FDIC Federal Register Citations

[Federal Register: August 31, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 169)]

[Notices]

[Page 51888-51891]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr31au06-116]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Thrift Supervision

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury;

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); Federal

Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); Office of Thrift Supervision

(OTS), Treasury; National Credit Union Administration (NCUA); and

Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

ACTION: Joint notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, the OCC, the Board, the FDIC, the OTS, the NCUA, and the

FTC (Agencies) may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not

required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a

currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

Pursuant to section 214(e) of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions

Act of 2003 (FACT Act or Act), the Agencies are requesting public

comment on a proposed information collection concerning the ``Survey of

Information Sharing Practices with Affiliates'' (Survey).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 30, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to

any or all of the Agencies. All comments, which should refer to the OMB

control number, will be shared among the Agencies.

OCC: You may submit comments, identified by ``Survey of Information

Sharing Practices with Affiliates (1557-NEW),'' by any of the following

methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

OCC Web site: http://www.occ.treas.gov. Click on ``Contact

the OCC,'' scroll down and click on ``Comments on Proposed

Regulations.''

Mail: Communications Division, Office of the Comptroller

of the Currency, Public Information Room, Mailstop 1-5, Attention:

1557-NEW, 250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219.

Fax: (202) 874-4448

E-mail: regs.comments@occ.treas.gov.

You may review comments by any of the following methods:

Viewing Comments Personally: You can inspect and photocopy

the comments at the OCC's Public Information Room, 250 E Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20219. You can make an appointment to inspect the

comments by calling (202) 874-5043.

Viewing Comments Electronically: You may request that we

send you an electronic copy of comments via e-mail or mail you a CD-ROM

containing electronic copies by contacting the OCC at

regs.comments@occ.treas.gov.

A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk

officer: OCC Desk Officer, by mail to U.S. Office of Management and

Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., 10235, Washington, DC 20503, or

by fax to (202) 395-6974.

Board: You may submit comments, identified by ``Survey of

Information Sharing Practices with Affiliates,'' by any of the

following methods:

Agency Web Site: http://www.federalreserve.gov |

Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the

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.

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,

[[Page 51889]]

except as necessary 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: Written comments should identify ``Survey of Information

Sharing Practices with Affiliates,'' as the subject and be submitted by

any of the following methods:

Agency Web site: http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/propose.html

.

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

E-mail: comments@fdic.gov.

Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary, Attention:

Comments, FDIC, 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.

Comments may be inspected and photocopied in the FDIC Public

Information Center, Room E-1002, 3502 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington,

VA 22226, between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on business days.

OTS: You may submit comments, identified by ``Survey of Information

Sharing Practices with Affiliates (1550-NEW),'' by any of the following

methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

E-mail: infocollection.comments@ots.treas.gov. Please

include ``Survey of Information Sharing Practices with Affiliates

(1550-NEW)'' in the subject line of the message and include your name

and telephone number in the message.

Fax: (202) 906-6518.

Mail: Information Collection Comments, Chief Counsel's

Office, Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington,

DC 20552, Attention: ``Survey of Information Sharing Practices with

Affiliates (1550-NEW).''

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:

Information Collection Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, ``Survey of

Information Sharing Practices with Affiliates (1550-NEW).''

Instructions: All comments received will be posted without change

to http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catNumber=67&an=1, including

any personal information provided. Docket: For access to the docket to

read comments received, go to http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catNumber=67&an=1.

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 facsimile transmission to (202)

906-7755. (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/proposedregs/proposedregs.html.

Follow the

instructions for submitting comments.

E-mail: Address to regcomments@ncua.gov. Include ``[Your

name] Comments on FACT Act 214(e) Study,'' in the e-mail subject line.

Fax: (703) 518-6319. Use the subject line described above

for e-mail.

Mail: Address to Neil McNamara, Deputy Chief Information

Officer, National Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street,

Alexandria, VA 22314-3428.

Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as mail address.

FTC: Comments should refer to ``Affiliate Sharing Study: FTC File

No. P064802'' and may be submitted by any of the following methods.

However, if a given comment contains any material for which

confidential treatment is requested, it must be filed in paper form,

and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled

``Confidential.''\1\ A copy of each comment should additionally be

submitted--via facsimile, to (202) 395-6974--and addressed to: Office

of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade

Commission.

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\1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The 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

Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the

public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).

