Policy On No-Action Letters, 62118-62122 [2014-24645]
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is establishing a Climate and Marine
Resources Task Force and an
Aquaculture Task Force to assist it in
the development of recommendations to
the Secretary on policies, programs, and
regulations critical to the mission and
goals of the NMFS.
Climate and Marine Resources Task
Force
This Climate and Marine Resources
Task Force is being created as a
communication conduit for stakeholder
input to MAFAC and NOAA Leadership
on the production, delivery, and use of
climate-related information in fulfilling
NOAA Fisheries mission activities.
NOAA’s marine stewardship mandates
include consideration of changing
environmental conditions and other
factors on marine resources and the
industries that depend on these
resources. The Task Force will provide
review and input on the NOAA
Fisheries Climate Science Strategy
(pending later this year), regional
implementation plans, identification of
community impacts related to climate
change and fisheries, and other topics as
needed.
This Task Force will consist of 12 to
15 individuals. MAFAC is seeking
individuals that have experience with
the production, delivery and/or use of
climate-related information in marine
resource management or have
familiarity with how science, data, and
information influences policy and
regulatory decision making. It is not
intended that all nominees be scientists
or researchers. Individuals should
represent the diverse constituent groups
or partners from across U.S. regions and
territories that interact with NOAA
Fisheries: Commercial, recreational, or
subsistence fisheries; aquaculture;
seafood industries; academia; tribes;
environmental, protected resources,
marine habitat, and consumer groups;
and/or other related national interests.
It is intended that the Task Force be
established for an initial period of 3
years with a possibility of extending
that term if deemed necessary by NOAA
Fisheries and MAFAC. Task Force
members will be appointed for 2-year
terms and should be able to fulfill the
time commitments required for periodic
meetings (mostly by webinar or
teleconference, and potentially inperson).
Aquaculture Task Force
MAFAC has a longstanding history of
engagement on aquaculture issues. The
Aquaculture Task Force is being created
to expand the aquaculture expertise of
MAFAC and to help MAFAC provide
advice and input to NOAA Leadership
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on the NOAA Aquaculture Program and
its future activities. The Task Force will
assist NOAA in fulfilling its central role
in developing and implementing
policies that enable marine aquaculture
and work to ensure that aquaculture
complies with existing Federal laws and
regulations that NOAA enforces under
its marine stewardship mission.
Some example tasks of the new Task
Force will include review of: NOAA’s
progress on implementing the agency’s
10-Year Plan for Marine Aquaculture
(from 2007), priorities to include in
strategic planning for the aquaculture
program, and tasks to support NOAA’s
work with the Regulatory Task Force of
the Interagency Working Group on
Aquaculture.
This Task Force will consist of no
more than 10 individuals who have
expertise in all aspects of marine
aquaculture; the science, research, and
development to advance aquaculture;
and the management and permitting of
aquaculture at the Federal, state, and
local levels. It is intended that Task
Force members will come from across
all U.S. regions and territories.
This Task Force will be established
for an initial period of 1 year with a
possibility of extending that term if
deemed necessary by NOAA Fisheries
and MAFAC. Task Force members will
be appointed for 1-year terms and
should be able to fulfill the time
commitments required for periodic
meetings (mostly by webinar or
teleconference, and potentially inperson).
Nomination Materials
Each nomination submission should
identify which Task Force the nominee
is applying to and include: a cover letter
describing the nominee’s qualifications
and interest in serving on the specific
task force, resume or curriculum vitae of
the nominee, and up to two
recommendation letters describing the
nominee’s qualifications and interest.
Self-nominations are acceptable. The
following contact information should
accompany each nominee’s submission:
full name, address, telephone number,
fax number, and email address.
Nominations should be sent to (see
ADDRESSES) and must be received by
November 17, 2014. Information about
MAFAC, its Committee Charter, current
membership, and activities can be
viewed at the NMFS’ Web page at
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mafac.htm.
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Dated: October 9, 2014.
Eileen Sobeck,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014–24627 Filed 10–15–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL
PROTECTION
[Docket No. CFPB–2014–0025]
Policy On No-Action Letters
Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection.
ACTION: Notice of proposed policy and
proposed information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
The Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (Bureau) invites the
public to take this opportunity to
comment on its proposed Policy on NoAction Letters (Policy), which is
intended to further its objectives under
section 1021 of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act), and also
a proposed information collection
associated with applications submitted
by applicants requesting no-action
letters under the proposed Policy as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments are
encouraged and must be received on or
before December 15, 2014 to be assured
of consideration.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by the proposal’s title,
‘‘Policy on No-Action Letters,’’ and
docket number (see above), by any of
the following methods:
• Electronic: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau, Office of the
Executive Secretary, 1700 G Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20552.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau, Office of
the Executive Secretary, 1275 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20002.
Please note that comments submitted
by fax or email and those submitted
after the comment period will not be
accepted. Comments will be available
for public inspection and copying at
1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC
20002 between the hours of 10:00 a.m.
and 5 p.m. eastern standard time. In
general, all comments received will be
posted without change to
regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided. Sensitive
personal information, such as account
SUMMARY:
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numbers or social security numbers,
should not be included.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
additional information about the
proposed Policy please contact Dan
Quan, Senior Advisor to the Director,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
(202) 435–7678. Documentation
prepared in support of the information
collection request is available at
www.regulations.gov.
Requests for additional information
on the proposed information collection
should be directed to the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau, Attention:
PRA Office, 1700 G Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20552, (202) 435–9575,
or email: PRA@cfpb.gov. Please do not
submit comments to this mailbox.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Policy on No-Action Letters
Abstract. In specifying the purposes,
objectives, and functions of the Bureau
in section 1021 of the Dodd-Frank Act,
Congress authorized the Bureau to
exercise its authorities for the purpose
of ensuring that markets for consumer
financial products and services operate
transparently and efficiently to facilitate
access and innovation.1 In line with the
Bureau’s authority, it is proposing the
Policy that is laid out in in the next
section below. Under the proposed
Policy, Bureau staff would, in its
discretion, issue no-action letters
(NALs) to specific applicants in
instances involving innovative financial
products or services that promise
substantial consumer benefit where
there is substantial uncertainty whether
or how specific provisions of statutes or
regulations implemented by the Bureau
would be applied (for example if,
because of intervening technological
developments, the application of
statutes and regulations to a new project
is novel and complicated). The Policy is
also designed to enhance compliance
with applicable federal consumer
financial laws. A NAL would advise the
recipient that, subject to its stated
limitations, the staff has no present
intention to recommend initiation of an
enforcement or supervisory action
against the requester with respect to a
specified matter. NALs would be subject
to modification or revocation at any
time in the sole discretion of the staff,
and may be conditioned on particular
undertakings by the applicant with
respect to product or service usage and
1 Section 1022(b)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Act
authorizes the Director to prescribe rules and issue
orders and guidance, as may be necessary or
appropriate to enable the Bureau to administer and
carry out the purposes and objectives of the Federal
consumer financial laws, and to prevent evasions
thereof.
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data-sharing with the Bureau. Issued
NALs would be publicly disclosed.
NALs would be non-binding on the
Bureau, and would not bind courts or
other actors who might challenge a
NAL-recipient’s product or service, such
as other regulators or parties in
litigation. The Bureau believes that
there may be significant opportunities to
facilitate innovation and access, and
otherwise substantially enhance
consumer benefits, through the
proposed Policy.
II. Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.),
Federal agencies are generally required
to seek approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
information collection requirements
prior to implementation. Further, the
Bureau may not conduct or sponsor a
collection of information unless OMB
approves the collection under the PRA
and it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, no person is
required to comply with, or is subject to
penalty for failure to comply with, a
collection of information if the
collection instrument does not display a
currently valid OMB control number.
The final policy will display the control
number assigned by OMB.
As part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, the Bureau conducts a
preclearance consultation program to
provide the general public and Federal
agencies with an opportunity to
comment on the new information
collection requirements in accordance
with the PRA (See 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)). This helps ensure that:
The public understands the Bureau’s
requirements or instructions,
respondents can provide the requested
data in the desired format, reporting
burden (time and financial resources) is
minimized, collection instruments are
clearly understood, and the Bureau can
properly assess the impact of collection
requirements on respondents.
The proposed Policy contains a new
information collection requirement,
consisting of the information that
should be submitted to demonstrate
eligibility for a NAL as described further
below. This has been deemed to be a
collection of information for purposes of
the PRA. Documentation prepared in
support of this information collection
request is available at
www.regulations.gov. Requests for
additional information and comments
regarding this proposed collection of
information should be submitted as
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described in the ADDRESSES section of
this Notice.
Title of Collection: Policy on NoAction Letters.
OMB Control Number: 3170–XXXX.
Type of Review: New Collection
(Request for a new OMB control
number).
Affected Public: Private Sector
(Certain businesses offering consumer
financial products or services that meet
the definition of ‘‘covered person’’
under section 1002(6) of the Dodd-Frank
Act).
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1–
3.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 50–300.
III. Request for Comments
Comments are invited with respect to
any aspect of the proposed Policy and/
or the related information collection
effected by the application process for
no-action letters. Comments related to
the proposed information collection will
be summarized and/or included in the
Bureau’s request for OMB approval.
With respect to the collection,
comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Bureau, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the
Bureau’s estimate of the burden of the
collection of information, including the
validity of the methods and the
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 the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to this
notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
approval. All comments will become a
matter of public record.
IV. Procedural Requirements
The Bureau concludes that the
proposed Policy constitutes an agency
general statement of policy and/or a rule
of agency organization, procedure, or
practice exempt pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553(b). Notwithstanding this
conclusion, the Bureau invites public
comment on the proposed Policy.
Because no notice of proposed
rulemaking is required, the provisions
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. Chapter 6) do not apply.
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Policy On No-Action Letters
Under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act (Dodd-Frank Act), the Bureau’s
objectives include ‘‘facilitating
[consumer] access’’ to and ‘‘innovation’’
in markets for consumer financial
products.2 The Bureau recognizes that,
in certain circumstances, some may
perceive that the current regulatory
framework may hinder the development
of innovative financial products that
promise substantial consumer benefit
because, for example, existing laws and
rules did not contemplate such
products. In such circumstances, it may
be substantially uncertain whether or
how specific provisions of certain
statutes and regulations should be
applied to such a product—and thus
whether the federal agency tasked with
administering those portions of a statute
or regulation may bring an enforcement
or supervisory action against the
developer of the product for failure to
comply with those laws. Such
regulatory uncertainty may discourage
innovators from entering a market, or
make it difficult for them to develop
suitable products or attract sufficient
investment or other support.
Federal agencies can reduce such
regulatory uncertainty in a variety of
ways. For example, an agency may
clarify the application of its statutes and
regulations to the type of product in
question—by rulemaking or by the
issuance of less formal guidance.
Alternatively, an agency may provide
some form of notification that it does
not intend to recommend initiation of
an enforcement or supervisory action
against an entity based on the
application of specific identified
provisions of statutes or regulations to
its offering of a particular product. This
proposal is concerned with the latter
means of reducing regulatory
uncertainty in limited circumstances.
Pursuant to its authorities under the
Dodd-Frank Act, the Bureau is today
releasing its Proposed Policy on NoAction Letters (Proposed Policy). Under
the Proposed Policy, in the
circumstances described above an entity
may submit a request for a No-Action
Letter from Bureau staff (staff). A NoAction Letter would be a statement that
the staff has no present intention to
recommend initiation of an enforcement
or supervisory action against the
requester with respect to particular
aspects of its product, under specific
identified provisions of statutes or
2 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(5). As used in this Proposed
Policy, the term ‘‘product(s)’’ means ‘‘product(s)
and services’’ or ‘‘products or service(s),’’ as
appropriate.
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regulations. Such a letter may be limited
as to time, volume of transactions, or
otherwise, and may be subject to
potential renewal. Whether and how to
provide a No-Action Letter or otherwise
respond to such requests, including any
limitations or conditions on acceptance,
will be within the sole discretion of the
staff.
The Proposed Policy is intended to
facilitate consumer access to innovative
financial products that promise
substantial benefit to consumers, taking
into account other marketplace
offerings, and also to enhance
compliance with applicable federal
consumer financial laws.3 By furnishing
a dedicated mechanism through which
substantial regulatory uncertainty can
be reduced, the Proposed Policy is also
intended to discourage the offering of
innovative consumer-harmful financial
products in such circumstances. In
addition, because No-Action Letters
often will be conditioned on specified
consumer protection conditions
designed to satisfy—or even exceed—
applicable disclosure requirements and
substantive protections, the Bureau
expects the Proposed Policy, if adopted,
to benefit consumers in further ways.
