Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 110 / Friday, June 8, 2007 / Notices 31825 

plurality opinion, two concurring 

opinions, and two dissenting opinions), 

with no single opinion commanding a 

majority of the Court. 

During the first six months 

implementing the guidance, the 

agencies invite public comment and 

case studies on early experience with 

implementing the guidance. The 

agencies, within nine months from the 

date of issuance, will either reissue, 

revise, or suspend the guidance after 

carefully considering the public 

comments received and field experience 

with implementing the guidance. A 

copy of the guidance can be found on 

EPA’s Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ 

owow/wetlands/guidance/ 

CWAwaters.html and on the Corps’ Web 

site at http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/ 

cecwo/reg/. 

The Court’s split decision is causing 

uncertainty among agency field 

personnel and the general public 

regarding the scope of Federal 

jurisdiction under the CWA’s section 

404 program. As a result, many 

jurisdictional determinations and their 

associated permitting actions have been 

delayed. For this reason, the agencies 

believe it is imperative that the 

guidance be issued immediately, so that 

agency field personnel can address the 

backlog of pending jurisdictional 

determinations. 

At the same time, the agencies 

appreciate that the public has 

considerable interest in the issues 

addressed in this guidance. The 

agencies are particularly interested in 

hearing from the public regarding their 

actual experience with implementing 

the guidance. For this reason, we are 

providing a six month public comment 

period, which will allow us to address 

the backlog of pending jurisdictional 

determinations, while encouraging the 

public to provide comments, case 

studies, and experiences with the use of 

this guidance. To assure the public of 

our commitment to carefully consider 

their comments, and to address issues 

that may unexpectedly arise during 

implementation of the guidance, the 

agencies will within nine months from 

the date of issuance either reissue, 

revise, or suspend the guidance. 

Dated: June 5, 2007. 

Benjamin H. Grumbles, 

Assistant Administrator, Office of Water. 

[FR Doc. E7–11123 Filed 6–7–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

[Docket No. OP–1267] 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Thrift Supervision 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

Illustrations of Consumer Information 

for Nontraditional Mortgage Products 

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of 

the Currency, Treasury (OCC); Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System (Board); Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation (FDIC); Office of 

Thrift Supervision, Treasury (OTS); and 

National Credit Union Administration 

(NCUA) (collectively, the Agencies). 

ACTION: Final guidance ‘‘ Illustrations of 

Consumer Information for 

Nontraditional Mortgage Products. 

SUMMARY: The Agencies are publishing 

three documents that set forth 

Illustrations of Consumer Information 

for Nontraditional Mortgage Products. 

The illustrations are intended to assist 

institutions in implementing the 

consumer protection portion of the 

Interagency Guidance on Nontraditional 

Mortgage Product Risks (Interagency 

NTM Guidance) adopted on October 4, 

2006. 71 FR 58609 (Oct. 4, 2006). The 

illustrations are not model forms and 

institutions may choose not to use them 

in providing information to consumers 

on nontraditional mortgage products as 

recommended in the Interagency NTM 

Guidance. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 8, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

OCC: Michael Bylsma, Director, 

Stephen Van Meter, Assistant Director, 

or Kathryn Ray, Special Counsel, 

Community and Consumer Law 

Division, (202) 874–5750. 

Board: Kathleen C. Ryan, Counsel, or 

Jamie Z. Goodson, Attorney, Division of 

Consumer and Community Affairs, (202) 

452–3667. For users of 

Telecommunication Device for Deaf 

only, call (202) 263–4869. 

FDIC: April Breslaw, Acting Associate 

Director, Compliance Policy & Exam 

Support Branch, Division of 

Supervision and Consumer Protection, 

(202) 898–6609; or Richard Foley, 

Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898–

3784. 

OTS: Montrice G. Yakimov, Assistant 

Managing Director, Compliance and 

Consumer Protection Division, (202) 

906–6173; or Glenn Gimble, Senior 

Project Manager, Compliance and 

Consumer Protection Division, (202) 

906–7158. 

