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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3865-3867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00729]

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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

[No. 2025-N-1]

Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

ACTION: 60-Day notice of submission of information collection for 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the 
Agency) is seeking public comments concerning an information collection 
called the ``Minimum Requirements for Appraisal Management Companies,'' 
which has been assigned control number 2590-0013 by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA intends to submit the information 
collection to OMB for review and approval of a three-year extension of 
the control number, which is due to expire on March 31, 2025.

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before March 17, 
2025.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to FHFA, identified by ``Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request: Minimum Requirements for Appraisal 
Management Companies, (No. 2025-N-1)'' by any of the following methods:
     Agency Website: https://www.fhfa.gov/regulation/federal-register?comments=open.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fourth 
Floor, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219, ATTENTION: Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request: ``Minimum Requirements for Appraisal 
Management Companies, (No. 2025-N-1).'' Please note that all mail sent 
to FHFA via the U.S. Postal Service is routed through a national 
irradiation facility, a process that may delay delivery by 
approximately two weeks. For any time-sensitive correspondence, please 
plan accordingly.
    FHFA will post all public comments on the FHFA public website at 
http://www.fhfa.gov, except as described below. Commenters should 
submit only information that the commenter wishes to make available 
publicly. FHFA may post only a single representative example of 
identical or substantially identical comments, and in such cases will 
generally identify the number of identical or substantially identical

[[Page 3866]]

comments represented by the posted example. FHFA may, in its 
discretion, redact or refrain from posting all or any portion of any 
comment that contains content that is obscene, vulgar, profane, or 
threatens harm. All comments, including those that are redacted or not 
posted, will be retained in their original form in FHFA's internal file 
and considered as required by all applicable laws. Commenters that 
would like FHFA to consider any portion of their comment exempt from 
disclosure on the basis that it contains trade secrets, or financial, 
confidential or proprietary data or information, should follow the 
procedures in section IV.D. of FHFA's Policy on Communications with 
Outside Parties in Connection with FHFA Rulemakings, see https://www.fhfa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Ex-Parte-Communications-Public-Policy_3-5-19.pdf. FHFA cannot guarantee that such data or 
information, or the identity of the commenter, will remain confidential 
if disclosure is sought pursuant to an applicable statute or 
regulation. See 12 CFR 1202.8, 12 CFR 1214.2, and the FHFA FOIA 
Reference Guide at https://www.fhfa.gov/about/foia-reference-guide for 
additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela Supervielle, Senior Counsel, 
[email protected], (202) 649-3973 (these are not toll-free 
numbers); Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 Seventh Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20219. For TTY/TRS users with hearing and speech 
disabilities, dial 711 and ask to be connected to any of the contact 
numbers above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Need for and Use of the Information Collection

    In 2015, FHFA, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 
the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) (collectively, the 
Agencies) jointly issued regulations \1\ to implement minimum statutory 
requirements to be applied by states in the registration and 
supervision of appraisal management companies (AMCs).\2\ These minimum 
requirements apply to states that have elected to establish an 
appraiser certifying and licensing agency with authority to register 
and supervise AMCs (participating states).\3\
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    \1\ The National Credit Union Administration and the Bureau of 
Consumer Financial Protection also participated in the joint 
rulemaking but, by agreement, the responsibility for clearance under 
the PRA of information collections contained in the joint 
regulations is shared only by the FDIC, OCC, Board, and FHFA.
    \2\ See 12 U.S.C. 3353(a). An AMC is an entity that serves as an 
intermediary for, and provides certain services to, appraisers and 
lenders.
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 3346.
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    The regulations also implement the statutory requirement that 
states report to the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) of the Federal 
Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) the information 
required by the ASC to administer the national registry of AMCs (AMC 
National Registry or Registry).\4\ The AMC National Registry includes 
AMCs that are either: (1) subsidiaries owned and controlled by an 
insured depository institution (as defined in 12 U.S.C. 1813) and 
regulated by either the FDIC, OCC, or Board (federally regulated AMCs); 
\5\ or (2) registered with, and subject to supervision of, a state 
appraiser certifying and licensing agency.
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    \4\ See 12 U.S.C. 3353(e).
    \5\ See 12 CFR 1222.21(k) (defining ``Federally regulated 
AMC'').
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    FHFA's AMC regulation, located at Subpart B of 12 CFR part 1222, is 
substantively identical to the AMC regulations of the FDIC, OCC, and 
Board and contains the recordkeeping and reporting requirements 
described below.

1. Written Notice of Appraiser Removal From Network or Panel (IC #1, 
Formerly #3)

    An entity meets the definition of an AMC that is subject to the 
requirements of the AMC regulation if, among other things, it oversees 
an appraiser panel of more than 15 state-certified or state-licensed 
appraisers in a state, or 25 or more state-certified or state-licensed 
appraisers in two or more states, within a given 12-month period.\6\ 
For purposes of determining whether a company qualifies as an AMC under 
that definition, the regulation provides that an appraiser in an AMC's 
network or panel is deemed to remain on the network or panel until: (i) 
the AMC sends a written notice to the appraiser removing the appraiser 
with an explanation; or (ii) receives a written notice from the 
appraiser asking to be removed or receives a notice of the death or 
incapacity of the appraiser.\7\ The AMC would retain these notices in 
its files.
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    \6\ See 12 CFR 1222.21(c)(1)(iii).
    \7\ See 12 CFR 1222.22(b).
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2. State Recordkeeping Requirements (IC #2, Formerly IC #1)

    States seeking to register AMCs must have an AMC registration and 
supervision program. The regulation requires each participating state 
to establish and maintain within its appraiser certifying and licensing 
agency a registration and supervision program with the legal authority 
and mechanisms to: (i) review and approve or deny an application for 
initial registration; (ii) periodically review and renew, or deny 
renewal of, an AMC's registration; (iii) examine an AMC's books and 
records and require the submission of reports, information, and 
documents; (iv) verify an AMC's panel members' certifications or 
licenses; (v) investigate and assess potential violations of laws, 
regulations, or orders; (vi) discipline, suspend, terminate, or deny 
registration renewals of, AMCs that violate laws, regulations, or 
orders; and (vii) report violations of appraisal-related laws, 
regulations, or orders, and disciplinary and enforcement actions to the 
ASC.\8\
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    \8\ See 12 CFR 1222.23(a).
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    The regulation requires each participating state to impose 
requirements on AMCs that are not federally regulated (non-federally 
regulated AMCs) to: (i) register with and be subject to supervision by 
a state appraiser certifying and licensing agency in each state in 
which the AMC operates; (ii) use only state-certified or state-licensed 
appraisers for federally regulated transactions in conformity with any 
federally regulated transaction regulations; (iii) establish and comply 
with processes and controls reasonably designed to ensure that the AMC, 
in engaging an appraiser, selects an appraiser who is independent of 
the transaction and who has the requisite education, expertise, and 
experience necessary to competently complete the appraisal assignment 
for the particular market and property type; (iv) direct the appraiser 
to perform the assignment in accordance with the Uniform Standards of 
Professional Appraisal Practice; and (v) establish and comply with 
processes and controls reasonably designed to ensure that the AMC 
conducts its appraisal management services in accordance with sections 
129E(a) through (i) of the Truth-in-Lending Act.\9\
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    \9\ See 12 CFR 1222.23(b). Sections 129E(a) through (i) of the 
Truth-in-Lending Act are located at 15 U.S.C. 1639e(a)-(i).
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3. AMC Disclosure Requirements (State-Regulated AMCs) (IC #3, Formerly 
#2)

    The regulation provides that an AMC may not be registered by a 
state or included on the AMC National Registry if the company is owned, 
directly or indirectly, by any person who has had an appraiser license 
or certificate refused, denied, cancelled, surrendered in lieu of 
revocation, or revoked in any state for a substantive cause.\10\ The

[[Page 3867]]

regulation also provides that an AMC may not be registered by a state 
if any person that owns 10 percent or more of the AMC fails to submit 
to a background investigation carried out by the state appraiser 
certifying and licensing agency.\11\ Thus, each AMC registering with a 
state must provide information to the state on compliance with those 
ownership restrictions.
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    \10\ See 12 CFR 1222.24(a), 1222.25(b).
    \11\ See 12 CFR 1222.24(b).
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B. Burden Estimate

