Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 46583-46585 [2013-18455]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 148 / Thursday, August 1, 2013 / Notices Officer, (202) 418–1096 (voice) or jeffery.goldthorp@fcc.gov (email); or Lauren Kravetz, Deputy Designated Federal Officer, (202) 418–7944 (voice) or lauren.kravetz@fcc.gov (email). FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM The meeting will be held on September 12, 2013, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room of the Federal Communications Commission, Room TW–C305, 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. The CSRIC is a Federal Advisory Committee that will provide recommendations to the FCC regarding best practices and actions the FCC can take to ensure the security, reliability, and interoperability of communications systems. On March 19, 2013, the FCC, pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, renewed the charter for the CSRIC for a period of two years through March 18, 2015. The meeting on September 12, 2013, will be the first meeting of the CSRIC under the current charter. The FCC will attempt to accommodate as many attendees as possible; however, admittance will be limited to seating availability. The Commission will provide audio and/or video coverage of the meeting over the Internet from the FCC’s Web page at https://www.fcc.gov/live. The public may submit written comments before the meeting to Jeffery Goldthorp, CSRIC Designated Federal Officer, by email to jeffery.goldthorp@fcc.gov or U.S. Postal Service Mail to Jeffery Goldthorp, Associate Bureau Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street SW., Room 7–A325, Washington, DC 20554. Open captioning will be provided for this event. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests for such accommodations should be submitted via email to fcc504@fcc.gov or by calling the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 (tty). Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed. In addition, please include a way the FCC can contact you if it needs more information. Please allow at least five days’ advance notice; last-minute requests will be accepted, but may be impossible to fill. The notificants listed below have applied under the Change in Bank Control Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)) and § 225.41 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.41) to acquire shares of a bank or bank holding company. The factors that are considered in acting on the notices are set forth in paragraph 7 of the Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)(7)). The notices are available for immediate inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank indicated. The notices also will be available for inspection at the offices of the Board of Governors. Interested persons may express their views in writing to the Reserve Bank indicated for that notice or to the offices of the Board of Governors. Comments must be received not later than August 16, 2013. A. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (E. Ann Worthy, Vice President), 2200 North Pearl Street, Dallas, Texas 75201– 2272: 1. George W. Cummings, III and Nanette Weaver Cummings, both of Monroe, Louisiana, to acquire voting shares of Progressive Bancorp, Inc., and thereby indirectly acquire voting shares of Progressive Bank, both in Monroe, Louisiana. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal Communications Commission. Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2013–18519 Filed 7–31–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6712–01–P VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:02 Jul 31, 2013 Jkt 229001 Change in Bank Control Notices; Acquisitions of Shares of a Bank or Bank Holding Company Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, July 29, 2013. Margaret McCloskey Shanks, Deputy Secretary of the Board. 46583 available for inspection at the offices of the Board of Governors. Interested persons may express their views in writing on the standards enumerated in the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the proposal also involves the acquisition of a nonbanking company, the review also includes whether the acquisition of the nonbanking company complies with the standards in section 4 of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise noted, nonbanking activities will be conducted throughout the United States. Unless otherwise noted, comments regarding each of these applications must be received at the Reserve Bank indicated or the offices of the Board of Governors not later than August 26, 2013. A. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (E. Ann Worthy, Vice President) 2200 North Pearl Street, Dallas, Texas 75201– 2272: 1. A.N.B. Holding Company, Ltd., Terrell, Texas; to acquire no more than 38 percent of the voting shares of The ANB Corporation, and thereby indirectly acquire voting shares of The American National Bank of Texas, both in Terrell, Texas; Lakeside Bancshares, Inc.; and Lakeside National Bank, both in Rockwall, Texas. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, July 29, 2013. Margaret McCloskey Shanks, Deputy Secretary of the Board. [FR Doc. 2013–18505 Filed 7–31–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6210–01–P FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION [FR Doc. 2013–18504 Filed 7–31–13; 8:45 am] Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request BILLING CODE 6210–01–P FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies The companies listed in this notice have applied to the Board for approval, pursuant to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.) (BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR part 225), and all other applicable statutes and regulations to become a bank holding company and/or to acquire the assets or the ownership of, control of, or the power to vote shares of a bank or bank holding company and all of the banks and nonbanking companies owned by the bank holding company, including the companies listed below. The applications listed below, as well as other related filings required by the Board, are available for immediate inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank indicated. The applications will also be PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The FTC intends to ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend through November 30, 2016, the current Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for the FTC’s shared enforcement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of the information collection requirements in Regulation N (Mortgage Acts and Practices—Advertising). That clearance expires on November 30, 2013. The FTC’s current PRA clearance (OMB Control Number 3084–0156) for Regulation N is under the FTC’s Mortgage Acts and Practices— Advertising Rule, which was republished by the CFPB as Regulation N on December 16, 2011, and became effective December 30, 2011. The SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\01AUN1.SGM 01AUN1 46584 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 148 / Thursday, August 1, 2013 / Notices Commission rescinded the Mortgage Acts and Practices—Advertising Rule on, and effective, April 13, 2012. DATES: Comments must be received by September 30, 2013. ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information should be addressed to Carole L. Reynolds, Attorney, Division of Financial Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326–3230. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Proposed Information Collection Activities Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520, federal agencies must get OMB approval for each collection of information they conduct, sponsor, or require. ‘‘Collection of information’’ means agency requests or requirements to submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44 USC 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment before requesting that OMB extend the existing PRA clearance for the information collection requirements associated with the CFPB’s Regulation N (Mortgage Acts and Practices—Advertising), 12 CFR 1014. The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond. All comments must be received on or before September 30, 2013. The FTC’s Mortgage Acts and Practices—Advertising Rule, 16 CFR 321, was issued by the FTC on July 19, 2011, at www.ftc.gov, published in the Federal Register, 76 FR 43845, and became effective on August 19, 2011. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:02 Jul 31, 2013 Jkt 229001 (Dodd-Frank Act) 1 substantially changed the federal legal framework for financial services providers. Among the changes, the Dodd-Frank Act transferred to the CFPB the Commission’s rulemaking authority under section 626 of the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act on July 21, 2011. As a result, the CFPB republished the Mortgage Acts and Practices—Advertising Rule, at 12 CFR 1014, which became effective December 30, 2011. 76 FR 78130. Thereafter, the Commission rescinded its Rule, on and effective April 13, 2012. 77 FR 22200. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the FTC retains its authority to bring law enforcement actions to enforce Regulation N.2 The FTC and the CFPB share enforcement authority for Regulation N and thus the CFPB has incorporated into its recently approved burden estimates 3 for Regulation N one half of the FTC’s pre-existing cleared burden estimates. Regulation N’s recordkeeping requirements constitute a ‘‘collection of information’’ 4 for purposes of the PRA.5 The Rule does not impose a disclosure requirement. Regulation N requires covered persons to retain: (1) Copies of materially different commercial communications and related materials, regarding any term of any mortgage credit product, that the person made or disseminated during the relevant time period; (2) documents describing or evidencing all mortgage credit products available to consumers during the relevant time period; and (3) documents describing or evidencing all additional products or services (such as credit insurance or credit disability insurance) that are or may be offered or provided with the mortgage credit products available to consumers during the relevant time period. A failure to keep such records would be an independent violation of the Rule. Commission staff believes these recordkeeping requirements pertain to records that are usual and customary and kept in the ordinary course of business for many covered persons, such as mortgage brokers, lenders, and Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010). Commission also retained its authority to enforce the Mortgage Acts and Practices— Advertising Rule from the Rule’s issuance in July 2011 until the CFPB’s republished rule, Regulation N, became effective on December 30, 2011. See infra note 10. 