[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 11 (Thursday, January 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2742-2744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00634]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without 
revision, the Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators (CFPB G; OMB 
No. 7100-0328).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 16, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by CFPB G, by any of the 
following methods:
     Agency Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the OMB 
number in the subject line of the message.
     FAX: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's website at 
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as 
submitted, unless modified for technical reasons or to remove 
personally identifiable information at the commenter's request. 
Accordingly, comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or 
contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically 
or in paper in Room 146, 1709 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006, 
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. For security reasons, the 
Board requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. 
You may do so by calling (202) 452-3684. Upon arrival, visitors will be 
required to present valid government-issued photo identification and to 
submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy 
comments.

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    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA) OMB submission, including the reporting form and instructions, 
supporting statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's 
public docket files, if approved. These documents will also be made 
available on the Board's public website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested 
from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.
    Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of 
the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 452-3829.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board 
authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In 
exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take 
every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to 
approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all 
comments received from the public and other agencies.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

    The Board invites public comment on the following information 
collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the 
OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations 
received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board 
should modify the proposal.

Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, 
Without Revision, the Following Information Collection

    Report title: Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators.
    Agency form number: CFPB G.
    OMB control number: 7100-0328.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondents: State member banks (SMBs) with $10 billion or less in 
total assets that are not affiliates of insured depository institutions 
with total assets of more than $10 billion; subsidiaries of such SMBs 
that are not functionally regulated within the meaning of section 
5(c)(5) of the Bank Holding Company Act; branches and agencies of 
foreign banks (other than federal branches, federal agencies, and 
insured state branches of foreign banks); and commercial lending 
companies owned or controlled by foreign banks (collectively, ``banking 
organizations''), as well as employees of banking organizations who act 
as residential mortgage loan originators (MLOs).
    Estimated number of respondents: MLO's (new)--initial set up, 396 
respondents; MLO's (new)--disclosure, 396 respondents; MLO's 
(existing)--updates for changes, 11,422 respondents; MLO's (existing)--
maintenance and disclosures, 22,844 respondents; Banking organizations, 
674 respondents.
    Estimated average hours per response: MLO's (new)--initial set up, 
2.5 hours; MLO's (new)--disclosure, 1 hour; MLO's (existing)--updates 
for changes, 0.25 hour; MLO's (existing)--maintenance and disclosures, 
0.85 hour; Depository Institutions and subsidiaries, 118 hours.
    Estimated annual burden hours: MLO's (new)--initial set up, 990 
hours; MLO's (new)--disclosure, 396 hours; MLO's (existing)--updates 
for changes, 2,856 hours; MLO's (existing)--maintenance and 
disclosures, 19,417 hours; Banking organizations, 79,532 hours.
    General description of report: In accordance with the Secure and 
Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (S.A.F.E. Act), the 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Regulation G requires 
MLOs to register with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and 
Registry (NMLS or Registry),\1\ maintain this registration, obtain a 
unique identifier, and disclose to consumers upon request and through 
the Registry their unique identifier and the MLO's employment history 
and publicly adjudicated disciplinary and enforcement actions. The 
CFPB's regulation also requires the institutions employing MLOs to 
adopt and follow written policies and procedures to ensure that their 
employees comply with these requirements and to conduct annual 
independent compliance tests.
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    \1\ https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/Pages/default.aspx.
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    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The CFPB's Regulation G is 
authorized pursuant to the S.A.F.E. Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, which 
transferred to the CFPB the ``consumer financial protection 
functions,'' including the S.A.F.E. Act, previously vested in certain 
other Federal agencies.\2\ The Board is authorized to enforce consumer 
financial protection functions, including the CFPB's Regulation G, with 
respect to SMBs with $10 billion or less in total assets that are not 
affiliates of insured depository institutions with total assets of more 
than $10 billion and the subsidiaries of such SMBs that are not 
functionally regulated within the meaning of section 5(c)(5) of the 
Bank Holding Company Act (see 12 U.S.C. 1844(c)(5)) under section 1061 
of the Dodd Frank Act.\3\ The International Banking Act (IBA) requires 
``every branch or agency of a foreign bank and every commercial lending 
company controlled by one or more foreign banks . . . [to] conduct its 
operations in the United States in full compliance with provisions of 
any law of the United States . . . which impose requirements that 
protect the rights of consumers in financial transactions, to the 
extent that the branch, agency, or commercial lending company engages 
in activities that are subject to such laws.'' \4\ The Board has 
authority to examine branches and agencies of foreign banks and 
commercial lending companies owned or controlled by foreign banks and 
to enforce the provisions of the IBA pursuant to sections 7 and 13 of 
the IBA.\5\ The CFPB G is mandatory.
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    \2\ 12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.; 12 U.S.C. 5581.
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 5581(c).
    \4\ 12 U.S.C. 3106a(1).
    \5\ 12 U.S.C. 3105(c) and 3108(b).
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    The unique identifier of MLOs must be made public and is not 
considered confidential. In addition, most of the information that MLOs 
submit in order to register with the NMLS will be publicly available. 
However, certain

[[Page 2744]]

identifying data about individuals who act as MLOs may be treated as 
confidential pursuant to exemption 6 of the Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA), which protects from disclosure information that ``would 
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.'' \6\
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    \6\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6).
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    With respect to the information collection requirements imposed on 
banking organizations, because banking organizations are required to 
retain their own records and make certain disclosures to customers, the 
FOIA would only be implicated if the Board's examiners obtained a copy 
of these records as part of the examination or supervision of a 
financial institution. Records obtained in this manner may be exempt 
from disclosure under FOIA exemption 8, regarding examination-related 
materials.\7\
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    \7\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, January 13, 
2020.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2020-00634 Filed 1-15-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P