10704 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

has been revised, future maintenance actions 

on these components must be done in 

accordance with the CDCCLs. 

(i) Except as specified in paragraph (k) of 

this AD: After the actions specified in 

paragraph (g) or (h) of this AD have been 

accomplished, no alternative inspections or 

inspection intervals may be approved for the 

structural elements specified in the 

documents listed in paragraph (g) or (h) of 

this AD. 

(j) Modifying the main fittings of the main 

landing gear in accordance with MessierDowty Service Bulletin 146–32–171, dated 

August 11, 2009, extends the safe limit of the 

main landing gear main fitting from 32,000 

landings to 50,000 landings on the main 

fitting. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs) 

(k) The Manager, International Branch, 

ANM–116, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

FAA, has the authority to approve AMOCs 

for this AD, if requested using the procedures 

found in 14 CFR 39.19. Send information to 

ATTN: Todd Thompson, Aerospace 

Engineer, International Branch, ANM–116, 

FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 

Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98057–4056; telephone (425) 227–1175; fax 

(425) 227–1149. Before using any approved 

AMOC on any airplane to which the AMOC 

applies, notify your principal maintenance 

inspector (PMI) or principal avionics 

inspector (PAI), as appropriate, or lacking a 

principal inspector, your local Flight 

Standards District Office. The AMOC 

approval letter must specifically reference 

this AD. 

Related Information 

(l) EASA Airworthiness Directive 2009– 

0215, dated October 7, 2009; and MessierDowty Service Bulletin 146–32–171, dated 

August 11, 2009; also address the subject of 

this AD. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on March 2, 

2010. 

Suzanne Masterson, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5016 Filed 3–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Economic Analysis 

15 CFR Part 801 

[Docket No. 0908131235–0060–01] 

RIN 0691–AA73 

International Services Surveys: BE– 

180, Benchmark Survey of Financial 

Services Transactions Between U.S. 

Financial Services Providers and 

Foreign Persons 

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

amend regulations of the Bureau of 

Economic Analysis, Department of 

Commerce (BEA) to set forth the 

reporting requirements for the BE–180, 

Benchmark Survey of Financial Services 

Transactions between U.S. Financial 

Services Providers and Foreign Persons. 

The BE–180 would replace a similar but 

more limited survey, the BE–80, 

Benchmark Survey of Financial Services 

Transactions Between U.S. Financial 

Services Providers and Unaffiliated 

Foreign Persons. The agency form 

number and survey title are being 

changed because the survey would 

include the collection of data on 

transactions with affiliated foreigners 

and unaffiliated foreigners using the 

same survey instrument. If adopted the 

BE–180 survey would be conducted 

once every five years beginning with 

fiscal year 2009. 

The proposed BE–180 survey is 

intended to cover financial services 

transactions with foreign persons. In 

nonbenchmark years, the universe 

estimates covering these transactions 

would be derived from the sample data 

reported on BEA’s follow-on survey 

(BE–185, Quarterly Survey of Financial 

Services Transactions between U.S. 

Financial Services Providers and 

Foreign Persons). 

The data will be used by BEA to 

estimate the financial services 

component of the U.S. International 

Transactions Accounts and other 

economic accounts compiled by BEA. 

The data also are needed by the 

government to monitor U.S. exports and 

imports of financial services; analyze 

their impact on the U.S. and foreign 

economies; support U.S. international 

trade policy on financial services; and 

assess and promote U.S. 

competitiveness in international trade 

in services. In addition, they will 

improve the ability of U.S. businesses to 

identify and evaluate market 

opportunities. 

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule 

will receive consideration if submitted 

in writing on or before 5 p.m. May 10, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

For agency, select ‘‘Commerce 

Department—all.’’ 

• E-mail: 

Christopher.Emond@bea.gov. 

• Fax: Chris Emond, Chief, Special 

Surveys Branch, (202) 606–5318. 