3 The CFPB clearance for their information collections associated with Regulation N was approved by the OMB on July 25, 2012 (OMB Control Number 3170–0009) through July 31, 2015. 4 Section 1014.5 of the Rule sets forth the recordkeeping requirements. 5 See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A). PO 00000 1 Public 2 The Frm 00020 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 servicers.6 As to these persons, the retention of these documents does not constitute a ‘‘collection of information,’’ as defined by OMB’s regulations that implement the PRA.7 Other covered persons, however, such as real estate agents and brokers, advertising agencies, home builders, lead generators, rate aggregators, and others, may not currently maintain these records in the ordinary course of business. Thus, the recordkeeping requirements for those persons would constitute a ‘‘collection of information.’’ The information retained under the Rule’s recordkeeping requirements is used by the Commission to substantiate compliance with the Rule and may also provide a basis for the Commission to bring an enforcement action. Without the required records, it would be difficult either to ensure that entities are complying with the Rule’s requirements or to bring enforcement actions based on violations of the Rule. Burden Statement Estimated total annual hours burden: 1,800,000 hours (for the FTC). Commission staff estimates that the Rule’s recordkeeping requirements will affect approximately 1.2 million persons 8 who would not otherwise retain such records in the ordinary 6 Some covered persons, particularly mortgage brokers and lenders, are subject to state recordkeeping requirements for mortgage advertisements. See, e.g., Fla. Stat. 494.00165 (2012); Ind. Code Ann. 23–2–5–18 (2012); Kan. Stat. Ann. 9–2208 (2012); Minn. Stat. 58.14 (2012); Wash. Rev. Code 19.146.060 (2013). Many mortgage brokers, lenders, and servicers are also subject to state recordkeeping requirements for mortgage transactions and related documents, and these may include descriptions of mortgage credit products. See, e.g., Mich. Comp. Laws Serv. 445.1671 (2013); N.Y. Banking Law 597 (Consol. 2012); Tenn. Code Ann. 45–13–206 (2013). In addition, lenders and mortgagees approved by the FHA must retain copies of all print and electronic advertisements and promotional materials for a period of two years from the date the materials are circulated or used to advertise. See 24 CFR 202. 7 See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A); 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2). 8 No general source provides precise numbers of the various categories of covered persons. Commission staff, therefore, has used the following sources and inputs to arrive at this estimated total: (1) 1 million real estate brokers and agents—from the National Association of Realtors, see https:// www.realtor.org (last visited June 24, 2013); (2) 140,000 home builders—from the National Association of Home Builders, see https:// www.NAHB.org (last visited June 24, 2013); (3) 350 finance companies—from the American Financial Services Association, see https://www.afsaonline.org (last visited June 24, 2013); (4) 29,770 advertising agencies—from the North American Industry Classification System Association’s database of U.S. businesses, see https://www.naics.com (last visited June 24, 2013); (5) 1,000 lead generators and rate aggregators—based on staff’s administrative experience. These inputs add to 1,171,120; for rounding, and to account further for potentially unspecified other covered persons, however, staff has increased the resulting total to 1.2 million. E:\FR\FM\01AUN1.SGM 01AUN1 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 148 / Thursday, August 1, 2013 / Notices mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES course of business. As noted, this estimate includes real estate agents and brokers, advertising agencies, home builders, lead generators, rate aggregators, and others that may provide commercial communications regarding mortgage credit product terms.9 Although the Commission cannot estimate with precision the time required to gather and file the required records, it is reasonable to assume that covered persons will each spend approximately 3 hours per year to do these tasks, for a total of 3.6 million hours (1.2 million persons × 3 hours). Since the FTC shares enforcement authority with the CFPB for Regulation N, the FTC’s allotted PRA burden is 1,800,000 annual hours.10 Estimated labor costs: $24,264,000 (rounded to the nearest thousand). Commission staff derived labor costs by applying appropriate hourly cost figures to the burden hours described above. Staff further assumes that office support file clerks will handle the Rule’s record retention requirements at an hourly rate of $13.48.11 Based upon the above estimates and assumptions, the total annual labor cost to retain and file documents, for the FTC’s allotted burden, is $24,264,000 (1.8 million hours × $13.48 per hour). Absent information to the contrary, staff anticipates that existing storage media and equipment that covered persons use in the ordinary course of business will satisfactorily accommodate incremental recordkeeping under the Rule. Accordingly, staff does not anticipate 9 The Commission does not know what percentage of these persons are, in fact, engaged in covered conduct under the Rule, i.e., providing commercial communications about mortgage credit product terms. For purposes of these estimates, the Commission has assumed all of them are covered by the recordkeeping provisions and are not retaining these records in the ordinary course of business. 10 This burden estimate includes recordkeeping requirements of the FTC’s Mortgage Acts and Practices Rule for the period from December 1, 2013–December 29, 2013. The Commission retained its authority to enforce the Mortgage Acts and Practices—Advertising Rule from the Rule’s issuance in July 2011 until the CFPB’s republished rule, Regulation N, became effective on December 30, 2011. Thus, the Commission’s Rule had a correlative two-year recordkeeping for the above period concluding on December 29, 2013. Burden imposed on covered entities after that time are covered by the same recordkeeping requirements under Regulation N, which commenced December 30, 2011. 11 This estimate is based on mean hourly wages for office support file clerks provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. See U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages— May 2012, table 1 (‘‘National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation,’’ released Mar. 29, 2013, available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ ocwage.pdf. VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:02 Jul 31, 2013 Jkt 229001 that the Rule will require any new capital or other non-labor expenditures. Request for Comments You can file a comment online or on paper. Write ‘‘Regulation N: FTC File No. P134811; K05’’ on your comment. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/ publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals’ home contact information from comments before placing them on the Commission Web site. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, like anyone’s Social Security number, date of birth, driver’s license number or other state identification number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, like medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not include ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which is . . . privileged or confidential,’’ as discussed in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names. If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, the Commission encourages you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https:// ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ regulationnpra, by following the instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at https:// PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 46585 www.regulations.gov, you also may file a comment through that Web site. If you file your comment on paper, write ‘‘Regulation N: FTC File No. P134811; K05’’ on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H–113 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service. Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before September 30, 2013. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the Commission’s privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. David C. Shonka, Principal Deputy General Counsel. [FR Doc. 2013–18455 Filed 7–31–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–P FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Federal Trade Commission (‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘FTC’’). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The FTC intends to conduct a preliminary and exploratory study on consumer susceptibility to fraudulent and deceptive marketing. This research will be conducted to further the FTC’s mission of protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive practices. The information collection requirements described below are being submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (‘‘PRA’’). DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 3, 2013. ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by following the instructions in the Request for Comment sub-part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ‘‘Fraud Susceptibility Internet Panel Study, FTC File No. P095500’’ on your comment, and file your comment online at https:// public.commentworks.com/ftc/ fraudinternetpanelstudypra2, by SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\01AUN1.SGM 01AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 148 (Thursday, August 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46583-46585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18455]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The FTC intends to ask the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to extend through November 30, 2016, the current Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for the FTC's shared enforcement with the 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of the information 
collection requirements in Regulation N (Mortgage Acts and Practices--
Advertising). That clearance expires on November 30, 2013. The FTC's 
current PRA clearance (OMB Control Number 3084-0156) for Regulation N 
is under the FTC's Mortgage Acts and Practices--Advertising Rule, which 
was republished by the CFPB as Regulation N on December 16, 2011, and 
became effective December 30, 2011. The

