Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 / Proposed Rules 31529 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

12 CFR Part 41 

[Docket ID OCC–2008–0022] 

RIN 1557–AD21 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

12 CFR Part 222 

[Docket No. R–1300] 

RIN 7100–AD18 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

12 CFR Part 334 

RIN 3064–AD40 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Thrift Supervision 

12 CFR Part 571 

[Docket No. OTS–2008–0026] 

RIN 1550–AC31 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Part 717 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

16 CFR Part 660 

RIN 3084–AA94 

Guidelines for Furnishers of 

Information to Consumer Reporting 

Agencies 

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of 

the Currency, Treasury (OCC); Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System (Board); Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation (FDIC); Office of 

Thrift Supervision, Treasury (OTS); 

National Credit Union Administration 

(NCUA); and Federal Trade Commission 

(FTC). 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, FDIC, OTS, 

NCUA, and FTC (Agencies) request 

comment to gather information that 

would assist the Agencies in 

considering the development of a 

possible proposed addition to the 

furnisher accuracy and integrity 

guidelines that were issued in today’s 

Federal Register. Those guidelines, 

along with the accompanying 

regulations, implement the accuracy 

and integrity provisions in section 312 

of the Fair and Accurate Credit 

Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act) 

that amended section 623 of the Fair 

Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This 

advance notice of proposed rulemaking 

(ANPR) seeks to obtain information that 

would assist the Agencies in 

determining whether it would be 

appropriate to propose an addition to 

one of the guidelines that would 

delineate the circumstances under 

which a furnisher would be expected to 

provide an account opening date to a 

consumer reporting agency to promote 

the integrity of the information. In 

addition, the Agencies request comment 

more broadly on whether furnishers 

should be expected to provide any other 

types of information to a consumer 

reporting agency in order to promote 

integrity. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted by 

August 31, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Because paper mail in the 

Washington, DC area and at the 

Agencies is subject to delay, 

commenters are encouraged to submit 

comments by e-mail, if possible. 

Commenters are also encouraged to use 

the title ‘‘Procedures to Enhance the 

Accuracy and Integrity of Information 

Furnished to Consumer Reporting 

Agencies’’ to facilitate the organization 

and distribution of the comments. 

Comments submitted to one or more of 

the Agencies will be made available to 

all of the Agencies. Interested parties are 

invited to submit comments to: 

OCC: You may submit comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal— 

‘‘Regulations.gov’’: Go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, under the ‘‘More 

Search Options’’ tab click next to the 

‘‘Advanced Docket Search’’ option 

where indicated, select ‘‘Comptroller of 

the Currency’’ from the agency dropdown menu, then click ‘‘Submit.’’ In the 

‘‘Docket ID’’ column, select ‘‘OCC– 

2008–0022’’ to submit or view public 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials for this advance notice 

of proposed rulemaking. The ‘‘How to 

Use This Site’’ link on the 

Regulations.gov home page provides 

information on using Regulations.gov, 

including instructions for submitting or 

viewing public comments, viewing 

other supporting and related materials, 

and viewing the docket after the close 

of the comment period. 

• Mail: Office of the Comptroller of 

the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Mail 

Stop 2–3, Washington, DC 20219. 

• E-mail: 

regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. 

• Fax: (202) 874–5274. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: 250 E 

Street, SW., Mail Stop 2–3, Washington, 

DC 20219. 

Instructions: You must include 

‘‘OCC’’ as the agency name and ‘‘Docket 

Number OCC–2008–0022’’ in your 

comment. In general, OCC will enter all 

comments received into the docket and 

publish them on Regulations.gov 

without change, including any business 

or personal information that you 

provide such as name and address 

information, e-mail addresses, or phone 

numbers. Comments received, including 

attachments and other supporting 

materials, are part of the public record 

and subject to public disclosure. Do not 

enclose any information in your 

comment or supporting materials that 

you consider confidential or 

inappropriate for public disclosure. 

You may review comments and other 

related materials by any of the following 

methods: 

• Viewing Comments Electronically: 

Go to http://www.regulations.gov, under 

the ‘‘More Search Options’’ tab click 

next to the ‘‘Advanced Docket Search’’ 

option where indicated, select 

‘‘Comptroller of the Currency’’ from the 

agency drop-down menu, then click 

‘‘Submit.’’ In the ‘‘Docket ID’’ column, 

select ‘‘OCC–2008–0022’’ to view public 

comments for this advance notice of 

proposed rulemaking. 

