Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 56 / Thursday, March 22, 2012 / Notices 16817 

Item Responses 

(yr) 

Filing fee 

$ 

Total non-hour 

cost burden 

(a × b) 

TOTAL .............................................................................................................................. 4,237,132 ...................... 356,886,130.00 

The USPTO estimates that the total 

(non-hour) respondent cost burden for 

this collection in the form of postage 

costs and filing fees will be 

$357,380,557. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, e.g., the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection; 

they will also become a matter of public 

record. 

Dated: March 19, 2012. 

Susan K. Fawcett, 

Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6888 Filed 3–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

[Docket No. CFPB–2012–0009] 

Request for Comment on Payday 

Lending Hearing Transcript 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: On January 19, 2012, the 

Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection (Bureau) held a field hearing 

on payday lending. The Bureau invites 

the public to review the transcript and 

provide additional feedback on the 

issues raised in it. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

April 23, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number CFPB– 

2012–0009, by any of the following 

methods. 

• Electronic: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail or hand delivery/courier: 

Monica Jackson, Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20552. 

In general, all comments received will 

posted without change to 

www.regulations.gov. In addition, 

comments will be available for public 

inspection and copying at 1700 G Street 

NW., Washington, DC 20552, on official 

business days between the hours of 10 

a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time. You can 

make an appointment to inspect the 

documents by telephoning (202) 435– 

7275. All comments, including 

attachments and other supporting 

materials, will become part of the public 

record and subject to public disclosure. 

Sensitive personal information, such as 

account numbers or social security 

numbers, should not be included. 

Comments will not be edited to remove 

any identifying or contact information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, please contact 

Monica Jackson, Office of the Executive 

Secretary, by telephone at (202) 435– 

7275 or by email at 

monica.jackson@cfpb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) vested 

the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection (Bureau) with supervisory 

and rulemaking authority over nonbank 

covered persons that offer or provide 

payday loans to consumers. In an effort 

to listen, learn, and gather information 

on the ground that will to help the 

Bureau better understand this market, 

the Bureau held a public field hearing 

on short-term, small-dollar loans, such 

as payday loans and bank ‘‘deposit 

advances’’ on January 19, 2012 in 

Birmingham, Alabama. 

Payday lending products are typically 

marketed to bridge a cash flow shortage 

between pay or benefits checks. They 

generally have three features: The loans 

are small dollar amounts; borrowers 

must repay the loan quickly; and they 

require that a borrower give lenders 

access to repayment through a claim on 

the borrower’s deposit account. The 

Bureau held the Birmingham field 

hearing to gather information and input 

from experts and the public on the 

payday-lending market to help 

determine the right approach to protect 

consumers and ensure that they have 

access to a small-loan market that is fair, 

transparent, and competitive. A number 

of questions were raised on which the 

Bureau is interested in gathering 

additional public feedback. For 

example, does the impact of payday 

loans and deposit-advance products 

vary by the type of consumer? Who is 

helped and who is harmed by depositadvance and payday products? Does the 

answer vary depending on whether the 

product is provided by a storefront, a 

bank, or online? How are small-dollar 

loans and products marketed? 

The transcript of the hearing has been 

posted on the Bureau’s Web site at 

http://consumerfinance.gov. The Bureau 

invites the public to review the 

transcript and submit additional 

comment on the subjects discussed at 

the hearing. 

Dated: March 13, 2012. 

Meredith Fuchs, 

Chief of Staff, Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6851 Filed 3–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

Federal Register Citation of Previous 

Announcement: Vol. 77, No. 52, Friday, 

March 16, 2012, page 15737. 

ANNOUNCED TIME AND DATE OF MEETING: 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 10 a.m.– 

11 a.m. Meeting Canceled. 

For a recorded message containing the 

latest agenda information, call (301) 

504–7948. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR ADDITIONAL

INFORMATION: Todd A. Stevenson, Office 

of the Secretary, 4330 East West 

Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 (301) 

504–7923. 

Dated: March 20, 2012. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7032 Filed 3–20–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 


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