[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 245 (Monday, December 22, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76808-76811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28987]



[[Page 76807]]

Vol. 79

Monday,

No. 245

December 22, 2014

Part XXI





Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection





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Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

  Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 245 / Monday, December 22, 2014 / 
Unified Agenda  

[[Page 76808]]


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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

12 CFR CH. X


Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Semiannual regulatory agenda.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB or Bureau) 
is publishing this agenda as part of the Fall 2014 Unified Agenda of 
Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The CFPB reasonably 
anticipates having the regulatory matters identified below under 
consideration during the period from November 1, 2014, to October 31, 
2015. The next agenda will be published in spring 2015 and will update 
this agenda through spring 2016. Publication of this agenda is in 
accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

DATES: This information is current as of September 23, 2014.

ADDRESS: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 1700 G Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20552.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A staff contact is included for each 
regulatory item listed herein.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CFPB is publishing its fall 2014 agenda 
as part of the Fall 2014 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions, which is coordinated by the Office of Management 
and Budget under Executive Order 12866. The CFPB's participation in the 
Unified Agenda is voluntary. The complete Unified Agenda will be 
available to the public at the following Web site: http://www.reginfo.gov.
    Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (Dodd-Frank Act), 
the CFPB has rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement, and other 
authorities relating to consumer financial products and services. These 
authorities include the ability to issue regulations under more than a 
dozen Federal consumer financial laws, which transferred to the CFPB 
from seven Federal agencies on July 21, 2011. The CFPB is working on a 
wide range of initiatives to address issues in markets for consumer 
financial products and services that are not reflected in this notice 
because the Unified Agenda is limited to rulemaking activities.
    The CFPB reasonably anticipates having the regulatory matters 
identified below under consideration during the period from November 1, 
2014, to October 31, 2015.\1\ Among the Bureau's more significant 
regulatory efforts are the following.
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    \1\ The listing does not include certain routine, frequent, or 
administrative matters. Further, certain of the information fields 
for the listing are not applicable to independent regulatory 
agencies, including the CFPB, and, accordingly, the CFPB has 
indicated responses of ``no'' for such fields.
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Implementing Dodd-Frank Act Mortgage Protections

    A major rulemaking priority for the Bureau continues to be the 
implementation of provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act addressing practices 
and information concerning the nation's mortgage markets. The Bureau 
has already issued regulations implementing Dodd-Frank Act protections 
for mortgage originations and servicing, and integrating various 
Federal mortgage disclosures, as discussed further below. The Bureau is 
also working to implement Dodd-Frank amendments to the Home Mortgage 
Disclosure Act (HMDA), which augment existing data reporting 
requirements regarding housing-related loans and applications for such 
loans. In addition to obtaining data that is critical to the purposes 
of HMDA--which include providing the public and public officials with 
information that can be used to help determine whether financial 
institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities, 
assisting public officials in the distribution of public sector 
investments, and assisting in identifying possible discriminatory 
lending patterns and enforcing antidiscrimination statutes--the Bureau 
views this rulemaking as an opportunity to streamline and modernize 
HMDA data collection and reporting in furtherance of its mission under 
the Dodd-Frank Act to reduce unwarranted regulatory burden. The Bureau 
published a proposed HMDA rule in the Federal Register on August 29, 
2014, to add several new reporting requirements and to clarify several 
existing requirements. Publication of the proposal followed initial 
outreach efforts and the convening of a panel under the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act in conjunction with the Office of 
Management and Budget and the Small Business Administration's Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy to consult with small lenders who may be affected 
by the rulemaking. As the Bureau develops a final rule, it expects to 
review and consider public comments on the proposed rule, consult with 
other agencies and coordinate with them on implementation efforts, 
conduct additional outreach to build and refine operational capacity, 
and prepare to assist financial institutions in their compliance 
efforts.
    The Bureau is also working to support implementation of its final 
rule combining several Federal mortgage disclosures that consumers 
receive in connection with applying for and closing on a mortgage loan 
under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement 
Procedures Act (RESPA). The project to integrate and streamline the 
disclosures was mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act, and is intended to 
increase consumer understanding of mortgage transactions and facilitate 
compliance by industry. The integrated forms are the cornerstone of the 
Bureau's broader ``Know Before You Owe'' initiative. The rule was 
issued in November 2013, and takes effect in August 2015. The Bureau is 
working intensively to support implementation efforts and prepare 
consumer education materials and initiatives to help consumers 
understand and use the new forms. In addition, in late 2014, the Bureau 
plans to issue a small proposed rule to make technical corrections, 
allow for certain language related to new construction loans to be 
added to the Loan Estimate form, and modify the same-day redisclosure 
requirement for floating interest rates that are locked after the Loan 
Estimate is first provided.
    The Bureau is also working to support the full implementation of, 
and facilitate compliance with, various mortgage-related final rules 
issued by the Bureau in January 2013, to strengthen consumer 
protections involving the origination and servicing of mortgages. These 
rules, implementing requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act, were all 
effective by January 2014. The Bureau is working diligently to monitor 
the market and plans to make clarifications and adjustments to the 
rules where warranted. The Bureau is planning to issue rules in fall 
2014, to provide certain adjustments to its rules for certain nonprofit 
entities and to provide a cure mechanism for lenders seeking to make 
``qualified mortgages'' under rules requiring assessment of consumers' 
ability to repay their mortgage loans where the mortgages exceed 
certain limitations on points and fees. The Bureau also anticipates 
issuing a proposal in fall 2014, to amend various provisions of its 
mortgage servicing rules, in both Regulation X and Regulation Z, 
including further clarification of the applicability of certain 
provisions when the borrower is in bankruptcy, possible additional 
enhancements to loss mitigation requirements, and other topics. In

