Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and Associated Processes, 3686-3687 [2018-01435]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 18 / Friday, January 26, 2018 / Notices
BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL
PROTECTION
[Docket No. CFPB–2018–0001]
Request for Information Regarding
Bureau Civil Investigative Demands
and Associated Processes
Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection.
ACTION: Notice and request for
information.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection (Bureau) is seeking
comments and information from
interested parties to assist the Bureau in
assessing potential changes that can be
implemented to the Bureau’s Civil
Investigative Demand (CID) processes,
consistent with law, to consider
whether any changes to the processes
would be appropriate.
DATES: Comments must be received by
March 27, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit responsive
information and other comments,
identified by Docket No. CFPB–2018–
0001, by any of the following methods:
• Electronic: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Email: FederalRegisterComments@
cfpb.gov. Include Docket No. CFPB–
2018–0001 in the subject line of the
message.
• Mail: Monica Jackson, Office of the
Executive Secretary, Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G
Street NW, Washington, DC 20552.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Monica
Jackson Office of the Executive
Secretary, Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW,
Washington, DC 20552.
Instructions: The Bureau encourages
the early submission of comments. All
submissions must include the document
title and docket number. Because paper
mail in the Washington, DC area and at
the Bureau is subject to delay,
commenters are encouraged to submit
comments electronically. In general, all
comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov. In addition,
comments will be available for public
inspection and copying at 1700 G St
NW, Washington, DC 20552, on official
business days between the hours of 10
a.m. and 5 p.m. eastern standard time.
You can make an appointment to
inspect the documents by telephoning
202–435–7275.
All submissions in response to this
request for information, including
attachments and other supporting
materials, will become part of the public
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:14 Jan 25, 2018
Jkt 244001
record and subject to public disclosure.
Sensitive personal information, such as
account numbers or Social Security
numbers, or names of other individuals,
should not be included. Submissions
will not be edited to remove any
identifying or contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general inquiries and submission
process questions, please call Monica
Jackson at (202) 435–7275.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the
course of its investigatory activities, and
as authorized by 12 U.S.C. 5562 and 12
CFR 1080.6, the Bureau issues CIDs to
entities and persons whom the Bureau
has reason to believe may have
information relevant to a violation of the
laws the Bureau enforces. These
demands require recipients to provide
the Bureau with information in varying
forms: Most frequently some
combination of written answers to
interrogatories, written reports,
documents, tangible things, and
testimony. Recipients are required to
produce the requested information to
the Bureau, which uses such
information to further investigations of
potential violations of Federal consumer
financial laws.
To assess the efficiency and
effectiveness of its existing CID
processes, the Bureau is, as described
below, issuing this request for
information seeking public comment on
how best to achieve meaningful burden
reduction or other improvement to the
CID processes while continuing to
achieve the Bureau’s statutory and
regulatory objectives.
Overview of This Request for
Information
The Bureau is using this request for
information to seek public input
regarding the exercise of its authority to
issue CIDs, including from entities who
have received one or more CIDs from
the Bureau, or members of the bar who
represent these entities.
The issuance of CIDs is an essential
tool for fulfilling the Bureau’s statutory
mission of enforcing Federal consumer
financial law. The Bureau issues CIDs in
accordance with the law and in
furtherance of its investigatory
objectives. The Bureau understands,
however, that responding to a CID can
impose burdens on the recipients.
Entities who have received one or more
CIDs, members of the bar who represent
these entities, and members of the
public are likely to have useful
information and perspectives on the
benefits and burdens of the Bureau’s
existing processes related to CIDs. The
Bureau is especially interested in better
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
understanding how its processes related
to CIDs may be updated, streamlined, or
revised to better achieve the Bureau’s
statutory and regulatory objectives,
while minimizing burdens, consistent
with applicable law, and how to align
the Bureau’s CID processes with those of
other agencies with similar authorities.
Interested parties may also be wellpositioned to identify those parts of the
Bureau’s processes related to CIDs that
are most in need of improvement, and,
thus, assist the Bureau in prioritizing
and properly tailoring its review
process. In short, engaging CID
recipients, potential CID recipients, and
the public in an open, transparent
process will help inform the Bureau’s
review of its processes related to CIDs.
Questions for Commenters
To allow the Bureau to more
effectively evaluate suggestions, the
Bureau requests that, where possible,
comments include:
• Specific suggestions regarding any
potential updates or modifications to
the Bureau’s practices regarding the
formulation, issuance, or modification
of CIDs consistent with the Bureau’s
regulatory and statutory objectives,
including, in as much detail as possible,
the potential update or modification,
supporting data or other information
such as cost information or information
concerning alignment with the
processes of other agencies with similar
authorities; and
• Specific identification of any
aspects of the Bureau’s CID processes
that should not be modified, including
supporting data or other information
such as cost information or information
concerning alignment with the
processes of other agencies with similar
authorities.