The Bureau also expects the Proposed
Policy to help further its consumer
protection functions and objectives,
including market monitoring and
rulemaking, when a No-Action Letter is
conditioned on a commitment by the
requester to share data about the
product with the Bureau, or to engage in
other consultation that may help inform
Bureau decisions regarding whether to
take further action in connection with
the financial product in question.
The Proposed Policy has five sections:
• Section A describes information
that should be included in requests for
a No-Action Letter.
• Section B describes types of
responses the staff may provide to
requests for a No-Action Letter.
• Section C lists factors the staff may
consider in deciding whether to provide
a No-Action Letter.
• Section D describes the general
content and limitations of No-Action
Letters.
• Section E describes disclosure of
data received from entities whose
3 The Proposed Policy and any No-Action Letter
is not intended to, nor should it be construed to:
(1) Restrict or limit in any way the Bureau’s
discretion in exercising its authorities, including
the provision of no-action or similar relief other
than pursuant to the Proposed Policy; (2) constitute
an interpretation of law; or (3) create or confer upon
any covered person (including one who is the
subject of the Bureau supervisory, investigation, or
enforcement activity) or consumer, any substantive
or procedural rights or defenses that are enforceable
in any manner.
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requests for No-Action Letters are
granted.
A. Submitting Requests for No-Action
Letters
Requests for a No-Action Letter
should be submitted in writing via
email to ProjectCatalyst@cfpb.gov.4
Submitted requests may be withdrawn
by the requester at any time.
Requests should include the
following:
1. The name(s) of the entity or entities
and individual(s) requesting the NoAction Letter. The staff will not accept
requests for No-Action Letters that fail
to identify the entity or entities and
individuals providing the product.
2. A description of the consumer
financial product involved, including:
a. How the product functions, and the
terms on which the product will be
offered;
b. The roles and relationships of all
parties to transactions involving the
product; and
c. The manner in which it is offered
to and used by consumers, including
any consumer disclosures.
3. The timetable on which the product
is expected to be offered. No-Action
Letters are not intended for either wellestablished products or purely
hypothetical products that are not close
to being able to be offered.
4. An explanation of how the product
is likely to provide substantial benefit to
consumers differently from the present
marketplace, and suggested metrics for
evaluating whether such benefits are
realized.
5. A candid explanation of potential
consumer risks posed by the product—
particularly as compared to other
products available in the marketplace—
and undertakings by the requester to
address and minimize such risks.
6. A showing of why the requested
No-Action Letter is necessary and
appropriate to remove substantial
regulatory uncertainty hindering the
development of the product, including:
a. Identification of each of the specific
provisions of the statutes and
regulations regarding which a NoAction Letter is being requested, and a
showing how each of these specific
provisions of the statute(s) and
regulation(s) should be applied to the
4 The email subject line should begin ‘‘Request for
No-Action Letter.’’ The Proposed Policy is one
component of the Bureau’s Project Catalyst
initiative, which invites organizations to bring
innovation-related concerns to the Bureau’s
attention at ProjectCatalyst@cfpb.gov. Innovators
are advised to use the same Project Catalyst point
of contact to initiate a preliminary discussion of a
potential No-Action Letter. There are no formal
submission requirements to request such a
preliminary discussion.
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product is substantially uncertain,
including analysis of the relevant legal
authorities and policy considerations.
b. A showing of why the product’s
aspects in question should not be
treated as subject to or precluded by the
specific identified statute(s) and
regulation(s), and/or how the proposed
compliance of the product’s aspects in
question with the specific identified
statute(s) and regulation(s) is
appropriate.
c. A showing of the product’s
compliance with other relevant federal
and state regulatory requirements.
d. A showing of why the substantial
regulatory uncertainty that is the subject
of the request cannot be effectively
addressed through means other than the
requested No-Action Letter, such as
modification of the product.
7. An affirmation that the facts and
representations in the request are true
and accurate.
8. An undertaking by the requester to
provide information requested by the
staff in its evaluation of the request.
9. A description of data that the
requester possesses, and data it intends
to develop, pertaining to the factual
bases cited in support of the request and
an undertaking, if the request is granted,
to share appropriate data regarding the
product with the Bureau, including data
regarding the impact of the product on
consumers. This description should also
address the requester’s intentions
regarding consultation with the Bureau
in its plans for development of
additional data.
10. Undertakings that, if the request is
granted, the requester will not represent
that the Bureau or its staff has: (i)
Licensed, authorized or endorsed the
product, or its permissibility or
appropriateness, in any way; (ii)
determined, or provided an
interpretation, that the product is or is
not in compliance with legal or other
requirements, or has been granted an
exception, waiver, safe harbor, or
comparable treatment; or (iii) granted
No-Action Letter treatment with respect
to any aspect of the requester’s offerings
or any provision of law other than those
expressly addressed in the No-Action
Letter.
11. An affirmation that, to the
requester’s knowledge (except as
specifically disclosed in the request),
neither the requester nor any other party
with substantial ties to transactions
involving the product is the subject of
an ongoing, imminent, or threatened
governmental investigation, supervisory
review, enforcement action, or private
civil action respecting the product, or
any related or similar product; and an
undertaking promptly to notify the
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Bureau (unless the request for a NoAction Letter has been denied) of any
such governmental investigation,
supervisory review, enforcement action,
or private civil action that is initiated or
threatened.
12. An affirmation that (except as
specifically disclosed in the request) the
principals of the requester have not
been subject to license discipline,
adverse supervisory action, or
enforcement action with respect to any
financial product, license, or transaction
within the past ten years.
13. A statement specifying whether
the request is limited to a particular
time period, to a particular volume of
transactions, or to other limitations.
14. A description of any particular
consumer safeguards the requester will
employ, although they may not be
required by law, if a No-Action Letter is
issued, including any mitigation of
potential for or consequences of
consumer injury. The description
should specify the requester’s basis for
asserting and considering that such
safeguards are effective. The description
should also address any future study the
requester will undertake to further
evaluate the effectiveness of such
safeguards.