NCUA: Cory Phariss, Program Officer, 

Examination and Insurance, (703) 518–

6618. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On December 29, 2005, the Agencies 

published the Interagency NTM 

Guidance for comment. 70 FR 77249 

(Dec. 29, 2005). After carefully 

reviewing and considering all comments 

received, the Agencies published the 

Interagency NTM Guidance (applicable 

to all banks and their subsidiaries, bank 

holding companies and their nonbank 

subsidiaries, savings associations and 

their subsidiaries, savings and loan 

holding companies and their 

subsidiaries, and credit unions) in final 

form on October 4, 2006. 71 FR 58609 

(Oct. 4, 2006). 

The Interagency NTM Guidance sets 

forth recommended practices to ensure 

that consumers have clear and balanced 

information about nontraditional 

mortgages prior to making a mortgage 

product choice, such as when lenders 

provide promotional materials about 

nontraditional mortgages or during faceto-face meetings when consumers are 

shopping for a mortgage. The guidance 

also recommends that any monthly 

statements given with payment option 

adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) 

provide information to enable 

consumers to make informed payment 

choices. 

Several commenters on the proposed 

guidance, including industry trade 

associations, encouraged the Agencies 

to include model or sample disclosures 

or other descriptive materials as part of 

the Interagency NTM Guidance. In 

response, the Agencies determined that 

illustrations of consumer information 

would be useful to institutions as they 

seek to implement the consumer 

information recommendations. 

Therefore, on the same day the 

Interagency NTM Guidance was 

published in the Federal Register, the 

Agencies published for comment 

proposed Illustrations of Consumer 

Information for Nontraditional Mortgage 

Products (Proposed Illustrations). 71 FR 

58673 (Oct. 4, 2006). 

The three Proposed Illustrations 

consisted of (1) A narrative explanation 

of nontraditional mortgage products, (2) 

a chart comparing interest only (IO) 


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1 Illustration No. 2 also embodies assumptions 

about other product features that are typical in the 

current market: for example, the illustration 

assumes that the payment option ARM provides for 

a cap on increases in the minimum monthly 

payment equal to 7.5 percent per year for the first 

5 years of the loan. Thus, the illustration shows the 

minimum monthly payment increasing over this 

time period from $739 (in Year 1) to $987 (in Year 

5). 

loans and payment option ARMs to 

fixed rate and traditional adjustable rate 

loans, and (3) a table that could be 

included with any monthly statement 

for a payment option ARM providing 

information on the impact of various 

payment options on the loan balance. 

The Agencies noted that there would be 

no Agency requirement or expectation 

that institutions use the illustrations in 

their communications with consumers. 

Instead, the Agencies intended to 

illustrate the type of information that 

the Interagency NTM Guidance 

contemplates. Institutions would be able 

to determine whether or not to use the 

illustrations and whether and how to 

tailor them to their own circumstances. 

The Agencies requested comment on 

all aspects of the Proposed Illustrations. 

Specifically, they requested commenters 

to address whether the illustrations, as 

proposed, would be useful to 

institutions, including community 

banks, seeking to implement the 

‘‘Communications with Consumers’’

portion of the Interagency NTM 

Guidance, or whether changes should be 

made. The Agencies also encouraged 

specific comment on whether the 

illustrations, as proposed, would be 

useful in promoting consumer 

understanding of the risks and material 

terms of nontraditional mortgage 

products, as described in the 

Interagency NTM Guidance, or whether 

changes should be made. Finally, the 

Agencies sought comment on whether 

other illustrations relating to 

nontraditional mortgages, in addition to 

those proposed, would be useful to 

institutions and consumers. 

After considering the comments 

received, the Agencies are now issuing 

final illustrations of consumer 

information for nontraditional mortgage 

products. The Interagency NTM 

Guidance recommends that promotional 

materials and other product 

descriptions provide consumers with 

information about the costs, terms, 

features, and risks of nontraditional 

mortgage products that can assist 

consumers in their product selection 

decisions. This includes information 

about potential payment shock and 

negative amortization and, where 

applicable, information about 

prepayment penalties and the costs of 

reduced documentation loans. 