The following list of questions
represents a preliminary attempt by the
Bureau to identify elements of Bureau
processes related to CIDs on which it
should immediately focus. This nonexhaustive list is meant to assist in the
formulation of comments and is not
intended to restrict the issues that may
be addressed. In addressing these
questions or others, the Bureau requests
that commenters identify with
specificity the Bureau regulations or
practices at issue, providing legal
citations where appropriate and
available.
The Bureau is seeking feedback on all
aspects of its civil investigative demand
process, including but not limited to:
1. The Bureau’s processes for
initiating investigations, including 12
CFR 1080.4’s delegation of authority to
initiate investigations to the Assistant
Director of the Office of Enforcement
E:\FR\FM\26JAN1.SGM
26JAN1
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 18 / Friday, January 26, 2018 / Notices
and the Deputy Assistant Directors of
the Office of Enforcement;
2. The Bureau’s processes for the
issuance of CIDs, including the nondelegable authority of the Director,
Assistant Director of the Office of
Enforcement, and the Deputy Assistant
Directors of the Office of Enforcement to
issue CIDs;
3. Specific steps that the Bureau could
take to improve CID recipients’
understanding of investigations,
whether through the notification of
purpose included in each CID or
through other avenues, including
facilitating a better understanding of the
specific types of information sought by
the CID;
4. The nature and scope of requests
included in Bureau CIDs, including
whether topics, questions, or requests
for written reports effectively achieve
the Bureau’s statutory and regulatory
objectives, while minimizing burdens,
consistent with applicable law, and the
extent to which the meet and confer
process helps achieve these objectives;
5. The timeframes associated with
each step of the Bureau’s CID process,
including return dates, and the specific
timeframes for meeting and conferring,
and petitioning to modify or set aside a
CID;
6. The Bureau’s taking of testimony
from an entity, including whether 12
CFR 1080.6(a)(4)(ii), and/or the Bureau’s
processes should be modified to make
expressly clear that the standards
applicable to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 30(b)(6) also apply to the
Bureau’s taking of testimony from an
entity;
7. The Bureau’s processes for
handling the inadvertent production of
privileged information, including
whether 12 CFR 1080.8(c) and/or the
Bureau’s processes should be modified
in order to make expressly clear that the
standards applicable to Federal Rule of
Evidence 502 also apply to documents
inadvertently produced in response to a
CID;
8. The rights afforded to witnesses by
12 CFR 1080.9, including limitations on
the role of counsel described in 12 CFR
1080.9(b) in light of the statutory
delineation of objections set forth in 12
U.S.C. 5562(c)(13)(D)(iii);
9. The Bureau’s processes concerning
meeting and conferring with recipients
of CIDs, including, for example,
negotiations regarding modifications
and the delegation of authority to the
Assistant Director of the Office of
Enforcement and Deputy Assistant
Directors of the Office of Enforcement to
negotiate and approve the terms of
satisfactory compliance with civil
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:14 Jan 25, 2018
Jkt 244001
investigative demands and extending
the time for compliance;
10. The Bureau’s requirements for
responding to CIDs, including
certification requirements, and the
Bureau’s CID document submission
standards; and
11. The Bureau’s processes
concerning CID recipients’ petitions to
modify or set aside Bureau CIDs,
including:
a. Whether it is appropriate for
Bureau investigators to provide the
Director with a statement setting out a
response to the petition without serving
that response on the petitioner;
b. Whether petitions and the
Director’s orders should be made public,
consistent with applicable laws; and
c. The costs and benefits of the
petition to modify or set aside process,
`
vis-a-vis direct adjudication in Federal
court, in light of the statutory
requirement for the petition process and
the fact that CIDs are not self-enforcing.
Dated: January 18, 2018.
Mick Mulvaney,
Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2018–01435 Filed 1–25–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Air Force
Acceptance of Group Application
Under Public Law and Department of
Defense Directive
Department of the Air Force,
DoD Civilian/Military Service Review
Board, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Under the provisions of Section 401,
Public Law 95–202 and DoD Directive
100.20, the Department of Defense
Civilian/Military Service Review Board
has accepted an application on behalf of
a group known as ‘‘Department of the
Navy (DON) Civilian Special Agents
who Served in Direct Support and
Under Control of the DON within the
Republic of Vietnam During the Period
January 9, 1962 through May 7, 1975
(Vietnam War).’’ Persons with
information or documentation pertinent
to the determination of whether service
of this group should be considered
active military service to the Armed
Forces of the United States are
encouraged to submit such information
or documentation within 60 days to the
DoD Civilian/Military Service Review
Board (DoD C/MSRB), 1500 West
Frm 00015
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Perimeter Road, Suite 3700, Joint Base
Andrews NAF, MD 20762–7002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Thomas R. Uiselt, Deputy Executive
Secretary, DoD C/MSRB, at 240–612–
5409, thomas.r.uiselt.civ@mail.mil.