15. If a request for confidential
treatment is made, this request and the
basis therefor should be included in a
separate letter and submitted with the
request for a No-Action Letter.
B. Staff Response to Requests for NoAction Letters
The decision whether to respond to a
request for a No-Action Letter, and the
nature of any response, is within the
staff’s sole discretion. Depending on the
circumstances, the staff may: (i) Grant
the request (which grant may be partial,
or may be subject to limitations or
conditions); (ii) deny the request; (iii)
specifically decline to either grant or
deny the request, with an explanation;
or (iv) specifically decline to either
grant or deny the request, without
explanation. The staff may
communicate with the requester before
making any decision regarding whether
and how to respond to the request to
seek clarification or for other purposes.
The staff may permit requests to be
modified in the course of such
communications. No-Action Letters are
subject to immediate modification and/
or revocation upon notice.
Type (i) responses, and a version or
summary of the request, will be
published on the Bureau’s Web site.5
Type (ii) responses will be provided to
5 Type (i) responses are further discussed in
Section D below.
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the requester but generally will not be
published on the Bureau’s Web site.6
Type (iii) and (iv) responses may be
published on the Bureau’s Web site,
particularly if the staff believes that the
information will be in the public
interest.
Non-exclusive examples of
circumstances under which the staff
presumptively will not answer the
request or will likely provide, at most,
a response of type (iii) or (iv) include:
1. The requester or its principals are
the subject of ongoing governmental law
enforcement investigation, supervisory
review, or enforcement action
respecting the product or a related or
similar product.7
2. The request concerns an area in
which the Bureau is engaged in ongoing
or anticipated rulemaking, supervisory,
enforcement, or other initiatives.
3. The request concerns a legal or
product environment which the staff
considers to be inappropriate for noaction treatment. At the present time,
for example, the staff does not anticipate
no-action treatment of UDAAP matters.
4. The staff has determined that the
request does not warrant investment of
the Bureau resources that are likely
necessary to address the request
adequately.
No-Action Letters will not be
routinely available. The Bureau
anticipates that No-Action Letters will
be provided only rarely and on the basis
of exceptional circumstances and a
thorough and persuasive demonstration
of the appropriateness of such
treatment. Requesters do not have a
legal entitlement to no-action treatment
of regulatory uncertainties, and Bureau
resources available for consideration of
No-Action Letter requests are limited in
light of other Bureau priorities.
Requesters may wish to include in their
submissions any particular reasons why
their request should be considered by
the Bureau to be a matter of special
importance.
C. Staff Assessment of Requests for NoAction Letters
In deciding whether to provide a NoAction Letter,8 the staff will consider a
variety of factors, including:
1. The extent to which the requester’s
product structure, terms and conditions,
and disclosures to and agreements with
6 The Bureau may publish a denial on its Web site
if it believes that doing so is in the public interest.
7 If the staff decides to provide a Type (iii)
response to the entity in such circumstances, the
response will not be published on the Bureau’s Web
site.
8 The decision whether to provide a No-Action
Letter, and the terms on which it may be provided,
are within the staff’s sole discretion.
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consumers enable consumers to
meaningfully understand and appreciate
the terms, characteristics, costs,
benefits, and risks associated with the
product, and to act effectively to protect
themselves from unnecessary cost and
risk.
2. The extent to which evidence,
including the requester’s own testing,
indicates that the product’s aspects in
question may provide substantial
benefits to consumers.
3. The extent to which the asserted
benefits to consumers are available in
the marketplace from other products.
4. The extent to which the requester
controls for and effectively addresses
and mitigates risks to consumers.9
5. The extent to which granting the
request is necessary in order to reduce
regulatory uncertainty for the requester
with respect to the requester’s product.
6. The extent to which the regulatory
uncertainty identified by the requester
may be better addressed through other
regulatory means, such as Bureau
rulemaking, other Bureau guidance, or
provision of a waiver under the
Bureau’s Policy to Encourage Trial
Disclosure Programs.10
7. Whether the entity is demonstrably
in compliance with other relevant
federal and state regulatory
requirements.
8. The extent to which the request is
sufficiently limited in time, volume of
transactions, or otherwise, to allow the
Bureau to learn about the product and
the aspects in question while
minimizing any consumer risk.
9. The extent to which any data that
the entity has provided and agrees to
provide to the Bureau regarding the
operation of the product’s aspects in
question will be expected to further
consumer protection.
10. The extent to which public
disclosure of relevant data may be
permitted.
D. Staff Provision of No-Action Letters
When the staff decides to provide a
No-Action Letter, it will publish the
letter, along with the request, on its Web
site. The No-Action Letter will include
the following:
1. A statement that, subject to the
conditions and limitations set forth, the
staff has no present intention to
recommend initiation of an enforcement
or supervisory action against the
requester in respect to the particular
9 This factor includes the extent to which the
requester has plans in place for addressing
unanticipated consumer harms caused by the
product and the extent to which the entity
possesses the resources to compensate injured
consumers.
10 78 FR 64389 (Oct. 29, 2013).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:19 Oct 15, 2014
Jkt 235001
aspects of its product, and under
specific identified provisions and
applications of statutes or regulations
that are the subject of the No-Action
Letter. The statement that the staff has
no present intention to recommend
initiation of an enforcement or
supervisory action does not mean that
the Bureau will not conduct supervisory
activities or engage in enforcement
investigation to evaluate the requester’s
compliance with the terms of the NoAction Letter or to evaluate other
matters.
2. A statement that the no-action
treatment is limited to the requester’s
offering of the product’s aspects in
question in the manner described, and
that it does not pertain to (i) the
requester for offering the product in a
different manner; (ii) the requester for
offering different products, or with
respect to other provisions or
applications of these or other statutes
and regulations, or with respect to other
aspects of the product; or (iii) any other
person.
3. A statement that the No-Action
Letter is based on the facts and factual
representations made in the request, and
is contingent on the correctness of such
facts and factual representations.
4. A statement (a) disclaiming any
intention by the Bureau or its staff to
have reached a determination about, or
to provide an interpretation of, or to
grant any exception, waiver, safe harbor,
or similar treatment respecting the
statutes and rules identified in the
request, or their application to the
product’s aspects in question, or
otherwise to make an official expression
of the Bureau’s views, and that any
explanatory discussion should not be
interpreted as such an interpretation,
waiver, safe harbor, or the like, that is
binding on the Bureau, and (b) that the
staff are not necessarily in agreement
with any legal or policy analysis, any
interpretation of data, or any other
matter, set forth in the request.
