Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 115 / Thursday, June 14, 2012 / Notices 35659 

products and services (‘‘providers.’’) 

This consideration includes an 

assessment of the impacts of rules on 

consumers in rural areas and on 

depository institutions and credit 

unions with total assets of $10 billion or 

less as described in section 1026 of the 

Dodd-Frank Act. As part of its analysis 

of benefits and costs of certain 

rulemakings, the Bureau will consider, 

among other things, the potential 

ongoing costs for a provider as well as 

the implementation costs the provider 

may incur in order to comply with a 

regulation. 

In order to fulfill the Bureau’s 

rulemaking mandates, the Bureau seeks 

to collect qualitative information from 

industry participants regarding the 

compliance costs and other effects on 

providers and consumers, both as to 

existing regulations in force as well as 

to proposed new regulations. Through 

the collections under this generic 

clearance, the Bureau aims to 

understand the effects of potential 

regulations on providers and 

consumers, the ways in which providers 

may comply with potential regulations, 

and the costs associated with 

compliance. 

The Bureau has already begun to 

review existing regulations through a 

request for public comment on 

streamlining inherited regulations. The 

information gathered on compliance 

costs and other effects through this 

generic information collection will 

further enhance the Bureau’s 

understanding of how existing 

regulations are affecting providers. 

In order to gather the information 

indicated above, the Bureau intends to 

use structured interviews, focus groups, 

conference calls, and written 

questionnaires—delivered via email or 

administered through an online survey. 

The Bureau will seek different 

providers’ estimates of compliance 

burdens on their respective institutions. 

The Bureau recognizes that burdens 

vary depending on the size and type of 

the institution, as well as on the 

products and services offered. 

Therefore, the collections of information 

will seek to sample providers that are 

representative of markets affected by a 

proposed rule, or are already under the 

authority of existing regulations. 

Type of Review: New Generic 

Collection. 

Affected Public: U.S. depository and 

non-depository financial institutions. 

Annual Burden Estimates: Below is a 

preliminary estimate of the aggregate 

burden hours. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1,500 institutions. 

Estimated Time per Respondent: 90 

minutes for questions administered via 

focus groups, structured interviews, and 

conference calls. 60 minutes for 

questions delivered via email or 

administered through online survey. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 1,950 hours. 

Request for Comments: Comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be summarized and/or 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 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and the assumptions 

used; (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, including 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

Dated: June 8, 2012. 

Chris Willey, 

Chief Information Officer, Bureau of 

Consumer Financial Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2012–14592 Filed 6–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

[Docket No. CFPB–2012–0024] 

Request for Information Regarding 

Complaints From Private Education 

Loan Borrowers 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

information. 

SUMMARY: Section 1035 of the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) 

established a Private Education Loan 

Ombudsman (Ombudsman) within the 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

(Bureau) to provide timely assistance to 

borrowers of private education loans. 

Among other things, the Dodd-Frank 

Act directs the Ombudsman to ‘‘compile 

and analyze data on borrower 

complaints’’ regarding private education 

loans and make appropriate 

recommendations to the Director of the 

Bureau, the Secretary of the Treasury, 

the Secretary of Education, and 

Congress. In March 2012, the Bureau 

launched the intake of borrower 

complaints on private education loans. 

In order to ‘‘compile and analyze data’’ 

on complaints processed through other 

mechanisms, with this Notice and 

Request for Information, the 

Ombudsman seeks information on 

borrower complaints about private 

education loans. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before August 13, 2012, to be 

considered and analyzed to develop 

recommendations as specified in 

Section 1035(c)(4). 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: 

Monica Jackson, Office of the Executive 

Secretary, Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20552. 

Instructions: The Bureau encourages 

the early submission of comments. All 

submissions must include the agency 

name and docket number, CFPB–2012– 

0024. Please note the number of the 

question you are answering at the top of 

each response (you do not need to 

answer all questions). In general, all 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http:// 

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 calling (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 

general inquiries and submission 

process questions, please call Monica 

Jackson at (202) 435–7275. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

1035 of the Dodd-Frank Act establishes 

a Private Education Loan Ombudsman 

(Ombudsman) within the Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau). 

Section 1035(c)(3) requires the 

Ombudsman to compile and analyze 

data on borrower complaints regarding 

private education loans. Sections 

1035(d) and 1035(c)(4) further require 

the Ombudsman to prepare an annual 

report to Congress and make appropriate 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
35660 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 115 / Thursday, June 14, 2012 / Notices 

1As used in Section 1035 of Dodd-Frank, ‘‘private 

education loans’’ is defined by section 140 of the 

Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650). 

recommendations to the Director of the 

Bureau, to the Secretary of the Treasury, 

the Secretary of Education, and to 

Congress. 

