Rescission of Statement of Policy on Supervisory and Enforcement Practices Regarding Quarterly Reporting Under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, 17692-17693 [2021-06965]
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17692
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
final rule in light of section 3 of
Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice
Reform, and certify that it meets the
applicable standards provided therein.
BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL
PROTECTION
List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 2641
Rescission of Statement of Policy on
Supervisory and Enforcement
Practices Regarding Quarterly
Reporting Under the Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act
Conflict of interests, Government
employees.
Approved: March 31, 2021.
Emory Rounds,
Director, Office of Government Ethics.
PART 2641—POST-EMPLOYMENT
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
RESTRICTIONS
1. The authority citation for part 2641
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 5 U.S.C. app. (Ethics in
Government Act of 1978); 18 U.S.C. 207; E.O.
12674, 54 FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p.
215, as modified by E.O. 12731, 55 FR 42547,
3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 306.
2. Amend appendix B to part 2641 by
revising the listing for the Department of
Defense to read as follows:
■
Appendix B to Part 2641—Agency
Components for Purposes of 18 U.S.C.
207(c)
*
*
*
*
Parent: Department of Defense
Components:
Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) (effective April 6, 2021).
Department of the Air Force.
Department of the Army.
Department of the Navy.
Defense Information Systems Agency.
Defense Intelligence Agency.
Defense Logistics Agency.
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
(effective February 5, 1999).
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
(formerly National Imagery and Mapping
Agency) (effective May 16, 1997).
National Reconnaissance Office (effective
January 30, 2003).
National Security Agency.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2021–06971 Filed 4–5–21; 8:45 am]
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
BILLING CODE 6345–03–P
Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection.
ACTION: Rescission of statement of
policy.
AGENCY:
Accordingly, for the reasons set forth
in the preamble, the Office of
Government Ethics is amending 5 CFR
part 2641 as set forth below:
*
12 CFR Part 1003
The Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection (Bureau) is
rescinding the Statement on
Supervisory and Enforcement Practices
Regarding Quarterly Reporting Under
the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
DATES: This rescission is applicable on
April 1, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Zixta Q. Martinez, Division of
Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair
Lending, at (202) 435–7204. If you
require this document in an alternative
electronic format, please contact CFPB_
Accessibility@cfpb.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March
26, 2020, the Bureau issued a statement
entitled, ‘‘Statement on Supervisory and
Enforcement Practices Regarding
Quarterly Reporting Under the Home
Mortgage Disclosure Act’’ (Statement),
regarding the Bureau’s exercise of its
supervisory and enforcement discretion
in connection to the Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act (HMDA), 12 U.S.C. 2801
through 2810, and Regulation C, 12 CFR
1003.5(a)(1)(ii).1 Specifically, the
Statement provided that until further
notice, the Bureau does not intend to
cite in an examination or initiate an
enforcement action against any
institution for failure to report its
HMDA data quarterly, as required under
Regulation C. Under Regulation C, 12
CFR 1003.5(a)(1)(ii), financial
institutions that report for the preceding
calendar year at least 60,000 covered
loans and applications (excluding
purchased loans) must report their
HMDA data quarterly (except for the
fourth quarter) in addition to annually.
The Bureau hereby rescinds, as of
April 1, 2021, the Statement and
provides guidance on how entities
subject to Regulation C, 12 CFR
1003.5(a)(1)(ii) should now meet this
obligation.
The Statement expressed the Bureau’s
recognition of the impact of the COVID–
19 pandemic on consumers and the
SUMMARY:
1 https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/
cfpb_hmda-statement_covid-19_2020-03.pdf.
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operations of many financial
institutions, the vital role played by
mortgage lenders in ensuring that
consumers have access to credit, as well
as the critical importance of this access
in light of the dramatic effects of the
pandemic on the finances of consumers.
The Bureau therefore believed it was
necessary to provide financial
institutions with flexibility and reduce
their administrative burden to allow
them to focus their attention on making
sure consumers have access to credit.
