76808 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 245 / Monday, December 22, 2014 / Unified Agenda 

1The listing does not include certain routine, 

frequent, or administrative matters. Further, certain 

of the information fields for the listing are not 

applicable to independent regulatory agencies, 

including the CFPB, and, accordingly, the CFPB has 

indicated responses of ‘‘no’’ for such fields. 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

12 CFR CH. X 

Semiannual Regulatory Agenda 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Semiannual regulatory agenda. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection (CFPB or Bureau) is 

publishing this agenda as part of the 

Fall 2014 Unified Agenda of Federal 

Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. 

The CFPB reasonably anticipates having 

the regulatory matters identified below 

under consideration during the period 

from November 1, 2014, to October 31, 

2015. The next agenda will be published 

in spring 2015 and will update this 

agenda through spring 2016. Publication 

of this agenda is in accordance with the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq.). 

DATES: This information is current as of 

September 23, 2014. 

ADDRESS: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection, 1700 G Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20552. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A 

staff contact is included for each 

regulatory item listed herein. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CFPB 

is publishing its fall 2014 agenda as part 

of the Fall 2014 Unified Agenda of 

Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory 

Actions, which is coordinated by the 

Office of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866. The CFPB’s 

participation in the Unified Agenda is 

voluntary. The complete Unified 

Agenda will be available to the public 

at the following Web site: http://

www.reginfo.gov. 

Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall 

Street Reform and Consumer Protection 

Act, Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376 

(Dodd-Frank Act), the CFPB has 

rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement, 

and other authorities relating to 

consumer financial products and 

services. These authorities include the 

ability to issue regulations under more 

than a dozen Federal consumer 

financial laws, which transferred to the 

CFPB from seven Federal agencies on 

July 21, 2011. The CFPB is working on 

a wide range of initiatives to address 

issues in markets for consumer financial 

products and services that are not 

reflected in this notice because the 

Unified Agenda is limited to rulemaking 

activities. 

The CFPB reasonably anticipates 

having the regulatory matters identified 

below under consideration during the 

period from November 1, 2014, to 

October 31, 2015.1 Among the Bureau’s 

more significant regulatory efforts are 

the following. 

Implementing Dodd-Frank Act 

Mortgage Protections 

A major rulemaking priority for the 

Bureau continues to be the 

implementation of provisions of the 

Dodd-Frank Act addressing practices 

and information concerning the nation’s 

mortgage markets. The Bureau has 

already issued regulations 

implementing Dodd-Frank Act 

protections for mortgage originations 

and servicing, and integrating various 

Federal mortgage disclosures, as 

discussed further below. The Bureau is 

also working to implement Dodd-Frank 

amendments to the Home Mortgage 

Disclosure Act (HMDA), which augment 

existing data reporting requirements 

regarding housing-related loans and 

applications for such loans. In addition 

to obtaining data that is critical to the 

purposes of HMDA—which include 

providing the public and public officials 

with information that can be used to 

help determine whether financial 

institutions are serving the housing 

needs of their communities, assisting 

public officials in the distribution of 

public sector investments, and assisting 

in identifying possible discriminatory 

lending patterns and enforcing 

antidiscrimination statutes—the Bureau 

views this rulemaking as an opportunity 

to streamline and modernize HMDA 

data collection and reporting in 

furtherance of its mission under the 

Dodd-Frank Act to reduce unwarranted 

regulatory burden. The Bureau 

published a proposed HMDA rule in the 

Federal Register on August 29, 2014, to 

add several new reporting requirements 

and to clarify several existing 

requirements. Publication of the 

proposal followed initial outreach 

efforts and the convening of a panel 

under the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act in 

conjunction with the Office of 

Management and Budget and the Small 

Business Administration’s Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy to consult with 

small lenders who may be affected by 

the rulemaking. As the Bureau develops 

a final rule, it expects to review and 

consider public comments on the 

proposed rule, consult with other 

agencies and coordinate with them on 

implementation efforts, conduct 

additional outreach to build and refine 

operational capacity, and prepare to 

assist financial institutions in their 

compliance efforts. 