In support of the duties of the 

Ombudsman under section 1035 of 

Dodd-Frank, the Bureau seeks 

information on borrower complaints 

about private education loans.1 To 

supplement the data that the 

Ombudsman will receive through the 

Bureau’s consumer complaint intake 

function and to capture qualitative 

information that may help to inform the 

Ombudsman’s recommendations, this 

notice and request for information 

therefore seeks responses from the 

public, including: 

• Institutions of higher education’s 

financial aid offices; 

• State attorneys general; 

• State and local banking and 

consumer protection agencies; 

• Borrower advocates and legal aid 

entities; or 

• Complaint resolution departments 

of lenders and servicers; 

• Other interested parties. 

To assist the Bureau in satisfying the 

requirement that the Ombudsman shall 

‘‘compile and analyze data on borrower 

complaints’’ mandated by Section 1035, 

the Bureau is interested in receiving 

comments that could bear on its 

analysis of data regarding borrower 

complaints. The Bureau is therefore 

interested in responses to the questions 

outlined below, including, where 

known, information on the volume of 

complaints received and complaint 

outcomes. Please note that the Bureau is 

not soliciting individual borrower 

complaints in response to this notice 

and request for information. Nor is the 

Bureau seeking personally identifiable 

information (PII) regarding borrower 

complaints, from the parties to the 

complaint or any third party. Responses 

to this subsection should not contain 

account numbers, Social Security 

numbers or other personal information 

that could be used to identify the 

complainant or another party identified 

in a complaint, or in any way otherwise 

reveal personally identifiable 

information. Below are some general 

areas for which information is being 

sought. Please feel free to respond to 

any or all of the questions below: 

1. What complaints are submitted by 

borrowers of private student loans? 

Among other things, responses can 

address topics that relate to some or all 

of following areas: 

a. Whether the complainant is the 

primary borrower, co-signer, school, or 

other party; 

b. The topic or topics featured in 

complaints (e.g., credit reporting, debt 

collection, billing disputes); 

c. The types of institutions of higher 

education that complainants attended; 

or 

d. Generalized descriptions or 

summaries of individual private 

education loan borrower complaints 

that do not include personally 

identifiable information. 

2. What processes do institutions have 

in place to respond to complaints from 

private education loan borrowers? 

Among other things, the Bureau invites 

comments on topics such as: 

a. How institutions receive 

complaints from private student loan 

borrowers; and 

b. How institutions respond to 

complaints from private student loan 

borrowers. 

Dated: June 11, 2012. 

Meredith Fuchs, 

Chief of Staff, Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2012–14588 Filed 6–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meeting 

TIME AND DATE: Wednesday, June 20, 

2012, 10 a.m.–12 Noon. 

PLACE: Room 420, Bethesda Towers, 

4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, 

Maryland. 

STATUS: Commission Meeting—Open to 

the Public. 

Matters To Be Considered 

Hearing: Agenda and Priorities for 

Fiscal Year 2014. 

A live webcast of the Meeting can be 

viewed at www.cpsc.gov/webcast. 

For a recorded message containing the 

latest agenda information, call (301) 

504–7948. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Todd A. Stevenson, Office of the 

Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product 

Safety Commission, 4330 East-West 

Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 

504–7923. 

Dated: June 12, 2012. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–14665 Filed 6–12–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket ID DoD–2012–OS–0065] 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

AGENCY: Washington Headquarters 

Services, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

In compliance with Section 

3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the Washington 

Headquarters Services announces a 

proposed new public information 

collection and seeks public comment on 

the provisions thereof. 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 of the 

proposed information collection; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the information collection on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

DATES: Consideration will be given to all 

comments received by August 13, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number and title, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Federal Docket Management 

System Office, 4800 Mark Center Drive, 

East Tower, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, 

VA 22350–3100. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name, docket 

number and title for this Federal 

Register document. The general policy 

for comments and other submissions 

from members of the public is to make 

these submissions available for public 

viewing on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov as they are 

received without change, including any 

personal identifiers or contact 

information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request more information on this 

proposed information collection or to 

obtain a copy of the proposal and 

associated collection instruments, 

please write to Washington 

Headquarters Services, Human 

Resources Directorate, ATTN: Jo-Anna 

Griffith, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 

03D08, Alexandria, VA 22350–3200, or 

call (571) 372–4034. 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES