Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended, 19751-19754 [2012-7754]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19751-19754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7754]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended

AGENCY: Departmental Offices, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of Alteration of Privacy Act System of Records for the 
Home Affordable Modification Program, hereinafter known as the Making 
Home Affordable Program.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Department) gives notice 
of four proposed alterations to the system of records currently 
entitled as ``Treasury/DO .218--Home Affordable Modification Program'': 
(1) The system of records shall be entitled, ``Treasury/DO.218--Making 
Home Affordable Program''; (2) the system of records may include a 
borrower's criminal history, or lack thereof, as a category of record 
relating to borrower eligibility; (3) the system of records may include 
property sale information as a category of record; and (4) the system 
of records shall reference the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 
Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203, Section 1481 (2010) (Dodd-
Frank statute) as legal authority for the collection of a borrower's 
criminal history or lack thereof. In light of the proposed name change 
from Home Affordable Modification Program to Making Home Affordable 
Program, the entire system of records notice, as amended on August 3, 
2011, is set forth below.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than May 2, 2012. This 
altered system of records will be effective May 7, 2012 unless the 
Department receives comments which would result in a contrary 
determination.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Office of Financial 
Stability, Office of Financial Agents, Department of the Treasury, 1500 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20220, or may be emailed to 
OFA.SORN@treasury.gov. The Department will make such comments available 
for public inspection and copying in the Department's Library, on 
official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern 
Time. You can make an appointment to inspect comments by telephoning 
(202) 622-0990 (This is not a toll-free number). All comments, 
including attachments and other supporting materials, received are part 
of the public record and subject to public disclosure. You should 
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet E. Vail, Office of Financial 
Agents, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20220, tel.: 202-927-0597, email: OFA.SORN@treasury.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Emergency Economic 
Stabilization Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-343) (EESA), the Department 
established the Making Home Affordable Program

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(MHA Program) to stabilize the housing market and provide relief to 
struggling homeowners. Since its launch, the Department expanded the 
MHA Program to provide more options for struggling homeowners, 
including but not limited to programs for homeowners who are 
unemployed, owe more on their home than it is currently worth, or are 
struggling with a second lien.
    The purpose of these four alterations is to: (1) Update the name of 
certain of the Department's EESA authorized housing programs from Home 
Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) to Making Home Affordable 
Program to recognize that homeowners may be eligible for other housing 
relief options in addition to the modification of principal amounts and 
interest rates of their mortgage loans under HAMP; (2) add a borrower's 
criminal history, or lack thereof, to the types of records that may be 
retained information in the system relating to borrower eligibility, 
consistent with the requirements of Section 1481 of the Dodd-Frank 
statute; (3) add the sale of the borrower's property to the types of 
records that may be retained information in the system; and (4) include 
the Dodd-Frank statute as a second statutory authority for maintenance 
of the system.
    The system of records notice was last published in its entirety on 
April 20, 2010, at 75 FR 20699. The Department subsequently amended the 
notice on July 2, 2010, at 75 FR 38608, and then again on June 24, 
2011, at 76 FR 37193, which became effective on August 3, 2011.
    The system of records notice for the amended ``Treasury/DO .218--
Home Affordable Modification Program,'' is published in its entirety 
below.

    Dated: March 14, 2012.
Melissa Hartman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records.
Treasury/DO .218

 SYSTEM NAME:
    Making Home Affordable Program.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    The Office of Financial Stability, Department of the Treasury, 
Washington, DC. Other facilities that maintain this system of records 
are located in: Urbana, MD, Dallas, TX, and a backup facility located 
in Reston, VA, all belonging to the Federal National Mortgage 
Association (Fannie Mae); in McLean, VA, Herndon, VA, Reston, VA, 
Richardson, TX, and Denver, CO, facilities operated by or on behalf of 
the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and 
facilities operated by or on behalf of the Bank of New York Mellon 
(BNYM) in Nashville, TN, and a backup facility located in Somerset, NJ. 
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Bank of New York Mellon have been 
designated as Financial Agents (Financial Agents) for the MHA Program.

 CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    This system of records contains information about mortgage 
borrowers that is submitted to the Department or its Financial Agents 
by loan servicers that participate in the MHA Program. Information 
collected pursuant to the MHA Program is subject to the Privacy Act 
only to the extent that it concerns individuals; information pertaining 
to corporations and other business entities and organizations is not 
subject to the Privacy Act.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    This system of records contains loan-level information about 
individual mortgage borrowers (including loan records, financial 
records, and borrower eligibility records, when appropriate.) 
Typically, these records include, but are not limited to, the 
individual's name, Social Security Number, mailing address, monthly 
income, criminal history status as referenced in Section 1481 of the 
Dodd-Frank statute, the location of the property subject to the loan, 
property value information, payment history, type of mortgage, and 
property sale information.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-343) and 
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Pub. L. 111-
203) (2010).

 PURPOSE(S):
    The purpose of this system of records is to facilitate 
administration of the MHA Program by the Department and its Financial 
Agents, including by enabling them to (i) collect and utilize 
information collected from mortgage loan servicers, including loan-
level information about individual mortgage holders and borrower 
eligibility; and (ii) produce reports on the performance of the MHA 
Program, such as reports that concern loan modification eligibility and 
exception reports that identify certain issues that loan servicers may 
experience with servicing loans.

 ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    These records may be used to:
    (1) Disclose pertinent information to appropriate Federal, State, 
local or foreign agencies responsible for investigating or prosecuting 
violations of or for enforcing or implementing a statute, rule, 
regulation, order, or license, where the disclosing agency becomes 
aware of an indication of a potential violation of civil or criminal 
law or regulation;
    (2) Disclose information to a Federal, State, or local agency, 
maintaining civil, criminal or other relevant enforcement information 
or other pertinent information, which has requested information 
relevant to or necessary to the requesting agency's or the bureau's 
hiring or retention of an individual, or issuance of a security 
clearance, license, contract, grant, or other benefit;
    (3) Disclose information to a court, magistrate, or administrative 
tribunal in the course of presenting evidence, including disclosures to 
opposing counsel or witnesses in the course of civil discovery, 
litigation, or settlement negotiations, in response to a court order 
where arguably relevant to a proceeding, or in connection with criminal 
law proceedings;
    (4) Provide information to a Congressional office in response to an 
inquiry made at the request of the individual to whom the record 
pertains;
    (5) Provide information to third parties during the course of a 
Department investigation as it relates to the MHA Program to the extent 
necessary to obtain information pertinent to that investigation;
    (6) Disclose information to a consumer reporting agency to use in 
obtaining credit reports;
    (7) Disclose information to a debt collection agency for use in 
debt collection services;
    (8) Disclose information to a Financial Agent of the Department, 
its employees, agents, and contractors, or to a contractor of the 
Department, for the purpose of assessing the quality of and efficient 
administration of the MHA Program and compliance with relevant 
guidelines, agreements, directives and requirements, and subject to the 
same or equivalent limitations applicable to the Department's officers 
and employees under the Privacy Act;
    (9) Disclose information originating or derived from participating 
loan servicers back to the same loan servicers as needed, for the 
purposes of audit, quality control, and reconciliation and response to 
borrower requests about that same borrower;
    (10) Disclose information to Financial Agents, financial 
institutions, financial custodians, and contractors to: (a) Process 
mortgage loan modification

[[Page 19753]]

applications, including, but not limited to, enrollment forms; (b) 
implement, analyze and modify programs relating to the MHA Program; (c) 
investigate and correct erroneous information submitted to the 
Department or its Financial Agents; (d) compile and review data and 
statistics and perform research, modeling and data analysis to improve 
the quality of services provided under the MHA Program or otherwise 
improve the efficiency or administration of the MHA Program; or (e) 
develop, test and enhance computer systems used to administer the MHA 
Program; with all activities subject to the same or equivalent 
limitations applicable to the Department's officers and employees under 
the Privacy Act;
    (11) Disclose information to financial institutions, including 
banks and credit unions, for the purpose of disbursing payments and/or 
investigating the accuracy of information required to complete 
transactions pertaining to the MHA Program and for administrative 
purposes, such as resolving questions about a transaction;
    (12) Disclose information to the appropriate Federal financial 
regulator or State financial regulator, or to the appropriate Consumer 
Protection agency, if that agency has jurisdiction over the subject 
matter of a complaint or inquiry, or the entity that is the subject of 
the complaint or inquiry;
    (13) Disclose information and statistics to the Department of 
Housing & Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Commerce 
(Commerce), Federal financial regulators, the U.S. Department of 
Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to assess the 
quality and efficiency of services provided under the MHA Program, to 
ensure compliance with the MHA Program and other laws, and to report on 
the Program's overall execution and progress;
    (14) Disclose information to appropriate agencies, entities, and 
persons when (a) The Department suspects or has confirmed that the 
security or confidentiality of information in the system of records has 
been compromised; (b) the Department has determined that as a result of 
the suspected or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to 
economic or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the 
security or integrity of this system or other systems or programs 
(whether maintained by the Department or another agency or entity) that 
rely upon the compromised information; and (c) the disclosure made to 
such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist 
in connection with the Department's efforts to respond to the suspected 
or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm;
    (15) Disclose information to the DOJ for its use in providing legal 
advice to the Department or in representing the Department in a 
proceeding before a court, adjudicative body, or other administrative 
body before which the Department is authorized to appear, where the use 
of such information by the DOJ is deemed by the Department to be 
relevant and necessary to the litigation, and such proceeding names as 
a party of interests:
    (a) The Department or any component thereof, including the Office 
of Financial Stability (OFS);
    (b) Any employee of the Department in his or her official capacity;
    (c) Any employee of the Department in his or her individual 
capacity where DOJ has agreed to represent the employee; or
    (d) The United States, where the Department determines that 
litigation is likely to affect the Department or any of its components, 
including OFS; and
    (16) Disclose information to an authorized recipient who has 
assured the Department or a Financial Agent of the Department in 
writing that the record will be used solely for research purposes 
designed to assess the quality of and efficient administration of the 
MHA Program, subject to the same or equivalent limitations applicable 
to the Department's officers and employees under the Privacy Act.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
 STORAGE:
    Information contained in the system of records is stored in a 
transactional database and an operational data store. Information from 
the system will also be captured in hard-copy form and stored in filing 
cabinets managed by personnel working on the MHA Program.

 RETRIEVABILITY:
    Information about individuals may be retrieved from the system by 
reference including the mortgage borrower's name, Social Security 
Number, address, criminal history status, or loan number.

SAFEGUARDS:
    Safeguards designed to protect information contained in the system 
against unauthorized disclosure and access include, but are not limited 
to: (i) Department and Financial Agent policies and procedures 
governing privacy, information security, operational risk management, 
and change management; (ii) requiring Financial Agent employees to 
adhere to a code of conduct concerning the aforementioned policies and 
procedures; (iii) conducting background checks on all personnel with 
access to the system of records; (iv) training relevant personnel on 
privacy and information security; (v) tracking and reporting incidents 
of suspected or confirmed breaches of information concerning borrowers; 
(vi) establishing physical and technical perimeter security safeguards; 
(vii) utilizing antivirus and intrusion detection software; (viii) 
performing risk and controls assessments and mitigation, including 
production readiness reviews; (ix) establishing security event response 
teams; and (x) establishing technical and physical access controls, 
such as role-based access management and firewalls. Loan servicers that 
participate in the MHA Program (i) have agreed in writing that the 
information they provide to the Department or to its Financial Agents 
is accurate, and (ii) have submitted a ``click through'' agreement on a 
Web site requiring the loan servicer to provide accurate information in 
connection with using the Program Web site. In addition, the 
Department's Financial Agents will conduct loan servicer compliance 
reviews to validate data collection controls, procedures, and records.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Information is retained in the system on back-up tapes or in hard-
copy form for seven years, except to the extent that either (i) the 
information is subject to a litigation hold or other legal retention 
obligation, in which case the data is retained as mandated by the 
relevant legal requirements, or (ii) the Department and its Financial 
Agents need the information to carry out the Program. Destruction is 
carried out by degaussing according to industry standards. Hard copy 
records are shredded and recycled.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS(ES):
    Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fiscal Operations and Policy, 
Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 
DC 20220.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Individuals wishing to be notified if they are named in this system 
of records, to gain access to records maintained in this system, or to 
amend or correct information maintained in this system, must submit a 
written request to do so in accordance with the procedures set forth in 
31 CFR 1.26-.27. Address such requests to: Director, Disclosure 
Services, Department of the

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Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20220.

 RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    See ``Notification Procedure'' above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:
    See ``Notification Procedure'' above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information about mortgage borrowers contained in the system of 
records is obtained from loan servicers who participate in the MHA 
Program, or developed by the Department and its Financial Agents in 
connection with the MHA Program. Information is not obtained directly 
from individual mortgage borrowers to whom the information pertains.

 EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

[FR Doc. 2012-7754 Filed 3-30-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-25-P