The Bureau is also working to support 

implementation of its final rule 

combining several Federal mortgage 

disclosures that consumers receive in 

connection with applying for and 

closing on a mortgage loan under the 

Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the 

Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act 

(RESPA). The project to integrate and 

streamline the disclosures was 

mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act, 

and is intended to increase consumer 

understanding of mortgage transactions 

and facilitate compliance by industry. 

The integrated forms are the cornerstone 

of the Bureau’s broader ‘‘Know Before 

You Owe’’ initiative. The rule was 

issued in November 2013, and takes 

effect in August 2015. The Bureau is 

working intensively to support 

implementation efforts and prepare 

consumer education materials and 

initiatives to help consumers 

understand and use the new forms. In 

addition, in late 2014, the Bureau plans 

to issue a small proposed rule to make 

technical corrections, allow for certain 

language related to new construction 

loans to be added to the Loan Estimate 

form, and modify the same-day 

redisclosure requirement for floating 

interest rates that are locked after the 

Loan Estimate is first provided. 

The Bureau is also working to support 

the full implementation of, and facilitate 

compliance with, various mortgagerelated final rules issued by the Bureau 

in January 2013, to strengthen consumer 

protections involving the origination 

and servicing of mortgages. These rules, 

implementing requirements under the 

Dodd-Frank Act, were all effective by 

January 2014. The Bureau is working 

diligently to monitor the market and 

plans to make clarifications and 

adjustments to the rules where 

warranted. The Bureau is planning to 

issue rules in fall 2014, to provide 

certain adjustments to its rules for 

certain nonprofit entities and to provide 

a cure mechanism for lenders seeking to 

make ‘‘qualified mortgages’’ under rules 

requiring assessment of consumers’ 

ability to repay their mortgage loans 

where the mortgages exceed certain 

limitations on points and fees. The 

Bureau also anticipates issuing a 

proposal in fall 2014, to amend various 

provisions of its mortgage servicing 

rules, in both Regulation X and 

Regulation Z, including further 

clarification of the applicability of 

certain provisions when the borrower is 

in bankruptcy, possible additional 

enhancements to loss mitigation 

requirements, and other topics. In 


ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS3
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 245 / Monday, December 22, 2014 / Unified Agenda 76809 

addition, in order to promote access to 

credit, the Bureau is also currently 

engaged in further research to assess the 

impact of certain provisions 

implemented under the Dodd-Frank Act 

that modify general requirements for 

small creditors that operate 

predominantly in ‘‘rural or 

underserved’’ areas, and expects to 

release a notice of proposed rulemaking 

in early 2015. 

Bureau Regulatory Efforts in Other 

Consumer Markets 

The Bureau continues to work on and 

consider a number of rulemakings to 

address important consumer protection 

issues in other markets for consumer 

financial products and services. 

First, in fall 2014, the Bureau 

anticipates issuing a proposed rule to 

create a comprehensive set of 

protections for General Purpose 

Reloadable (GPR) cards and other 

prepaid products, such as payroll cards 

and student loan disbursement cards, 

which are increasingly being used by 

consumers in place of a traditional 

deposit account or credit card. The 

proposal will build on comments 

received by the Bureau in response to a 

2012 Advance Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking seeking comment, data, and 

information from the public about GPR 

cards. The proposed rule will seek to 

expand coverage in Regulation E 

(implementing the Electronic Fund 

Transfer Act) to prepaid accounts, 

including GPR cards, by extending and 

in some cases modifying disclosure, 

periodic statement, and error resolution 

requirements that apply to consumer 

asset accounts that are currently subject 

to Regulation E. The Bureau also 

expects the proposal to address 

treatment of overdraft services and 

credit features in connection with 

prepaid accounts under both Regulation 

Z (Truth in Lending Act) and Regulation 

E. 

Building on Bureau research and 

other sources, the Bureau is also 

considering what rules may be 

appropriate for addressing the sustained 

use of short-term, high-cost credit 

products such as payday loans and 

deposit advance products. The Bureau 

issued a white paper on these products 

in April 2013 and a data point providing 

additional research in March 2014, and 

is continuing to analyze other consumer 

protection concerns associated with the 

use of high-cost, small-dollar credit 

products. Rulemaking might include 

disclosures or address acts or practices 

in connection with these products. 

