[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32832-32834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14543]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection
Renewal; Submission for OMB Review; Disclosure and Reporting of CRA-
Related Agreements
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not
required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
The OCC is soliciting comment concerning its information collection
titled ``Disclosure and Reporting of CRA-Related Agreements.'' The OCC
also is giving notice that the collection has been sent to OMB for
review.
DATES: Comments must be received by August 8, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if
possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected].
Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment
Processing, 1557-0219, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400
7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218,
Washington, DC 20219.
Fax: (571) 465-4326.
Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and
``1557-0219'' in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish
comments on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or
personal information provided, such as name and address information,
email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including
attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public
record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information
in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential
or inappropriate for public disclosure.
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Additionally, please send a copy of your comments by mail to: OCC
Desk Officer, 1557-0219, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th
Street NW, #10235, Washington, DC 20503 or by email to
[email protected].
You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to
this information collection \1\ following the close of the 30-day
comment period for this notice by any of the following methods:
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\1\ On March 29, 2019, the OCC published a 60-day notice for
this information collection, 84 FR 12032.
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Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov.
Click on the ``Information Collection Review'' tab. Underneath the
``Currently under Review'' section heading, from the drop-down menu
select ``Department of Treasury'' and then click ``submit.'' This
information collection can be located by searching by OMB control
number ``1557-0219'' or ``Disclosure and Reporting of CRA-Related
Agreements.'' Upon finding the appropriate information collection,
click on the related ``ICR Reference Number.'' On the next screen,
select ``View Supporting Statement and Other Documents'' and then click
on the link to any comment listed at the bottom of the screen.
For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please
contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482-7340.
Viewing Comments Personally: You may personally inspect
comments at the OCC, 400 7th 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) 649-6700 or, for persons who
are deaf or hearing impaired, TTY, (202) 649-5597. Upon arrival,
visitors will be required to present valid government-issued photo
identification and submit to security screening in order to inspect
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance
Officer, (202) 649-5490 or, for persons who are deaf or hearing
impaired, TTY, (202) 649-5597, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, Washington, DC 20219.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.),
federal agencies must obtain approval from the OMB for each collection
of information that they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of
information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to
include agency requests or requirements that members of the public
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party.
The OCC asks that OMB extend its approval of this collection.
Title: Disclosure and Reporting of CRA-Related Agreements.
OMB Control No.: 1557-0219.
Description: National banks, federal savings associations, and
their affiliates occasionally enter into agreements with
nongovernmental entities or persons (NGEPs) that are related to their
Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) responsibilities. Section 48 of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act) \2\ requires disclosure of
certain of these agreements and imposes related reporting requirements
on insured depository institutions (IDIs), their affiliates, and NGEPs.
As mandated by the FDI Act, the OCC, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
issued regulations to implement these disclosure and reporting
requirements. The disclosure and reporting provisions of these
regulations constitute collections of information under the PRA. The
regulation issued by the OCC is codified at 12 CFR 35 and is known as
the ``CRA Sunshine'' regulation.
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\2\ 12 U.S.C. 1831y.
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Section 48 of the FDI Act applies to written agreements that: (1)
Are made in fulfillment of the CRA; (2) involve funds or other
resources of an IDI or affiliate with an aggregate value of more than
$10,000 in a year or loans with an aggregate principal value of more
than $50,000 in a year; \3\ and (3) are entered into by an IDI or
affiliate and an NGEP.\4\
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\3\ The definition includes groups of substantially related
agreements that satisfy these amounts in the aggregate.
\4\ 12 U.S.C. 1831y(e).
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Under section 48, the parties to a covered agreement must make the
agreement available to the public and the appropriate agency.\5\ This
section also requires the parties to file a report annually with the
appropriate agency concerning the disbursement, receipt, and use of
funds or other resources under the agreement.\6\ The collections of
information in CRA Sunshine regulation implement these statutorily
mandated disclosure and reporting requirements. The parties to the
agreement may request confidential treatment of proprietary and
confidential information in an agreement or annual report and may
withhold from public disclosure confidential or proprietary information
in an agreement.\7\
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\5\ 12 U.S.C. 1831y(a).
\6\ 12 U.S.C. 1831y(b)-(c).
\7\ 12 CFR 35.6(b)(2), 35.8; see 12 U.S.C. 1831y(h)(2)(A).
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The information collections are found in 12 CFR 35.4(b); 35.6; and
35.7 and they require:
IDIs or affiliates to notify NGEPs that are parties to
certain agreements that these are agreements with a CRA affiliate;
NGEPs and IDIs or their affiliates to make a copy of a
covered agreement available to any individual or entity upon request;
NGEPs to provide a copy of the covered agreement within 30
days of receiving a request from the relevant supervisory agency;
Each IDI and affiliate to provide each relevant
supervisory agency with a copy of each covered agreement or a list of
all covered agreements entered into during the calendar quarter, within
60 days of the end of each calendar quarter; \8\ and
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\8\ If providing a list of covered agreements, the IDI or
affiliate must provide a copy and public version of any agreement
referenced in the list to any relevant supervisory agency within
seven calendar days of receiving a request from the agency.
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Annual reporting.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals; Businesses or other for-profit.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 13 (7 IDIs; 6 NGEPs).
Number of Agreements: 237.
Number of Annual Reports: 9.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 527.
On March 29, 2019, the OCC issued a notice for 60-day of comment
concerning this collection, 84 FR 12032. The OCC received one comment
from a trade association. The commenter first urged a repeal of section
48 of the FDI Act (12 U.S.C. 1831y), arguing that the statute imposes a
burdensome and costly reporting regime that inhibits IDIs interested in
working with NGEPs. The commenter cited a Federal Financial
Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) report to Congress, which
stated that section 48's reporting requirements are unduly
burdensome.\9\ The commenter also noted that examination teams rarely
request information related to covered agreements, despite the
resources required to properly report them.
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\9\ FFIEC Joint Report to Congress: Economic Growth and
Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act, 53-54, available at https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2017/nr-ia-2017-33a.pdf.
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The commenter also requested two revisions to the OCC's regulation.
First, the commenter requested that the OCC eliminate the quarterly
reporting requirement, which the commenter believes is more burdensome
than the annual reporting required by the statute. The commenter stated
that the FFIEC
[[Page 32834]]
had considered eliminating the quarterly reporting requirement, citing
the same FFIEC report to Congress. Second, the commenter recommended
that the OCC limit the regulation's applicability to legally binding,
written contracts, rather than applying it to agreements that reflect a
mutual understanding and some oral communications. The commenter argued
that the existing approach increases burden and obstructs activity in
low- and moderate-income communities.
The OCC appreciates the information provided by the commenter.
However, to the extent the commenter disagrees with the scope or
requirements of section 48 or the OCC's implementing regulation, the
OCC cannot repeal the statute, nor can it revise the regulation through
the PRA renewal process.
Comments continue to be invited on:
(a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the OCC, including whether the
information has practical utility;
(b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimate of the information
collection burden;
(c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected;
(d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection on respondents,
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology; and
(e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
Dated: July 2, 2019.
Theodore J. Dowd,
Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2019-14543 Filed 7-8-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P