Copies of documents or other materials
submitted cannot be returned.
Henry Williams,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018–01308 Filed 1–25–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001–10–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Defense Acquisition Regulations
System
[Docket Number DARS–2016–0033; OMB
Control Number 0704–0332]
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
Defense Acquisition
Regulations System, Department of
Defense (DoD).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 5511(c).
PO 00000
3687
The Defense Acquisition
Regulations System has submitted to
OMB for clearance, the following
proposal for collection of information
under the provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
DATES: Consideration will be given to all
comments received by February 26,
2018.
SUMMARY:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title and OMB Number: Defense
Federal Acquisition Regulation
Supplement (DFARS) Appendix I, DoD
Pilot Mentor-Protege Program; OMB
Control Number 0704–0332.
Affected Public: Businesses or other
for-profit and not-for-profit institutions.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain benefits.
Type of Request: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Reporting Frequency: On occasion.
Number of Respondents: 127.
Responses per Respondent: 2,
approximately.
Annual Responses: 255.
Average Burden per Response: 2.3
hours, approximately.
Annual Burden Hours: 595.
Needs and Uses: DoD needs this
information to ensure that participants
in the Mentor-Protege Program (‘‘the
Program’’) are fulfilling their obligations
under the mentor-protege agreements
and that the Government is receiving
value for the benefits it provides
through the Program. DoD uses the
information as source data for reports to
E:\FR\FM\26JAN1.SGM
26JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3686-3687]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01435]
[[Page 3686]]
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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
[Docket No. CFPB-2018-0001]
Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative
Demands and Associated Processes
AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
ACTION: Notice and request for information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is
seeking comments and information from interested parties to assist the
Bureau in assessing potential changes that can be implemented to the
Bureau's Civil Investigative Demand (CID) processes, consistent with
law, to consider whether any changes to the processes would be
appropriate.
DATES: Comments must be received by March 27, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit responsive information and other comments,
identified by Docket No. CFPB-2018-0001, by any of the following
methods:
Electronic: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include Docket
No. CFPB-2018-0001 in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Monica Jackson, Office of the Executive Secretary,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC
20552.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Monica Jackson Office of the
Executive Secretary, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G
Street NW, Washington, DC 20552.
Instructions: The Bureau encourages the early submission of
comments. All submissions must include the document title and docket
number. Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at the Bureau
is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments
electronically. In general, all comments received will be posted
without change to https://www.regulations.gov. In addition, comments
will be available for public inspection and copying at 1700 G St NW,
Washington, DC 20552, on official business days between the hours of 10
a.m. and 5 p.m. eastern standard time. You can make an appointment to
inspect the documents by telephoning 202-435-7275.
All submissions in response to this request for information,
including attachments and other supporting materials, will become part
of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Sensitive
personal information, such as account numbers or Social Security
numbers, or names of other individuals, should not be included.
Submissions will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general inquiries and submission
process questions, please call Monica Jackson at (202) 435-7275.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the course of its investigatory
activities, and as authorized by 12 U.S.C. 5562 and 12 CFR 1080.6, the
Bureau issues CIDs to entities and persons whom the Bureau has reason
to believe may have information relevant to a violation of the laws the
Bureau enforces. These demands require recipients to provide the Bureau
with information in varying forms: Most frequently some combination of
written answers to interrogatories, written reports, documents,
tangible things, and testimony. Recipients are required to produce the
requested information to the Bureau, which uses such information to
further investigations of potential violations of Federal consumer
financial laws.
To assess the efficiency and effectiveness of its existing CID
processes, the Bureau is, as described below, issuing this request for
information seeking public comment on how best to achieve meaningful
burden reduction or other improvement to the CID processes while
continuing to achieve the Bureau's statutory and regulatory objectives.
Overview of This Request for Information
The Bureau is using this request for information to seek public
input regarding the exercise of its authority to issue CIDs, including
from entities who have received one or more CIDs from the Bureau, or
members of the bar who represent these entities.
The issuance of CIDs is an essential tool for fulfilling the
Bureau's statutory mission of enforcing Federal consumer financial law.
The Bureau issues CIDs in accordance with the law and in furtherance of
its investigatory objectives. The Bureau understands, however, that
responding to a CID can impose burdens on the recipients. Entities who
have received one or more CIDs, members of the bar who represent these
entities, and members of the public are likely to have useful
information and perspectives on the benefits and burdens of the
Bureau's existing processes related to CIDs. The Bureau is especially
interested in better understanding how its processes related to CIDs
may be updated, streamlined, or revised to better achieve the Bureau's
statutory and regulatory objectives, while minimizing burdens,
consistent with applicable law, and how to align the Bureau's CID
processes with those of other agencies with similar authorities.
