[Federal Register: January 21, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 13)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 2852-2855]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21ja04-12]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
12 CFR Chap. I
[Docket No. 004-05]
BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Chap. II
[Docket No. R-1180]
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
12 CFR Chap. III
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Thrift Supervision
12 CFR Chap. V
[No. 2003-67]
Request for Burden Reduction Recommendations; Consumer
Protection: Lending-Related Rules; Economic Growth and Regulatory
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 Review
AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury;
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); and Office of Thrift Supervision
(OTS), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of regulatory review; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, FDIC, and OTS (``we'' or ``the Agencies'') are
reviewing our regulations to identify outdated, unnecessary, or unduly
burdensome regulatory requirements pursuant to the Economic Growth and
Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA). Today, we request
your comments and suggestions on ways to reduce burden in rules we have
categorized as Consumer Protection: Lending-Related Rules, consistent
with our statutory obligations. All comments are welcome. We
specifically invite comment on the following issues: whether statutory
changes are needed; whether the regulations contain requirements that
are not needed to serve the purposes of the statutes they implement;
the extent to which the regulations may adversely affect competition;
the cost of compliance associated with reporting, recordkeeping, and
disclosure requirements, particularly on small institutions; whether
any regulatory requirements are inconsistent or redundant; and whether
any regulations are unclear.
We will analyze the comments received and propose burden reducing
changes to our regulations where appropriate. Some of your suggestions
for burden reduction might require legislative changes. Where
legislative changes would be required, we will consider your
suggestions in recommending appropriate changes to the Congress.
DATES: Written comments must be received no later than April 20, 2004.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
EGRPRA Web site: http://www.EGRPRA.gov.
[sbull] Comments submitted at the Agencies' joint Web site will
automatically be distributed to all the Agencies upon receipt. Comments
received at the EGRPRA Web site and by other means will be posted on
the Web site to the extent possible.
Individual agency addresses: You are also welcome to submit
comments to the Agencies at the following contact points (due to delays
in paper mail delivery in the Washington area, commenters may prefer to
submit their comments by alternative means):
OCC: You may submit comments, identified by Docket Number 04-05, by
any of the following methods:
[sbull] E-mail: regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. Include Docket Number
04-05 in the subject line of the message.
[sbull] Fax: (202) 874-4448.
[sbull] Mail: Public Information Room, Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Mailstop 1-5, Washington, DC 20219.
Public Inspection: You may inspect and photocopy comments at the
Public Information Room. You can make an appointment to inspect the
comments by calling (202) 874-5043.
Board: You may submit comments, identified by Docket Number R-1180,
by any of the following methods:
[sbull] E-mail: regs.comments@federalreserve.gov.
[[Page 2853]]
Include Docket Number R-1180, in the subject line of the message.
[sbull] Mail: Ms. Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20551.
[sbull] Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
Public Inspection: You may inspect and photocopy comments in Room
MP-500 of the Martin Building between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays in
accordance with the Board's Rules Regarding Availability of
Information, 12 CFR part 261.
FDIC: You may submit comments, identified as EGRPRA burden
reduction comments, by any of the following methods:
[sbull] http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/law/federal/propose.html
[sbull] E-mail: comments@fdic.gov. Include ``EGRPRA burden
reduction comment'' in the subject line of the message.
[sbull] Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC
20429.
[sbull] Hand Delivery: Comments may be hand delivered to the 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: You may inspect comments at the FDIC Public
Information Center, Room 100, 801 17th Street, NW., between 9 a.m. and
4:30 p.m. on business days.
OTS: You may submit comments, identified by ``No. 2003-67,'' by any
of the following methods:
[sbull] E-Mail: regs.comments@ots.treas.gov. Include ``No. 2003-
67'' in the subject line of the message, and provide your name and
telephone number.
[sbull] Fax: (202) 906-6518.
[sbull] Mail: Regulation Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Office
of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.
[sbull] Hand Delivery: Comments may be hand delivered to the
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.
