[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 215 (Thursday, November 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70711-70712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24586]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Comment Request; Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The 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 the 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 the renewal of 
the information collection titled ``Fair Housing Home Loan Data System 
Regulation.''

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 4, 2021.

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, 1557-0159, 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 
``1557-0159'' 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.
    You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to 
this information collection beginning on the date of publication of the 
second notice for this collection \1\ by the following method:
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    \1\ Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, 
the OCC will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period.
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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 ``1557-0159'' or ``Fair Housing Home Loan Data System 
Regulation.'' 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.

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, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), 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. Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day 
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of 
information, including each proposed revision of an existing collection 
of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. 
To comply with this requirement, the OCC is publishing this notice.
    Title: Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0159.
    Type of Review: Regular review.
    Description: Part 27 requires certain national banks to record 
certain information, and all national banks to retain certain 
information. Specifically, national banks must record certain home loan 
data if they: (1) Are otherwise required to maintain and report data 
pursuant to Regulation C,\2\ which implements the Home Mortgage 
Disclosure Act (HMDA),\3\ in which case they are HMDA reporters, or (2) 
receive more than 50 home loan applications annually.\4\ Specifically, 
national banks that are HMDA reporters meet the part 27 requirement by 
recording HMDA data along with the reasons for denying

[[Page 70712]]

any loan application on the HMDA Loan Application/Register (LAR).\5\ A 
national bank that is not a HMDA reporter but that receives more than 
50 home loan applications annually must comply with part 27 by either: 
(1) Recording and reporting HMDA data and denial reasons on the LAR as 
if they were a HMDA reporter,\6\ or (2) recording and maintaining part 
27-specified activity data relating to aggregate numbers of certain 
types of loans by geography and action taken.\7\ Part 27 also requires 
that all national banks, including those not subject to the recording 
requirements, to maintain certain application and loan information in 
loan files. It further provides that the OCC may require national banks 
to maintain and submit additional information if there is reason to 
believe that the bank engaged in discrimination.
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    \2\ 12 CFR part 1003.
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.
    \4\ The OCC issued part 27 as part of a settlement agreement in 
a case in which the plaintiffs alleged that Federal agencies, 
including the OCC, were obligated to exercise supervisory and 
regulatory powers to prevent discrimination in home mortgage lending 
under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act). 
See National Urban League, et al. v. Office of the Comptroller of 
the Currency, et al., 78 FRD. 543, 544 (D.D.C. May 3, 1978) 
(Defendants were the OCC, FRB, FDIC, and FHLBB). For discussion of 
this case, see 44 FR 63084, 63084 (Nov. 2, 1979).
    \5\ 12 CFR 27.3(a)(1)(i).
    \6\ 12 CFR 27.3(a)(5).
    \7\ 12 CFR 27.3(a)(2).
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    The requirements in part 27 are as follows:
     12 CFR 27.3(a)(1) requires provision of the data that 
national banks are required to collect on home loans pursuant to 
Regulation C.
     Section 27.3(a)(2) requires national banks that receive 
more than 50 applications but are not HMDA reporters to collect certain 
information quarterly.
     Section 27.3(a) also lists exceptions to the HMDA-LAR 
recordkeeping requirements.
     12 CFR 27.3(b) lists the information national banks must 
attempt to obtain from an applicant as part of a home loan application 
and sets forth the information that banks must disclose to an 
applicant.
     12 CFR 27.3(c) sets forth additional information national 
banks must maintain in each of their home loan files.
     12 CFR 27.4 states that the OCC may require a national 
bank to maintain a Fair Housing Inquiry/Application Log found in 
Appendix III to part 27 including if: (1) There is reason to believe 
that the bank is prescreening, or otherwise engaging in discriminatory 
practices on a prohibited basis, (2) complaints filed with the 
Comptroller or letters in the Community Reinvestment Act file are found 
to be substantive in nature, indicating that the bank's home lending 
practices are, or may be, discriminatory, or (3) analysis of the data 
compiled by the bank under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (12 U.S.C. 
2801 et seq.) and Regulation C indicates a pattern of significant 
variation in the number of home loans between census tracts with 
similar incomes and home ownership levels differentiated only by race 
or national origin.
     12 CFR 27.5 requires a national bank to maintain the 
information required by Sec.  27.3 for 25 months after the bank 
notifies the applicant of action taken on an application or after 
withdrawal of an application.
     12 CFR 27.7 requires a national bank to submit to the OCC, 
upon request prior to a scheduled examination, the information required 
by Sec. Sec.  27.3(a) and 27.4. Non-HMDA reporters with more than 50 
applications are required to submit this data using the Monthly Home 
Loan Activity Format form in Appendix I to part 27 and the Home Loan 
Data Submission Form in Appendix IV to part 27, except that there is an 
additional exclusion for national banks with fewer than 75 
applications. Specifically, section 27.7(c)(3) states that a bank with 
fewer than 75 home loan applications in the preceding year is not 
required to submit such forms unless the home loan activity is 
concentrated in the few months preceding the request for data, 
indicating the likelihood of increased activity over the subsequent 
year, or there is cause to believe that a bank is not in compliance 
with the fair housing laws based on prior examinations and/or 
complaints, among other factors.
     Sec.  27.7(d) provides that if there is cause to believe 
that a national bank is in noncompliance with fair housing laws, the 
Comptroller may require submission of additional Home Loan Data 
Submission Forms. The Comptroller may also require submission of the 
information maintained under Sec.  27.3(a) and Home Loan Data 
Submission Forms at more frequent intervals than specified.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.
    Burden Estimates:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 956.
     Estimated Annual Burden: 19,864 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice will be 
summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments 
will become a matter of public record. Comments are invited on:
    (a) Whether the collections of information are 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 estimates 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.

Theodore J. Dowd,
Deputy Chief Counsel,Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2020-24586 Filed 11-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P