[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 249 (Thursday, December 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80186-80187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28322]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


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

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requests that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) extend for three years the current 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for information collection 
requirements contained in 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 generally shares enforcement of Regulation N with the 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The current clearance 
expires on January 31, 2023.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. The 
reginfo.gov web link is a United States Government website produced by 
OMB and the General Services Administration (GSA). Under PRA 
requirements, OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) 
reviews Federal information collections.

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 part 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 pt. 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 pt. 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.
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    \4\ Section 1014.5 of the Rule sets forth the recordkeeping 
requirements.
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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.\5\ 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.\6\ Certain other 
covered persons such as lead generators and rate aggregators may not 
currently maintain these records in the ordinary course of business.\7\ 
Thus, the recordkeeping requirements for those persons would constitute 
a ``collection of information.''
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    \5\ Some covered persons, particularly mortgage brokers and 
lenders, are subject to state recordkeeping requirements for 
mortgage advertisements. See, e.g., Fla. Stat. 494.00165 (2021); 
Ind. Code Ann. 23-2.5-8.5 (2021; Kan. Stat. Ann. 9-2208 (2022); 
Minn. Stat. 58.14 (2021); Wash. Rev. Code 19.146.060 (2021), and WAC 
208-660-450 (2022). 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 (2022); N.Y. Banking Law 597 
(Consol. 2021); Tenn. Code Ann. 45-13-206 (2021). 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 pt. 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.
    \6\ See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A); 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
    \7\ 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.
    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: $26,550, which is derived from 
1,500 hours x $17.70 per hour.\8\
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    \8\ 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 2021 table 1 (``National employment and wage data from the 
Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation''), released 
March 31, 2022, available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf.
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    On August 24, 2022, the FTC sought comment on the information 
collection requirements associated with the Rule. 87 FR 51982. The FTC 
received no germane comments during the public comment period. Pursuant 
to OMB

[[Page 80187]]

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 87 FR 51982.
    Your comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on 
the public record of this proceeding. 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.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-28322 Filed 12-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P