Public Inspection: OTS will post comments and the related index on
the OTS Internet Site at http://www.ots.treas.gov. In addition, 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 fax to (202)
906-7755. (Please identify the material you would like to inspect to
assist us in serving you.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OCC:
[sbull] Mark Tenhundfeld, Assistant Director, Legislative and
Regulatory Activities Division, (202) 874-5090.
[sbull] Lee Walzer, Counsel, Legislative and Regulatory Activities
Division, (202) 874-5090.
Board:
[sbull] Patricia A. Robinson, Managing Senior Counsel, Legal
Division, (202) 452-3005.
[sbull] Michael J. O'Rourke, Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 452-
3288.
[sbull] John C. Wood, Counsel, Division of Consumer and Community
Affairs, (202) 452-2412.
[sbull] Arleen Lustig, Supervisory Financial Analyst, Division of
Banking Supervision and Regulation, (202) 452-5259.
[sbull] For users of Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD)
only, contact (202) 263-4869.
FDIC:
[sbull] Claude A. Rollin, Special Assistant to the Vice Chairman,
(202) 898-8741.
[sbull] Steven D. Fritts, Associate Director, Division of
Supervision and Consumer Protection, (202) 898-3723.
[sbull] Ruth R. Amberg, Senior Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898-
3736.
[sbull] Thomas Nixon, Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898-8766.
OTS:
[sbull] Robyn Dennis, Manager, Thrift Policy, Supervision Policy,
(202) 906-5751.
[sbull] Karen Osterloh, Special Counsel, Regulations and
Legislation Division, Chief Counsel's Office, (202) 906-6639.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The Agencies are asking for your comments and suggestions on ways
in which the Agencies can reduce regulatory burdens consistent with our
statutory obligations. Today, we request your input to help us identify
which Consumer Protection Lending-Related rules are outdated,
unnecessary, or unduly burdensome. The rules in this category are
listed in a chart at the end of this notice. Please send us your
recommendations at our Web site,
http://www.EGRPRA.gov, or to one of the listed addresses.
The rest of this notice will discuss the essential elements of our
EGRPRA review project, some suggestions we received on carrying it out,
and today's request for comment.
II. Agencies' Proposed and Current Plan
A. The EGRPRA Review Requirements and the Agencies' \1\ Proposed Plan
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\1\ The National Credit Union Administration has participated in
planning the EGRPRA review but has issued, and will issue, requests
for comment separately.
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This current request for comment is part of the review required by
section 2222 of EGRPRA.\2\ We described the EGRPRA review's
requirements in our initial notice of the EGRPRA project published in
the June 16, 2003, Federal Register.\3\ As part of our review, we ask
for comments not only on burden imposed by individual regulatory
requirements, but also on the cumulative effect of the rules.
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\2\ Public Law 104-208, Sept. 30, 1996, 12 U.S.C. 3311.
\3\ The citation for our first Federal Register notice is 68 FR
35589. You can view it at our Web site http://www.EGRPRA.gov by
clicking on ``Federal Register Notices.''
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The EGRPRA review required us to categorize our rules by type. Our
June 16, 2003 Federal Register publication placed our rules into 12
categories. The categories are:
1. Applications and Reporting;
2. Banking Operations;
3. Capital;
4. Community Reinvestment Act;
5. Consumer Protection;
6. Directors, Officers and Employees;
7. International Operations;
8. Money Laundering;
9. Powers and Activities;
10. Rules of Procedure;
11. Safety and Soundness;
12. Securities.
To spread the work of commenting on and reviewing the categories of
rules over a reasonable period of time, we proposed to publish one or
more categories of rules approximately every six months between 2003
and 2006 and provide a 90-day comment period for each publication. We
asked for comment on all aspects of our plan, including: the
categories, the rules in each category, and the order in which we
should review the categories. Because the Agencies were eager to begin
reducing unnecessary burden where appropriate, our initial notice also
published three categories of rules for comment (Applications and
Reporting, Powers and Activities, and International Operations). All
our covered categories of rules must be published for comment and
reviewed by the end of September, 2006.
The EGRPRA review then requires the Agencies to: (1) Publish a
summary of the comments we received, identifying and discussing the
significant issues
[[Page 2854]]
raised in them; and (2) eliminate unnecessary regulatory requirements.
Within 30 days after the Agencies publish the comment summary and
discussion, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
(FFIEC), which is the formal interagency body to which the Agencies
belong, must submit a report to the Congress. This report will
summarize significant issues raised by the public comments and the
relative merits of those issues. It will also analyze whether the
appropriate Federal banking agency can address the burdens by
regulation, or whether they must be addressed by legislation.
B. Public Response and the Agencies' Current Plan
We received 19 comments in response to the first notice. You can
view the comments at our EGRPRA Web site by clicking on ``Comments.''
In addition to soliciting written comments in 2003, we held banker
outreach meetings in Orlando, St. Louis, Denver, San Francisco, and New
York City in order to hear directly from the industry about ways the
Agencies could reduce regulatory burden. More than 250 representatives
from the industry attended the outreach meetings. These meetings have
given us valuable insights and have helped focus our regulatory burden
reduction efforts. We anticipate holding additional outreach events in
2004. We also will be taking into account the important views of
consumer and community organizations when we meet with them. You can
view descriptions of the meetings and related recommendations at our
EGRPRA Web site by clicking on ``Events'' and then choosing a meeting
by its location.
The Agencies appreciate the response to our notice and the outreach
meetings. The written comments and remarks at the meetings came from
individuals, banks, savings associations, holding companies, and
industry trade groups. We are actively reviewing the feedback received
about specific ways to reduce regulatory burden, as well as conducting
our own analyses. Because the main purpose of this notice is to request
comment on the next category of regulations, we will not discuss
specific recommendations about the first set of regulation categories
here. However, as we develop initiatives to reduce burden in the
future--whether through regulatory, legislative, or other channels ``
we will discuss the public's recommendations that relate to our
proposed actions.
We requested comment about our proposed categories and placement of
the rules within each category. Industry trade groups and others
observed that commenting on all consumer protection regulations at one
time would be burdensome in itself and suggested that we might receive
more useful feedback if the category was divided. As a result, we
divided the consumer protection regulations into two categories: (1)
Lending-Related Rules, and (2) Account--Deposit Relationships and
Miscellaneous Consumer Rules. The regulations in the Lending-Related
Rules category are listed in the chart below. The Account--Deposit
Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer Rules category will contain
the remaining rules previously identified in the Consumer Protection
category. We plan to request comment on the Account--Deposit
Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer Rules in the next notice.
We also requested comment about the order in which we should review
the categories. According to some industry representatives, the
requirements imposed by the Consumer Protection regulations are among
the most burdensome. Given this response, we will focus on those rules
first.
III. Request for Comment on Consumer Protection: Lending--Related Rules
Category
Today, we are asking the public to identify the ways in which the
Consumer Protection: Lending-Related Rules may be outdated,
unnecessary, or unduly burdensome. As noted, the rules in this category
are listed in the chart below.
We encourage comments that address not only individual rules or
requirements but also pertain to certain product lines. For example, in
the case of a particular loan, are any disclosure requirements under
one regulation inconsistent with or duplicative of requirements under
another regulation? Are there unnecessary records that must be kept? A
product line approach is consistent with EGRPRA's focus on how rules
interact, and may be especially helpful in exposing redundant or
potentially inconsistent regulatory requirements. We recognize that
commenters using a product line approach may want to make
recommendations about rules that are not in our current request for
comment. They should do so since the EGRPRA categories are designed to
stimulate creative approaches rather than limiting them.
Specific issues to consider. While all comments are welcome, we
specifically invite comment on the following issues:
A. Need for statutory change. (1) Do any statutory requirements
underlying the rules impose unnecessary, redundant, conflicting or
unduly burdensome requirements? (2) Are there less burdensome
alternatives?
B. Need and purpose of the regulations. (1) Are the regulations
consistent with the purposes of the statutes that they implement? (2)
Have circumstances changed so that a rule is no longer necessary? (3)
Do changes in the financial products and services offered to consumers
suggest a need to revise certain regulations (or statutes)? (4) Do any
of the regulations impose compliance burdens not required by the
statutes they implement?
C. General approach/flexibility. (1) Would a different general
approach to regulating achieve statutory goals with less burden? (2) Do
any of these rules impose unnecessarily inflexible requirements?