[[Page 46584]]

Commission rescinded the Mortgage Acts and Practices--Advertising Rule 
on, and effective, April 13, 2012.

DATES: Comments must be received by September 30, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be addressed to Carole L. Reynolds, Attorney, Division of 
Financial Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 
326-3230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Information Collection Activities

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, 
federal agencies must get OMB approval for each collection of 
information they conduct, sponsor, or require. ``Collection of 
information'' means agency requests or requirements to submit reports, 
keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44 USC 3502(3); 
5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the 
FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment before requesting 
that OMB extend the existing PRA clearance for the information 
collection requirements associated with the CFPB's Regulation N 
(Mortgage Acts and Practices--Advertising), 12 CFR 1014.
    The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond. All comments must be received on or before September 
30, 2013.
    The FTC's Mortgage Acts and Practices--Advertising Rule, 16 CFR 
321, was issued by the FTC on July 19, 2011, at www.ftc.gov, published 
in the Federal Register, 76 FR 43845, and became effective on August 
19, 2011.
    The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 
2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) \1\ substantially changed the federal legal 
framework for financial services providers. Among the changes, the 
Dodd-Frank Act transferred to the CFPB the Commission's rulemaking 
authority under section 626 of the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act on 
July 21, 2011. As a result, the CFPB republished the Mortgage Acts and 
Practices--Advertising Rule, at 12 CFR 1014, which became effective 
December 30, 2011. 76 FR 78130. Thereafter, the Commission rescinded 
its Rule, on and effective April 13, 2012. 77 FR 22200. Under the Dodd-
Frank Act, the FTC retains its authority to bring law enforcement 
actions to enforce Regulation N.\2\ The FTC and the CFPB share 
enforcement authority for Regulation N and thus the CFPB has 
incorporated into its recently approved burden estimates \3\ for 
Regulation N one half of the FTC's pre-existing cleared burden 
estimates.
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    \1\ Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010).
    \2\ The Commission also retained its authority to enforce the 
Mortgage Acts and Practices--Advertising Rule from the Rule's 
issuance in July 2011 until the CFPB's republished rule, Regulation 
N, became effective on December 30, 2011. See infra note 10.
    \3\ The CFPB clearance for their information collections 
associated with Regulation N was approved by the OMB on July 25, 
2012 (OMB Control Number 3170-0009) through July 31, 2015.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulation N's recordkeeping requirements constitute a ``collection 
of information'' \4\ for purposes of the PRA.\5\ The Rule does not 
impose a disclosure requirement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Section 1014.5 of the Rule sets forth the recordkeeping 
requirements.
    \5\ See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulation N requires covered persons to retain: (1) Copies of 
materially different commercial communications and related materials, 
regarding any term of any mortgage credit product, that the person made 
or disseminated during the relevant time period; (2) documents 
describing or evidencing all mortgage credit products available to 
consumers during the relevant time period; and (3) documents describing 
or evidencing all additional products or services (such as credit 
insurance or credit disability insurance) that are or may be offered or 
provided with the mortgage credit products available to consumers 
during the relevant time period. A failure to keep such records would 
be an independent violation of the Rule.
    Commission staff believes these recordkeeping requirements pertain 
to records that are usual and customary and kept in the ordinary course 
of business for many covered persons, such as mortgage brokers, 
lenders, and servicers.\6\ As to these persons, the retention of these 
documents does not constitute a ``collection of information,'' as 
defined by OMB's regulations that implement the PRA.\7\ Other covered 
persons, however, such as real estate agents and brokers, advertising 
agencies, home builders, lead generators, rate aggregators, and others, 
may not currently maintain these records in the ordinary course of 
business. Thus, the recordkeeping requirements for those persons would 
constitute a ``collection of information.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ Some covered persons, particularly mortgage brokers and 
lenders, are subject to state recordkeeping requirements for 
mortgage advertisements. See, e.g., Fla. Stat. 494.00165 (2012); 
Ind. Code Ann. 23-2-5-18 (2012); Kan. Stat. Ann. 9-2208 (2012); 
Minn. Stat. 58.14 (2012); Wash. Rev. Code 19.146.060 (2013). Many 
mortgage brokers, lenders, and servicers are also subject to state 
recordkeeping requirements for mortgage transactions and related 
documents, and these may include descriptions of mortgage credit 
products. See, e.g., Mich. Comp. Laws Serv. 445.1671 (2013); N.Y. 
Banking Law 597 (Consol. 2012); Tenn. Code Ann. 45-13-206 (2013). In 
addition, lenders and mortgagees approved by the FHA must retain 
copies of all print and electronic advertisements and promotional 
materials for a period of two years from the date the materials are 
circulated or used to advertise. See 24 CFR 202.
    \7\ See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A); 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The information retained under the Rule's recordkeeping 
requirements is used by the Commission to substantiate compliance with 
the Rule and may also provide a basis for the Commission to bring an 
enforcement action. Without the required records, it would be difficult 
either to ensure that entities are complying with the Rule's 
requirements or to bring enforcement actions based on violations of the 
Rule.

