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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 76 (Tuesday, April 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22186-22189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09193]

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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the final approval of proposed 
information collection by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System (Board) under OMB delegated authority, as per OMB Regulations on 
Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public. Board-approved collections 
of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of 
currently approved collections of information. Copies of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act Submission, supporting statements and approved collection 
of information instrument(s) are placed into OMB's public docket files. 
The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is 
not required to respond to, an information collection that has been 
extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless 
it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Reserve Board Acting Clearance

[[Page 22187]]

Officer--Mark Tokarski--Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551 (202) 
452-5241. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may 
contact (202) 263-4869, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551.
    OMB Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503.

    Final approval under OMB delegated authority the extension for 
three years, with revision, of the following information collection:

    Report title: Information Collection Associated with the 
Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements of Regulation B (Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act (ECOA)).
    Agency form number: Regulation B.
    OMB control number: 7100-0201.
    Frequency: Event-generated.
    Reporters: State member banks, branches and agencies of foreign 
banks (other than federal branches, federal agencies, and insured state 
branches of foreign banks), commercial lending companies owned or 
controlled by foreign banks, and organizations operating under section 
25 or 25A of the Federal Reserve Act.
    Estimated annual reporting hours: Notifications: 76,536 hours; 
Furnishing of credit information: 31,890 hours; Record retention, 
applications, actions, and prescreened solicitations: 8,504 hours; 
Information for monitoring purposes: 3,189 hours; Rules on providing 
appraisal reports, providing appraisal reports: 38,268 hours; Self-
testing record retention, incentives, 400 hours and self-correction, 
400 hours; Rules concerning requests for information, disclosure for 
optional self-test: 8,400 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: Notifications: 6 hours; 
Furnishing of credit information: 2.5 hours; Record retention, 
applications, actions, and prescreened solicitations: 8 hours; 
Information for monitoring purposes: 15 minutes; Rules on providing 
appraisal reports, providing appraisal reports: 3 hours; Self-testing 
record retention, incentives, 2 hours and self-correction, 8 hours; 
Rules concerning requests for information, disclosure for optional 
self-test: 3.5 hours.
    Number of respondents: 1,063.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
authorized by 15 U.S.C. 1691b, which authorizes the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau (CFPB) to prescribe regulations to carry out the 
purposes of ECOA. An institution's recordkeeping and disclosure 
obligations under Regulation B are mandatory. The Federal Reserve does 
not collect any information; therefore, no issue of confidentiality 
normally arises.
    Abstract: ECOA was enacted in 1974 and is implemented by Regulation 
B. ECOA prohibits discrimination in any aspect of a credit transaction 
because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, 
age (provided the applicant has the capacity to contract), or other 
specified bases (receipt of public assistance, or the fact that the 
applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer 
Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.)). To aid in 
implementation of this prohibition, the statute and regulation subject 
creditors to various mandatory disclosure requirements, notification 
provisions informing applicants of action taken on the credit 
application, credit history reporting, monitoring rules, and 
recordkeeping requirements. These requirements are triggered by 
specific events and disclosures must be provided within the time 
periods established by the statute and regulation. There are no 
required reporting forms associated with the CFPB's Regulation B. To 
ease the burden and cost of compliance (particularly for small 
entities), Regulation B provides model disclosure forms.
    Current Actions: On January 28, 2015, the Federal Reserve published 
a notice in the Federal Register (80 FR 4571) requesting public comment 
for 60 days on the extension, with revision, of the information 
collection associated with Regulation B. The comment period for this 
notice expired on March 30, 2015. The Federal Reserve did not receive 
any comments. The revisions will be implemented as proposed.

    Final approval under OMB delegated authority the extension for 
three years, without revision, of the following information 
collections:

    1. Report title: Information Collection Associated with the 
Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Disclosure Requirements of Regulation BB 
(Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)).
    Agency form number: Regulation BB.
    OMB control number: 7100-0197.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Reporters: State member banks (SMBs).
    Estimated annual reporting hours: Recordkeeping requirement, small 
business and small farm loan register: 16,863 hours; Optional 
recordkeeping requirements, consumer loan data, 4,238 hours and other 
loan data, 275 hours; Reporting requirements, assessment area 
delineation, 164 hours; loan data: Small business and small farm, 616 
hours, community development, 1,066 hours, and HMDA out of MSA, 17,963 
hours; Optional reporting requirements, data on lending by a consortium 
or third party, 153 hours; affiliate lending data, 152 hours; request 
for strategic plan approval, 275 hours; request for designation as a 
wholesale or limited purpose bank, 4 hours; Disclosure requirement, 
public file, 8,510 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: Recordkeeping requirement, 
small business and small farm loan register: 219 hours; Optional 
recordkeeping requirements, consumer loan data, 326 hours, and other 
loan data, 25 hours; Reporting requirements, assessment area 
delineation, 2 hours; loan data: Small business and small farm, 8 
hours, community development, 13 hours, and HMDA out of MSA, 253 hours; 
Optional reporting requirements, data on lending by a consortium or 
third party, 17 hours; affiliate lending data, 38 hours; request for 
strategic plan approval, 275 hours; request for designation as a 
wholesale or limited purpose bank, 4 hours; Disclosure requirement, 
public file, 10 hours.
    Number of respondents: Recordkeeping requirement, small business 
and small farm loan register, 77; Optional recordkeeping requirements, 
consumer loan data, 13, and other loan data, 11; Reporting 
requirements, assessment area delineation, 82; loan data: Small 
business and small farm, 77, community development, 82, and HMDA out of 
MSA, 71; Optional reporting requirements, data on lending by a 
consortium or third party, 9; affiliate lending data, 4; request for 
strategic plan approval, 1; request for designation as a wholesale or 
limited purpose bank, 1; Disclosure requirement, public file, 851.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
authorized by section 806 of the CRA, which permits the Board to issue 
regulations to carry out the purpose of CRA (12 U.S.C. 2905), Section 
11 of the Federal Reserve Act (FRA), which permits the Board to require 
such statements as reports of SMBs as it deems necessary (12 U.S.C. 
248(a)(1)), and section 9 of the FRA, which permits the Board to 
examine SMBs (12 U.S.C. 325). The obligation to comply with the 
recordkeeping, reporting, and disclosure requirements of Regulation BB 
is generally mandatory and varies depending on whether the bank is a 
large bank. Other parts of the

[[Page 22188]]