• Mail: Chris Emond, Chief, Special 

Surveys Branch, Balance of Payments 

Division, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

Bureau of Economic Analysis, BE–50, 

Washington, DC 20230. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Chris 

Emond, Chief, Special Surveys Branch, 

Balance of Payments Division, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, Bureau of 

Economic Analysis, BE–50, Shipping 

and Receiving Section, M100, 1441 L 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005. 

Please include in your comment a 

reference to RIN 0691–AA73 in the 

subject line. Written comments 

regarding the burden-hour estimates or 

other aspects of the collection-ofinformation requirements contained in 

the proposed rule should be sent both 

to BEA, through any of the methods 

listed above, and to the Office of 

Management and Budget, O.I.R.A., 

Paperwork Reduction Project, Attention 

PRA Desk Officer for BEA, via e-mail at 

pbugg@omb.eop.gov, or by FAX at 202– 

395–7245. 

Public Inspection: All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the 

commentator may be publicly 

accessible. Do not submit confidential 

business information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. BEA 

will accept anonymous comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chris Emond, Chief, Special Surveys 

Branch, Balance of Payments Division 

(BE–50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, 

U.S. DOC, Washington, DC 20230; 

e-mail Christopher.Emond@bea.gov; or 

phone (202) 606–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed rule would amend 15 CFR 

Part 801 to set forth the reporting 

requirements for the BE–180, 

Benchmark Survey of Financial Services 

Transactions between U.S. Financial 

Services Providers and Foreign Persons. 

The BE–180 would replace a similar but 

more limited survey, the BE–80, 

Benchmark Survey of Financial Services 

Transactions Between U.S. Financial 

Services Providers and Unaffiliated 

Foreign Persons, and would include the 

collection of data on transactions with 

affiliated foreigners and unaffiliated 

foreigners. The proposed BE–180 survey 

is intended to cover financial services 

transactions with foreign persons. In 

nonbenchmark years, the universe 

estimates covering these transactions 

would be derived from the sample data 

reported on BEA’s follow-on survey 

(BE–185, Quarterly Survey of Financial 

Services Transactions between U.S. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 10705 

Financial Services Providers and 

Foreign Persons). 

The survey would be mandatory for 

those U.S. financial companies that 

engage in the covered transactions in 

amounts that exceed the exemption 

level. The Department of Commerce, as 

part of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondents burden, 

invites the general public and other 

Federal agencies to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

The survey as described in this rule 

would be conducted by BEA every five 

years, with the first survey covering 

fiscal year 2009, under the authority 

provided by the International 

Investment and Trade in Services 

Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3101–3108), 

hereinafter, ‘‘the Act,’’ and by Section 

5408 of the Omnibus Trade and 

Competitiveness Act of 1988. If this 

proposed rule is implemented, BEA 

would send the survey to potential 

respondents in June of 2010; responses 

would be due by August 31, 2010. 

The services covered by the BE–180 

would include the following 

transactions: (1) Brokerage services 

related to equity transactions, and (2) 

other brokerage services; (3) 

underwriting and private placement 

services; (4) financial management 

services; (5) credit-related services, 

except credit card services, and (6) 

credit card services; (7) financial 

advisory and custody services; (8) 

securities lending services; (9) 

electronic funds transfer services; and 

(10) other financial services. The 

exemption level for the proposed survey 

is total sales or purchases of $3 million 

during the reporting period, for the ten 

categories listed above. Financial 

companies that exceed this threshold 

must supply data on the amount of their 

financial transactions for each category, 

disaggregated by country and by its 

relationship to the foreign transactor 

(foreign affiliate, foreign parent group, 

or unaffiliated). In addition, this survey 

would collect subcomponents of 

financial management receipts at the 

global level. 

U.S. financial companies that are 

exempt from the survey’s reporting 

requirements because they do not meet 

the reporting threshold are requested to 

provide, on a voluntary basis, estimates 

of their covered financial services 

transactions. Any U.S. financial 

company that receives the BE–180 

survey form from BEA, but does not 

report data because it is exempt under 

the regulations, must file an exemption 

claim by completing pages one through 

five of the survey. This requirement is 

necessary to ensure efficient 

administration of the Act by eliminating 

unnecessary follow-up contact. If a U.S. 

financial company does not receive the 

BE–180 survey form and is not 

otherwise required to report under these 

regulations, then the company is not 

required to take any action. 