The Bureau is also continuing to 

develop research on other critical 

consumer protection markets to help 

assess whether regulation may be 

warranted. For example, the Bureau 

issued research on bank and credit 

union overdraft programs in 2013 and 

2014 and is planning to release the 

results of further studies on overdraft 

programs and their effects on 

consumers. 

In addition, the Bureau has launched 

research initiatives to build on its 

November 2013, Advance Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking on debt 

collection. These efforts include 

undertaking a survey to obtain 

information from consumers about their 

experiences with debt collection and 

launching consumer testing initiatives 

to determine what information would be 

useful for consumers to have about debt 

collection and their debts and how that 

information should be provided to 

them. 

The Bureau is also continuing 

rulemaking activities that will further 

establish the Bureau’s nonbank 

supervisory authority by defining larger 

participants of certain markets for 

consumer financial products and 

services. Larger participants of such 

markets, as the Bureau defines by rule, 

are subject to the Bureau’s supervisory 

authority. In fall 2014, the Bureau 

issued a final rule that amended the 

regulation defining larger participants of 

certain consumer financial products and 

services markets by adding a new 

section to define larger participants of a 

market for international money 

transfers, and began a rulemaking that 

would define larger participants of a 

market for automobile financing and 

define certain automobile leasing 

activity as a financial product or service. 

Bureau Regulatory Streamlining Efforts 

The Bureau is continuing work to 

consider opportunities to modernize 

and streamline regulations that it 

inherited from other agencies pursuant 

to a transfer of rulemaking authority 

under the Dodd-Frank Act. This work 

includes implementing the 

consolidation and streamlining of 

Federal mortgage disclosure forms 

discussed earlier, and exploring 

opportunities to reduce unwarranted 

regulatory burden as part of the HMDA 

rulemaking. The Bureau also issued 

rules in fall 2014, to allow financial 

institutions that restrict their 

information sharing practices and meet 

other requirements to post their annual 

privacy notices to customers under the 

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act online rather 

than delivering them individually. The 

rulemaking addresses longstanding 

concerns that the annual mailings are a 

source of unwarranted regulatory 

burden and unwanted paperwork for 

consumers. 

Finally, the Bureau is continuing to 

assess timelines for other rulemakings 

mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act or 

inherited from other agencies and to 

conduct outreach and research to assess 

issues in various other markets for 

consumer financial products and 

services. As this work continues, the 

Bureau will evaluate possible policy 

responses, including possible 

rulemaking actions, taking into account 

the critical need for and effectiveness of 

various policy tools. For example, as 

directed by Congress, the Bureau is 

conducting a study on the use of 

arbitration agreements provided for 

consumer disputes in connection with 

the offering or providing of consumer 

financial products or services. Upon the 

completion of this study, the Bureau 

will evaluate possible policy responses, 

including possible rulemaking actions, 

the findings of which shall be consistent 

with the study. The Bureau will update 

its regulatory agenda in spring 2015, to 

reflect the results of this further 

prioritization and planning. 

Dated: September 23, 2014. 

Meredith Fuchs, 

General Counsel, Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection. 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU—FINAL RULE STAGE

Sequence No. Title Regulation 

Identifier No. 

445 .................... Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (Regulation C) .............................................................................................. 3170–AA10 

446 .................... The Expedited Funds Availability Act (Regulation CC) ................................................................................... 3170–AA31 


ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS3
76810 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 245 / Monday, December 22, 2014 / Unified Agenda 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU—LONG-TERM ACTIONS

Sequence No. Title Regulation 

Identifier No. 

447 .................... Business Lending Data (Regulation B) ............................................................................................................ 3170–AA09 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

BUREAU (CFPB) 

Final Rule Stage 

445. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act 

(Regulation C) 

Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 2801 to 

2810 

Abstract: Section 1094 of the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) 

amended the Home Mortgage Disclosure 

Act (HMDA), which requires certain 

financial institutions to collect and 

report information in connection with 

housing-related loans and applications 

they receive for such loans. The 

amendments made by the Dodd-Frank 

Act, among other things, expand the 

scope of information relating to 

mortgage applications and loans that 

must be compiled, maintained, and 

reported under HMDA, including the 

ages of loan applicants and mortgagors, 

information relating to the points and 

fees payable at origination, the 

difference between the annual 

percentage rate associated with the loan 

and benchmark rates for all loans, the 

term of any prepayment penalty, the 

value of the property to be pledged as 

collateral, the term of the loan and of 

any introductory interest rate for the 

loan, the presence of contract terms 

allowing non-amortizing payments, the 

application channel, and the credit 

scores of applicants and mortgagors. 