[[Page 76809]]

addition, in order to promote access to credit, the Bureau is also 
currently engaged in further research to assess the impact of certain 
provisions implemented under the Dodd-Frank Act that modify general 
requirements for small creditors that operate predominantly in ``rural 
or underserved'' areas, and expects to release a notice of proposed 
rulemaking in early 2015.

Bureau Regulatory Efforts in Other Consumer Markets

    The Bureau continues to work on and consider a number of 
rulemakings to address important consumer protection issues in other 
markets for consumer financial products and services.
    First, in fall 2014, the Bureau anticipates issuing a proposed rule 
to create a comprehensive set of protections for General Purpose 
Reloadable (GPR) cards and other prepaid products, such as payroll 
cards and student loan disbursement cards, which are increasingly being 
used by consumers in place of a traditional deposit account or credit 
card. The proposal will build on comments received by the Bureau in 
response to a 2012 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking 
comment, data, and information from the public about GPR cards. The 
proposed rule will seek to expand coverage in Regulation E 
(implementing the Electronic Fund Transfer Act) to prepaid accounts, 
including GPR cards, by extending and in some cases modifying 
disclosure, periodic statement, and error resolution requirements that 
apply to consumer asset accounts that are currently subject to 
Regulation E. The Bureau also expects the proposal to address treatment 
of overdraft services and credit features in connection with prepaid 
accounts under both Regulation Z (Truth in Lending Act) and Regulation 
E.
    Building on Bureau research and other sources, the Bureau is also 
considering what rules may be appropriate for addressing the sustained 
use of short-term, high-cost credit products such as payday loans and 
deposit advance products. The Bureau issued a white paper on these 
products in April 2013 and a data point providing additional research 
in March 2014, and is continuing to analyze other consumer protection 
concerns associated with the use of high-cost, small-dollar credit 
products. Rulemaking might include disclosures or address acts or 
practices in connection with these products.
    The Bureau is also continuing to develop research on other critical 
consumer protection markets to help assess whether regulation may be 
warranted. For example, the Bureau issued research on bank and credit 
union overdraft programs in 2013 and 2014 and is planning to release 
the results of further studies on overdraft programs and their effects 
on consumers.
    In addition, the Bureau has launched research initiatives to build 
on its November 2013, Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on debt 
collection. These efforts include undertaking a survey to obtain 
information from consumers about their experiences with debt collection 
and launching consumer testing initiatives to determine what 
information would be useful for consumers to have about debt collection 
and their debts and how that information should be provided to them.
    The Bureau is also continuing rulemaking activities that will 
further establish the Bureau's nonbank supervisory authority by 
defining larger participants of certain markets for consumer financial 
products and services. Larger participants of such markets, as the 
Bureau defines by rule, are subject to the Bureau's supervisory 
authority. In fall 2014, the Bureau issued a final rule that amended 
the regulation defining larger participants of certain consumer 
financial products and services markets by adding a new section to 
define larger participants of a market for international money 
transfers, and began a rulemaking that would define larger participants 
of a market for automobile financing and define certain automobile 
leasing activity as a financial product or service.

Bureau Regulatory Streamlining Efforts

    The Bureau is continuing work to consider opportunities to 
modernize and streamline regulations that it inherited from other 
agencies pursuant to a transfer of rulemaking authority under the Dodd-
Frank Act. This work includes implementing the consolidation and 
streamlining of Federal mortgage disclosure forms discussed earlier, 
and exploring opportunities to reduce unwarranted regulatory burden as 
part of the HMDA rulemaking. The Bureau also issued rules in fall 2014, 
to allow financial institutions that restrict their information sharing 
practices and meet other requirements to post their annual privacy 
notices to customers under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act online rather 
than delivering them individually. The rulemaking addresses 
longstanding concerns that the annual mailings are a source of 
unwarranted regulatory burden and unwanted paperwork for consumers.
    Finally, the Bureau is continuing to assess timelines for other 
rulemakings mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act or inherited from other 
agencies and to conduct outreach and research to assess issues in 
various other markets for consumer financial products and services. As 
this work continues, the Bureau will evaluate possible policy 
responses, including possible rulemaking actions, taking into account 
the critical need for and effectiveness of various policy tools. For 
example, as directed by Congress, the Bureau is conducting a study on 
the use of arbitration agreements provided for consumer disputes in 
connection with the offering or providing of consumer financial 
products or services. Upon the completion of this study, the Bureau 
will evaluate possible policy responses, including possible rulemaking 
actions, the findings of which shall be consistent with the study. The 
Bureau will update its regulatory agenda in spring 2015, to reflect the 
results of this further prioritization and planning.