Institutions seeking to follow the 

recommendations set forth in the 

Interagency NTM Guidance may, at 

their option, elect to: 

• Use the illustrations; 

• Provide information based on the 

illustrations, but expand, abbreviate, or 

otherwise tailor any information in the 

illustrations as appropriate to reflect, for 

example: 

• The institution’s product offerings, 

such as by deleting information about 

loan products and loan terms not 

offered by the institution and by 

revising the illustrations to reflect 

specific terms currently offered by the 

institution; 

• The consumer’s particular loan 

requirements; 

• Current market conditions, such as 

by changing the loan amounts, interest 

rates, and corresponding payment 

amounts to reflect current local market 

circumstances; 

• Other information, consistent with 

the Interagency NTM Guidance, such as 

the payment and loan balance 

information for statements discussed in 

connection with Illustration No. 3 or 

information about when a prepayment 

penalty may be imposed; and 

• The results of consumer testing of 

such forms; or 

• Provide the information described 

in the Interagency NTM Guidance, as 

appropriate, in an alternate format. 

To assist institutions that wish to use 

the illustrations, the Agencies will be 

posting each of the illustrations on their 

respective websites in a form that can be 

downloaded and printed for easy 

reproduction. In addition, in response to 

concerns that the interest rates used in 

Illustration No. 2 may become outdated 

with changes in market interest rates—

and consistent with the Agencies’

intention, expressed above, that the 

illustrations may be modified to reflect, 

among other things, current market 

conditions—the Agencies also will be 

posting on their respective websites a 

template that can be used by institutions 

that wish to modify the information 

presented in Illustration No. 2 to reflect 

more current interest rates (and 

corresponding payment amounts). 

Illustration No. 2 itself reflects typical 

interest rates for prime borrowers in 

today’s environment, rounded to the 

nearest whole number to enhance 

simplicity.1

II. Overview of the Comments 

Collectively, the Agencies received 

letters from over 30 commenters on the 

proposal, including comments from two 

financial institutions, 12 consumer 

advocates and community 

organizations, 12 trade organizations, 

two individuals, and three state 

regulatory organizations. 

Most commenters generally approved 

of the illustrations and expressed 

appreciation for the Agencies’ efforts to 

demonstrate ways lenders could 

advance the consumer communication 

goals outlined in the Interagency NTM 

Guidance. Generally, commenters stated 

that the proposed illustrations would be 

useful to financial institutions—

including community banks—seeking to 

develop their own disclosures to help 

consumers understand the risks of 

nontraditional mortgage products. 

Commenters also suggested that the 

illustrations provided helpful guidance 

on the Agencies’ expectations and 

would help reduce implementation 

costs. 

Most financial institutions and trade 

organizations supported the voluntary 

nature of the illustrations. These 

commenters stated that the flexibility 

afforded them by the Agencies would 

allow them to convey information to 

their customers in a format most suited 

to customers’ needs. Additionally, 

having the flexibility to develop their 

own disclosures would allow financial 

institutions to tailor their disclosures to 

take into account specific product 

offerings and market conditions. 

However, a smaller group of 

commenters that included 8 consumer 

groups and one industry group 

disagreed, and suggested that consumer 

education efforts should be mandatory. 

The trade group noted that providing for 

voluntary use of the illustrations makes 

unclear the degree to which the 

illustrations will be used, when they 

will be used, and how they will assist 

consumers. This commenter suggested 

that the Agencies propose model forms 

and provide lenders with a safe harbor 

when they use the model forms. 

Several financial institutions, trade 

organizations, and community 

organizations suggested that the 

illustrations should be made part of the 

Board’s revisions to Regulation Z, which 

implements the Truth in Lending Act. 

