[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36931-36935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16350]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

[No. 2018-N-08]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

ACTION: 30-Day notice of submission of information collection for 
approval from Office of Management and Budget.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the 
Agency) is seeking public comments concerning an information collection 
known as ``Minimum Requirements for Appraisal Management Companies,'' 
which has been assigned control number 2590-0013 by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA intends to submit the information 
collection to OMB for review and approval of a three-year extension of 
the control number, which is due to expire on July 31, 2018.

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before August 30, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer 
for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Washington, DC 20503, Fax: 
(202) 395-3047, Email: [email protected]. Please also submit 
comments to FHFA, identified by ``Proposed Collection; Comment Request: 
`Minimum Requirements for Appraisal Management Companies, (No. 2018-N-
08)''' by any of the following methods:
     Agency Website: www.fhfa.gov/open-for-comment-or-input.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. If you submit your 
comment to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, please also send it by email 
to FHFA at [email protected] to ensure timely receipt by the Agency.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Federal Housing Finance Agency, Eighth 
Floor, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219, ATTENTION: Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request: ``Minimum Requirements for Appraisal 
Management Companies, (No. 2018-N-08).''
    We will post all public comments we receive without change, 
including any personal information you provide, such as your name and 
address, email address, and telephone number, on the FHFA website at 
http://www.fhfa.gov. In addition, copies of all comments received will 
be available for examination by the public through the electronic 
comment docket for this PRA Notice also located on the FHFA website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Witt. Senior Policy Analyst, 
Office of Housing and Regulatory Policy, by email at 
[email protected] or by telephone at (202) 649-3128; or Eric 
Raudenbush, Associate General Counsel, [email protected], (202) 
649-3084 (these are not toll-free numbers); Federal Housing Finance 
Agency, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. The 
Telecommunications Device for the Hearing Impaired is (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FHFA is seeking comments on its upcoming 
request to OMB to renew the PRA clearance for the following collection 
of information:
    Title: Minimum requirements for appraisal management companies.

[[Page 36932]]

    OMB Number: 2590-0013.
    Affected Public: Participating States and State-registered 
Appraisal Management Companies.

A. Need for and Use of the Information Collection

    In 2015, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
Protection (Bureau), and FHFA (collectively, the Agencies) jointly 
issued regulations \1\ to implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall 
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) relating to 
the eligibility of appraisal management companies (AMCs) to provide 
appraisal management services for real estate related financial 
transactions that are engaged in, contracted for, or regulated by a 
``federal financial institutions regulatory agency'' or the Resolution 
Trust Corporation (``Federally related transactions'').\2\ Generally, 
these statutory provisions provide that an AMC either be registered 
with a state's appraiser certifying and licensing agency or be subject 
to oversight by a federal financial institutions regulatory agency in 
order to participate in a Federally related transaction.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See 80 FR 32658 (June 9, 2015). By agreement, the 
responsibility for clearance under the PRA of information 
collections contained in the joint regulations is shared only by the 
FDIC, OCC, Board, and FHFA.
    \2\ See 12 U.S.C. 3350(4), (5). ``Federal financial institutions 
regulatory agency'' includes the FDIC, OCC, Board, and National 
Credit Union Administration. See 12 U.S.C. 3350(6).
    \3\ Section 1117 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, 
and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), 12 U.S.C. 3346, permits states 
to establish an appraiser certifying and licensing agency ``to 
assure the availability of State certified and licensed appraisers 
for the performance in a State of appraisals in federally related 
transactions and to assure effective supervision of the activities 
of certified and licensed appraisers.'' The Dodd-Frank Act amended 
section 1117 to provide that the duties of a state appraiser 
certifying and licensing agency may also include the registration 
and supervision of AMCs. Although states are not required by federal 
law to register and supervise AMCs, or even to establish an 
appraiser certifying and licensing agency, an AMC that is not 
registered with such a state agency (except for those regulated by a 
federal financial institutions regulatory agency) may not 
participate in a federally-related transaction in that state. See 12 
U.S.C. 3353(f)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As required by the Dodd-Frank Act provisions, the Agencies' joint 
AMC regulations establish minimum requirements for the registration and 
supervision of AMCs to be applied by states that have elected to 
establish an appraiser certifying and licensing agency with authority 
to register and supervise AMCs (participating states).\4\ The joint 
regulations also implement the statutory requirement that states report 
to the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) of the Federal Financial 
Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) the information required by 
the ASC to administer a national registry of AMCs (AMC National 
Registry or Registry).\5\ When fully established, the AMC National 
Registry will include AMCs that are either: (1) Subsidiaries owned and 
controlled by an insured depository institution (as defined in 12 
U.S.C. 1813) and regulated by either the FDIC, OCC, or Board (federally 
regulated AMCs) ;\6\ or (2) registered with, and subject to supervision 
of, a state appraiser certifying and licensing agency. FHFA's AMC 
regulation, located at Subpart B of 12 CFR part 1222, is substantively 
identical to the AMC regulations of the FDIC, OCC, and Board and 
contains the recordkeeping and reporting requirements described 
below.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See 12 CFR 1222.23.
    \5\ See 12 U.S.C. 3353(e).
    \6\ See 12 CFR 1222.21(k) (defining ``Federally regulated 
AMC'').
    \7\ See 12 CFR 1222.20 through 1222.26. For clarity, the 
regulatory citations in this notice are to FHFA's version of the 
joint regulations only.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. State Reporting Requirements (IC #1)