BEA maintains a continuing dialogue 

with respondents and with data users, 

including its own internal users, to 

ensure that, as far as possible, the 

required data serve their intended 

purposes and are available from the 

existing records, that instructions are 

clear, and that unreasonable burdens are 

not imposed. In reaching decisions on 

questions to include in the survey, BEA 

considered the Government’s need for 

the data, the burden imposed on 

respondents, the quality of the likely 

responses (for example, whether the 

data are available on respondents’ 

books), and BEA’s experience in 

previous benchmark, annual, and 

quarterly surveys. 

Survey Background 

The Bureau of Economic Analysis 

(BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, 

would conduct the survey under the 

International Investment and Trade in 

Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3101– 

3108), and Section 5408 of the Omnibus 

Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. 

Section 4(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 

3103(a)) provides that the President 

shall, to the extent he deems necessary 

and feasible, conduct a regular data 

collection program to secure current 

information related to international 

investment and trade in services and 

publish for the use of the general public 

and United States Government agencies 

periodic, regular, and comprehensive 

statistical information collected 

pursuant to this subsection. 

In Section 3 of Executive Order 

11961, as amended by Executive Orders 

12318 and 12518, the President 

delegated the responsibilities under the 

Act for performing functions concerning 

international trade in services to the 

Secretary of Commerce, who has 

redelegated them to BEA. 

Data from the proposed survey are 

needed to monitor U.S. exports and 

imports of financial services; analyze 

their impact on the U.S. and foreign 

economies; compile and improve the 

U.S. international transactions, national 

income and product, and input-output 

accounts; support U.S. international 

trade policy on financial services; assess 

and promote U.S. competitiveness in 

international trade in services; and 

improve the ability of U.S. businesses to 

identify and evaluate market 

opportunities. 

Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of E.O. 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 

This proposed rule does not contain 

policies with Federalism implications 

sufficient to warrant preparation of a 

Federalism Assessment under E.O. 

13132. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule contains a 

collection-of-information requirement 

subject to review and approval by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. The requirement will be submitted 

to OMB as a request to reinstate with 

change a previously approved collection 

for which approval has expired under 

OMB Control Number 0608–0062. 

Notwithstanding any other provisions 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act unless that collection 

displays a currently valid Office of 

Management and Budget Control 

Number. 

The benchmark survey, as proposed, 

is expected to result in the filing of 

reports from approximately 8,000 

respondents. Approximately 1,000 

respondents would report mandatory or 

voluntary data on the survey and 

approximately 7,000 would file 

exemption claims. The respondent 

burden for this collection of information 

would vary from one respondent to 

another, but is estimated to average ten 

hours, including time for reviewing the 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering and maintaining the 

data needed, and completing and 

reviewing the collection of information 

for the respondents that file mandatory 

or voluntary data and two hours for 

other responses. Thus, the total 

respondent burden for the survey is 

estimated at 24,000 hours. 

Comments are requested concerning: 

(a) Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the burden estimate; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information collected; 

and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on the 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

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10706 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in the proposed 

rule should be sent both to BEA, 

through any of the methods listed 

above, and to the Office of Management 

and Budget, O.I.R.A., Paperwork 

Reduction Project, Attention PRA Desk 

Officer for BEA, via e-mail at 

pbugg@omb.eop.gov, or by FAX at 202– 

395–7245. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation, 

Department of Commerce, has certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, 

Small Business Administration, under 

provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that this proposed 

rulemaking, if adopted, will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

While the survey does not collect data 

on total sales or other measures of the 

overall size of the businesses that 

respond to the survey, historically the 

respondents to the existing quarterly 

survey of financial services transactions 

and to the previous benchmark surveys 

have been comprised mainly of major 

U.S. corporations. The proposed 

benchmark survey will be required from 

U.S. financial companies whose sales or 

purchases of the covered financial 

services with foreign persons exceeded 

$3 million for fiscal year 2009. This 

exemption level will exclude most small 

businesses from mandatory coverage. 