5. A description of any conditions or
limitation attending the staff’s
recommendation, such as the requester’s
commitment to provide additional
safeguards to consumers, or to share
certain types of data with the Bureau, as
well as any limitations as to time period
or quantity of transactions.
6. A statement that the No-Action
Letter is subject to modification or
revocation at any time at the discretion
of the staff for any reason, including
that: the facts and representations in the
request appear to be materially
inaccurate or uncertain; the requester
fails to satisfy conditions or violates
limitations specified in the No-Action
Letter; the product or any of its material
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
features, terms, or conditions, is altered;
or the staff determines that such
modification or revocation is
appropriate to protect consumers or is
otherwise in the public interest.
Revocation or modification may be
immediate upon notice. To the extent
that the facts and representations in the
request are materially inaccurate, or the
requester fails to satisfy conditions or
violates limitations specified in the NoAction letter, and in other similar
circumstances, the No-Action Letter is
by its own terms inapplicable (even
without modification or revocation) and
the staff may recommend initiating a
retrospective enforcement or
supervisory action if appropriate.
7. A statement that the No-Action
Letter is not issued by or on behalf of
any other government agency or any
other person and, so far as the Bureau
is concerned, no other government
agency or person, and no court, has any
obligation to honor or defer to it in any
way.
8. A statement of any expiration date,
or volume limitation, applicable to the
No-Action letter (and whether or not it
may be sought to be renewed).
9. A statement that the No-Action
letter becomes inapplicable upon failure
to adhere to the affirmations or
undertakings made in the request or
stated as conditions of the issuance of
the letter.
E. Bureau Disclosure of Entity Data
The Bureau’s disclosure of the request
and any data received from the
requester in connection with a request
for a No-Action Letter is governed by
the Bureau’s rule regarding Disclosure
of Records and Information.11 For
example, the rule generally requires the
Bureau to make available records
requested by the public unless they are
subject to a FOIA exemption or
exclusion.12 To the extent the Bureau
affirmatively wishes to disclose such
data, the terms of such disclosure will
be consistent with applicable law and
the Bureau’s own rules and may be
specified in a separate agreement with
the requester. Consistent with
applicable law and its own rules, the
Bureau will not seek to disclose data
that would conflict with consumers’
privacy interests.
Dated: October 9, 2014.
Richard Cordray,
Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2014–24645 Filed 10–15–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P
11 See
12 See
E:\FR\FM\16OCN1.SGM
12 CFR part 1070.
12 CFR 1070.14.
16OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62118-62122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24645]
=======================================================================
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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
[Docket No. CFPB-2014-0025]
Policy On No-Action Letters
AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
ACTION: Notice of proposed policy and proposed information collection;
request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) invites the
public to take this opportunity to comment on its proposed Policy on
No-Action Letters (Policy), which is intended to further its objectives
under section 1021 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act), and also a proposed
information collection associated with applications submitted by
applicants requesting no-action letters under the proposed Policy as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments are encouraged and must be received on or
before December 15, 2014 to be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the proposal's title,
``Policy on No-Action Letters,'' and docket number (see above), by any
of the following methods:
Electronic: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of the
Executive Secretary, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau, Office of the Executive Secretary, 1275 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20002.
Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those
submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. Comments will
be available for public inspection and copying at 1275 First Street
NE., Washington, DC 20002 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5 p.m.
eastern standard time. In general, all comments received will be posted
without change to regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided. Sensitive personal information, such as account
[[Page 62119]]
numbers or social security numbers, should not be included.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the
proposed Policy please contact Dan Quan, Senior Advisor to the
Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, (202) 435-7678.
Documentation prepared in support of the information collection request
is available at www.regulations.gov.
Requests for additional information on the proposed information
collection should be directed to the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau, Attention: PRA Office, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552,
(202) 435-9575, or email: PRA@cfpb.gov. Please do not submit comments
to this mailbox.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Policy on No-Action Letters
Abstract. In specifying the purposes, objectives, and functions of
the Bureau in section 1021 of the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress authorized
the Bureau to exercise its authorities for the purpose of ensuring that
markets for consumer financial products and services operate
transparently and efficiently to facilitate access and innovation.\1\
In line with the Bureau's authority, it is proposing the Policy that is
laid out in in the next section below. Under the proposed Policy,
Bureau staff would, in its discretion, issue no-action letters (NALs)
to specific applicants in instances involving innovative financial
products or services that promise substantial consumer benefit where
there is substantial uncertainty whether or how specific provisions of
statutes or regulations implemented by the Bureau would be applied (for
example if, because of intervening technological developments, the
application of statutes and regulations to a new project is novel and
complicated). The Policy is also designed to enhance compliance with
applicable federal consumer financial laws. A NAL would advise the
recipient that, subject to its stated limitations, the staff has no
present intention to recommend initiation of an enforcement or
supervisory action against the requester with respect to a specified
matter. NALs would be subject to modification or revocation at any time
in the sole discretion of the staff, and may be conditioned on
particular undertakings by the applicant with respect to product or
service usage and data-sharing with the Bureau. Issued NALs would be
publicly disclosed. NALs would be non-binding on the Bureau, and would
not bind courts or other actors who might challenge a NAL-recipient's
product or service, such as other regulators or parties in litigation.
The Bureau believes that there may be significant opportunities to
facilitate innovation and access, and otherwise substantially enhance
consumer benefits, through the proposed Policy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Section 1022(b)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Act authorizes the
Director to prescribe rules and issue orders and guidance, as may be
necessary or appropriate to enable the Bureau to administer and
carry out the purposes and objectives of the Federal consumer
financial laws, and to prevent evasions thereof.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.), Federal agencies are generally required to seek approval from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for information collection
requirements prior to implementation. Further, the Bureau may not
conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless OMB approves the
collection under the PRA and it displays a currently valid OMB control
number. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is
required to comply with, or is subject to penalty for failure to comply
with, a collection of information if the collection instrument does not
display a currently valid OMB control number. The final policy will
display the control number assigned by OMB.