The Dodd-Frank Act also provides 

authority for the CFPB to require other 

information, including identifiers for 

loans, parcels, and loan originators. The 

CFPB released a proposal in July 2014, 

published in the Federal Register on 

August 29, 2014 that would add data 

points in accordance with the DoddFrank Act amendments and align, to the 

extent practicable, the regulatory 

requirements with existing industry 

standards for collecting data on 

mortgage loans and applications. The 

proposal also included other revisions 

to its regulations to effectuate the 

purposes of HMDA, including changes 

to institutional and transactional 

coverage, modifications of reporting 

requirements, and clarifications of other 

existing regulatory provisions. 

Timetable: 

Action Date FR Cite 

NPRM .................. 08/29/14 79 FR 51731 

NPRM Comment 

Period End.

10/29/14 

Final Rule ............ 07/00/15 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Required: Yes. 

Agency Contact: Joan Kayagil, Office 

of Regulations, Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau, Phone: 202 435– 

7700. 

RIN: 3170–AA10 

446. The Expedited Funds Availability 

Act (Regulation CC) 

Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4001 et seq. 

Abstract: The Expedited Funds 

Availability Act (EFA Act), 

implemented by Regulation CC, governs 

availability of funds after a check 

deposit and check collection and return 

processes. Section 1086 of the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act amended the EFA Act to 

provide the CFPB with joint rulemaking 

authority with the Board of Governors of 

the Federal Reserve System (Board) over 

certain consumer-related EFA Act 

provisions. The Board proposed 

amendments to Regulation CC in March 

2011, to facilitate the banking industry’s 

ongoing transition to fully-electronic 

interbank check collection and return. 

The Board’s proposal includes some 

provisions that are subject to the CFPB’s 

joint rulemaking authority, including 

the period for funds availability and 

revising model form disclosures. In 

addition, in December 2013, the Board 

proposed revised amendments to certain 

Regulation CC provisions that are not 

subject to the CFPB’s authority and 

stated in the proposal that the comment 

period has been extended to May 2, 

2014. The CFPB will work with the 

Board to issue jointly a final rule that 

includes provisions within the CFPB’s 

authority. 

Timetable: 

Action Date FR Cite 

NPRM .................. 03/25/11 76 FR 16862 

NPRM Comment 

Period End.

06/03/11 

Final Rule ............ 06/00/15 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Required: Yes. 

Agency Contact: Joseph Baressi, 

Office of Regulations, Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau, Phone: 202 

435–7700. 

RIN: 3170–AA31 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

BUREAU (CFPB) 

Long-Term Actions 

447. Business Lending Data (Regulation 

B) 

Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1691c–2 

Abstract: Section 1071 of the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) 

amends the Equal Credit Opportunity 

Act (ECOA) to require financial 

institutions to report information 

concerning credit applications made by 

women- or minority-owned businesses 

and small businesses. The amendments 

made by the Dodd-Frank Act require 

that certain data be collected and 

maintained under ECOA, including the 

number of the application and date the 

application was received; the type and 

purpose of loan or credit applied for; the 

amount of credit applied for and 

approved; the type of action taken with 

regard to each application and the date 

of such action; the census tract of the 

principal place of business; the gross 

annual revenue; and the race, sex, and 

ethnicity of the principal owners of the 

business. The CFPB expects to begin 

developing proposed regulations 

concerning the data to be collected and 

appropriate procedures, information 

safeguards, and privacy protections for 

information-gathering under this 

section. 

Timetable: 

Action Date FR Cite 

CFPB Expects 

Further Action 

To Be Determined.

To Be Determined 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Required: Yes. 

Agency Contact: Charles Honig, Office 

of Regulations, Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau, Phone: 202 435– 

7700. 

RIN: 3170–AA09 

[FR Doc. 2014–28987 Filed 12–19–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 


ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS3
Vol. 79 Monday, 

No. 245 December 22, 2014 

Part XXII 

Federal Communications Commission 

Semiannual Regulatory Agenda 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS6