computer systems
[[Page 55623]]

used to administer HAMP; with all activities subject to the same or
equivalent limitations applicable to Department's officers and
employees under the Privacy Act;

(11) Disclose information to financial institutions, including
banks and credit unions, for the purpose of disbursing payments and/or
investigating the accuracy of information required to complete
transactions pertaining to HAMP and for administrative purposes, such
as resolving questions about a transaction;

(12) Disclose information to the appropriate Federal financial
regulator or State financial regulator, or to the appropriate Consumer
Protection agency, if that agency has jurisdiction over the subject
matter of a complaint or inquiry, or the entity that is the subject of
the complaint or inquiry;

(13) Disclose information and statistics to the Department of
Housing & Urban Development and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to
improve the quality of services provided under HAMP and to report on
the program's overall execution and progress;

(14) Disclose information to appropriate agencies, entities, and
persons when (a) The Department suspects or has confirmed that the
security or confidentiality of information in the system of records has
been compromised; (b) the Department has determined that as a result of
the suspected or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to
economic or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the
security or integrity of this system or other systems or programs
(whether maintained by the Department or another agency or entity) that
rely upon the compromised information; and (c) the disclosure made to
such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist
in connection with the Department's efforts to respond to the suspected
or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.

(15) Disclose information to the U.S. Department of Justice
(~*DOg'') for its use in providing legal advice to the Department or in
representing the Department in a proceeding before a court,
adjudicative body, or other administrative body before which the
Department is authorized to appear, where the use of such information
by the DOJ is deemed by the Department to be relevant and necessary to
the litigation, and such proceeding names as a party or interests:

(a) The Department or any component thereof, including the Office
of Financial Stability (~“OFS'');

(b) Any employee of the Department in his or her official capacity;

(c) Any employee of the Department in his or her individual
capacity where DOJ has agreed to represent the employee; or

(d) The United States, where the Department determines that
litigation is likely to affect the Department or any of its components,
including OFS.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:

Information contained in the system of records is stored ina
transactional database and an operational data store. Information from
the system will also be captured in hard-copy form and stored in filing
cabinets managed by personnel working on HAMP.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Information about individuals may be retrieved from the system by
reference including the mortgage borrower's name, Social Security
Number, address, or loan number.


PURPOSE (S) :

The purpose of this system of records is to facilitate
administration of HAMP by the Department and its Financial Agents,
including by enabling them to (i) collect and utilize information
collected from mortgage loan servicers, including loan-level
information about individual mortgage holders; and (ii) produce reports
on the performance of HAMP, such as reports that concern loan
modification eligibility and ~~exception reports'' that identify
certain issues that loan servicers may experience with servicing loans.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

These records may be used to:

(1) Disclose pertinent information to appropriate Federal, State,
local or foreign agencies responsible for investigating or prosecuting
violations of, or for enforcing or implementing, a statute, rule,
regulation, order, or license, where the disclosing agency becomes
aware of an indication of a potential violation of civil or criminal
law or regulation;

(2) Disclose information to a Federal, State, or local agency,
maintaining civil, criminal or other relevant enforcement information
or other pertinent information, which has requested information
relevant to or necessary to the requesting agency's or the bureau's
hiring or retention of an individual, or issuance of a security
clearance, license, contract, grant, or other benefit;

(3) Disclose information to a court, magistrate, or administrative
tribunal in the course of presenting evidence, including disclosures to
opposing counsel or witnesses in the course of civil discovery,
litigation, or settlement negotiations, in response to a court order
where arguably relevant to a proceeding, or in connection with criminal
law proceedings;

(4) Provide information to a Congressional office in response to an
inquiry made at the request of the individual to whom the record
pertains;

(5) Provide information to third parties during the course of a
Department investigation as it relates to HAMP to the extent necessary
to obtain information pertinent to that investigation;

(6) Disclose information to a consumer reporting agency to use in
obtaining credit reports;

(7) Disclose information to a debt collection agency for use in
debt collection services;

(8) Disclose information to a Financial Agent of the Department,
its employees, agents, and contractors, or to a contractor of the
Department, for the purpose of ensuring the efficient administration of
HAMP and compliance with relevant guidelines, agreements, directives
and requirements, and subject to the same or equivalent limitations
applicable to Department's officers and employees under the Privacy
Act;

(9) Disclose information originating or derived from participating
loan servicers back to the same loan servicers as needed, for the
purposes of audit, quality control, and reconciliation and response to
borrower requests about that same borrower;

(10) Disclose information to Financial Agents, financial
institutions, financial custodians, and contractors to: (a) Process
mortgage loan modification applications, including, but not limited to,
enrollment forms; (b) implement, analyze and modify programs relating
to HAMP; (c) investigate and correct erroneous information submitted to
the Department or its Financial Agents; (d) compile and review data and
statistics and perform research, modeling and data analysis to improve
the quality of services provided under HAMP or otherwise improve the
efficiency or administration of HAMP; or (e) develop, test and enhance


