[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 245 (Friday, December 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70190-70191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27486]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


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

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The FTC requests that the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) extend for three years the FTC's portion of the information 
collection requirements contained in the Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau's Regulation N (the Mortgage Acts and Practices--Advertising 
Rule). The FTC shares enforcement of Regulation N with the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). That clearance expires on January 
31, 2020.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 21, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments in response to this notice should be submitted to 
the OMB Desk Officer for the Federal Trade Commission within 30 days of 
this notice. You may submit comments using any of the following 
methods:
    Electronic: Write ``Regulation N: PRA Comment, P072108,'' on your 
comment and file your comment online at https://www.regulations.gov, by 
following the instructions on the web-based form.
    Email: [email protected].
    Fax: (202) 395-5806.
    Mail: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade 
Commission, New Executive Office Building, Docket Library, Room 10102, 
725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carole L. Reynolds, Attorney, Division 
of Financial Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 
326-3230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Mortgage Acts and Practices--Advertising (Regulation N), 12 
CFR 1014.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0156.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: The FTC and the CFPB generally share enforcement 
authority for Regulation N and thus the two agencies share burden 
estimates for Regulation N.\1\ Regulation N's recordkeeping 
requirements constitute a ``collection of information'' \2\ for 
purposes of the PRA.\3\ The Rule does not impose a disclosure 
requirement.
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    \1\ As background, the FTC's Mortgage Acts and Practices--
Advertising Rule, 16 CFR 321, was issued by the FTC in July 2011, 76 
FR 43826 (July 22, 2011), and became effective on August 19, 2011. 
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 
2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) transferred to the CFPB the Commission's 
rulemaking authority under section 626 of the 2009 Omnibus 
Appropriations Act on July 21, 2011. As a result, the CFPB 
republished the Mortgage Acts and Practices--Advertising Rule, at 12 
CFR 1014, which became effective December 30, 2011. 76 FR 78130. 
Thereafter, the Commission rescinded its Rule, which was effective 
on April 13, 2012. 77 FR 22200. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the FTC 
retains its authority to bring law enforcement actions to enforce 
Regulation N.
    \2\ Section 1014.5 of the Rule sets forth the recordkeeping 
requirements.
    \3\ See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A).
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    Regulation N requires covered persons to retain: (1) Copies of 
materially different commercial communications and related materials, 
regarding any term of any mortgage credit product, that the person made 
or disseminated during the relevant time period; (2) documents 
describing or evidencing all mortgage credit products available to 
consumers during the relevant time period; and (3) documents describing 
or evidencing all additional products or services (such as credit 
insurance or credit disability insurance) that are or may be offered or 
provided with the mortgage credit products available to consumers 
during the relevant time period.\4\ A failure to keep such records 
would be an independent violation of the Rule. Regulation N's 
recordkeeping requirements constitute a ``collection of information'' 
for purposes of the PRA.\5\ The Rule does not impose a disclosure 
requirement.
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    \4\ Section 1014.5 of the Rule sets forth the recordkeeping 
requirements.
    \5\ See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A).
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    Commission staff believes the recordkeeping requirements pertain to 
records that are usual and customary and kept in the ordinary course of 
business for many covered persons, such as mortgage brokers, lenders, 
and servicers; real estate brokers and agents; home builders, and 
advertising agencies.\6\ As to these persons, the retention of these 
documents does not constitute a ``collection of information,'' as 
defined by OMB's regulations that implement the PRA.\7\ Certain other 
covered persons such as lead generators and rate aggregators may not 
currently maintain these records in the ordinary course of business.\8\ 
Thus, the recordkeeping requirements for those persons would constitute 
a ``collection of information.''
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    \6\ Some covered persons, particularly mortgage brokers and 
lenders, are subject to state recordkeeping requirements for 
mortgage advertisements. See, e.g., Fla. Stat. 494.00165 (2019); 
Ind. Code Ann. 23-2-5-18 (2018); Kan. Stat. Ann. 9-2208 (2018); 
Minn. Stat. 58.14 (2018); Wash. Rev. Code 19.146.060 (2018). Many 
mortgage brokers, lenders (including finance companies), and 
servicers are subject to state recordkeeping requirements for 
mortgage transactions and related documents, and these may include 
descriptions of mortgage credit products. See, e.g., Mich. Comp. 
Laws Serv. 445.1671 (2019); N.Y. Banking Law 597 (Consol. 2018); 
Tenn. Code Ann. 45-13-206 (2019). Lenders and mortgagees approved by 
the Federal Housing Administration must retain copies of all print 
and electronic advertisements and promotional materials for a period 
of two years from the date the materials are circulated or used to 
advertise. See 24 CFR 202. Various other entities, such as real 
estate brokers and agents, home builders, and advertising agencies 
can be indirectly covered by state recordkeeping requirements for 
mortgage advertisements and/or retain ads to demonstrate compliance 
with state law. See, e.g., 76 Del. Laws, c. 421, Sec.  1.
    \7\ See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A); 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
    \8\ See, e.g., United States v. Intermundo Media, LLC, dba Delta 
Prime Refinance, No. 1:14-cv-2529 (D. Colo. filed Sept. 12, 2014) 
(D. Colo. Oct. 7, 2014) (stipulated order for permanent injunction 
and civil penalty judgment), available at https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/140912deltaprimestiporder.pdf. The 
complaint charged this lead generator with numerous violations of 
Regulation N, including recordkeeping, and of other federal mortgage 
advertising mandates.
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    The information retained under the Rule's recordkeeping 
requirements is used by the Commission to substantiate compliance with 
the Rule and may also provide a basis for the Commission to bring an 
enforcement action. Without the required records, it would be difficult 
either to ensure that entities are complying with the Rule's 
requirements or to bring enforcement actions based on violations of the 
Rule.

[[Page 70191]]

    On September 27, 2019, the FTC sought comment on the information 
collection requirements associated with the Rule. 84 FR 51160. The FTC 
received no comments that were germane to the issues that the agency 
sought comment on pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) renewal 
request. Pursuant to OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement 
the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., the FTC is providing this second 
opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the 
pre-existing clearance for the Rule. For more details about the Rule 
requirements and the basis for the calculations summarized below, see 
84 FR 51160. As required by OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, the FTC 
is providing this second opportunity for public comment.
    Likely Respondents: Lead generators and rate aggregators.
    Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 1,500 hours.
     Derived from 1,000 likely respondents x approximately 3 
hours for each respondent per year to do these tasks = 3,000 hours.
     Since the FTC shares enforcement authority with the CFPB 
for Regulation N, the FTC's allotted PRA burden is 1,500 annual hours.
    Estimated Annual Labor Cost Burden: $24,375, which is derived from 
1,500 hours x $16.25 per hour.\9\
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    \9\ This estimate is based on mean hourly wages for office 
support file clerks provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. See 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages--
May 2018, table 1 (``National employment and wage data from the 
Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation''), released 
March 29, 2019, available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf.
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Request for Comment

    Your comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on 
the public record of this proceeding at the https://www.regulations.gov 
website. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as anyone's Social Security 
number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also 
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include 
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment 
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial 
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by 
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Heather Hippsley,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019-27486 Filed 12-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P