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E-mail: Comments filed in electronic form should be

submitted as part of or as an attachment to e-mail messages directed to

the following e-mail box: affiliatestudy@ftc.gov. To ensure that the

Commission considers an electronic comment, you must send it to the

above e-mail box.

Federal eRulemaking Portal: If this notice appears at

http://www.regulations.gov, you may also file an electronic comment

through that Web site. The Commission will consider all comments that

regulations.gov forwards to it.

Mail or Hand Delivery: A comment filed in paper form

should include ``Affiliate Sharing Study: FTC File No. P064802'' both

in the text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered,

with two complete copies, to the following address: Federal Trade

Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. Because paper mail in

the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, please

consider submitting your comments in electronic form, as prescribed

above. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form be

sent by courier or overnight service, if possible.

The FTC Act and other laws the Commission 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 Commission, and

will be available to the public on the FTC 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: Additional information may be

requested from:

OCC: Karen Furst, Policy Analyst, (202) 874-4509, Policy Analysis

Division; Mary Gottlieb, OCC Clearance Officer or Camille Dickerson,

Legal Technician, (202) 874-5090, Legislative and Regulatory Activities

Division.

Board: Kathleen Conley, Supervisory Consumer Financial Services

Analyst, (202) 452-2389; or Michelle Long,

[[Page 51890]]

Clearance Office, (202) 452-3829, Division of Research and Statistics.

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may call (202) 263-

4869.

FDIC: Richard M. Schwartz, Counsel, (202) 898-7424; or Leneta G.

Gregorie, Counsel, (202) 898-3719.

OTS: Marilyn K. Burton, OTS Clearance Officer, (202) 906-6467; or

Donna Deale, Director of Holding Companies and Affiliates, (202) 906-

7488.

NCUA: Regina M. Metz, Staff Attorney, Office of General Counsel,

(703) 518-6540; or Matthew Biliouris, Program Officer, Examination and

Insurance, (703) 518-6394.

FTC: Sandra Farrington, Attorney, Division of Privacy and Identity

Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection, (202) 326-2531; or Margaret

Patterson, Economist, Bureau of Economics, (202) 326-3472.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal for Approval of the Following New Collections of Information

Title: Survey of Information Sharing Practices with Affiliates.

Frequency of Response: Every three years.

Affected Public: Business or other for profit.

Type of Review: New collection.

OCC

OMB Number: 1557-NEW.

Form Number: N/A.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 40.

Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 400 hours.

Board

OMB Number: 7100-NEW.

Form Number: FR 3214e.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 60.

Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 600 hours.

FDIC

OMB Number: 3064-NEW.

Form Number: N/A.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 100.

Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,000 hours.

OTS

OMB Number: 1550-NEW.

Form Number: N/A.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 30.

Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 300 hours.

NCUA

OMB Number: 3133-NEW.

Form Number: N/A.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 50.

Estimated Average Time per Response: 10.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 500.

FTC

OMB Number: 3084-NEW.

Form Number: N/A.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 20.

Estimated Average Time per Response: 10 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 200 hours.

General Description of Report

This information collection is voluntary for financial institution

respondents and authorized pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 481 and 484 (national

banks); 12 U.S.C. 248(a)(1) (state member banks); 12 U.S.C. 1463 and

1464 (savings associations); and 12 U.S.C. 1819(a)(Eighth) (state non-

member banks and state branches of any foreign bank). Confidentiality

would be determined on a case-by-case basis. In gathering information

from respondents under its jurisdiction, the FTC may use the compulsory

authority granted to it in Section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission

Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(b). Confidentiality will be protected in accordance

with the FTC Act and the Commission's Rules of Practice.

Abstract

The study the Agencies propose will use a written Survey to be

completed by financial institutions and other persons that are

creditors or users of consumer reports (``respondents'').\2\ The

Agencies will use the responses to the Survey to prepare an initial

report to the Congress on information sharing practices by financial

institutions, creditors, or users of consumer reports with their

affiliates. The Agencies are required jointly to submit this report to

the Congress together with any recommendations for legislative or

regulatory action, pursuant to Section 214(e) of the FACT Act. A copy

of the Board's draft survey of information sharing practices with

affiliates will be made available, within seven days after publication

of this notice, on the Board's public Web site at:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/reportforms/review.cfm

under ``Information Collections Out for Public Comment.''

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\2\ Each respondent will provide information about more than one

financial institution or other person that is a creditor or user of

consumer reports. At a minimum, each respondent will be providing

information about itself and at least one affiliate.