As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, the Bureau conducts a preclearance consultation program to
provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to
comment on the new information collection requirements in accordance
with the PRA (See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This helps ensure that: The
public understands the Bureau's requirements or instructions,
respondents can provide the requested data in the desired format,
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the Bureau can
properly assess the impact of collection requirements on respondents.
The proposed Policy contains a new information collection
requirement, consisting of the information that should be submitted to
demonstrate eligibility for a NAL as described further below. This has
been deemed to be a collection of information for purposes of the PRA.
Documentation prepared in support of this information collection
request is available at www.regulations.gov. Requests for additional
information and comments regarding this proposed collection of
information should be submitted as described in the ADDRESSES section
of this Notice.
Title of Collection: Policy on No-Action Letters.
OMB Control Number: 3170-XXXX.
Type of Review: New Collection (Request for a new OMB control
number).
Affected Public: Private Sector (Certain businesses offering
consumer financial products or services that meet the definition of
``covered person'' under section 1002(6) of the Dodd-Frank Act).
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1-3.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 50-300.
III. Request for Comments
Comments are invited with respect to any aspect of the proposed
Policy and/or the related information collection effected by the
application process for no-action letters. Comments related to the
proposed information collection will be summarized and/or included in
the Bureau's request for OMB approval. With respect to the collection,
comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) The
accuracy of the Bureau's estimate of the burden of the collection of
information, including the validity of the methods and the 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 the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) approval. All comments will become a matter of public
record.
IV. Procedural Requirements
The Bureau concludes that the proposed Policy constitutes an agency
general statement of policy and/or a rule of agency organization,
procedure, or practice exempt pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b).
Notwithstanding this conclusion, the Bureau invites public comment on
the proposed Policy. Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is
required, the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
Chapter 6) do not apply.
[[Page 62120]]
Policy On No-Action Letters
Under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), the Bureau's objectives include
``facilitating [consumer] access'' to and ``innovation'' in markets for
consumer financial products.\2\ The Bureau recognizes that, in certain
circumstances, some may perceive that the current regulatory framework
may hinder the development of innovative financial products that
promise substantial consumer benefit because, for example, existing
laws and rules did not contemplate such products. In such
circumstances, it may be substantially uncertain whether or how
specific provisions of certain statutes and regulations should be
applied to such a product--and thus whether the federal agency tasked
with administering those portions of a statute or regulation may bring
an enforcement or supervisory action against the developer of the
product for failure to comply with those laws. Such regulatory
uncertainty may discourage innovators from entering a market, or make
it difficult for them to develop suitable products or attract
sufficient investment or other support.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(5). As used in this Proposed Policy, the
term ``product(s)'' means ``product(s) and services'' or ``products
or service(s),'' as appropriate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal agencies can reduce such regulatory uncertainty in a
variety of ways. For example, an agency may clarify the application of
its statutes and regulations to the type of product in question--by
rulemaking or by the issuance of less formal guidance. Alternatively,
an agency may provide some form of notification that it does not intend
to recommend initiation of an enforcement or supervisory action against
an entity based on the application of specific identified provisions of
statutes or regulations to its offering of a particular product. This
proposal is concerned with the latter means of reducing regulatory
uncertainty in limited circumstances.
Pursuant to its authorities under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Bureau is
today releasing its Proposed Policy on No-Action Letters (Proposed
Policy). Under the Proposed Policy, in the circumstances described
above an entity may submit a request for a No-Action Letter from Bureau
staff (staff). A No-Action Letter would be a statement that the staff
has no present intention to recommend initiation of an enforcement or
supervisory action against the requester with respect to particular
aspects of its product, under specific identified provisions of
statutes or regulations. Such a letter may be limited as to time,
volume of transactions, or otherwise, and may be subject to potential
renewal. Whether and how to provide a No-Action Letter or otherwise
respond to such requests, including any limitations or conditions on
acceptance, will be within the sole discretion of the staff.
The Proposed Policy is intended to facilitate consumer access to
innovative financial products that promise substantial benefit to
consumers, taking into account other marketplace offerings, and also to
enhance compliance with applicable federal consumer financial laws.\3\
By furnishing a dedicated mechanism through which substantial
regulatory uncertainty can be reduced, the Proposed Policy is also
intended to discourage the offering of innovative consumer-harmful
financial products in such circumstances. In addition, because No-
Action Letters often will be conditioned on specified consumer
protection conditions designed to satisfy--or even exceed--applicable
disclosure requirements and substantive protections, the Bureau expects
the Proposed Policy, if adopted, to benefit consumers in further ways.
The Bureau also expects the Proposed Policy to help further its
consumer protection functions and objectives, including market
monitoring and rulemaking, when a No-Action Letter is conditioned on a
commitment by the requester to share data about the product with the
Bureau, or to engage in other consultation that may help inform Bureau
decisions regarding whether to take further action in connection with
the financial product in question.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The Proposed Policy and any No-Action Letter is not intended
to, nor should it be construed to: (1) Restrict or limit in any way
the Bureau's discretion in exercising its authorities, including the
provision of no-action or similar relief other than pursuant to the
Proposed Policy; (2) constitute an interpretation of law; or (3)
create or confer upon any covered person (including one who is the
subject of the Bureau supervisory, investigation, or enforcement
activity) or consumer, any substantive or procedural rights or
defenses that are enforceable in any manner.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Proposed Policy has five sections:
Section A describes information that should be included in
requests for a No-Action Letter.
Section B describes types of responses the staff may
provide to requests for a No-Action Letter.
Section C lists factors the staff may consider in deciding
whether to provide a No-Action Letter.
Section D describes the general content and limitations of
No-Action Letters.
Section E describes disclosure of data received from
entities whose requests for No-Action Letters are granted.
A. Submitting Requests for No-Action Letters
Requests for a No-Action Letter should be submitted in writing via
email to ProjectCatalyst@cfpb.gov.\4\ Submitted requests may be
withdrawn by the requester at any time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ The email subject line should begin ``Request for No-Action
Letter.'' The Proposed Policy is one component of the Bureau's
Project Catalyst initiative, which invites organizations to bring
innovation-related concerns to the Bureau's attention at
ProjectCatalyst@cfpb.gov. Innovators are advised to use the same
Project Catalyst point of contact to initiate a preliminary
discussion of a potential No-Action Letter. There are no formal
submission requirements to request such a preliminary discussion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requests should include the following:
1. The name(s) of the entity or entities and individual(s)
requesting the No-Action Letter. The staff will not accept requests for
No-Action Letters that fail to identify the entity or entities and
individuals providing the product.