• Viewing Comments Personally: You 

may personally inspect and photocopy 

comments at the OCC, 250 E Street, 

SW., Washington, DC. For security 

reasons, the OCC requires that visitors 

make an appointment to inspect 

comments. You may do so by calling 

(202) 874–4700. Upon arrival, visitors 

will be required to present valid 

government-issued photo identification 

and submit to security screening in 

order to inspect and photocopy 

comments. 

• Docket: You may also view or 

request available background 

documents and project summaries using 

the methods described above. 

Board: You may submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. R–1300, by any 

of the following methods: 

• Agency Web site: http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments at 

http://www.federalreserve.gov/ 

generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: 

regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. 

Include docket number in the subject 

line of the message. 

31530 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

1The comment must be accompanied by an 

explicit request for confidential treatment, 

including the factual and legal basis for the request, 

and must identify the specific portions of the 

comment to be withheld from the public record. 

The request will be granted or denied by the FTC’s 

General Counsel, consistent with applicable law 

and the public interest. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 

4.9(c). 

• FAX: (202) 452–3819 or (202) 452– 

3102. 

• Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, 

Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System, 20th Street and 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20551. 

All public comments are available 

from the Board’s Web site at http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/ 

foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, 

unless modified for technical reasons. 

Accordingly, your comments will not be 

edited to remove any identifying or 

contact information. Public comments 

may also be viewed electronically or in 

paper in Room MP–500 of the Board’s 

Martin Building (20th and C Streets, 

NW.) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on 

weekdays. 

FDIC: You may submit comments, 

identified by the RIN for this 

rulemaking, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Agency Web site: http:// 

www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/ 

propose.html. Follow instructions for 

submitting comments on the Agency 

Web site. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-Mail: Comments@FDIC.gov. 

Include the RIN number in the subject 

line of the message. 

• Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive 

Secretary, Attention: Comments, Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Guard 

station at the rear of the 550 17th Street 

Building (located on F Street) on 

business days between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

Public Inspection: All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/ 

federal/propose.html, including any 

personal information provided. Paper 

copies of public comments may be 

ordered from the Public Information 

Center by telephone at (877) 275–3342 

or (703) 562–2200. 

OTS: You may submit comments, 

identified by OTS–2008–0026, by any of 

the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal 

‘‘Regulations.gov’’: Go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, under the ‘‘more 

Search Options’’ tab click next to the 

‘‘Advanced Docket Search’’ option 

where indicated, select ‘‘Office of Thrift 

Supervision’’ from the agency drop 

down menu, then click ‘‘Submit.’’ In the 

‘‘Docket ID’’ column, select ‘‘OTS– 

2008–0026’’ to submit or view public 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials for this advance notice 

of proposed rulemaking. The ‘‘How to 

Use This Site’’ link on the 

Regulations.gov home page provides 

information on using Regulations.gov, 

including instructions for submitting or 

viewing public comments, viewing 

other supporting and related materials, 

and viewing the docket after the close 

of the comment period. 

• E-mail address: 

regs.comments@ots.treas.gov. Please 

include OTS–2008–0026 in the subject 

line of the message and include your 

name and telephone number in the 

message. 

• Mail: Regulation Comments, Chief 

Counsel’s Office, Office of Thrift 

Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20552, Attention: OTS– 

2008–0026. 

• Fax: (202) 906–6518. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Guard’s 

Desk, East Lobby Entrance, 1700 G 

Street, NW., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 

business days, Attention: Regulation 

Comments, Chief Counsel’s Office, 

Attention: OTS–2008–0026. 

• Instructions: All submissions 

received must include the agency name 

and docket number for this rulemaking. 

All comments received will be entered 

into the docket and posted on 

Regulations.gov without change, 

including any personal information 

provided. Comments, including 

attachments and other supporting 

materials received, are part of the public 

record and subject to public disclosure. 

Do not enclose any information in your 

comment or supporting materials that 

you consider confidential or 

inappropriate for public disclosure. 

• Viewing Comments Electronically: 

Go to http://www.regulations.gov, select 

‘‘Office of Thrift Supervision’’ from the 

agency drop-down menu, then click 

‘‘Submit.’’ Select Docket ID ’’OTS– 

2008–0026’’ to view public comments 

for this advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 

• Viewing Comments On-Site: You 

may inspect comments at the Public 

Reading Room, 1700 G Street, NW., by 

appointment. To make an appointment 

for access, call (202) 906–5922, send an 

e-mail to public.info@ots.treas.gov, or 

send a facsimile transmission to (202) 

906–6518. (Prior notice identifying the 

materials you will be requesting will 

assist us in serving you.) We schedule 

appointments on business days between 

10 a.m. and 4 p.m. In most cases, 

appointments will be available the next 

business day following the date we 

receive a request. 