Any small businesses that may be 

required to report would likely have 

engaged in only a few covered 

transactions and so the burden on them 

would be relatively small. 

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801 

International transactions, Economic 

statistics, Foreign trade, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: January 12, 2010. 

J. Steven Landefeld, 

Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 

CFR Part 801, as follows: 

PART 801—SURVEY OF 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES 

BETWEEN U.S. AND FOREIGN 

PERSONS 

1. The authority citation for 15 CFR 

Part 801 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 

22 U.S.C. 3101–3108; and E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 

1977 Comp., p. 86, as amended by E.O. 

12318, 3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173, and E.O. 

12518, 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p 348. 

2. Amend § 801.9 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 801.9 Reports required. 

(a) Benchmark surveys. Section 4(a)(4) 

of the Act (22 U.S.C. 3103) provides that 

benchmark surveys of trade in services 

between U.S. and foreign persons be 

conducted, but not more frequently than 

every 5 years. General reporting 

requirements, exemption levels, and the 

years of coverage for the BE–120 survey 

may be found in § 801.10: General 

reporting requirements, exemption 

levels, and the years of coverage for the 

BE–140 survey may be found in 

§ 801.11: More detailed instructions are 

given on the forms themselves; and 

general reporting requirements, 

exemption levels, and the years for 

coverage for the BE–180 survey may be 

found in § 801.12: 

* * * * * 

§ 801.11 [Removed] 

3. Remove § 801.11. 

§ 801.12 [Redesignated as § 801.11] 

4. Redesignate § 801.12 as § 801.11. 

5. Add section 801.12 to read as 

follows: 

§ 801.12 Rules and regulations for the BE– 

180, Benchmark Survey of Financial 

Services Transactions between U.S. 

Financial Services Providers and Foreign 

Persons. 

(a) The BE–180, Benchmark Survey of 

Financial Services Transactions 

between U.S. Financial Services 

Providers and Foreign Persons, will be 

conducted beginning with fiscal year 

2009 and every fifth year thereafter. 

More detailed instructions are given on 

the report forms and instructions. 

(b) Who must report—(1) Mandatory 

reporting. A report is required from each 

U.S. person that is a financial services 

provider or intermediary, or whose 

consolidated U.S. enterprise includes a 

separately organized subsidiary, or part, 

that is a financial services provider or 

intermediary, and that had transactions 

(either sales or purchases) directly with 

foreign persons in all financial services 

combined in excess of $3,000,000 

during its fiscal year covered by the 

survey on an accrual basis. The 

$3,000,000 threshold should be applied 

to financial services transactions with 

foreign persons by all parts of the 

consolidated U.S. enterprise combined 

that are financial services providers or 

intermediaries. Because the $3,000,000 

threshold applies separately to sales and 

purchases, the mandatory reporting 

requirement may apply only to sales, 

only to purchases, or to both. 

(i) The determination of whether a 

U.S. financial services provider or 

intermediary is subject to this 

mandatory reporting requirement may 

be based on the judgment of 

knowledgeable persons in a company 

who can identify reportable transactions 

on a recall basis, with a reasonable 

degree of certainty, without conducting 

a detailed manual records search. 

(ii) Reporters that file pursuant to this 

mandatory reporting requirement must 

provide data on total sales and/or 

purchases of each of the covered types 

of financial services transactions and 

must disaggregate the totals by country 

and by relationship to the foreign 

transactor (foreign affiliate, foreign 

parent group, or unaffiliated). 

