[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 115 (Thursday, June 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35659-35660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14588]


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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

[Docket No. CFPB-2012-0024]


Request for Information Regarding Complaints From Private 
Education Loan Borrowers

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Notice and request for information.

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SUMMARY: Section 1035 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) established a Private Education 
Loan Ombudsman (Ombudsman) within the Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau (Bureau) to provide timely assistance to borrowers of private 
education loans. Among other things, the Dodd-Frank Act directs the 
Ombudsman to ``compile and analyze data on borrower complaints'' 
regarding private education loans and make appropriate recommendations 
to the Director of the Bureau, the Secretary of the Treasury, the 
Secretary of Education, and Congress. In March 2012, the Bureau 
launched the intake of borrower complaints on private education loans. 
In order to ``compile and analyze data'' on complaints processed 
through other mechanisms, with this Notice and Request for Information, 
the Ombudsman seeks information on borrower complaints about private 
education loans.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 13, 2012, to be 
considered and analyzed to develop recommendations as specified in 
Section 1035(c)(4).

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Monica Jackson, Office of the 
Executive Secretary, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20552.
    Instructions: The Bureau encourages the early submission of 
comments. All submissions must include the agency name and docket 
number, CFPB-2012-0024. Please note the number of the question you are 
answering at the top of each response (you do not need to answer all 
questions). In general, all comments received will be posted without 
change to http://www.regulations.gov. In addition, comments will be 
available for public inspection and copying at 1700 G Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20552, on official business days between the hours of 10 
a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time. You can make an appointment to inspect 
the documents by calling (202) 435-7275. All comments, including 
attachments and other supporting materials, will become part of the 
public record and subject to public disclosure. Sensitive personal 
information such as account numbers or Social Security numbers should 
not be included. Comments will not be edited to remove any identifying 
or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general inquiries and submission 
process questions, please call Monica Jackson at (202) 435-7275.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1035 of the Dodd-Frank Act 
establishes a Private Education Loan Ombudsman (Ombudsman) within the 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau). Section 1035(c)(3) 
requires the Ombudsman to compile and analyze data on borrower 
complaints regarding private education loans. Sections 1035(d) and 
1035(c)(4) further require the Ombudsman to prepare an annual report to 
Congress and make appropriate

[[Page 35660]]

recommendations to the Director of the Bureau, to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, the Secretary of Education, and to Congress.
    In support of the duties of the Ombudsman under section 1035 of 
Dodd-Frank, the Bureau seeks information on borrower complaints about 
private education loans.\1\ To supplement the data that the Ombudsman 
will receive through the Bureau's consumer complaint intake function 
and to capture qualitative information that may help to inform the 
Ombudsman's recommendations, this notice and request for information 
therefore seeks responses from the public, including:
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    \1\ As used in Section 1035 of Dodd-Frank, ``private education 
loans'' is defined by section 140 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 
U.S.C. 1650).
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     Institutions of higher education's financial aid offices;
     State attorneys general;
     State and local banking and consumer protection agencies;
     Borrower advocates and legal aid entities; or
     Complaint resolution departments of lenders and servicers;
     Other interested parties.
    To assist the Bureau in satisfying the requirement that the 
Ombudsman shall ``compile and analyze data on borrower complaints'' 
mandated by Section 1035, the Bureau is interested in receiving 
comments that could bear on its analysis of data regarding borrower 
complaints. The Bureau is therefore interested in responses to the 
questions outlined below, including, where known, information on the 
volume of complaints received and complaint outcomes. Please note that 
the Bureau is not soliciting individual borrower complaints in response 
to this notice and request for information. Nor is the Bureau seeking 
personally identifiable information (PII) regarding borrower 
complaints, from the parties to the complaint or any third party. 
Responses to this subsection should not contain account numbers, Social 
Security numbers or other personal information that could be used to 
identify the complainant or another party identified in a complaint, or 
in any way otherwise reveal personally identifiable information. Below 
are some general areas for which information is being sought. Please 
feel free to respond to any or all of the questions below:
    1. What complaints are submitted by borrowers of private student 
loans? Among other things, responses can address topics that relate to 
some or all of following areas:
    a. Whether the complainant is the primary borrower, co-signer, 
school, or other party;
    b. The topic or topics featured in complaints (e.g., credit 
reporting, debt collection, billing disputes);
    c. The types of institutions of higher education that complainants 
attended; or
    d. Generalized descriptions or summaries of individual private 
education loan borrower complaints that do not include personally 
identifiable information.
    2. What processes do institutions have in place to respond to 
complaints from private education loan borrowers? Among other things, 
the Bureau invites comments on topics such as:
    a. How institutions receive complaints from private student loan 
borrowers; and
    b. How institutions respond to complaints from private student loan 
borrowers.

    Dated: June 11, 2012.
Meredith Fuchs,
Chief of Staff, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2012-14588 Filed 6-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P