NCUA: You may submit comments by 

any of the following methods (please 

send comments by one method only): 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• NCUA Web Site: http:// 

www.ncua.gov/ 

RegulationsOpinionsLaws/ 

proposed_regs/proposed_regs.html. 

Follow the instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• E-mail: Address to 

regcomments@ncua.gov. Include ‘‘[Your 

name] Comments on Advance Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking Part 717, 

Procedures to Enhance the Accuracy 

and Integrity of Information Furnished 

to Consumer Reporting Agencies under 

Section 312 of the Fair and Accurate 

Credit Transactions Act’’ in the e-mail 

subject line. 

• Fax: (703) 518–6319. Use the 

subject line described above for e-mail. 

• Mail: Address to Mary Rupp, 

Secretary of the Board, National Credit 

Union Administration, 1775 Duke 

Street, Alexandria, VA 22314–3428. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Address to 

Mary Rupp, Secretary of the Board, 

National Credit Union Administration. 

Deliver to guard station in the lobby of 

1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 

22314–3428, on business days between 

8 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

All public comments are available on 

the agency’s Web site at http:// 

www.ncua.gov/ 

RegulationsOpinionsLaws/comments as 

submitted, except as may not be 

possible for technical reasons. Public 

comments will not be edited to remove 

any identifying or contact information. 

Paper copies of comments may be 

inspected in NCUA’s law library, at 

1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 

22314, by appointment weekdays 

between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. To make an 

appointment, call (703) 518–6546 or 

send an e-mail to OGCMail@ncua.gov. 

FTC: Comments should refer to 

‘‘Procedures to Enhance the Accuracy 

and Integrity of Information Furnished 

to Consumer Reporting Agencies under 

Section 312 of the Fair and Accurate 

Credit Transactions Act, Project No. 

R611017,’’ and may be submitted by any 

of the following methods. Comments 

containing confidential material must be 

filed in paper form, must be clearly 

labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’ and must 

comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c).1

Comments should not include any 

sensitive personal information, such as 

an individual’s Social Security Number; 

date of birth; driver’s license number or 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 / Proposed Rules 31531 

2 15 U.S.C. 1681–1681x. 

3Public Law 104–208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 20, 

1996). 

4Public Law 108–159, 117 Stat. 1952 (Dec. 4, 

2003). 

5Section 623 is codified at 15 U.S.C. 1681s–2. 6Section 660.2(e) in the FTC’s rule. 

other State identification number or 

foreign country equivalent; passport 

number; financial account number; or 

credit or debit card number. Comments 

also should not include any sensitive 

health information, such as medical 

records and other individually 

identifiable health information. 

• E-mail: https:// 

secure.commentworks.com/ftcFACTAfurnishers. To ensure that the 

FTC considers an electronic comment, 

you must file it on the Web-based form 

found at this Web link and follow the 

instructions on that form. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. You may visit this 

Web site to read this request for public 

comment and to file an electronic 

comment. The FTC will consider all 

comments that regulations.gov forwards 

to it. 

• Mail or Hand Delivery: A comment 

filed in paper form should refer, both in 

the text and on the envelope, to the 

name and project number identified 

above, and should be mailed or 

delivered to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission/Office of the 

Secretary, Room H–135 (Annex C), 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20580. 

The FTC Act and other laws the FTC 

administers permit the collection of 

public comments to consider and use in 

this proceeding as appropriate. All 

timely and responsive public comments, 

whether filed in paper or electronic 

form, will be considered by the FTC, 

and will be available to the public on its 

Web site, to the extent practicable, at 

http://www.ftc.gov/os/ 

publiccomments.htm. As a matter of 

discretion, the FTC makes every effort to 

remove home contact information for 

individuals from the public comments it 

receives before placing those comments 

on the FTC Web site. More information, 

including routine uses permitted by the 

Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC’s 

privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ 

ftc/privacy.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

OCC: Stephen Van Meter, Assistant 

Director, Community and Consumer 

Law Division, (202) 874–5750; Patrick 

T. Tierney, Senior Attorney, or Carl 

Kaminski, Senior Attorney, Legislative 

and Regulatory Activities Division, 

(202) 874–5090; or Malloy T. Harris, Jr., 

National Bank Examiner, Compliance 

Policy, (202) 874–4851, Office of the 

Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. 