Interested parties may also be well-positioned to identify those parts
of the Bureau's processes related to CIDs that are most in need of
improvement, and, thus, assist the Bureau in prioritizing and properly
tailoring its review process. In short, engaging CID recipients,
potential CID recipients, and the public in an open, transparent
process will help inform the Bureau's review of its processes related
to CIDs.
Questions for Commenters
To allow the Bureau to more effectively evaluate suggestions, the
Bureau requests that, where possible, comments include:
Specific suggestions regarding any potential updates or
modifications to the Bureau's practices regarding the formulation,
issuance, or modification of CIDs consistent with the Bureau's
regulatory and statutory objectives, including, in as much detail as
possible, the potential update or modification, supporting data or
other information such as cost information or information concerning
alignment with the processes of other agencies with similar
authorities; and
Specific identification of any aspects of the Bureau's CID
processes that should not be modified, including supporting data or
other information such as cost information or information concerning
alignment with the processes of other agencies with similar
authorities.
The following list of questions represents a preliminary attempt by
the Bureau to identify elements of Bureau processes related to CIDs on
which it should immediately focus. This non-exhaustive list is meant to
assist in the formulation of comments and is not intended to restrict
the issues that may be addressed. In addressing these questions or
others, the Bureau requests that commenters identify with specificity
the Bureau regulations or practices at issue, providing legal citations
where appropriate and available.
The Bureau is seeking feedback on all aspects of its civil
investigative demand process, including but not limited to:
1. The Bureau's processes for initiating investigations, including
12 CFR 1080.4's delegation of authority to initiate investigations to
the Assistant Director of the Office of Enforcement
[[Page 3687]]
and the Deputy Assistant Directors of the Office of Enforcement;
2. The Bureau's processes for the issuance of CIDs, including the
non-delegable authority of the Director, Assistant Director of the
Office of Enforcement, and the Deputy Assistant Directors of the Office
of Enforcement to issue CIDs;
3. Specific steps that the Bureau could take to improve CID
recipients' understanding of investigations, whether through the
notification of purpose included in each CID or through other avenues,
including facilitating a better understanding of the specific types of
information sought by the CID;
4. The nature and scope of requests included in Bureau CIDs,
including whether topics, questions, or requests for written reports
effectively achieve the Bureau's statutory and regulatory objectives,
while minimizing burdens, consistent with applicable law, and the
extent to which the meet and confer process helps achieve these
objectives;
5. The timeframes associated with each step of the Bureau's CID
process, including return dates, and the specific timeframes for
meeting and conferring, and petitioning to modify or set aside a CID;
6. The Bureau's taking of testimony from an entity, including
whether 12 CFR 1080.6(a)(4)(ii), and/or the Bureau's processes should
be modified to make expressly clear that the standards applicable to
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6) also apply to the Bureau's
taking of testimony from an entity;
7. The Bureau's processes for handling the inadvertent production
of privileged information, including whether 12 CFR 1080.8(c) and/or
the Bureau's processes should be modified in order to make expressly
clear that the standards applicable to Federal Rule of Evidence 502
also apply to documents inadvertently produced in response to a CID;
8. The rights afforded to witnesses by 12 CFR 1080.9, including
limitations on the role of counsel described in 12 CFR 1080.9(b) in
light of the statutory delineation of objections set forth in 12 U.S.C.
5562(c)(13)(D)(iii);
9. The Bureau's processes concerning meeting and conferring with
recipients of CIDs, including, for example, negotiations regarding
modifications and the delegation of authority to the Assistant Director
of the Office of Enforcement and Deputy Assistant Directors of the
Office of Enforcement to negotiate and approve the terms of
satisfactory compliance with civil investigative demands and extending
the time for compliance;
10. The Bureau's requirements for responding to CIDs, including
certification requirements, and the Bureau's CID document submission
standards; and
11. The Bureau's processes concerning CID recipients' petitions to
modify or set aside Bureau CIDs, including:
a. Whether it is appropriate for Bureau investigators to provide
the Director with a statement setting out a response to the petition
without serving that response on the petitioner;
b. Whether petitions and the Director's orders should be made
public, consistent with applicable laws; and
c. The costs and benefits of the petition to modify or set aside
process, vis-[agrave]-vis direct adjudication in Federal court, in
light of the statutory requirement for the petition process and the
fact that CIDs are not self-enforcing.
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 5511(c).
Dated: January 18, 2018.
Mick Mulvaney,
Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2018-01435 Filed 1-25-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P
