[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14143-14145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03855]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Revision of an Approved 
Information Collection; Submission for OMB Review; 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 comment on a continuing information 
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). 
In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC 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 a revision to its information collection titled, 
``Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation.''

DATES: Comments must be received by March 27, 2024.

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, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-
0159, 400 7th Street

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SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, 
Washington, DC 20219.
     Fax: (571) 293-4835.
    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.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should also be sent within 30 days of publication of this 
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. You can find this 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to 
this information collection following the close of the 30-day comment 
period for this notice by the method set forth in the next bullet.
     Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. 
Hover over the ``Information Collection Review'' tab and click on 
``Information Collection Review'' from the drop-down menu. From the 
``Currently under Review'' drop-down menu, select ``Department of 
Treasury'' and then click ``submit.'' This information collection can 
be located by searching 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, Clearance Officer, 
(202) 649-5490, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of 
the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, 
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to 
access telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 
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. 
The OCC asks OMB to approve this revised collection.
    Title: Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0159.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.
    Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Description: Part 27 requires certain national banks to record 
certain information and all national banks to retain certain 
information.\1\ 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. Specifically, 
national banks that are HMDA reporters meet the part 27 requirement by 
recording HMDA data along with the reasons for denying any loan 
application on the HMDA Loan Application/Register (LAR).\4\ 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,\5\ or (2) recording and maintaining part 27-
specified activity data relating to aggregate numbers of certain types 
of loans by geography and action taken.\6\ 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. Part 27 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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    \1\ 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 F.R.D. 543, 544 (D.D.C. May 3, 1978). See 
also 44 FR 63084, November 2, 1979.
    \2\ 12 CFR part 1003.
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.
    \4\ 12 CFR 27.3(a)(1)(i).
    \5\ 12 CFR 27.3(a)(5).
    \6\ 12 CFR 27.3(a)(2).
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    The requirements in part 27 are as follows:
    Section 27.3(a)(1) requires provision of the data that national 
banks are required to collect on home loans pursuant to Regulation 
C.\7\
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    \7\ The quarterly recordkeeping requirements under 12 CFR 
27.3(a) do not add any burden because they are duplicative of the 
recordkeeping requirements under 12 CFR 1003.4(f). See OMB control 
number 1557-0345.
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    Sections 27.3(a)(2) and (3) require 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.
    Section 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.
    Section 27.3(c) sets forth additional information national banks 
must maintain in each of their home loan files.
    Section 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 HMDA 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.
    Section 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.
    Section 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

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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, Sec.  
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.
    Section 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.
    Burden Estimates:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 702.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 12,632 hours.
    Comments: On December 15, 2023, the OCC published a 60-day notice 
for this information collection, 88 FR 87052. No comments were 
received.
    Comments continue to be invited on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is 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 estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information;
    (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. 2024-03855 Filed 2-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P