Board: Amy E. Burke, Senior 

Attorney, or Jelena McWilliams, 

Attorney, Division of Consumer and 

Community Affairs, (202) 452–3667 or 

(202) 452–2412; or Anne B. Zorc, 

Counsel, (202) 452–3876, or Kara L. 

Handzlik, Attorney, (202) 452–3852, 

Legal Division, Board of Governors of 

the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C 

Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20551. 

FDIC: Glenn S. Gimble, Senior Policy 

Analyst, (202) 898–6865, Division of 

Supervision and Consumer Protection; 

Richard M. Schwartz, Counsel, (202) 

898–7424, or Richard B. Foley, Counsel, 

(202) 898–3784, Legal Division; 550 

17th St., NW., Washington, DC 20429. 

OTS: April Breslaw, Director, 

Consumer Regulations, (202) 906–6989; 

Suzanne McQueen, Consumer 

Regulations Analyst, Compliance and 

Consumer Protection Division, (202) 

906–6459; or Richard Bennett, Senior 

Compliance Counsel, Regulations and 

Legislation Division, (202) 906–7409, at 

1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20552. 

NCUA: Linda Dent or Regina Metz, 

Attorneys, Office of General Counsel, 

phone (703) 518–6540 or fax (703) 518– 

6569, National Credit Union 

Administration, 1775 Duke Street, 

Alexandria, VA 22314. 

FTC: Clarke W. Brinckerhoff and 

Pavneet Singh, Attorneys, (202) 326– 

2252, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 

Federal Trade Commission, 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20580. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 

which was enacted in 1970, sets 

standards for the collection, 

communication, and use of information 

bearing on a consumer’s 

creditworthiness, credit standing, credit 

capacity, character, general reputation, 

personal characteristics, or mode of 

living.2 In 1996, the Consumer Credit 

Reporting Reform Act extensively 

amended the FCRA.3 The FACT Act 4

further amended the FCRA for various 

purposes, including improved accuracy 

of consumer reports. 

Section 623 of the FCRA describes the 

responsibilities of persons that furnish 

information about consumers 

(furnishers) to consumer reporting 

agencies (CRAs).5 Section 312 of the 

FACT Act amended section 623 of the 

FCRA by requiring the Agencies to issue 

guidelines for use by furnishers 

regarding the accuracy and integrity of 

the information about consumers that 

they furnish to CRAs and to prescribe 

regulations requiring furnishers to 

establish reasonable policies and 

procedures for implementing the 

guidelines (referred to in this ANPR as 

the accuracy and integrity regulations 

and guidelines). 

In this issue of the Federal Register, 

the Agencies promulgated final rules 

and guidelines to implement section 

312 of the FACT Act. Section _.41(e) 6

of the final rules defines the term 

‘‘integrity’’ to mean that information 

that a furnisher provides to a CRA about 

an account or other relationship with 

the consumer: 

• Is substantiated by the furnisher’s 

records at the time it is furnished; 

• Is furnished in a form and manner 

that is designed to minimize the 

likelihood that the information may be 

incorrectly reflected in a consumer 

report; and 

• Includes the information in a 

furnisher’s possession about the account 

or other relationship that the relevant 

Agency has: 

Æ Determined that the absence of 

which would likely be materially 

misleading in evaluating a consumer’s 

creditworthiness, credit standing, credit 

capacity, character, general reputation, 

personal characteristics, or mode of 

living; and 

Æ Listed in section I.(b)(2)(iii) of the 

guidelines. 

Section I.(b)(2)(iii) of the guidelines 

lists a ‘‘credit limit, if applicable and in 

the furnisher’s possession.’’ Thus, under 

the final rule that cross-references this 

provision of the guidelines, information 

relating to a consumer that is furnished 

to a CRA will not be deemed to have 

‘‘integrity’’ if it does not include a credit 

limit, if the account or relationship with 

the consumer has a credit limit, and the 

credit limit is in the possession of the 

furnisher. 