Burden Statement

    Estimated total annual hours burden: 1,800,000 hours (for the FTC).
    Commission staff estimates that the Rule's recordkeeping 
requirements will affect approximately 1.2 million persons \8\ who 
would not otherwise retain such records in the ordinary

[[Page 46585]]

course of business. As noted, this estimate includes real estate agents 
and brokers, advertising agencies, home builders, lead generators, rate 
aggregators, and others that may provide commercial communications 
regarding mortgage credit product terms.\9\ Although the Commission 
cannot estimate with precision the time required to gather and file the 
required records, it is reasonable to assume that covered persons will 
each spend approximately 3 hours per year to do these tasks, for a 
total of 3.6 million hours (1.2 million persons x 3 hours). Since the 
FTC shares enforcement authority with the CFPB for Regulation N, the 
FTC's allotted PRA burden is 1,800,000 annual hours.\10\
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    \8\ No general source provides precise numbers of the various 
categories of covered persons. Commission staff, therefore, has used 
the following sources and inputs to arrive at this estimated total: 
(1) 1 million real estate brokers and agents--from the National 
Association of Realtors, see https://www.realtor.org (last visited 
June 24, 2013); (2) 140,000 home builders--from the National 
Association of Home Builders, see https://www.NAHB.org (last visited 
June 24, 2013); (3) 350 finance companies--from the American 
Financial Services Association, see https://www.afsaonline.org (last 
visited June 24, 2013); (4) 29,770 advertising agencies--from the 
North American Industry Classification System Association's database 
of U.S. businesses, see https://www.naics.com (last visited June 24, 
2013); (5) 1,000 lead generators and rate aggregators--based on 
staff's administrative experience. These inputs add to 1,171,120; 
for rounding, and to account further for potentially unspecified 
other covered persons, however, staff has increased the resulting 
total to 1.2 million.
    \9\ The Commission does not know what percentage of these 
persons are, in fact, engaged in covered conduct under the Rule, 
i.e., providing commercial communications about mortgage credit 
product terms. For purposes of these estimates, the Commission has 
assumed all of them are covered by the recordkeeping provisions and 
are not retaining these records in the ordinary course of business.
    \10\ This burden estimate includes recordkeeping requirements of 
the FTC's Mortgage Acts and Practices Rule for the period from 
December 1, 2013-December 29, 2013. The Commission retained its 
authority to enforce the Mortgage Acts and Practices--Advertising 
Rule from the Rule's issuance in July 2011 until the CFPB's 
republished rule, Regulation N, became effective on December 30, 
2011. Thus, the Commission's Rule had a correlative two-year 
recordkeeping for the above period concluding on December 29, 2013. 
Burden imposed on covered entities after that time are covered by 
the same recordkeeping requirements under Regulation N, which 
commenced December 30, 2011.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated labor costs: $24,264,000 (rounded to the nearest 
thousand).
    Commission staff derived labor costs by applying appropriate hourly 
cost figures to the burden hours described above. Staff further assumes 
that office support file clerks will handle the Rule's record retention 
requirements at an hourly rate of $13.48.\11\ Based upon the above 
estimates and assumptions, the total annual labor cost to retain and 
file documents, for the FTC's allotted burden, is $24,264,000 (1.8 
million hours x $13.48 per hour).
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    \11\ This estimate is based on mean hourly wages for office 
support file clerks provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. See 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages--
May 2012, table 1 (``National employment and wage data from the 
Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation,'' released 
Mar. 29, 2013, available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Absent information to the contrary, staff anticipates that existing 
storage media and equipment that covered persons use in the ordinary 
course of business will satisfactorily accommodate incremental 
recordkeeping under the Rule. Accordingly, staff does not anticipate 
that the Rule will require any new capital or other non-labor 
expenditures.

Request for Comments

    You can file a comment online or on paper. Write ``Regulation N: 
FTC File No. P134811; K05'' on your comment. Your comment--including 
your name and your state--will be placed on the public record of this 
proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public 
Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a 
matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals' home 
contact information from comments before placing them on the Commission 
Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number, 
date of birth, driver's license number or other state identification 
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial 
account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive health information, like medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not 
include ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
which is . . . privileged or confidential,'' as discussed in Section 
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 
4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained 
in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole 
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the 
public interest.
    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, the Commission encourages 
you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission 
considers your online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/regulationnpra, by following the 
instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at https://www.regulations.gov, you also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Regulation N: FTC File 
No. P134811; K05'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or 
deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this 
Notice. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers 
permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this 
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and 
responsive public comments that it receives on or before September 30, 
2013. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted 
by the Privacy Act, in the Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

David C. Shonka,
Principal Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2013-18455 Filed 7-31-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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