SAFEGUARDS:

Safeguards designed to protect information contained in the system
against unauthorized disclosure and access include, but are not limited
to: (i) Department and Financial Agent policies and procedures
governing privacy, information security, operational risk management,
and change management; (ii) requiring Financial Agent employees to
adhere to a code of conduct concerning the aforementioned policies and
procedures; (iii) conducting background on all personnel with access to
the system of records; (iv) training relevant personnel on privacy and
information security; (v) tracking and reporting incidents of suspected
or confirmed breaches of information concerning borrowers; (vi)
establishing physical and technical perimeter security safeguards;
(vii) utilizing antivirus and intrusion detection software; (viii)
performing risk and controls assessments and mitigation, including
production readiness reviews; (ix) establishing security event response
teams; and (x) establishing technical and physical access controls,
such as role-based access management and firewalls.

Loan servicers that participate in HAMP (i) have agreed in writing
that the information they provide to Treasury or to its Financial
Agents is accurate, and (ii) have submitted a ~~click through''
agreement on a Web site requiring the loan servicer to provide accurate
information in connection with using the Program Web site. In addition,
the Treasury's Financial Agents will conduct loan servicer compliance
reviews to validate data collection controls, procedures, and records.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Information is retained in the system on back-up tapes or in hard-
copy form for seven years, except to the extent that either (i) the
information is subject to a litigation hold or other legal retention
obligation, in which case the data is retained as mandated by the
relevant legal requirements, (ii) or the Treasury and its financial
agents need the information to carry out the Program. Destruction is
carried out by degaussing according to industry standards. Hard copy
records are shredded and recycled.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) :

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fiscal Operations and Policy,
Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20220.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Individuals wishing to be notified if they are named in this system
of records, to gain access to records maintained in this system, or to
amend or correct information maintained in this system, must submit a
written request to do so in accordance with the procedures set forth in
31 CFR Sec. Sec. 1.26-.27. Address such requests to: Director,
Disclosure Services Director, Disclosure Services, Department of the
Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20220.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
See ~"Notification Procedure'' above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:
See ~“Notification Procedure'' above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Information about mortgage borrowers contained in the system of
records is obtained from loan servicers who participate in HAMP or
developed by the Treasury and its Financial Agents in connection with
HAMP. Information is not obtained directly from individual mortgage


[Federal Register: October 28, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 207)]
[Notices]

[Page 55621-55623]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID: fr280c09-140]

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

-Departmental Offices; Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended
AGENCY: Departmental Offices, Treasury.

ACTION: Final Notice of Proposed New Privacy Act System of Records for
the Home Affordable Modification Program.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Treasury proposed in August 2009 to
establish a new System of Records under the Privacy Act known as ~~Home
Affordable Modification Program--Treasury/DO.'' This system of records
would be established primarily to administer the Home Affordable
Modification Program and related homeownership preservation programs
(""HAMP''), This notice is to inform the public that one submitter has
provided comments in response to the proposed Privacy Act notice
published on August 3, 2009, at 74 FR 38484, and that minor changes
have been made to the proposed notice in light of these comments.

DATES: Confirmation of effective date: September 14, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theodore R. Kowalsky, Manager, Data &
Information Technology, Office of Fiscal & Financial Agents, Department
of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220,
202-927-9445 or at Ted.Kowalsky@do.treas.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department established HAMP, pursuant to
the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-343) (the
~*EESA''), to enable eligible homeowners who have a record of making
timely mortgage payments, but are experiencing hardships in doing so,
to modify the principal amounts and interest rates of their mortgage
loans. This new System of Records will provide Treasury and its
Financial Agents with access to certain information about mortgage
borrowers and their respective home mortgage loans that is necessary to
administer the HAMP.

Comments were received from one submitter in response to the
proposed Privacy Act notice. Minor changes have been made to the
proposed Privacy Act Notice in light of these comments. The Department
does not believe that these modifications impact the original effective
date for this notice (September 14, 2009), or the active implementation
of this System of Records. Accordingly, we are publishing this Final
Notice of a Privacy Act System of Records. This Final Notice also
includes several new HAMP production and backup system locations which
are managed by or on behalf of the Federal National Mortgage
Association (~~Fannie Mae'') and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation (~~Freddie Mac''), both of which have been designated as
Financial Agents of the Department.

The Department received comments from one submitter concerning
thirteen of the fifteen routine uses set forth in the proposed system
of records, the ~~Home Affordable Modification Program Records--


borrowers to whom the information pertains.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.

[FR Doc. E9-25897 Filed 10-27-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810-25-P


Treasury/DO.'' These comments generally expressed concern that the
routine uses for the proposed System of Records were too broadly
defined and would unduly invade the privacy of HAMP applicants. The
submitter also suggested that the Department should seek express
written consent from loan modification applicants before making any use
of personally identifiable information (~~PII'') in execution of the
HAMP. No comments were received regarding routine uses (1), (8), (12)
or (15).