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Background

The FACT Act became law on December 4, 2003. Pub. L. 108-159, 117

Stat. 1952. In general, the FACT Act amends the Fair Credit Reporting

Act (``FCRA'') to enhance the ability of consumers to combat identity

theft, increase the accuracy of consumer reports, and allow consumers

to exercise greater control regarding the type and amount of marketing

solicitations they receive. To promote increasingly efficient national

credit markets, the FACT Act also establishes uniform national

standards in key areas of regulation regarding consumer report

information. The Act contains a number of provisions intended to combat

consumer fraud and related crimes, including identity theft, and to

assist victims of these crimes. Finally, the Act requires the Agencies

to conduct a number of studies.

Section 214(e) of the FACT Act requires the Agencies jointly to

conduct regular studies of the consumer information sharing practices

by financial institutions, and other persons that are creditors or

users of consumer reports, with their affiliates. In that regard,

Section 214(e) requires the Agencies to identify: (i) The purposes for

which financial institutions and other creditors and users of consumer

reports share consumer information; (ii) the types of information

shared by such entities; (iii) the number of choices provided to

consumers with respect to the control of such sharing, and the degree

to which and manner in which consumers exercise such choices, if at

all; and (iv) whether such entities share or may share personally

identifiable transaction or experience information with affiliates for

purposes--(I) That are related to employment or hiring including

whether the person that is the subject of such information is given

notice of such sharing, and the specific uses of such shared

information; or (II) of general publication of such information.

The statute also requires the Agencies specifically to examine the

information sharing practices that financial institutions and other

creditors or users of consumer reports and their affiliates employ to

make underwriting decisions or credit evaluations of consumers. The

Agencies must jointly submit a report to the Congress on the results of

the initial study together with any

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recommendations for legislative or regulatory action. After the initial

report, the Agencies must jointly submit follow-up reports to the

Congress at least once every three years.

Proposed Survey Panel

The Agencies will select the survey panel based on whether the

prospective respondent has affiliates with which it can share

information, whether the prospective respondent is likely to be a user

of consumer reports, and other factors.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours

Each respondent will complete a written Survey. In order to

complete the Survey, the individual completing the form for the

respondent will most likely need to consult staff in other parts of the

organization and obtain data from recordkeeping systems. Based on the

Agencies' expertise and experience, we estimate the consultations and

the collection of data will take between four and eight hours per

respondent. The Agencies estimate it will then take less than two hours

for each respondent to complete the Survey. However, numerous factors

are likely to influence the amount of time it will take a respondent to

complete the Survey, including the number and type of affiliates, as

well as the diversity of information sharing practices among

affiliates. Based on the methodology proposed, the total burden imposed

by the initial study, for all six agencies, will be approximately 3,000

hours.

Request for Comment

The Agencies invite comment on:

a. Whether the information collections are necessary for the proper

performance of the Agencies' functions, including whether the

information has practical utility;

b. The accuracy of the Agencies' estimates of the burden of the

information collections, including the validity of the methodology and

assumptions used;

c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and

d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collections on

respondents, including through the use of automated collection

techniques or other forms of information technology.

In addition, the OCC invites comments on the following:

aa. The specific data the Agencies should collect to prepare the

report required by Section 214(e) of the Fact Act and the terminology

that will best describe and correctly specify the data to be collected;

bb. If any data the Agencies should collect are not available, the

type of proxy data the Agencies should request;

cc. The extent to which depository institutions currently track and

are able to report on the methods (e.g., telephone, online) used by

consumers to opt-out of affiliate information sharing; and

dd. Information related to recordkeeping practices or other aspects

of the data specification and survey development process.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be shared among

the Agencies. Unless otherwise afforded confidential treatment pursuant

to Federal law, all comments will become a matter of public record.

Dated: August 22, 2006.

Stuart Feldstein,

Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division,

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 25,

2006.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Secretary of the Board.

Dated at Washington, DC, this 22nd day of August, 2006.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Robert E. Feldman,

Executive Secretary.

Dated: August 21, 2006.

Deborah Dakin,

Senior Deputy Chief Counsel, Regulations and Legislation Division,

Office of Thrift Supervision.

Dated at Washington, DC, this 24th day of August, 2006.

By the National Credit Union Administration.

John Ianno,

Acting Secretary of the Board.

Dated at Washington, DC, this twenty-first day of August, 2006.

Federal Trade Commission.

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 06-7271 Filed 8-30-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810-33-P, 6210-01-P, 6714-01-P, 6720-01-P, 7335-01-P,

6750-01-P