    The regulation requires that each state electing to register AMCs 
for purposes of permitting AMCs to provide appraisal management 
services relating to covered transactions in the state submit to the 
ASC the information regarding such AMCs required to be submitted by ASC 
regulations or guidance concerning AMCs that operate in the state.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ See 12 CFR 1222.26.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. State Recordkeeping Requirements (IC #2)

    States seeking to register AMCs must have an AMC registration and 
supervision program. The regulation requires each participating state 
to establish and maintain within its appraiser certifying and licensing 
agency a registration and supervision program with the legal authority 
and mechanisms to: (i) Review and approve or deny an application for 
initial registration; (ii) periodically review and renew, or deny 
renewal of, an AMC's registration; (iii) examine an AMC's books and 
records and require the submission of reports, information, and 
documents; (iv) verify an AMC's panel members' certifications or 
licenses; (v) investigate and assess potential violations of laws, 
regulations, or orders; (vi) discipline, suspend, terminate, or deny 
registration renewals of AMCs that violate laws, regulations, or 
orders; and (vii) report violations of laws, regulations, or orders, 
and disciplinary and enforcement actions to the ASC.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ See 12 CFR 1222.23(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The regulation requires each participating state to impose 
requirements on AMCs that are not federally regulated (non-federally 
regulated AMCs) to: (i) Register with and be subject to supervision by 
a state appraiser certifying and licensing agency in each state in 
which the AMC operates; (ii) use only state-certified or state-licensed 
appraisers for federally regulated transactions in conformity with any 
federally regulated transaction regulations; (iii) establish and comply 
with processes and controls reasonably designed to ensure that the AMC, 
in engaging an appraiser, selects an appraiser who is independent of 
the transaction and who has the requisite education, expertise, and 
experience necessary to competently complete the appraisal assignment 
for the particular market and property type; (iv) direct the appraiser 
to perform the assignment in accordance with the Uniform Standards of 
Professional Appraisal Practice; and (v) establish and comply with 
processes and controls reasonably designed to ensure that the AMC 
conducts its appraisal management services in accordance with sections 
129E(a) through (i) of the Truth-in-Lending Act.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ See 12 CFR 1222.23(b). Sections 129E(a) through (i) of the 
Truth-in-Lending Act are located at 15 U.S.C. 1639e(a) through (i).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. AMC Reporting Requirements (IC #3)

    The regulation provides that an AMC may not be registered by a 
state or included on the AMC National Registry if the company is owned, 
directly or indirectly, by any person who has had an appraiser license 
or certificate refused, denied, cancelled, surrendered in lieu of 
revocation, or revoked in any state for a substantive cause.\11\ The 
regulation also provides that an AMC may not be registered by a state 
if any person that owns 10 percent or more of the AMC fails to submit 
to a background investigation carried out by the state appraiser 
certifying and licensing agency.\12\ Thus, each AMC registering with a 
state must provide information to the state on compliance with those 
ownership restrictions. Further, the regulation requires that a 
federally regulated AMC report to the state or states in which it 
operates the information required to be submitted by the state pursuant 
to the ASC's policies, including policies regarding the determination 
of the AMC National

[[Page 36933]]

Registry fee, and information regarding compliance with the ownership 
restrictions described above.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ See 12 CFR 1222.24(a) and 1222.25(b).
    \12\ See 12 CFR 1222.24(b).
    \13\ See 12 CFR 1222.25(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. AMC Recordkeeping Requirements (IC #4)