These commenters suggested that 

making the illustrations part of 

Regulation Z would ensure more 

widespread industry use. Additionally, 

some commenters expressed concern 

that issuing guidance on consumer 

information materials applicable only to 

federally-supervised institutions would 

put those institutions at a competitive 

disadvantage. The Conference of State 

Bank Supervisors (CSBS), the American 

Association of Residential Mortgage 

Regulators (AARMR), and the National 

Association of Consumer Credit 

Administrators (NACCA) commented 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 110 / Friday, June 8, 2007 / Notices 31827 

2 ‘‘Interest-Only Mortgage Payments and 

Payment-Option ARMs—Are They for You?’’

available at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/ 

mortgage_interestonly/mortgage_interestonly.pdf. 3 72 FR 10533 (March 8, 2007). 

4See www.csbs.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ 

RegulatoryAffairs/ 

FederalAgencyGuidanceDatabase/ 

State_Implementation.htm. 

that they believe the illustrations also 

could be used by state-licensed entities 

subject to state-issued guidance that 

parallels the Interagency NTM 

Guidance. 

A number of commenters expressed 

concern that the illustrations were 

difficult to follow and would be 

confusing to consumers, and should be 

simplified. A few industry trade groups 

and a consumer group advised the 

Agencies to engage in consumer testing 

or hire consultants to determine how to 

improve the illustrations. A number of 

commenters provided very specific 

suggestions aimed at making the 

illustrations easier to understand. 

Several industry commenters requested 

that the Agencies add language 

explaining how a consumer could 

benefit from nontraditional mortgage 

products. Further, one trade 

organization stated that lenders should 

be able to implement the consumer 

information recommendations of the 

Interagency NTM Guidance by 

providing consumers with the 

interagency publication titled, ‘‘InterestOnly Mortgage Payments and PaymentOption ARMs—Are They for You?’’2

Finally, two commenters suggested 

that the Agencies include in these 

illustrations information about two 

additional products—2/28 and 3/27 

adjustable rate mortgages. These are 

‘‘hybrid’’ ARMs that start with a fixed 

interest rate for two or three years, 

respectively, and then reset to a variable 

rate, which generally will be higher than 

the introductory fixed rate. Because the 

Interagency NTM Guidance does not 

cover fully-amortizing mortgage 

products such as hybrid ARMs, the 

Agencies are not including information 

on these products in the NTM 

illustrations. However, when the 

Agencies finalize the ‘‘Statement on 

Subprime Mortgage Lending,’’ which 

was proposed on March 8, 2007, and 

which provides guidance concerning 

hybrid ARM products, we expect to 

issue for public comment disclosure 

illustrations appropriate for that 

guidance.3

III. Final Illustrations 

After carefully considering all of the 

comments received, the Agencies have 

decided to publish the proposed 

illustrations, with some modifications. 

The Agencies have determined that 

illustrations of the type of information 

contemplated in the Interagency NTM 

Guidance are needed now. Additionally, 

the Agencies believe that issuing the 

materials as nonmandatory illustrations 

will provide institutions with the 

flexibility needed to tailor the materials 

to their own circumstances and 

customer needs. 

Some commenters asserted that use of 

the illustrations may place entities 

subject to the Interagency NTM 

Guidance at a competitive disadvantage. 

In this regard, we note that the 

Interagency NTM Guidance, which 

includes the consumer disclosure 

recommendations, is already in effect 

for these entities, and also has been 

adopted for state-regulated mortgage 

brokers and companies by over 30 state 

agencies and the District of Columbia.4

The illustrations will be helpful to those 

institutions that prefer not to incur the 

costs and burdens of developing their 

own consumer information documents 

to implement the recommendations in 

the Interagency NTM Guidance. 

Additionally, as previously noted, 

CSBS, AARMR, and NACCA stated their 

belief that the illustrations also could be 

used by state-licensed entities subject to 

state-issued guidance that parallels the 

Interagency NTM Guidance. 

The Agencies agree with the 

commenters who urged simplification of 

the Proposed Illustrations, particularly 

Proposed Illustration No. 2. The specific 

changes made in response to these 

comments are detailed below. The 

Agencies opted not to include 

additional text in the illustrations that 

would discuss the benefits of 

nontraditional mortgage products, to 

ensure that the materials focus on an 

objective description of material terms, 

risks, and features of such products. 

Institutions are not precluded, of course, 

from providing factual information 

concerning the features of their products 

to consumers. 