In addressing these comments, it is important to note first that
the HAMP is a Department program aimed at incentivizing mortgage
servicers to modify borrower loans, thereby reducing the financial
burden on millions of homeowners across the United States. The majority
of the routine use clauses in this System of Records Notice are aimed
at disclosing borrower information in an effort to effectively manage
and appropriately monitor the performance of loan servicers in meeting
their obligations under the HAMP program. Notably, in order to
participate in the HAMP, all borrowers must agree to a mandatory
consent provision which expressly authorizes the disclosure of
information to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Department, and entities
related to the HAMP program.

After careful consideration of the comments received, the
Department concludes that routine uses (2), (4), (6), (7), (9), (11),
and (14) will remain unchanged. The Department believes that these
routine uses are consistent with the statutory authority of the
Department of the Treasury to carry out the HAMP consistent with its
mandate under the EESA. Additionally, routine use (4) is required by
the Office of Management and Budget (~~OMB'') for all agency systems of
records, as set forth in OMB's supplementary guidance issued on
November 21, 1975.

With regard to routine use (14), the Department believes that this
routine use is consistent with the policies and requirements
established by OMB in OMB Memorandum M-07-16, ~~Safeguarding Against
and Responding to the Breach of Personally Identifiable Information
[PII],'' dated May 22, 2007. This OMB memorandum directs each federal
agency to develop and publish a routine use in order to be able to
disclose information regarding a breach to individuals affected by it,
as well as to persons and entities that are in a position to assist the
agency in preventing or minimizing any harm from a breach. The language
of routine use (14) is identical to the language set forth in OMB's
memorandum. In addition to publishing the routine use, agencies are
also required to implement the processes outlined in M-07-16 by
establishing an agency response team consisting of senior officials. We
also note that OMB Memorandum M-06-19, ~~Reporting Incidents Involving
Personally Identifiable Information and Incorporating the Cost for
Security in Agency Information Technology Investments,'' instructs
agencies to report incidents involving PII to the U.S. Computer
Emergency Readiness Team within one hour of discovering the incident
and advises agencies not to distinguish between actual and suspected
incidents. The Department needs to be able to share information about a
breach with appropriate persons and entities in order to mitigate the
harmful effects of the unauthorized disclosure of confidential or
private

[ [Page 55622]]

information about an individual. Accordingly, the Department does not
believe that an amendment to this routine use is warranted. OMB
documents are available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg
infopoltech/.

In response to public comments that expressed concern about the use
of PII collected from homeowners under the HAMP, the Department has



amended several routine uses in this System of Records Notice to ensure
that it authorizes the dissemination of PII only where necessary to
support the HAMP. The revisions are as follows:

Routine use (3) has been amended so as to authorize the disclosure
of data only pursuant to a court order.

Routine use (5) has been modified so as to permit disclosure only
if the investigation pertains to the HAMP program.

Routine use (10) has been modified to detail further the specific
uses of the data collected and to harmonize routine uses (8) and (10)
by stipulating that employees, agents, and contractors of Financial
Agents, or contractors to the Department of the Treasury to whom
information is disclosed, are each subject to the same or equivalent
rules and regulations that apply to the Department's officers and
employees under the Privacy Act.

Routine use (13) has been modified so as to permit disclosure to
the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing
Finance Agency in the absence of a complaint or inquiry.

The revised System of Records, entitled ~~Home Affordable
Modification Program--Treasury/DO .218,'' is published in its entirety
below.

Dated: October 19, 2009.
Melissa Hartman,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Privacy and Treasury Records.
TREASURY/DO .218

SYSTEM NAME:
Home Affordable Modification Program Records--Treasury/DO.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

The Office of Financial Stability, Department of the Treasury,
Washington, DC. Other facilities that maintain this system of records
are located in: Urbana, MD, Dallas, TX, and a backup facility located
in Reston, VA, all belonging to the Federal National Mortgage
Association (~~Fannie Mae''); and in McLean, VA, Herndon, VA, and
Reston, VA, facilities belonging to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation (~~Freddie Mac''). Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have
been designated as Financial Agents for the Home Affordable
Modification Program (~~HAMP'').

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

This system of records contains information about mortgage
borrowers that is submitted to the Department or its Financial Agents
by loan servicers that participate in HAMP. Information collected
pursuant to HAMP is subject to the Privacy Act only to the extent that
it concerns individuals; information pertaining to corporations and
other business entities and organizations is not subject to the Privacy
Act.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

This system of records contains loan-level information about
individual mortgage borrowers (including loan records and financial
records). Typically, these records include, but are not limited to, the
individual's name, Social Security Number, mailing address, and monthly
income, as well as the location of the property subject to the loan,
property value information, payment history, and type of mortgage.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-343) (the
~*EESA'').