    For the information collections described above, the general 
methodology is to compute the industry wide burden hours for 
participating states and AMCs and then assign a share of the burden 
hours to each of the Agencies for each information collection.
    As noted above, each of the Agencies' AMC regulations contains 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements applying to participating 
states and to both federally regulated and non-federally regulated 
AMCs. Unlike the insured depository institutions regulated by the OCC, 
FDIC, and Board, none of FHFA's regulated entities owns or controls an 
AMC or, by law, could ever own or control an AMC. Accordingly, the 
Agencies have agreed that responsibility for the burdens arising from 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements imposed upon federally 
regulated AMCs are to be split evenly among the OCC, FDIC, and Board 
and that FHFA will not include those burdens in its totals.
    The four Agencies have agreed to split the total burdens imposed 
upon participating states and upon non-federally regulated AMCs among 
them. For IC #1 and #3, which relates to disclosure requirements 
imposed upon state regulated AMCs the OCC, FDIC, and the Board are each 
responsible for 30 percent of the total burden, while FHFA is 
responsible only for 10 percent of the total burden. For IC #2, which 
relates to reporting and recordkeeping requirements imposed upon 
participating states, each agency is responsible for 25 percent of the 
total estimated burden.
    The Agencies estimate the total annualized hour burden placed on 
respondents by the information collection in the joint AMC regulations 
to be 6,651 hours. FHFA estimates its share of the hour burden to be 
678 hours. The calculations on which those estimations are based are 
described below.

1. Written Notice of Appraiser Removal From Network or Panel (IC #1, 
Formerly #3)

    State-regulated AMCs disclose written notices sent or received 
regarding appraiser removal from the AMC's network or panel. The 
Agencies estimate that the total number of annual respondents for this 
information collection is 28,270, with one notice sent per respondent. 
The estimated number of respondents per year allocated to each of the 
four agencies (FDIC, FRB, OCC, and FHFA) is calculated by splitting the 
total estimated number of respondents using a ratio of 3:3:3:1. Thus, 
the estimated number of annual respondents attributable to FHFA for 
this IC is 2,827 (28,270 notices x 10% = 2,827). FHFA estimates an 
average of 5 minutes per response. The total hour burden attributable 
to FHFA is 236 (2,827 notices x 5 minutes = 236, after rounding up).

2. State Recordkeeping Requirements (IC #2, Formerly IC #1)

    States without a current AMC certifying and licensing program that 
elect to establish such a program as a result of the rule maintain 
records related to the rule's substantive requirements. According to 
the ASC, there are 5 states that do not have an AMC program. The 
estimated number of respondents is split evenly among the four 
agencies, which amounts to one respondent each, after rounding up to a 
whole number. FHFA estimates 40 hours per recordkeeping activity, which 
is unchanged from the previous ICR. The total hour burden attributable 
to FHFA is 40 (40 hours x 1 respondent = 40).

3. AMC Disclosure Requirements (IC #3, Formerly #2)

    State-regulated AMCs disclose to states information necessary to 
determine whether any person that owns more than 10 percent of the AMC 
has had an appraiser license or certificate refused, denied, cancelled, 
surrendered in lieu of revocation, or revoked in any state. The 
Agencies estimate the number of state-regulated AMCs for the next three 
years as 4,020, with an average of one report per AMC and one hour 
preparation time per report. The estimated number of respondents per 
year allocated to each of the four agencies (FDIC, FRB, OCC, and FHFA) 
is calculated by splitting the total estimated number of respondents 
using a ratio of 3:3:3:1. Thus, the estimated number of annual 
respondents attributable to FHFA for this IC is 402 (4,020 respondents 
x 10% = 402).

C. Comments Request

    FHFA requests written comments on the following: (1) Whether the 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
FHFA functions, including whether the information has practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of FHFA's estimates of the burdens of the 
collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information collected; and (4) 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.

Shawn Bucholtz,
Chief Data Officer, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2025-00729 Filed 1-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8070-01-P
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