The Agencies now seek information to 

determine if they should include the 

account opening date as another item to 

be included in section I.(b)(2)(iii) of the 

guidelines. The Agencies also request 

comment on any other items that should 

be included in section I.(b)(2)(iii) of the 

guidelines in order to promote the 

integrity of information furnished to 

CRAs. Specifically, the Agencies request 

comment on whether there are other 

items of information the absence of 

which would likely be materially 

misleading in evaluating a consumer’s 

creditworthiness, credit standing, credit 

capacity, character, general reputation, 

personal characteristics, or mode of 

living, and which the Agencies should 

31532 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

7See Robert B. Avery, Raphael W. Bostic, Paul S. 

Calem & Glenn B. Canner, An Overview of 

Consumer Data and Credit Reporting, Federal 

Reserve Bulletin, vol. 89, at 47–73 (Feb. 2003); 

Robert B. Avery, Paul S. Calem, Glenn B. Canner 

& Shannon C. Mok, Credit Report Accuracy and 

Access to Credit, Federal Reserve Bulletin, vol. 90, 

at 297–322 (Summer 2004). 

list in section I.(b)(2)(iii) of the 

guidelines. 

II. Account Opening Date 

In general, credit scoring models use 

the following factors to generate a credit 

score: payment history, credit 

utilization (amount owed compared to 

the credit limit), length of credit history 

(time since accounts opened and time 

since account activity), number and 

types of credit accounts, new credit 

established, types of credit used, and 

bankruptcy filings.7 The Agencies 

understand that an account opening 

date may be used to determine the 

length of a consumer’s credit history. A 

long-established credit history tends to 

affect positively a consumer’s credit 

score, and may similarly affect other 

assessments of a consumer’s 

creditworthiness. 

The Agencies understand that some 

furnishers, including furnishers that 

provide only negative information to 

CRAs, may not include account opening 

dates in the information they provide to 

CRAs. The Agencies are concerned that, 

for at least some consumers, this 

practice may result in a lower credit 

score for the consumer than otherwise 

would be the case (or otherwise result 

in a more negative assessment of the 

consumer’s creditworthiness). 

Therefore, the omission of the account 

opening date may result in higher costs 

and reduced access to credit and other 

products and services and present an 

incorrect impression of credit and other 

risks to lenders and other users of 

consumer reports. 

The Agencies also recognize, 

however, that it is possible that the 

account opening date may not be a 

significant factor in determining a credit 

score in certain credit scoring models or 

in other assessments of a consumer’s 

creditworthiness; that some credit 

scoring models and other assessment 

systems might be adjusted to 

compensate for the absence of an 

account opening date; and that other 

data might effectively be substituted for 

an account opening date. 

III. Request for Comments 

The Agencies believe that, in advance 

of proposing any additions or changes to 

the accuracy and integrity guidelines, it 

is appropriate to invite comment from 

all interested parties on the following 

issues: 

• To what extent, and under what 

circumstances, do furnishers provide 

account opening dates to CRAs? What 

factors determine whether that 

information will be provided? 

• Would the absence of an account 

opening date or any other specific item 

in the information a furnisher provides 

to a CRA likely be materially misleading 

in evaluating a consumer’s 

creditworthiness, credit standing, credit 

capacity, character, general reputation, 

personal characteristics, or mode of 

living? If so, how, and under what 

circumstances? 

• Does the omission of an account 

opening date or other items of 

information otherwise compromise the 

integrity of information provided by 

furnishers to CRAs? If so, how, and 

under what circumstances? 

• Should certain types of credit or 

other products or services be exempt 

from any proposed guideline for 

furnishing an account opening date or 

other items of information? For 

example, should any such new rules or 

guidelines be applicable only to 

mortgage or credit card products? 

Alternatively, should such rules or 

guidelines apply only to credit that is 

‘‘consumer credit’’ as defined by 

Regulation Z (12 CFR 226)? Should any 

other types of credit products or 

services should be exempt, and, if so, 

why? 

• Should accounts for which both 

positive and negative activity has been 

furnished on a regular basis for a certain 

period of time be exempt from any 

proposed rule or guideline for 

furnishing an account opening date or 

other items of information? If so, what 

is the appropriate period of time, and 

why? 

• How should ‘‘account opening 

date’’ or other terms used to identify 

other items of information be defined, if 

at all? Are there types of credit or other 

products or services that, because of 

their nature, would not have an account 

opening date or other identified items of 

information? If so, please identify such 

credit products or services and explain 

why they would not have an account 

opening date or other identified items of 

information. 