One commenter asked whether the 

consumer information brochure entitled 

‘‘Interest-Only Mortgage Payments and 

Payment-Option ARMs—Are They for 

You?’’ could be used in place of the 

illustrations to provide information to 

consumers. The information 

contemplated by the Interagency NTM 

Guidance serve a different purpose than 

this brochure. This detailed, multi-page 

publication includes valuable in-depth 

information, but it does not represent 

the more concise and focused consumer 

information contemplated by, and 

recommended in, the Interagency NTM 

Guidance. Illustrations 1 and 2, by 

contrast, are designed to be concise and 

focused so they can be quickly 

referenced by consumers during the 

mortgage shopping process. While, as 

explained in detail above, institutions 

are not required to use the illustrations, 

and may elect to provide the 

information contemplated in the 

Interagency NTM Guidance in a 

modified or alternate format, delivering 

this more detailed publication to 

consumers would not serve this same 

purpose or provide the information as 

recommended in the guidance. 

The Agencies’ changes to each 

Proposed Illustration are discussed 

below. 

A. Proposed Illustration No. 1 

Although most commenters stated 

that Illustration No. 1 would be useful 

in helping consumers understand the 

risks of nontraditional mortgage 

products, several suggested that the 

Agencies make the illustration more 

user-friendly by using simpler language 

and larger fonts. Most trade organization 

and financial institution commenters 

generally agreed that Illustration No. 1 

would be helpful. Consumer groups, on 

the other hand, expressed their desire 

that the illustrations strongly 

communicate the risks of nontraditional 

mortgage products and add language 

clarifying that making the minimum 

payments on a payment option mortgage 

could lead to a reduction in a borrower’s 

equity. Several consumer groups 

recommended that the illustration not 

suggest that consumers should request 

information orally from a lender, 

because consumers should be 

encouraged to review written 

information rather than rely on oral 

representations. 

To address the commenters’ concerns, 

the Agencies have simplified 

Illustration No. 1, deleted text where 

possible to shorten the length of the 

illustration, and made formatting 

changes to improve readability. 

Additionally, the Agencies have 

included language clarifying that 

making the minimum payments on a 

payment option mortgage could lead to 

a reduction in a borrower’s equity. The 

Agencies have also added language 

advising consumers that if they do not 

understand the terms of a particular 

loan, they should not sign any loan 

contracts, and may want to consider 

other types of loans. 

B. Proposed Illustration No. 2 

Many commenters found proposed 

Illustration No. 2 confusing. 

Specifically, several commenters said 

the footnotes and the explanation of the 

minimum monthly payment row for 

years one through five of a payment 


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option ARM would confuse consumers. 

A few commenters suggested that 

Illustration No. 2 would be most helpful 

to consumers if a loan officer or credit 

counselor reviewed it with them. 

Additionally, one financial institution 

suggested that Illustration No. 2 should 

emphasize the risks of payment shock 

and negative amortization. 

One industry trade group stated that 

assuming borrowers make minimum 

payments is unrealistic. This 

commenter added that the interest rates 

in the examples should represent a 

typical interest rate environment in 

which a fixed rate loan would have a 

higher rate than an adjustable rate loan. 

However, one financial institution 

suggested that the illustration should 

use the same interest rates for all the 

products to make comparison easier. 

One trade group stated that the rates for 

interest-only and payment option ARM 

loans should be higher to reflect the 

terms offered to non-prime borrowers. 

Two commenters stated that the 

illustration should use a $100,000 loan 

amount that would be easier for 

consumers to compare to their loan 

amounts than the $180,000 amount used 

in the proposed illustration. 

A few commenters warned against 

using any assumptions that could 

become dated. Instead, one industry 

group suggested that payment amounts 

and interest rate information in 

Illustration No. 2 should be left blank so 

that loan officers and consumers could 

fill out the numbers themselves as they 

discuss and consider loan options. 

Another commenter suggested that the 

Agencies create a Web site where 

consumers could input their own 

specific information into different 

mortgage structures and get accurate 

and easy-to-understand cost 

alternatives. 