    An entity meets the definition of an AMC that is subject to the 
requirements of the AMC regulation if, among other things, it oversees 
an appraiser panel of more than 15 state-certified or state-licensed 
appraisers in a state, or 25 or more state-certified or state-licensed 
appraisers in two or more states, within a given 12-month period.\14\ 
For purposes of determining whether a company qualifies as an AMC under 
that definition, the regulation provides that an appraiser in an AMC's 
network or panel is deemed to remain on the network or panel until: (i) 
The AMC sends a written notice to the appraiser removing the appraiser 
with an explanation; or (ii) receives a written notice from the 
appraiser asking to be removed or a notice of the death or incapacity 
of the appraiser.\15\ The AMC would retain these notices in its files.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ See 12 CFR 1222.21(c)(iii).
    \15\ See 12 CFR 1222.22(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Burden Estimate

    FHFA's burden estimates for the information collections described 
above appear below. The estimates below remain the same as those set 
forth in the 60-day notice, despite one commenter's assertion that some 
of the assumptions underlying those burden estimates are incorrect. 
Those assertions and FHFA's responses are addressed below in section C 
of the notice.
    There is no change in the existing methodology or substance of this 
information collection. For the information collections described 
above, the general methodology is to compute the industry wide burden 
hours for participating states and AMCs and then assign a share of the 
burden hours to each of the Agencies for each information collection.
    As noted above, each of the Agencies' AMC regulations contains 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements applying to participating 
states and to both federally regulated and non-federally regulated 
AMCs. The Agencies have estimated that approximately 200 entities meet 
the regulatory definition of an ``appraisal management company'' \16\ 
and that, of those 200 AMCs, approximately 120 are federally regulated 
and approximately 80 are non-federally regulated.\17\ Unlike the 
insured depository institutions regulated by the OCC, FDIC, and Board, 
none of FHFA's regulated entities owns or controls an AMC or, by law, 
could ever own or control an AMC. Accordingly, the Agencies have agreed 
that responsibility for the burdens arising from reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements imposed upon federally regulated AMCs are to 
be split evenly among the OCC, FDIC, and Board (i.e., the equivalent of 
40 federally regulated AMCs for each agency) and that FHFA will not 
include those burdens in its totals. The four Agencies have agreed to 
split the total burdens imposed upon participating states and upon non-
federally regulated AMCs evenly between them (i.e., by taking 
responsibility for 25 percent of the burden per agency or, in the case 
of non-federally regulated AMCs, the equivalent of 20 such AMCs for 
each agency).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ In FHFA's regulations, this definition is set forth at 12 
CFR 1222.21(c).
    \17\ FHFA anticipates that definitive information on the total 
number of AMCs and on the relative number of federally regulated and 
non-federally regulated AMCs will become available after the AMC 
National Registry becomes fully operational in 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Thus, for ICs #1 and #2, which relate to reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements imposed upon participating states, each 
agency is responsible for 25 percent of the total estimated burden. For 
ICs #3 and #4, which relate to reporting and recordkeeping requirements 
imposed upon both federally regulated AMCs and non-federally regulated 
AMCs, the OCC, FDIC, and Board are each responsible for the burden 
imposed upon a total of 60 AMCs (40 federally regulated plus 20 non-
federally regulated), or 30 percent of the total burden, while FHFA is 
responsible only for the burden imposed upon 20 non-federally regulated 
AMCs, or 10 percent of the total burden.
    The Agencies estimate the total annualized hour burden placed on 
respondents by the information collection in the joint AMC regulations 
to be 1,445 hours. FHFA estimates its share of the hour burden to be 
183 hours. The calculations on which those estimates are based are 
described below.