2. A description of the consumer financial product involved,
including:
a. How the product functions, and the terms on which the product
will be offered;
b. The roles and relationships of all parties to transactions
involving the product; and
c. The manner in which it is offered to and used by consumers,
including any consumer disclosures.
3. The timetable on which the product is expected to be offered.
No-Action Letters are not intended for either well-established products
or purely hypothetical products that are not close to being able to be
offered.
4. An explanation of how the product is likely to provide
substantial benefit to consumers differently from the present
marketplace, and suggested metrics for evaluating whether such benefits
are realized.
5. A candid explanation of potential consumer risks posed by the
product--particularly as compared to other products available in the
marketplace--and undertakings by the requester to address and minimize
such risks.
6. A showing of why the requested No-Action Letter is necessary and
appropriate to remove substantial regulatory uncertainty hindering the
development of the product, including:
a. Identification of each of the specific provisions of the
statutes and regulations regarding which a No-Action Letter is being
requested, and a showing how each of these specific provisions of the
statute(s) and regulation(s) should be applied to the
[[Page 62121]]
product is substantially uncertain, including analysis of the relevant
legal authorities and policy considerations.
b. A showing of why the product's aspects in question should not be
treated as subject to or precluded by the specific identified
statute(s) and regulation(s), and/or how the proposed compliance of the
product's aspects in question with the specific identified statute(s)
and regulation(s) is appropriate.
c. A showing of the product's compliance with other relevant
federal and state regulatory requirements.
d. A showing of why the substantial regulatory uncertainty that is
the subject of the request cannot be effectively addressed through
means other than the requested No-Action Letter, such as modification
of the product.
7. An affirmation that the facts and representations in the request
are true and accurate.
8. An undertaking by the requester to provide information requested
by the staff in its evaluation of the request.
9. A description of data that the requester possesses, and data it
intends to develop, pertaining to the factual bases cited in support of
the request and an undertaking, if the request is granted, to share
appropriate data regarding the product with the Bureau, including data
regarding the impact of the product on consumers. This description
should also address the requester's intentions regarding consultation
with the Bureau in its plans for development of additional data.
10. Undertakings that, if the request is granted, the requester
will not represent that the Bureau or its staff has: (i) Licensed,
authorized or endorsed the product, or its permissibility or
appropriateness, in any way; (ii) determined, or provided an
interpretation, that the product is or is not in compliance with legal
or other requirements, or has been granted an exception, waiver, safe
harbor, or comparable treatment; or (iii) granted No-Action Letter
treatment with respect to any aspect of the requester's offerings or
any provision of law other than those expressly addressed in the No-
Action Letter.
11. An affirmation that, to the requester's knowledge (except as
specifically disclosed in the request), neither the requester nor any
other party with substantial ties to transactions involving the product
is the subject of an ongoing, imminent, or threatened governmental
investigation, supervisory review, enforcement action, or private civil
action respecting the product, or any related or similar product; and
an undertaking promptly to notify the Bureau (unless the request for a
No-Action Letter has been denied) of any such governmental
investigation, supervisory review, enforcement action, or private civil
action that is initiated or threatened.
12. An affirmation that (except as specifically disclosed in the
request) the principals of the requester have not been subject to
license discipline, adverse supervisory action, or enforcement action
with respect to any financial product, license, or transaction within
the past ten years.
13. A statement specifying whether the request is limited to a
particular time period, to a particular volume of transactions, or to
other limitations.
14. A description of any particular consumer safeguards the
requester will employ, although they may not be required by law, if a
No-Action Letter is issued, including any mitigation of potential for
or consequences of consumer injury. The description should specify the
requester's basis for asserting and considering that such safeguards
are effective. The description should also address any future study the
requester will undertake to further evaluate the effectiveness of such
safeguards.
15. If a request for confidential treatment is made, this request
and the basis therefor should be included in a separate letter and
submitted with the request for a No-Action Letter.
B. Staff Response to Requests for No-Action Letters
The decision whether to respond to a request for a No-Action
Letter, and the nature of any response, is within the staff's sole
discretion. Depending on the circumstances, the staff may: (i) Grant
the request (which grant may be partial, or may be subject to
limitations or conditions); (ii) deny the request; (iii) specifically
decline to either grant or deny the request, with an explanation; or
(iv) specifically decline to either grant or deny the request, without
explanation. The staff may communicate with the requester before making
any decision regarding whether and how to respond to the request to
seek clarification or for other purposes. The staff may permit requests
to be modified in the course of such communications. No-Action Letters
are subject to immediate modification and/or revocation upon notice.
Type (i) responses, and a version or summary of the request, will
be published on the Bureau's Web site.\5\ Type (ii) responses will be
provided to the requester but generally will not be published on the
Bureau's Web site.\6\ Type (iii) and (iv) responses may be published on
the Bureau's Web site, particularly if the staff believes that the
information will be in the public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Type (i) responses are further discussed in Section D below.
\6\ The Bureau may publish a denial on its Web site if it
believes that doing so is in the public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-exclusive examples of circumstances under which the staff
presumptively will not answer the request or will likely provide, at
most, a response of type (iii) or (iv) include:
1. The requester or its principals are the subject of ongoing
governmental law enforcement investigation, supervisory review, or
enforcement action respecting the product or a related or similar
product.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ If the staff decides to provide a Type (iii) response to the
entity in such circumstances, the response will not be published on
the Bureau's Web site.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. The request concerns an area in which the Bureau is engaged in
ongoing or anticipated rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement, or other
initiatives.
3. The request concerns a legal or product environment which the
staff considers to be inappropriate for no-action treatment. At the
present time, for example, the staff does not anticipate no-action
treatment of UDAAP matters.
4. The staff has determined that the request does not warrant
investment of the Bureau resources that are likely necessary to address
the request adequately.