To address commenter concerns, and 

to maintain consistency with the 

Interagency NTM Guidance, the 

Agencies have simplified Illustration 

No. 2 by reducing the number of 

products for which information is 

provided. The simplified illustration 

eliminates the need for footnotes or 

similar explanations. Additionally, the 

Agencies made formatting changes to 

draw consumers’ attention to the 

important points the chart seeks to 

illustrate. 

The Agencies agreed with 

commenters that a sample loan amount 

of $180,000 could make it more difficult 

for consumers to estimate their own 

payment amounts. The Agencies, 

therefore, have adopted a representative 

loan amount of $200,000, which is 

closer to the national median price for 

a single family home than the $100,000 

loan amount suggested by some 

commenters. 

C. Proposed Illustration No. 3 

The Agencies received the fewest 

specific comments on Illustration No. 3. 

Moreover, commenters did not express 

concern that consumers would have 

difficulty understanding Illustration No. 

3. Several commenters, however, asked 

the Agencies to make clear that lenders 

will have flexibility with regard to how 

and when to provide the information 

contemplated by the third illustration. 

One trade group stated that the third 

illustration could be burdensome for 

lenders that do not provide monthly 

statements. Similarly, another trade 

group asked the Agencies to state that 

lenders could provide the third 

illustration less frequently than 

monthly, or through an explanation on 

the lender’s Web site. In contrast, 

another trade group stated that the 

Agencies should encourage lenders to 

provide monthly statements. 

One financial institution 

recommended that the illustration 

include the resulting loan balance with 

each payment choice so that the 

consumer can see how their choice 

affects the loan on a monthly basis. 

However, one financial institution and 

one trade group commenter stated that 

providing specific payment information 

would be burdensome and that lenders 

would require implementation time to 

make system changes. 

After reviewing and considering the 

comments, the Agencies decided not to 

make substantial changes to Illustration 

No. 3. The Interagency NTM Guidance 

recommends that if institutions provide 

monthly statements to consumers on 

payment option mortgages, those 

monthly statements should provide 

information that enables consumers to 

make informed payment choices, 

including an explanation of each 

payment option available and the 

impact of that choice on loan balances. 

Illustration No. 3 shows one way in 

which this information could be 

presented. Financial institutions retain 

the flexibility to provide the information 

in a format best suited to their 

customer’s needs. Moreover, it is 

important to note this illustration is not 

intended to set forth all of the 

information lenders could provide that 

may be useful, such as the current loan 

balance, an itemization of the payment 

amount devoted to interest and to 

principal, and whether the loan balance 

has increased. 

The final illustrations appear below. 


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Dated: May 30, 2007. 

John C. Dugan, 

Comptroller of the Currency. 

By order of the Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System, May 29, 2007. 

Jennifer J. Johnson, 

Secretary of the Board. 

Dated at Washington, DC, the 8th day of 

May, 2007. 

By order of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation. 

Robert E. Feldman, 

Assistant Executive Secretary. 

Dated: May 30, 2007. 

By the Office of Thrift Supervision. 

John Reich, 

Director. 

Dated: May 31, 2007. 

By the National Credit Union 

Administration. 

JoAnn M. Johnson, 

Chairman. 

[FR Doc. 07–2859 Filed 6–7–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–35–P; 7535–01–P; 6210–01–P; 

6714–01–P; 6720–01–P 

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(‘‘OMB’’) regulations, the Federal 

Maritime Commission is announcing its 

intention to request a revision of an 

approved information collection 

regarding the licensing of ocean 

transportation intermediaries. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before August 7, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments to: 

Peter J. King, Director, Office of 

Administration, Federal Maritime 

Commission, 800 North Capitol Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20573, 

(Telephone: (202) 523–5800), 

administration@fmc.gov. Please 

reference the information collection’s 

title and OMB number in your 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

obtain additional information, copies of 

the information collection and 

instructions, or copies of any comments 

received, contact Jane Gregory, 

Management Analyst, Office of 

Administration, Federal Maritime 

Commission, 800 North Capitol Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20573, 

(Telephone: (202) 523–5800), 

jgregory@fmc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Request for Comments 

The Federal Maritime Commission, as 

part of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 

invites the general public and other 

Federal agencies to comment on the 

revised information collection listed in 

this notice, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be included or 

summarized in our request for OMB 

approval of the relevant information 

collection. All comments are part of the 

public record and subject to disclosure. 

