed by financial institutions and other persons that are 
creditors or users of consumer reports (``respondents'').\1\ The 
Agencies will use the Survey responses to prepare the Report on the 
information sharing practices by financial institutions, creditors, or 
users of consumer reports with their affiliates. The Agencies are 
required to jointly submit the Report together with any recommendations 
for legislative or regulatory action, pursuant to Section 214(e) of the 
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (``FACT Act'' or the 
``Act'') Pub. L. 108-159, 117 Stat. 1952.
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    \1\ See section 214(e) of the FACT Act for a description of the 
type of information that will be collected.
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Summary of Comments

    On August 31, 2006, pursuant to the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, the 
Agencies published a notice in the Federal Register (71 FR 51888) 
requesting public comment for 60 days on a proposed information 
collection concerning the Survey. The comment period for this notice 
expired on October 30, 2006. The Agencies received five comment letters 
from four trade associations and one individual. Currently, the OCC, 
FDIC, OTS, NCUA, and FTC are soliciting comment on the implementation 
of the proposed information collection. The Board has approved this 
information collection under its delegated authority from OMB.

Survey Methodology

    One commenter requested that the Agencies describe the methods they 
would use to conduct the Survey and the methods they would use to 
analyze the results. Each Agency will conduct a non-statistical, 
qualitative survey of a limited number of regulated entities under its 
supervision.
    Commenters also requested clarification as to: (i) Which 
institution or affiliate in an organization would be asked to respond 
to the Survey and (ii) whether that respondent would be asked to 
provide information regarding not only the sharing of information with, 
but also the receipt of information from, its affiliates.
    Respondents will not be asked to provide data regarding information 
sharing practices on a combined basis for it, its affiliates, and its 
corporate parent; rather the Survey will ask only about sharing for 
that particular respondent.\2\ The Agencies note that the Survey will 
focus on a respondent's general practices and will ask a respondent to 
provide information not only about its sharing of information with its 
affiliates, but also about its receipt of information from its 
affiliates.
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    \2\ The OCC, however, because of the way some national banks are 
structured, may collect information from a single respondent 
regarding more than one affiliated national bank.
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Survey Information

    Some commenters stated that the Survey should include definitions 
and instructions. The commenters also noted that the draft Survey 
assumes that an organization has only one policy on information sharing 
practices with all affiliates, when in fact such practices might vary 
by affiliate, by product, or by state. For example, one commenter noted 
that the draft did not take into account numerous variations in 
affiliate sharing practices within a single firm and, as a result, in 
many cases, the response options provided were inapplicable, 
inaccurate, or incomplete.
    One commenter suggested the Survey include definitions of important 
terms, such as affiliate, consumer, customer, personally identifiable 
transaction or experience information, and purposes related to 
employment or hiring, because some of these are terms of art with which 
Survey respondents will be unfamiliar.
    In many cases where commenters specified the need for specific 
definitions or instructions, the Agencies have incorporated such 
suggestions. Additional space will be provided on the Survey instrument 
for supplemental responses, such as information on varying practices by 
affiliate or state.
    A commenter noted that questions do not specify the time frame to 
be used for completing the Survey, and asked if the Agencies intend to 
capture a snapshot. The instructions will be specific and direct 
respondents to provide information on their current information sharing 
practices with affiliates.
    Some commenters suggested collecting additional information, such 
as information to determine whether the perceived risks of information 
sharing (for example, increased level of identity theft) in fact exist. 
Commenters noted

[[Page 69731]]

that the Survey should focus on the underlying purpose for affiliate 
sharing practices. One commenter suggested the primary purpose for 
which companies share information with affiliates is to provide 
benefits to consumers, including providing them with an array of 
products and services at as low a cost as possible. In general, the 
Agencies will limit the Survey to the information that section 214(e) 
of the FACT Act requires to be included in the Report. For that reason, 
the Agencies do not plan to collect other information, such as data 
regarding the benefits, or perceived risks of information sharing with 
affiliates.