No-Action Letters will not be routinely available. The Bureau
anticipates that No-Action Letters will be provided only rarely and on
the basis of exceptional circumstances and a thorough and persuasive
demonstration of the appropriateness of such treatment. Requesters do
not have a legal entitlement to no-action treatment of regulatory
uncertainties, and Bureau resources available for consideration of No-
Action Letter requests are limited in light of other Bureau priorities.
Requesters may wish to include in their submissions any particular
reasons why their request should be considered by the Bureau to be a
matter of special importance.
C. Staff Assessment of Requests for No-Action Letters
In deciding whether to provide a No-Action Letter,\8\ the staff
will consider a variety of factors, including:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ The decision whether to provide a No-Action Letter, and the
terms on which it may be provided, are within the staff's sole
discretion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The extent to which the requester's product structure, terms and
conditions, and disclosures to and agreements with
[[Page 62122]]
consumers enable consumers to meaningfully understand and appreciate
the terms, characteristics, costs, benefits, and risks associated with
the product, and to act effectively to protect themselves from
unnecessary cost and risk.
2. The extent to which evidence, including the requester's own
testing, indicates that the product's aspects in question may provide
substantial benefits to consumers.
3. The extent to which the asserted benefits to consumers are
available in the marketplace from other products.
4. The extent to which the requester controls for and effectively
addresses and mitigates risks to consumers.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ This factor includes the extent to which the requester has
plans in place for addressing unanticipated consumer harms caused by
the product and the extent to which the entity possesses the
resources to compensate injured consumers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. The extent to which granting the request is necessary in order
to reduce regulatory uncertainty for the requester with respect to the
requester's product.
6. The extent to which the regulatory uncertainty identified by the
requester may be better addressed through other regulatory means, such
as Bureau rulemaking, other Bureau guidance, or provision of a waiver
under the Bureau's Policy to Encourage Trial Disclosure Programs.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ 78 FR 64389 (Oct. 29, 2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Whether the entity is demonstrably in compliance with other
relevant federal and state regulatory requirements.
8. The extent to which the request is sufficiently limited in time,
volume of transactions, or otherwise, to allow the Bureau to learn
about the product and the aspects in question while minimizing any
consumer risk.
9. The extent to which any data that the entity has provided and
agrees to provide to the Bureau regarding the operation of the
product's aspects in question will be expected to further consumer
protection.
10. The extent to which public disclosure of relevant data may be
permitted.
D. Staff Provision of No-Action Letters
When the staff decides to provide a No-Action Letter, it will
publish the letter, along with the request, on its Web site. The No-
Action Letter will include the following:
1. A statement that, subject to the conditions and limitations set
forth, the staff has no present intention to recommend initiation of an
enforcement or supervisory action against the requester in respect to
the particular aspects of its product, and under specific identified
provisions and applications of statutes or regulations that are the
subject of the No-Action Letter. The statement that the staff has no
present intention to recommend initiation of an enforcement or
supervisory action does not mean that the Bureau will not conduct
supervisory activities or engage in enforcement investigation to
evaluate the requester's compliance with the terms of the No-Action
Letter or to evaluate other matters.
2. A statement that the no-action treatment is limited to the
requester's offering of the product's aspects in question in the manner
described, and that it does not pertain to (i) the requester for
offering the product in a different manner; (ii) the requester for
offering different products, or with respect to other provisions or
applications of these or other statutes and regulations, or with
respect to other aspects of the product; or (iii) any other person.
3. A statement that the No-Action Letter is based on the facts and
factual representations made in the request, and is contingent on the
correctness of such facts and factual representations.
4. A statement (a) disclaiming any intention by the Bureau or its
staff to have reached a determination about, or to provide an
interpretation of, or to grant any exception, waiver, safe harbor, or
similar treatment respecting the statutes and rules identified in the
request, or their application to the product's aspects in question, or
otherwise to make an official expression of the Bureau's views, and
that any explanatory discussion should not be interpreted as such an
interpretation, waiver, safe harbor, or the like, that is binding on
the Bureau, and (b) that the staff are not necessarily in agreement
with any legal or policy analysis, any interpretation of data, or any
other matter, set forth in the request.
5. A description of any conditions or limitation attending the
staff's recommendation, such as the requester's commitment to provide
additional safeguards to consumers, or to share certain types of data
with the Bureau, as well as any limitations as to time period or
quantity of transactions.
6. A statement that the No-Action Letter is subject to modification
or revocation at any time at the discretion of the staff for any
reason, including that: the facts and representations in the request
appear to be materially inaccurate or uncertain; the requester fails to
satisfy conditions or violates limitations specified in the No-Action
Letter; the product or any of its material features, terms, or
conditions, is altered; or the staff determines that such modification
or revocation is appropriate to protect consumers or is otherwise in
the public interest. Revocation or modification may be immediate upon
notice. To the extent that the facts and representations in the request
are materially inaccurate, or the requester fails to satisfy conditions
or violates limitations specified in the No-Action letter, and in other
similar circumstances, the No-Action Letter is by its own terms
inapplicable (even without modification or revocation) and the staff
may recommend initiating a retrospective enforcement or supervisory
action if appropriate.
7. A statement that the No-Action Letter is not issued by or on
behalf of any other government agency or any other person and, so far
as the Bureau is concerned, no other government agency or person, and
no court, has any obligation to honor or defer to it in any way.
8. A statement of any expiration date, or volume limitation,
applicable to the No-Action letter (and whether or not it may be sought
to be renewed).
9. A statement that the No-Action letter becomes inapplicable upon
failure to adhere to the affirmations or undertakings made in the
request or stated as conditions of the issuance of the letter.
E. Bureau Disclosure of Entity Data
The Bureau's disclosure of the request and any data received from
the requester in connection with a request for a No-Action Letter is
governed by the Bureau's rule regarding Disclosure of Records and
Information.\11\ For example, the rule generally requires the Bureau to
make available records requested by the public unless they are subject
to a FOIA exemption or exclusion.\12\ To the extent the Bureau
affirmatively wishes to disclose such data, the terms of such
disclosure will be consistent with applicable law and the Bureau's own
rules and may be specified in a separate agreement with the requester.
Consistent with applicable law and its own rules, the Bureau will not
seek to disclose data that would conflict with consumers' privacy
interests.
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\11\ See 12 CFR part 1070.
\12\ See 12 CFR 1070.14.
Dated: October 9, 2014.
Richard Cordray,
Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2014-24645 Filed 10-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P
