[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46303-46304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11633]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Comment Request; Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators

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 the revision to its information collection titled, 
``Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators.''

DATES:  Comments must be received by July 29, 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-
0243, 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) 293-4835.
    Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and 
``1557-0243'' 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.
    Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, the OCC 
will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period. 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 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 ``1557-0243'' or 
``Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators.'' 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. 
Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 generally requires Federal agencies 
to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each 
proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension 
of an existing collection of information, before submitting the 
collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the 
OCC is publishing notice of the renewal/revision of this collection.
    Title: Registration of Mortgage Loan Originators.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0243.
    Description: The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing 
Act (the S.A.F.E. Act or Act) \1\ requires an employee of a Federally-
regulated bank, savings association, credit union, or farm credit 
institution and their subsidiaries (collectively, institutions) who 
engages in the business of a residential mortgage loan originator (MLO) 
and does not qualify for the de minimis exception to register with the 
Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (Registry) and obtain 
a unique identifier. Further, the S.A.F.E. Act provides that 
institutions must require their employees who act as MLOs to comply 
with the Act's registration requirements and obtain a

[[Page 46304]]

unique identifier. Institutions must also adopt and follow written 
policies and procedures to ensure compliance with these requirements.
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    \1\ The S.A.F.E. Act was enacted as part of the Housing and 
Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Pub. L. 110-289, Division A, Title V, 
sections 1501--1517, 122 Stat. 2654, 2810--2824 (July 30, 2008), 
codified at 12 U.S.C. 5101-5116.
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    Among other things, the Registry is intended to aggregate and 
improve the flow of information to and between regulators; provide 
increased accountability and tracking of mortgage loan originators; 
enhance consumer protections; reduce fraud in the residential mortgage 
loan origination process; and provide consumers with easily accessible 
information at no charge regarding the employment history of, and the 
publicly adjudicated disciplinary and enforcement actions against, 
MLOs.
    Along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union 
Administration, and the Farm Credit Administration, the OCC issued a 
final rule implementing the S.A.F.E. Act.\2\ The Dodd-Frank Wall Street 
Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), Pub. Law 111-203, 
later provided for the transfer of this rule to the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the CFPB republished this rule as 12 CFR 
part 1007.\3\ However, the OCC retains enforcement authority for 
national banks, Federal savings associations, and Federal branches and 
agencies of foreign banks with total assets of $10 billion or less.\4\
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    \2\ 75 FR 44656 (July 28, 2010), as corrected in 75 FR 51623 
(Aug. 23, 2010).
    \3\ 76 FR 78487 (Dec. 19, 2011).
    \4\ See section 1025 of the Dodd-Frank Act, codified at 12 
U.S.C. 5515.
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MLO Reporting Requirements

    Except in situations where the de minimis exception applies, 12 CFR 
1007.103 requires an employee of an institution who acts as an MLO to 
register with the Registry, obtain a unique identifier, and maintain 
and update such registration. This section also requires institutions 
to require their MLO employees to comply with these requirements. 
Section 1007.103(d) sets forth the categories of information that an 
institution must require each MLO employee to submit to the Registry or 
submit on the employee's behalf. This section also requires each MLO 
employee to submit to the Registry an attestation as to the correctness 
of the information submitted and an authorization for the Registry and 
the employing institution to obtain certain additional information 
related to the employee.

MLO Disclosure Requirement

    Section 1007(b) requires MLOs to provide their unique identifier to 
a consumer upon request, before acting as an MLO, and through the 
originator's initial written communication with a consumer, if any, 
whether on paper or electronically.

Financial Institution Reporting Requirements

    Section 1007.103(e) specifies the institution-related and employee 
information an institution must submit to the Registry in connection 
with the initial registration of one or more MLOs and annually 
thereafter. The institution also must update this information within 30 
days of the date that this information becomes inaccurate. Employees of 
the institution who submit information to the Registry on behalf of the 
institution must verify their identity and attest that they have the 
authority to enter data on behalf of the institution, that the 
information submitted is correct, and that the covered financial 
institution will keep the required information current and will file 
accurate supplementary information on a timely basis. Financial 
Institution Disclosure Requirements
    Section 1007.105(a) requires the institution to make the unique 
identifiers of its MLO employees available to consumers in a manner and 
method practicable to the institution.

Financial Institution Recordkeeping Requirements

    Section 1007.104 requires that an institution that employs one or 
more MLOs to adopt and follow written policies and procedures to, at a 
minimum, address certain specified areas related to MLO registration. 
These policies must be appropriate to the nature, size, and complexity 
of the institution's mortgage lending activities and that apply only to 
those employees acting within the scope of their employment at the 
institution.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Affected Public: Individuals; Businesses or other for-profit.
    Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 90,574.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 40,671 hours.
    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 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.

Patrick T. Tierney,
Assistant Director, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2024-11633 Filed 5-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P