Confidential and Voluntary Status

    Commenters indicated that the Agencies should guarantee 
confidential treatment to respondents, in all cases and not merely 
provide it on a case-by-case basis, in order to encourage voluntary and 
informative responses. In addition, some commenters noted that certain 
requested survey information is proprietary (e.g., the percentage of 
customers that opt out and the use of shared information for 
underwriting) and thus should receive confidential treatment. Finally, 
while commenters commended the financial regulatory agencies for 
conducting a voluntary survey, they asked that the FTC also conduct a 
voluntary survey instead of using its compulsory authority to gather 
information.
    In cases where questions of confidentiality arise, as mentioned in 
the initial notice, the Agencies will grant confidential treatment on a 
case-by-case basis under applicable Federal law. Responses to survey 
questions that institutions are already required to publicly disclose 
would not be protected from disclosure under the Freedom of Information 
Act, 5 U.S.C. 552 (FOIA). However, it is possible that some information 
collected on this Survey may be exempt from disclosure. To the extent 
an institution can establish the potential for substantial competitive 
harm, those responses would be protected by FOIA Exemption 4, 5 U.S.C. 
552(b)(4) (exempting from disclosure ``trade secrets and commercial or 
financial information obtained from a person and privileged and 
confidential''). Further, section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), 
bars the Commission from publicly disclosing trade secrets or 
confidential commercial or financial information it receives from 
persons pursuant to, among other methods, special orders authorized by 
section 6(b) of the FTC Act.
    In the event of a FOIA request for information, an Agency may claim 
Exemption 4 or other protections to the extent legally permissible as a 
basis for withholding the information. OTS will follow Treasury 
Department Rule, which is 31 CFR 1.6 contained in the Department's rule 
on Disclosure of Records. If the Commission has determined that the 
information does not constitute trade secrets or confidential 
commercial or financial information under FTC Act section 6(f), a 
respondent who designates a submission as confidential is entitled to 
10 days' advance notice of any anticipated public disclosure by the 
Commission under section 21(c) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 57b-2(c). The 
FTC Act and the Commission's rules authorize disclosure of nonpublic 
material in limited circumstances (e.g., official requests by Congress, 
requests from other agencies for law enforcement purposes, or 
administrative or judicial proceedings). Even in those limited 
contexts, however, the Commission's rules may afford protections to the 
submitter, such as advance notice to seek a protective order in 
litigation. See 15 U.S.C. 57b-2; 16 CFR 4.9-4.11.
    In the case of surveys administered by the financial regulatory 
agencies, the Agencies believe the ongoing supervisory relationships 
that these agencies have with supervised institutions will help to 
facilitate a high level of voluntary responses. In contrast, the FTC 
does not have the same type of supervisory relationships with its 
regulated entities; therefore, the FTC may elect to use compulsory 
authority to obtain information that will be necessary for preparation 
of the Report should its entities choose not to participate 
voluntarily.

Burden Estimates

    Commenters indicated that a respondent would likely need 
significantly more time than 10 hours to collect and organize 
information to produce responses, in part due to items in the Board's 
draft Survey that they believed were unclear. Commenters expressed 
concern that the time necessary to respond to the Survey would exceed 
the Agencies' estimates if the answers to the Survey were to be based 
on an organization's historical information sharing practices or the 
information sharing practices for multiple entities and/or multiple 
lines of business that exist throughout a complex organization.
    The Agencies believe that the final Survey instructions, with 
expanded definitions and a clarification that respondents should report 
only on current, not historical, practices will focus the responses 
such that the burden estimate of 10 hours per institution is 
reasonable.

Pre-Survey Testing

    Commenters recommended that the Agencies consult institutions for 
their suggestions on re-crafting the questions to capture a more 
meaningful representation of affiliate sharing practices and to reduce 
burden on respondents. In response to these comments, the Board, on 
behalf of the other agencies, conducted testing (through telephone 
interviews) with three financial institutions. In general, the test 
institutions indicated that the draft Survey would not cause undue 
burden on respondents. In addition, the test institutions provided 
feedback on the format, instructions, and content of the Survey. As a 
result, the Agencies have modified the final Survey instrument and 
instructions.

Request for Comment

    Comments on the foregoing, including comments regarding the 
necessity and practical utility of the proposed collection of 
information, the accuracy of the Agencies' estimates, and ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information sought may 
be directed to the agencies as set out below.
    OCC: Communications Division, Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency, Public Information Room, Mailstop 1-5, Attention: 1557-NEW, 
250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. In addition, comments may be 
sent by fax to (202) 874-4448, or by electronic mail to 
[email protected]. You may personally inspect and photocopy 
comments at the OCC's Public Information Room, 250 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC. For security reasons, the OCC requires that visitors 
make an appointment to inspect comments. You may do so by calling (202) 
874-5043. 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.
    FDIC: Written comments should identify ``Survey of Information 
Sharing Practices with Affiliates,'' as the subject and be submitted by 
any of the following methods:
     Agency Web site: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/propose.html.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary, Attention: 
Comments, FDIC,

[[Page 69732]]