(2) Voluntary reporting. If, during the 

fiscal year covered, sales or purchases of 

financial services by a firm that is a 

financial services provider or 

intermediary, or by a firm’s subsidiaries, 

or parts, combined that are financial 

services providers or intermediaries, are 

$3,000,000 or less, the U.S. person is 

requested to provide an estimate of the 

total for each type of service. Provision 

of this information is voluntary. Because 

the $3,000,000 threshold applies 

separately to sales and purchases, this 

voluntary reporting option may apply 

only to sales, only to purchases, or to 

both. 

(3) Exemption claims. Entities that 

receive the BE–180 survey but are not 

subject to the mandatory reporting 

requirements and choose not to report 

data voluntarily must file an exemption 

claim by completing pages one through 

five of the BE–180 survey and returning 

them to BEA. 

(c) BE–180 definition of financial 

services provider. The definition of 

financial services provider used for this 

survey is identical to the definition of 

the term as used in the North American 

Industry Classification System, United 

States, 2007, Sector 52–Finance and 

Insurance, and holding companies that 

own or influence, and are principally 

engaged in making management 

decisions for these firms (part of Sector 

55–Management of Companies and 

Enterprises). For example, companies 

and/or subsidiaries and other separable 

parts of companies in the following 

industries are defined as financial 

services providers: Depository credit 

intermediation and related activities 

(including commercial banking, savings 

institutions, credit unions, and other 

depository credit intermediation); nondepository credit intermediation 

(including credit card issuing, sales 

financing, and other non-depository 

credit intermediation); activities related 

to credit intermediation (including 

mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers, 

financial transactions processing, 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 10707 

1 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, Pub. L. 111- 

8, 123 Stat. 524. 2 Id. § 626(a). 3 Id. Because Congress directed the Commission 

to use these APA rulemaking procedures, the FTC 

will not use the procedures set forth in Section 18 

of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 57a. 

4 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and 

Disclosure Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-24, 123 Stat. 

1734 (Credit CARD Act). 

5 Id. § 511(a)(1)(B). 

6 Id. 

7 Unlike Section 18 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 57, 

the Omnibus Appropriations Act, as clarified by the 

Credit CARD Act, does not require that the 

Commission identify with specificity in the rule the 

unfair or deceptive acts or practices that the 

prohibitions will prevent. Omnibus Appropriations 

Act § 626(a); Credit CARD Act § 511(a)(1)(B); see 

also Katharine Gibbs Sch. v. FTC, 612 F.2d 658 (2d 

Cir. 1979). 

8 Credit CARD Act § 511(a)(1)(B). 

9 15 U.S.C. 45(a)(2). 

10 15 U.S.C. 44. Bona fide nonprofit entities are 

exempt from the jurisdiction of the FTC Act. 

Sections 4 and 5 of the FTC Act confer on the 

Commission jurisdiction over persons, 

partnerships, or corporations organized to carry on 

business for their profit or that of their members. 

15 U.S.C. 44, 45(a)(2). The FTC does, however, have 

jurisdiction over for-profit entities that provide 

mortgage-related services as a result of a contractual 

relationship with a nonprofit organization. See 

Nat’l Fed’n of the Blind v. FTC, 420 F.3d 331, 334- 

35 (4th Cir. 2005). In addition, the Commission 

asserts jurisdiction over ‘‘sham charities’’ that 

operate as for-profit entities in practice. See infra 

note 112 and accompanying text. 

reserve, and clearinghouse activities, 

and other activities related to credit 

intermediation); securities and 

commodity contracts intermediation 

and brokerage (including investment 

banking and securities dealing, 

securities brokerage, commodity 

contracts and dealing, and commodity 

contracts brokerage); securities and 

commodity exchanges; other financial 

investment activities (including 

miscellaneous intermediation, portfolio 

management, investment advice, and all 

other financial investment activities); 

insurance carriers; insurance agencies, 

brokerages, and other insurance related 

activities; insurance and employee 

benefit funds (including pension funds, 

health and welfare funds, and other 

insurance funds); other investment 

pools and funds (including open-end 

investment funds, trusts, estates, and 

agency accounts, real estate investment 

trusts, and other financial vehicles); and 

holding companies that own, or 

influence the management decisions of, 

firms principally engaged in the 

aforementioned activities. 