1. State Reporting Requirements (IC #1)

    The total estimated burden hours for states reporting to the ASC 
are calculated by multiplying the number of states by the hour burden 
per state. The burden hours are then divided equally among the FDIC, 
OCC, Board, and FHFA, with each agency responsible for 25 percent of 
the total. For purposes of this calculation, the number of states is 
set at 55 which, in conformity with the regulatory definition of 
``state,'' includes all 50 U.S. states as well as the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto 
Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.\18\ The burden estimate of 1 hour 
per report is unchanged from the estimate provided for the currently-
approved ICR. Therefore, the estimated total state reporting burden 
attributable to all of the Agencies is: 55 states x 1 hour/state = 55 
hours. The estimated burden hours attributable to FHFA are 55 hours x 
25 percent = 14 hours (rounded to the nearest whole number).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ See 12 CFR 1222.21(o).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. State Recordkeeping Requirements (IC #2)

    The estimated burden hours on participating states for developing 
and maintaining an AMC licensing program is calculated by multiplying 
the number of states without a registration and licensing program by 
the hour burden to develop the system. The total burden hours are then 
equally divided among the FDIC, OCC, Board, and FHFA. According to the 
Appraisal Institute, as of July 26, 2017, there were 5 states that had 
not developed a system to register and oversee AMCs.\19\ The burden 
estimate of 40 hours per state without a registration system is 
unchanged from the estimate provided for the currently-approved ICR. 
Therefore, the total estimated burden attributable to all of the 
Agencies is: 5 states x 40 hours/state = 200 hours. The estimated 
burden hours attributable to FHFA are 200 hours x 25 percent = 50 
hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ Appraisal Institute ``Enacted State AMC Laws,'' https://www.appraisalinstitute.org/advocacy/enacted-state-amc-laws1/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. AMC Reporting Requirements (IC #3)

    The burden for AMC reporting requirements for information needed to 
determine the AMC National Registry fee and information regarding 
compliance with the AMC ownership restrictions is calculated by 
multiplying the number of AMCs by the frequency of response and then by 
the burden per response. As described above, 30 percent of the burden 
hours are then assigned to each of the FDIC, OCC, and Board, while 10 
percent are assigned to FHFA.
    The frequency of response is estimated as the number of states that 
do not have an AMC registration program in which the average AMC 
operates.\20\ As discussed above, 5 states do not have AMC registration 
or

[[Page 36934]]

oversight programs. According to the Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau (CFPB), the average AMC operates in 19.56 states.\21\ Therefore, 
the average AMC operates in approximately 2 states that do not have AMC 
registration systems: (5 states/55 states) x 19.56 states = 1.778 
states, rounded to 2 states. The burden estimate of one hour per 
response is unchanged from the estimate provided for the currently-
approved ICR. Therefore, the total estimated hour burden is: 200 AMCs x 
2 states x 1 hour = 400 hours. The estimated burden hours attributable 
to FHFA are 400 hours x 10 percent = 40 hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ The number of states includes all U.S. states, territories, 
and districts to include: The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands; the District of Columbia; Guam; Puerto Rico; and the U.S. 
Virgin Islands.
    \21\ The CFPB conducted a survey of 9 AMCs in 2013 regarding the 
provisions in the regulation and the related PRA burden.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. AMC Recordkeeping Requirements (IC #4)

    The burden for recordkeeping by AMCs of written notices of 
appraiser removal from a network or panel is estimated to be equal to 
the number of appraisers who leave the profession per year multiplied 
by the estimated percentage of appraisers who work for AMCs, then 
multiplied by burden hours per notice. As described above, 30 percent 
of the burden hours are then assigned to each of the FDIC, OCC, and 
Board, while 10 percent are assigned to FHFA.
    The number of appraisers who leave an AMC annually, either by 
resigning, being laid off, or having their licenses revoked or 
surrendered, is estimated to be 9,881. The burden estimate of 0.08 
hours per notice is unchanged from the estimate provided for the 
currently-approved ICR. Therefore, the estimated total hour burden is: 
9,881 notices x 0.08 hours = 790 hours (rounded to the nearest whole 
number). The estimated burden hours attributable to FHFA are 790 hours 
x 10 percent = 79 hours.