• What specific costs and benefits 

would be incurred and realized by 

consumers if furnishers were expected 

to furnish an account opening date or 

other items of information to CRAs? 

• What specific costs and benefits 

would be incurred and realized by 

furnishers and users of consumer 

reports if furnishers were expected to 

furnish an account opening date or 

other items of information to CRAs? 

• What would be the effect on the 

credit reporting system if furnishers 

were expected to furnish an account 

opening date or other items of 

information to CRAs? 

In addition, the Agencies specifically 

invite comment as follows: 

The Agencies invite comment from 

individuals and consumer organizations 

on the effect on consumers and the 

credit reporting system if furnishers 

were required to provide CRAs with an 

account opening date or other items of 

information. 

In addition, the Agencies recognize 

that small institutions operate with 

more limited resources than larger 

institutions. Thus, the Agencies 

specifically request comment on the 

impact on small institutions of a 

possible future proposal that would 

require furnishers to furnish more 

information to CRAs, such as an account 

opening date, and whether the goals of 

a possible future proposal could be 

achieved for small institutions through 

an alternative approach. 

Finally, the Agencies invite comment 

on how a future proposal could affect 

the furnishing of information to 

specialized types of CRAs, such as CRAs 

that collect information for the purpose 

of making decisions regarding 

insurance, employment or tenant 

screening, or check verification, and to 

nontraditional CRAs that may only 

provide information to a limited class of 

businesses (e.g., medical information 

providers and tenant screening 

services). 

IV. Regulatory Analysis 

Executive Order 12866 

Executive Order 12866 requires the 

preparation of an analysis for agency 

actions that are ‘‘significant regulatory 

actions.’’ ‘‘Significant regulatory 

actions’’ are actions that may result in 

regulations that are likely to: 

• Have an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million or more or 

adversely affect in a material way the 

economy, a sector of the economy, 

productivity, competition, jobs, the 

environment, public health or safety, or 

State, local, or Tribal governments or 

communities; 

• Create a serious inconsistency or 

otherwise interfere with an action taken 

or planned by another agency; 

• Materially alter the budgetary 

impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, 

or loan programs or the rights and 

obligations of recipients thereof; or 

• Raise novel legal or policy issues 

arising out of legal mandates, the 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 / Proposed Rules 31533 

8Executive Order 12866 (Sept. 30, 1993), 58 FR 

51735 (Oct. 4, 1993). A ‘‘regulatory action’’ is ‘‘any 

substantive action by an agency (normally 

published in the Federal Register) that promulgates 

or is expected to lead to the promulgation of a final 

rule or regulation, including notices of inquiry, 

advance notices of proposed rulemaking, and 

notices of proposed rulemaking.’’ Executive Order 

12866, section 3(e). 

President’s priorities, or the principles 

set forth in the Executive Order.8

This ANPR neither establishes nor 

proposes any regulatory requirements. 

Because this ANPR does not contain a 

specific proposal, information is not 

available with which to prepare a 

regulatory analysis. The OCC and OTS 

will each prepare a regulatory analysis 

if they proceed with a proposed rule 

that constitutes a significant regulatory 

action. 

Accordingly, the OCC and OTS solicit 

comment, information, and data on the 

potential effects on the economy of any 

changes to the guidelines that 

commenters may recommend. The OCC 

and OTS encourage commenters to 

provide information about estimates of 

costs, benefits, other effects, or any 

other information. In addition, the OCC 

and OTS ask commenters to identify or 

estimate start-up or non-recurring costs 

separately from costs or effects they 

believe would be ongoing. Quantitative 

information would be the most useful. 

The OCC and OTS will carefully 

consider the costs and benefits 

associated with any proposed changes 

to the guidelines. 

Dated: May 15, 2009. 

John C. Dugan, 

Comptroller of the Currency. 

By order of the Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System, June 4, 2009. 

Jennifer J. Johnson, 

Secretary of the Board. 

By order of the Board of Directors. 

Dated at Washington, DC, the 8th day of 

June 2009. 

Robert E. Feldman, 

Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation. 

Dated: April 2, 2009. 

By the Office of Thrift Supervision. 

John E. Bowman, 

Acting Director. 

By the National Credit Union 

Administration Board on May 21, 2009. 

Mary Rupp, 

Secretary of the Board. 

By Direction of the Commission. 

Donald S. Clark, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–15322 Filed 6–30–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–33–P; 6210–01–P; 6714–10–P; 

6720–01–P; 7535–01–P; 6750–01–P