[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