[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57992-57994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15492]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Comment Request; Community Reinvestment Act 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 the renewal of its information collection titled, 
``Community Reinvestment Act Regulation.''

DATES: Comments must be received by September 16, 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-
0357, 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 
``1557-0357'' 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 ``1557-0357'' or ``Community 
Reinvestment Act 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. 
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

[[Page 57993]]

is publishing notice of the renewal of this collection.
    The OMB provided a six-month approval for this information 
collection on an emergency basis on April 17, 2024. The OCC is now 
seeking to extend OMB approval of the collection for the standard three 
years.
    Title: Community Reinvestment Act Regulation.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0357.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.
    Description: The CRA requires the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (agencies) to assess the record 
of regulated financial institutions (institutions) in helping to meet 
the credit needs of their entire communities, including low- and 
moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound 
operations.\1\ The CRA further requires the agencies to take this 
record into account in evaluating applications for mergers, branches, 
and certain other corporate activities.\2\ The CRA statute requires the 
agencies to issue regulations to carry out its purposes.\3\
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    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 2903(a)(1).
    \2\ See 12 U.S.C. 2903(a)(2).
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 2905.
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    The agencies use the data collected under the CRA regulations to 
fulfill their statutory obligations, including the assessment of each 
institution's record of helping to meet the credit needs of local 
communities. The agencies use the data to support their conclusions 
regarding an institution's record of performance, in assigning a CRA 
rating, and in preparing the public evaluations that the statute 
requires. Additionally, the agencies use these CRA assessments in 
evaluating an institution's applications for mergers, branches, and 
other corporate activities. The public uses the data to assess the 
institution's CRA performance and to participate meaningfully in the 
application process.

Section-by-Section Analysis

     12 CFR 25.25(b)--Requests for designation as a wholesale 
or limited purpose bank or savings association must be made in writing 
with the OCC at least three months prior to the proposed effective date 
of the designation.
     12 CFR 25.27--Strategic plans must be submitted at least 
three months prior to proposed effective dates. Plans must include 
measurable goals and address all the applicable performance categories. 
Plans must include a description of informal efforts to solicit public 
suggestions, any written public comments received, and if revised 
pursuant to public comment, a copy of the initial plan. Amendments may 
be submitted in the case of a change in material circumstances.
     12 CFR 25.42(a), 12 CFR 25.42(b)(1)--Large banks and 
savings associations \4\ must collect and maintain certain small 
business/small farm loan data in a machine-readable form and report it 
annually.
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    \4\ Although the CRA regulations do not define ``large banks and 
savings associations,'' this term is used by the agencies to 
describe banks and savings associations that exceed the small bank 
or savings association asset size threshold in 12 CFR 25.12(u).
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     12 CFR 25.42(b)(2)--Large banks and savings associations 
must report annually in machine readable form the aggregate number and 
aggregate amount of community development loans originated or 
purchased.
     12 CFR 25.42(b)(3)--Large banks and savings associations, 
if subject to reporting under 12 CFR 1003 (Home Mortgage Disclosure 
(Regulation C)), must report the location of each home mortgage loan 
application, origination, or purchase outside the metropolitan 
statistical area(s) in which the bank or savings association has a 
home/branch office.
     12 CFR 25.42(c)(1), 12 CFR 25.42(c)(2)--All banks and 
savings associations may collect and maintain in machine readable form 
certain data for consumer loans originated or purchased by a bank or 
savings association for consideration under the lending test. Other 
information may be included concerning their lending performance, 
including additional loan distribution data.
     12 CFR 25.42(d)--Banks and savings associations that elect 
to have the OCC consider loans by an affiliate, for purposes of the 
lending or community development test or an approved strategic plan, 
must collect, maintain, and report the data that the bank or savings 
association would have collected, maintained, and reported pursuant to 
12 CFR 25.42(a)-(c), respectively, had the loans been originated or 
purchased by the bank or savings association. For home mortgage loans, 
the bank or savings association must also be prepared to identify the 
home mortgage loans reported under HMDA by the affiliate.
     12 CFR 25.42(e)--Banks and savings associations that elect 
to have the OCC consider community development loans by a consortium or 
a third party, for purposes of the lending or community development 
tests or an approved strategic plan, must report for those loans the 
data that the bank or savings association would have reported under 12 
CFR 25.42(b)(2), respectively, had the loans been originated or 
purchased by the bank or savings association.
     12 CFR 25.42(f)--Small banks and savings associations that 
qualify for evaluation under the small bank and savings association 
performance standards but elect evaluation under the lending, 
investment, and service tests must collect, maintain, and report the 
data required for other banks or savings associations under 12 CFR 
25.42(a) and 25.42(b).
     12 CFR 25.42(g)--Banks and savings associations, except 
those that were small banks or savings associations during the prior 
calendar year, must collect and report to the OCC by March 1 each year 
a list for each assessment area showing the geographies within the 
area.
     12 CFR 25.43(a)--All banks and savings associations must 
maintain a public file that contains with certain specified details: 
all written comments and responses; a copy of the public section of the 
bank's or savings association's most recent CRA performance evaluation; 
a list of the bank's or savings association's branches; a list of the 
branches opened or closed; a list of services offered; and a map of 
each assessment area delineated by the bank or savings association.
     12 CFR 25.43(b)--Large banks and savings associations must 
include in their public files certain information pertaining to the 
institution and its affiliates, if applicable, for each of the prior 
two calendar years. If the bank or savings association has elected to 
have one or more categories of its consumer loans considered under the 
lending test, for each of these categories, they must include the 
number and amount of loans: to low-, moderate-, middle-, and upper-
income individuals; located in low-, moderate-, middle-, and upper-
income census tracts; and located inside the bank's assessment area(s) 
and outside the bank's or savings association's assessment area(s); and 
their CRA Disclosure Statement. A bank or savings association required 
to report home mortgage loan data pursuant to 12 CFR part 1003 must 
include a written notice that the institution's HMDA Disclosure 
Statement may be obtained on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's 
(Bureau's) website. A bank or savings association that elected to have 
the OCC consider the mortgage lending of an affiliate must include the 
name of the affiliate and a written notice that the affiliate's HMDA 
Disclosure Statement

[[Page 57994]]

may be obtained at the Bureau's website. A small bank or savings 
association or a bank or savings association that was a small bank or 
savings association during the prior calendar year must include: its 
loan-to-deposit ratio for each quarter of the prior calendar year and, 
at its option, additional data on its loan-to-deposit ratio; and the 
information required for other banks or savings associations by 12 CFR 
24.43(b)(1), if it has elected to be evaluated under the lending, 
investment, and service tests. A bank or savings association that has 
been approved to be assessed under a strategic plan must include in its 
public file a copy of that plan. A bank or savings association that 
received a less than satisfactory rating during its most recent 
examination must include in its public file a description of its 
current efforts to improve its performance in helping to meet the 
credit needs of its entire community. The bank must update the 
description quarterly.
     12 CFR 25.43(c)-(e)--A bank or savings association must 
make available to the public for inspection upon request and at no cost 
the information required in this section at the main office or branch 
as specified. Upon request, a bank or savings association must provide 
copies, either on paper or in another form acceptable to the person 
making the request, of the information in its public file. A bank or 
savings association must ensure that this information is current as of 
April 1 of each year.
    Estimated Burden:
    Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,096.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 141,638 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. 2024-15492 Filed 7-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P