    Dated: September 23, 2014.
 Meredith Fuchs,
General Counsel, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

         Consumer Financial Protection Bureau--Final Rule Stage
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                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
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445.......................  Home Mortgage Disclosure           3170-AA10
                             Act (Regulation C).
446.......................  The Expedited Funds                3170-AA31
                             Availability Act
                             (Regulation CC).
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[[Page 76810]]


         Consumer Financial Protection Bureau--Long-Term Actions
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                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
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447.......................  Business Lending Data              3170-AA09
                             (Regulation B).
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CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB)

Final Rule Stage

445. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (Regulation C)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 2801 to 2810
    Abstract: Section 1094 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 
Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Home Mortgage 
Disclosure Act (HMDA), which requires certain financial institutions to 
collect and report information in connection with housing-related loans 
and applications they receive for such loans. The amendments made by 
the Dodd-Frank Act, among other things, expand the scope of information 
relating to mortgage applications and loans that must be compiled, 
maintained, and reported under HMDA, including the ages of loan 
applicants and mortgagors, information relating to the points and fees 
payable at origination, the difference between the annual percentage 
rate associated with the loan and benchmark rates for all loans, the 
term of any prepayment penalty, the value of the property to be pledged 
as collateral, the term of the loan and of any introductory interest 
rate for the loan, the presence of contract terms allowing non-
amortizing payments, the application channel, and the credit scores of 
applicants and mortgagors. The Dodd-Frank Act also provides authority 
for the CFPB to require other information, including identifiers for 
loans, parcels, and loan originators. The CFPB released a proposal in 
July 2014, published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2014 that 
would add data points in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Act amendments 
and align, to the extent practicable, the regulatory requirements with 
existing industry standards for collecting data on mortgage loans and 
applications. The proposal also included other revisions to its 
regulations to effectuate the purposes of HMDA, including changes to 
institutional and transactional coverage, modifications of reporting 
requirements, and clarifications of other existing regulatory 
provisions.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
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NPRM................................   08/29/14  79 FR 51731
NPRM Comment Period End.............   10/29/14  .......................
Final Rule..........................   07/00/15  .......................
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Joan Kayagil, Office of Regulations, Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau, Phone: 202 435-7700.
    RIN: 3170-AA10

446. The Expedited Funds Availability Act (Regulation CC)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.
    Abstract: The Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFA Act), 
implemented by Regulation CC, governs availability of funds after a 
check deposit and check collection and return processes. Section 1086 
of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 
amended the EFA Act to provide the CFPB with joint rulemaking authority 
with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) over 
certain consumer-related EFA Act provisions. The Board proposed 
amendments to Regulation CC in March 2011, to facilitate the banking 
industry's ongoing transition to fully-electronic interbank check 
collection and return. The Board's proposal includes some provisions 
that are subject to the CFPB's joint rulemaking authority, including 
the period for funds availability and revising model form disclosures. 
In addition, in December 2013, the Board proposed revised amendments to 
certain Regulation CC provisions that are not subject to the CFPB's 
authority and stated in the proposal that the comment period has been 
extended to May 2, 2014. The CFPB will work with the Board to issue 
jointly a final rule that includes provisions within the CFPB's 
authority.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
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NPRM................................   03/25/11  76 FR 16862
NPRM Comment Period End.............   06/03/11  .......................
Final Rule..........................   06/00/15  .......................
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Joseph Baressi, Office of Regulations, Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau, Phone: 202 435-7700.
    RIN: 3170-AA31

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB)

Long-Term Actions
447. Business Lending Data (Regulation B)
    Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1691c-2
    Abstract: Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 
Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amends the Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require financial institutions to report 
information concerning credit applications made by women- or minority-
owned businesses and small businesses. The amendments made by the Dodd-
Frank Act require that certain data be collected and maintained under 
ECOA, including the number of the application and date the application 
was received; the type and purpose of loan or credit applied for; the 
amount of credit applied for and approved; the type of action taken 
with regard to each application and the date of such action; the census 
tract of the principal place of business; the gross annual revenue; and 
the race, sex, and ethnicity of the principal owners of the business. 
The CFPB expects to begin developing proposed regulations concerning 
the data to be collected and appropriate procedures, information 
safeguards, and privacy protections for information-gathering under 
this section.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
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CFPB Expects Further Action To Be              To Be Determined
 Determined.
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Charles Honig, Office of Regulations, Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau, Phone: 202 435-7700.
    RIN: 3170-AA09
[FR Doc. 2014-28987 Filed 12-19-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P