D. Effect of the regulations on competition. Do any of the
regulations or statutes create competitive disadvantages for insured
depository institutions compared to the rest of the financial services
industry or competitive disadvantages for one type of insured
depository institution over another?
E. Reporting, recordkeeping and disclosure requirements. (1) Which
reporting, recordkeeping, or disclosure requirements impose the most
compliance burdens? (2) Are any of the reporting or recordkeeping
requirements unnecessary to demonstrate compliance with the law?
F. Consistency and redundancy. (1) Are any of the requirements
under one regulation inconsistent with or duplicative of requirements
under another regulation? (2) If so, are the inconsistencies not
warranted by the purposes of the regulations?
G. Clarity. Are any of the regulations drafted unclearly?
H. Burden on small insured institutions. We have particular
interest in minimizing burden on small insured institutions (those with
assets of $150 million or less). How could these rules be amended to
minimize adverse economic impact on small insured institutions?
The Agencies appreciate the efforts of all interested parties to
help us eliminate outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome
regulatory requirements.
[[Page 2855]]
Rules for Which Comment Is Requested Now
[Consumer Protection: Lending-Related Rules Category]
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Holding companies bank \4\
Subject National banks State member banks State non-member banks Thrifts thrift
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Consumer Protection: Lending-Related Rules
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Interagency Regulations
Fair Housing.................... 12 CFR Part 27................ .............................. 12 CFR Part 338............... 12 CFR Part 528 (including
other nondiscrimination
requirements).
Loans in Identified Flood Hazard 12 CFR Part 22................ 12 CFR 208.25 [Reg. H]........ 12 CFR Part 339............... 12 CFR Part 572.
Areas.
Board Regulations
Consumer Leasing................ 12 CFR Part 213 [Reg. M]...... 12 CFR Part 213 [Reg. M]...... 12 CFR Part 213 [Reg. M]...... 12 CFR Part 213 [Reg. M]...... 12 CFR Part 213 [Reg. M].
.............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. 12 CFR Part 213 [Reg. M].
Equal Credit Opportunity........ 12 CFR Part 202 [Reg. B]...... 12 CFR Part 202 [Reg. B]...... 12 CFR Part 202 [Reg. B]...... 12 CFR Part 202 [Reg. B]...... 12 CFR Part 202 [Reg. B].
.............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. 12 CFR Part 202 [Reg. B].
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.... 12 CFR Part 203 [Reg. C]...... 12 CFR Part 203 [Reg. C]...... 12 CFR Part 203 [Reg. C]...... 12 CFR Part 203 [Reg. C]...... 12 CFR Part 203 [Reg. C].
.............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. 12 CFR Part 203 [Reg. C].
Truth in Lending................ 12 CFR Part 226 [Reg. Z]...... 12 CFR Part 226 [Reg. Z]...... 12 CFR Part 226 [Reg. Z]...... 12 CFR Part 226 [Reg. Z]...... 12 CFR Part 226 [Reg. Z].
.............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. 12 CFR Part 226 [Reg. Z].
Unfair or Deceptive Acts or 12 CFR 227.11-16 [Reg. AA, 12 CFR 227.11-16 [Reg. AA, 12 CFR 227.11-16 [Reg. AA,
Practices. Subpart B]. Subpart B]. Subpart B].
OTS Regulations
Unfair or Deceptive Acts or .............................. .............................. .............................. 12 CFR Part 535.
Practices.
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\4\ Foreign banking organizations that conduct banking operations in the U.S., either directly through branches and agencies or indirectly through U.S. bank subsidiaries or commercial lending
company subsidiaries, generally are subject to the same regulatory regime as domestic bank holding companies.
Dated: January 14, 2004.
John D. Hawke, Jr.
Comptroller of the Currency.
By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
on January 7, 2004.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
By order of the Board of Directors, Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation.
Dated at Washington, DC, this 2nd day of December, 2003.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.
Dated: December 17, 2003.
By the Office of Thrift Supervision.
Richard M. Riccobono,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 04-1161 Filed 1-20-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P