550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Guard station at the rear of the 
550 17th Street Building (located on F Street) on business days between 
7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
    Comments may be inspected and photocopied in the FDIC Public 
Information Center, Room E-1002, 3501 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, 
VA 22226, between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on business days.
    OTS: You may submit comments, identified by ``Survey of Information 
Sharing Practices with Affiliates (1550-NEW),'' by any of the following 
methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Please 
include ``Survey of Information Sharing Practices with Affiliates 
(1550-NEW)'' in the subject line of the message and include your name 
and telephone number in the message.
     Fax: (202) 906-6518.
     Mail: Information Collection Comments, Chief Counsel's 
Office, Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20552, Attention: ``Survey of Information Sharing Practices with 
Affiliates (1550-NEW).''
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Guard's Desk, East Lobby Entrance, 
1700 G Street, NW., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on business days, Attention: 
Information Collection Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, ``Survey of 
Information Sharing Practices with Affiliates (1550-NEW).''
    Instructions: All comments received will be posted without change 
to http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catNumber=67&an=1, including 
any personal information provided. Docket: For access to the docket to 
read comments received, go to http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catNumber=67&an=1. In addition, you may inspect comments 
at the Public Reading Room, 1700 G Street, NW., by appointment. To make 
an appointment for access, call (202) 906-5922, send an e-mail to 
public.info@ots.treas.gov">public.info@ots.treas.gov, or send a facsimile transmission to (202) 
906-7755. (Prior notice identifying the materials you will be 
requesting will assist us in serving you.) We schedule appointments on 
business days between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. In most cases, appointments 
will be available the next business day following the date we receive a 
request.
    NCUA: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(please send comments by one method only):
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     NCUA Web Site: http://www.ncua.gov/RegulationsOpinionsLaws/proposedregs/proposedregs.html. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: Address to [email protected]. Include ``[Your 
name] Comments on FACT Act 214(e) Study,'' in the e-mail subject line.
     Fax: (703) 518-6319. Use the subject line described above 
for e-mail.
     Mail: Address to Neil McNamara, Deputy Chief Information 
Officer, National Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street, 
Alexandria, VA 22314-3428.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as mail address.
    FTC: Comments should refer to ``Affiliate Sharing Study: FTC File 
No. P064802'' and may be submitted by any of the following methods. 
However, if a given comment contains any material for which 
confidential treatment is requested, it must be filed in paper form, 
and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential.''\3\ A copy of each comment should additionally be 
submitted via facsimile to (202) 395-6974 and addressed to: Office of 
Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade 
Commission.
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    \3\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be 
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment, 
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must 
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the 
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the 
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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     E-mail: Comments filed in electronic form should be 
submitted as part of or as an attachment to e-mail messages directed to 
the following e-mail box: <[email protected]. To ensure 
that the Commission considers an electronic comment, you must send it 
to the above e-mail box.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: If this notice appears at 
http://www.regulations.gov, you may also file an electronic comment 
through that Web site. The Commission will consider all comments that 
regulations.gov forwards to it.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: A comment filed in paper form 
should include ``Affiliate Sharing Study: FTC File No. P064802'' both 
in the text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered, 
with two complete copies, to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. Because paper mail in 
the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, please 
consider submitting your comments in electronic form, as prescribed 
above. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form be 
sent by courier or overnight service, if possible.
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be available to the public on the FTC Web site, to the extent 
practicable, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.htm. As a matter 
of discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact 
information for individuals from the public comments it receives before 
placing those comments on the FTC Web site. More information, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's 
privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
    Additionally, you should send a copy of your comments to [Agency] 
Desk Officer, [OMB No.], by mail to U.S. Office of Management and 
Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., 10235, Washington, DC 20503, or 
by fax to (202) 395-6974.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be shared among 
the Agencies. All comments will become a matter of public record. 
Written comments should address the accuracy of the burden estimates 
and ways to minimize burden including the use of automated collection 
techniques or the use of other forms of information technology as well 
as other relevant aspects of the information collection request.

    Dated: November 26, 2007.
Stuart Feldstein,
Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, December 4, 
2007.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
    Dated at Washington, DC, this 27th day of November, 2007.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.
    Dated at Washington, DC, this 29th day of November, 2007.
Deborah Dakin,
Senior Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of Thrift Supervision.
    Dated at Washington, DC, this 28th day of November, 2007.


[[Page 69733]]


    By the National Credit Union Administration on November 28, 
2007.
Mary F. Rupp,
Secretary of the Board.
    Dated at Washington, DC, this twenty-eighth day of November, 
2007.

Federal Trade Commission.

    By direction of the Commission.
 Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. 07-5998 Filed 12-7-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODES 4810-33-P, 6210-01-P, 6714-01-P, 6720-01-P, 7335-01-P, 
4750-01-P