C. Response to Comments Received

    In accordance with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.8(d), FHFA 
published an initial notice and request for comments regarding the 
renewal of the PRA clearance for this information collection in the 
Federal Register on May 16, 2018 (``60-day notice'').\22\ The 60-day 
comment period closed on July 16, 2018. FHFA received two comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ See 83 FR 22681 (May 16, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One comment letter, from an individual, asserted that this 
collection of information is not necessary for the proper performance 
of FHFA functions because ``there is currently too much oversight which 
cost excessive amounts of money'' and that those costs are ``passed 
down to the consumers through the AMCs to cover costs to maintain 
regulatory compliance.'' Because these comments relate to regulatory 
burden generally and not to the collection of information under the 
joint AMC regulation, FHFA has not addressed them in this notice.
    The second comment letter, from a trade association representing 
AMCs, addressed a number of issues relating to the collection of 
information under the joint AMC regulation. First, the commenter stated 
that the collection of information is ``necessary'' and has ``practical 
utility,'' but ``only to the extent that the information collected 
serves the proper purpose to promote appraiser independence while 
ensuring a healthy real estate valuation market.'' FHFA disagrees with 
the commenter's implication that the ``proper purpose'' of the 
collection of information under the joint AMC regulations is limited to 
the promotion of appraiser independence. In fact, as required by 
statute, the AMC regulations address all issues on which the Agencies 
were required to promulgate regulations--including minimum requirements 
for registration of AMCs in participating states,\23\ registration 
limitations for AMCs,\24\ and the reporting of information by AMCs to 
the ASC \25\--and not merely the promotion of appraiser independence. 
The collection of information is necessary for implementation of those 
requirements. To the extent that the commenter disagrees with the scope 
and requirements of the joint AMC regulations, FHFA notes that those 
regulations may not be rescinded or revised through the PRA renewal 
process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \23\ See 12 U.S.C. 3353(a).
    \24\ See 12 U.S.C. 3353(d).
    \25\ See 12 U.S.C. 3353(e).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The second comment letter also questioned the accuracy of FHFA's 
estimates of the burdens of the collection of information. Asserting 
that the Agencies' estimate that there are 200 AMCs currently operating 
in the U.S. is too low, the commenter stated, without providing any 
further information or support, that ``industry estimates'' as to the 
number of AMCs ``are closer to 400.'' As stated in the 60-day notice, 
because the actual number of AMCs is not currently known and will not 
be known until the AMC National Registry is fully operational in 2020, 
the Agencies made a best guess that 200 entities currently qualify as 
an AMC, as that term is defined under the joint AMC regulations.\26\ 
Because the commenter has provided no support for its assertion 
regarding the current number of AMCs subject to the joint regulations, 
FHFA's estimate as to that number remains unchanged.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \26\ The joint regulations define ``appraisal management 
company'' generally to mean an entity that: (1) Provides appraisal 
management services (for example, maintaining a panel of certified 
and licensed appraisers to perform appraisals, managing the process 
of having an appraisal performed, collecting fees, and paying 
appraisers) to creditors or to secondary mortgage market 
participants; (2) provides such services in connection with valuing 
a consumer's primary dwelling as security for a consumer credit 
transaction or incorporating such transactions into securitizations; 
and (3) oversees an appraiser panel of more than 15 State-certified 
or State-licensed appraisers in a State or 25 or more State-
certified or State-licensed appraisers in two or more States within 
a 12-month period. See 12 CFR 1222.21(c)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The commenter further asserted that, contrary to the Agencies' 
estimates that 60 percent of existing AMCs (or 120 out of 200) are 
federally regulated, it knows of only one federally regulated AMC in 
existence. As with respect to the total number of AMCs, the Agencies 
made a best guess estimate as to the relative number of federally 
regulated and non-federally-regulated AMCs in the absence of any 
available empirical data on this issue pending completion of the AMC 
National Registry. As explained above, that estimate has no bearing on 
the Agencies' estimates as to the total amount of burden imposed by the 
collections of information under the joint AMC regulations, but relates 
only to the appropriate distribution among the rulemaking Agencies of 
responsibility (under the PRA) for a portion of the total estimated 
burden. Given this, and the lack of support provided by the commenter 
for its estimate as to the actual number of federally regulated AMCs, 
FHFA's estimate as to the relative number remains unchanged from that 
reflected in the 60-day notice.
    Other issues addressed in the second comment letter, including 
recommendations that the ASC issue additional guidance to states and 
AMCs concerning the AMC minimum requirements, find opportunities to 
develop reporting efficiencies in the state licensing system, and be 
more aggressive in supporting modernization of the outdated National 
Appraiser Registry do not relate to the collection of information under 
the joint AMC regulation. The Agencies, however, will forward these 
suggestions to the ASC for consideration.

D. Comments Request

    In accordance with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.10(a), FHFA is 
publishing

[[Page 36935]]

this second notice to request comments regarding the following: (1) 
Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of FHFA functions, including whether the information has 
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FHFA's estimates of the burdens 
of the collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.

    Dated: July 26, 2018.
Kevin Winkler,
Chief Information Officer, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2018-16350 Filed 7-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8070-01-P