collection--specifically, the request for designation as a wholesale or 
limited purpose bank, the strategic plan, and the recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements associated with data regarding consumer loans 
and lending performance, affiliate lending data, data on lending by a 
consortium or a third party, are required to obtain a benefit. The data 
that are reported to the Federal Reserve are not considered 
confidential.
    Abstract: CRA was enacted in 1977 and is implemented by Regulation 
BB. The CRA directs the federal banking agencies \1\ to evaluate 
financial institutions' records of helping to meet the credit needs of 
their entire communities, including low- and moderate-income areas 
consistent with the safe and sound operation of the institutions. The 
CRA is implemented through regulations issued by the federal banking 
agencies.\2\
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    \1\ In addition to the Board, the federal banking agencies 
currently responsible for CRA rules are the Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation (FDIC).
    \2\ The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 
Act of 2010 transferred from the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) 
all authorities (including rulemaking) relating to savings 
associations to the OCC and all authorities (including rulemaking) 
relating to savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs) to the Board 
on July 21, 2011.
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    In 1995, the federal banking agencies issued substantially 
identical regulations under CRA to reduce unnecessary compliance 
burden, promote consistency in CRA assessments, and encourage improved 
performance.\3\ As a result, the current recordkeeping, reporting, and 
disclosure requirements under Regulation BB depend in part on a bank's 
size, and are discussed more fully below in the description of 
information collection.
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    \3\ 60 FR 22156 (May 4, 1995).
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    Under Regulation BB, large banks are defined as those with assets 
of $1.202 billion or more for the past two consecutive year-ends; all 
other banks are considered small or intermediate.\4\ The banking 
agencies amend the definition of a small bank and an intermediate small 
bank in their CRA regulations each year when the asset thresholds are 
adjusted for inflation pursuant to Regulation BB, most recently in 
December 2013.\5\
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    \4\ Beginning January 1, 2014, banks and savings associations 
that, as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years, 
had assets of less than $1.202 billion are small banks or small 
savings associations. Small banks or small savings associations with 
assets of at least $300 million as of December 31 of both of the 
prior two calendar years, and less than $1.202 billion as of 
December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years, are 
intermediate small banks or intermediate small savings associations.
    \5\ 78 FR 79283 (December 30, 2013).
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    Other than the information collections pursuant to the CRA, the 
Board has no information collection that supplies data regarding the 
community reinvestment activities of SMBs.
    Current Actions: On January 28, 2015, the Federal Reserve published 
a notice in the Federal Register (80 FR 4571) requesting public comment 
for 60 days on the extension, without revision, of the Recordkeeping, 
Reporting and Disclosure Requirements in Regulation BB. The comment 
period for this notice expired on March 30, 2015. The Federal Reserve 
did not receive any comments.
    2. Report title: Information Collections Associated with the 
Recordkeeping and Disclosure requirements of Regulation M (Consumer 
Leasing).
    Agency form number: Regulation M.
    OMB control number: 7100-0202.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Reporters: Consumer lessors.
    Estimated annual reporting hours: Disclosures: 33 hours; 
Advertising: 7 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: Disclosures: 2.08 hours; 
Advertising: 25 minutes.
    Number of respondents: 4.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
authorized by sections 105(a) and 187 of TILA (15 U.S.C. 1604(a) and 
1667f respectively, which authorize the Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau (CFPB) to issue regulations to carry out the provisions of the 
Consumer Leasing Act (CLA). The CFPB's Regulation M, 12 CFR part 1013, 
implements these statutory provisions. An institution's recordkeeping 
and disclosure obligations under Regulation M are mandatory. Because 
the Federal Reserve does not collect any information pursuant to the 
CFPB's Regulation M, no issue of confidentiality normally arises. 
Furthermore, the lease information regarding individual leases with 
consumers is confidential between the institution and the consumer. In 
the event the Board were to retain regarding consumer leases during the 
course of an examination, the information regarding the consumer and 
the lease would be kept confidential pursuant to section (b)(8) of the 
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 522 (b)(8)).
    Abstract: The CLA and Regulation M are intended to provide 
consumers with meaningful disclosures about the costs and terms of 
leases for personal property. The disclosures enable consumers to 
compare the terms for a particular lease with those for other leases 
and, when appropriate, to compare lease terms with those for credit 
transactions. The CLA and Regulation M also contain rules about 
advertising consumer leases and limit the size of balloon payments in 
consumer lease transactions.
    The CFPB's Regulation M applies to all types of lessors of personal 
property (except motor vehicle dealers excluded from the Bureau's 
authority under Dodd-Frank Act section 1029, which are covered by the 
Board's Regulation M \6\). The CLA and Regulation M require lessors to 
disclose to consumers uniformly the costs, liabilities, and terms of 
consumer lease transactions. Disclosures are provided to consumers 
before they enter into lease transactions and in advertisements that 
state the availability of consumer leases on particular terms. The 
regulation generally applies to consumer leases of personal property in 
which the contractual obligation does not exceed $53,500 and has a term 
of more than four months. The CLA does not provide exemptions for small 
entities.
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    \6\ 12 U.S.C. 5519; 12 CFR part 213.
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    In April 2011, shortly before primary rule writing authority for 
the CLA transferred to the CFPB, the Board published a final rule that 
established a new dollar threshold for lease transactions subject to 
Regulation M, implementing an amendment to the CLA by the Dodd-Frank 
Act.\7\ This amendment increased the dollar threshold for lease 
contracts subject to the CLA and Regulation M from $25,000 to $50,000. 
The amendment also required that this threshold be adjusted annually 
for inflation by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price 
Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), as published 
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 2014, the Regulation M threshold 
is $53,500,\8\ which will be increased to $54,600 effective January 1, 
2015.\9\
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    \7\ Public Law 111-203, 1100E, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010), amending 
15 U.S.C. 1667(1). See 76 FR 18349 (Apr. 4, 2011).
    \8\ 78 FR 70193 (Nov. 25, 2013). This threshold adjustment was 
issued jointly by the Board, for its Regulation M at 12 CFR part 
213, and the CFPB, for its Regulation M at 12 CFR 1013.
    \9\ 79 FR 56482 (Sept. 22, 2014).
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    Current Actions: On January 28, 2015, the Federal Reserve published 
a notice in the Federal Register (80 FR 4571) requesting public comment 
for 60 days on the extension, without revision, of the Board's 
information collections associated with the Recordkeeping and 
Disclosure Requirements of Regulation M. The comment period for this 
notice expired on March 30, 2015. The Federal Reserve did not receive 
any comments.

[[Page 22189]]

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 16, 
2015.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2015-09193 Filed 4-20-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P
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