(d) Covered types of services. The BE– 

180 survey covers the following types of 

financial services transactions (sales or 

purchases) between U.S. financial 

companies and foreign persons: 

Brokerage services related to equity 

transactions; other brokerage services; 

underwriting and private placement 

services; financial management services; 

credit-related services, except credit 

card services; credit card services; 

financial advisory and custody services; 

securities lending services; electronic 

funds transfer services; and other 

financial services. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2010–4983 Filed 3–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–06–P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

16 CFR Part 322 

RIN 3084-AB18 

MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE RELIEF 

SERVICES 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission 

(FTC or Commission). 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; 

request for public comment. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the 2009 

Omnibus Appropriations Act (Omnibus 

Appropriations Act), which was later 

clarified by the Credit Card 

Accountability and Responsibility and 

Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD 

Act), the Commission issues a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) 

concerning the practices of for-profit 

companies that, in exchange for a fee, 

offer to work with lenders and servicers 

on behalf of consumers to modify the 

terms of mortgage loans or to avoid 

foreclosure on those loans. The 

proposed Rule published for comment, 

among other things, would: prohibit 

providers of these services from making 

false or misleading claims; mandate that 

providers disclose certain information 

about these services; bar the collection 

of advance fees for these services; 

prohibit persons from providing 

substantial assistance or support to an 

entity they know or consciously avoid 

knowing is engaged in a violation of 

these Rules; and impose recordkeeping 

and compliance requirements. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

March 29, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments 

electronically or in paper form by 

following the instructions in the 

Request for Comment part of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. Comments in electronic form 

should be submitted at (http:// 

public.commentworks.com/ftc/MARSNPRM) (and following the instructions 

on the web-based form). Comments in 

paper form should be mailed or 

delivered to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex W), 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, 

DC 20580, in the manner detailed in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Sullivan, Evan Zullow, or Robert 

Mahini, Attorneys, Division of Financial 

Practices, Federal Trade Commission, 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 

Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3224. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

A. Statutory Authority 

On March 11, 2009, President Obama 

signed the Omnibus Appropriations 

Act.1 Section 626 of this Act directed 

the Commission to commence, within 

90 days of enactment, a rulemaking 

proceeding with respect to mortgage 

loans.2 Section 626 also directed the 

FTC to use notice and comment 

rulemaking procedures under Section 

553 of the Administrative Procedure Act 

(APA), 5 U.S.C. 553.3

On May 22, 2009, President Obama 

signed the Credit CARD Act.4 Section 

511 of this act clarified the 

Commission’s rulemaking authority 

under the Omnibus Appropriations Act. 

First, Section 511 specified that the 

rulemaking ‘‘shall relate to unfair or 

deceptive acts or practices regarding 

mortgage loans, which may include 

unfair or deceptive acts or practices 

involving loan modification and 

foreclosure rescue services.’’5 The 

Omnibus Appropriations Act, as 

clarified by the Credit CARD Act, does 

not specify any particular types of 

provisions that the Commission should 

or should not include in a rule 

addressing loan modification and 

foreclosure rescue services but rather 

directs the Commission to issue rules 

that ‘‘relate to’’ unfairness or deception.6

Accordingly, the Commission interprets 

the Omnibus Appropriation Act to 

allow it to issue rules prohibiting or 

restricting conduct that may not be 

unfair or deceptive itself but would be 

reasonably related to the goal of 

preventing unfairness or deception.7

Second, Section 511 of the Credit 

CARD Act clarified that the 

Commission’s rulemaking authority was 

limited to entities that are subject to 

enforcement by the Commission under 

the FTC Act.8 The rules the Commission 

promulgates to implement the Omnibus 

Appropriations Act, therefore, cannot 

cover the practices of banks, thrifts, 

federal credit unions,9 or certain 

nonprofits.10

The Omnibus Appropriations Act, as 

clarified by the Credit CARD Act, also 

permits both the Commission and the 

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