Please do not include any confidential 

or inappropriate material in your 

comments. We invite comments on: (1) 

The necessity and utility of the 

proposed information collection for the 

proper performance of the agency’s 

functions; (2) the accuracy of the 

estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (4) the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology to minimize the information 

collection burden. 

Information Collection Open for 

Comment 

Title: 46 CFR 515—Licensing, 

Financial Responsibility Requirements 

and General Duties for Ocean 

Transportation Intermediaries and 

Related Forms. 

OMB Approval Number: 3072–0018 

(Expires July 31, 2007). 

Abstract: Section 19 of the Shipping 

Act of 1984 (the ‘‘Act’’), 46 U.S.C. 

40901–40904 (2006), as modified by 

Public Law 105–258 (The Ocean 

Shipping Reform Act of 1998) and 

Section 424 of Public Law 105–383 (The 

Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998), 

provides that no person in the United 

States may act as an ocean 

transportation intermediary (‘‘OTI’’) 

unless that person holds a license 

issued by the Commission. The 

Commission shall issue an OTI license 

to any person that the Commission 

determines to be qualified by experience 

and character to act as an OTI. Further, 

no person may act as an OTI unless that 

person furnishes a bond, proof of 

insurance or other surety in a form and 

amount determined by the Commission 

to ensure financial responsibility. The 

Commission has implemented the 

provisions of section 19 in regulations 

contained in 46 CFR part 515, including 

financial responsibility forms FMC–48, 

FMC–67, FMC–68, and FMC–69, 

Optional Rider Forms FMC–48A and 

FMC–69A, and its related license 

application form, FMC–18. 

Current Actions: The Commission 

intends to revise Form FMC–18, 

Application for a License as an Ocean 

Transportation Intermediary. 

Specifically, language is being added to 

the Privacy Act Notice regarding 

voluntary disclosure of the applicant’s 

Social Security Number, and the System 

of Records citation is being updated. In 

the Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, 

the estimated time to prepare an 

Application is being revised from 1.5 

hours per response to 2 hours. 

Throughout the Application, any 

reference to the Bureau of Consumer 

Complaints and Licensing (‘‘BCCL’’) has 

been changed to the Bureau of 

Certification and Licensing (‘‘BCL’’). 

Also, language has been added to 

Question 7(2) in Part B, and to Question 

13(3) in Part D, allowing applicant or its 

qualifying individual to disclose 

whether he/she has ‘‘been declared 

bankrupt, been subject to a tax lien, or 

had legal judgment rendered for a debt.’’

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 

1974, this would allow the agency, to 

the greatest extent practicable, to collect 

information about an applicant that may 

be used in making a decision with 

respect to the granting of an OTI license, 

directly from the applicant. 

Type of Review: Revision of 

information collection contained in 

Form FMC–18, Application for a 

License as an Ocean Transportation 

Intermediary. 

Needs and Uses: The Commission 

uses information obtained under 46 CFR 

part 515 and through Form FMC–18 to 

determine the qualifications of OTIs and 

their compliance with shipping statutes 

and regulations and to enable the 

Commission to discharge its duties 

under the Act by ensuring that OTIs 

maintain acceptable evidence of 

financial responsibility. If the collection 

of information were not conducted, 

there would be no basis upon which the 

Commission could determine if 

applicants are qualified for licensing. 

Frequency: This information is 

collected when applicants apply for a 

license or when existing licensees 

change certain information in their 

application forms. 

Type of Respondents: The 

respondents are persons desiring to 

obtain a license to act as an OTI. Under 

the Act, OTIs may be either an ocean 

freight forwarder, a non-vessel-operating 

common carrier, or both. 

Number of Annual Respondents: The 

Commission estimates a potential 


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