The Bureau has concluded that this
tradeoff is no longer necessary. With
regard to the quarterly filing of HMDA
data, the Bureau believes that
companies have had sufficient time to
adapt to the pandemic and should now
be able to respond to the credit needs
of consumers while still complying with
the quarterly data submission
requirement under Regulation C without
the flexibility afforded under the
Statement. The Statement noted that
entities should continue collecting and
recording HMDA data in anticipation of
making annual data submissions and
that entities could continue to make
quarterly HMDA submissions
notwithstanding the flexibility extended
under the Statement. The Bureau notes
that approximately half of the financial
institutions subject to the requirement
are now filing their data, choosing not
to take advantage of the flexibility
provided by the Statement. In addition,
because the Statement did not create
binding legal obligations on the Bureau
or create or confer any substantive rights
on external parties, it did not create any
reasonable reliance interests for
industry participants. The Bureau never
intended the Statement to be
permanent, and expressly noted that at
a later date, the Bureau would provide
information as to how and when it
expects financial institutions subject to
the requirement would resume quarterly
HMDA data submissions. This Policy
Statement provides that guidance.
The Bureau hereby rescinds, as of
April 1, 2021, the Statement and
instructs all financial institutions
required to file quarterly to do so
beginning with their 2021 first quarter
data, due on or before May 31, 2021, for
all covered loans and applications with
a final action taken date between
January 1 and March 31, 2021. The
Bureau does not intend to cite in an
examination or initiate an enforcement
action against any entity that did not
make the quarterly filing for data
collected in 2020.
The Bureau reminds HMDA reporters
of the existing safe harbor in Regulation
C, 12 CFR 1003.6(c)(2), that applies to
any data financial institutions report on
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06APR1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
a quarterly basis. If a financial
institution that is required to report data
quarterly makes a good faith effort to
report such data fully and accurately
within 60 calendar days after the end of
each calendar quarter, inaccuracies or
omissions in quarterly data reported do
not need to be corrected or completed
until the financial institution submits its
annual loan/application register by
March 1 of the following calendar year.
Regulatory Requirements
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
The Statement constituted a general
statement of policy exempt from the
notice and comment rulemaking
requirements of the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA). It was intended to
provide information regarding the
Bureau’s general plans to exercise its
supervisory and enforcement discretion
and did not impose any legal
requirements on external parties, nor
did it create or confer any substantive
rights on external parties that could be
enforceable in any administrative or
civil proceeding. This rescission
likewise is a general statement of policy
exempt from the notice and comment
rulemaking requirements of the APA. It
is intended to provide information
regarding the Bureau’s general plans to
exercise its supervision and
enforcement discretion and does not
impose any legal requirements on
external parties or create or confer any
substantive rights on external parties
that could be enforceable in any
administrative or civil proceedings. No
notice of proposed rulemaking was
originally required in issuing the
Statement, and it is not required in
issuing this rescission. The Regulatory
Flexibility Act also does not require an
initial or final regulatory flexibility
analysis for this rescission. The Bureau
has also determined that the rescission
of the Statement does not impose any
new or revise any existing
recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure
requirements on covered entities or
members of the public that would be
collections of information requiring
approval by the Office of Management
and Budget under the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
Dated: March 29, 2021.
David Uejio,
Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2021–06965 Filed 4–5–21; 8:45 am]
BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL
PROTECTION
12 CFR Parts 1005 and 1026
Rescission of Statement of Policy on
Supervisory and Enforcement
Practices Regarding Bureau
Information Collections for Credit Card
and Prepaid Account Issuers
Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection.
ACTION: Rescission of statement of
policy.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection (Bureau) is
rescinding the Statement on
Supervisory and Enforcement Practices
Regarding Bureau Information
Collections for Credit Card and Prepaid
Account Issuers.
DATES: This rescission is applicable on
April 1, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Zixta Q. Martinez, Division of
Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair
Lending, at (202) 435–7204. If you
require this document in an alternative
electronic format, please contact CFPB_
Accessibility@cfpb.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March
26, 2020, the Bureau issued a statement
entitled, ‘‘Statement on Supervisory and
Enforcement Practices Regarding Bureau
Information Collections for Credit Card
and Prepaid Account Issuers’’
(Statement), regarding the Bureau’s
exercise of its supervisory and
enforcement discretion under the Truth
in Lending Act (TILA), Regulation Z,
and Regulation E.1 Specifically, the
Statement provided that the Bureau,
until further notice, did not intend to
cite in an examination or initiate an
enforcement action against any entity
for failure to submit to the Bureau
certain information collections relating
to credit card and prepaid accounts
required by TILA, Regulation Z, and
Regulation E.
The Bureau hereby rescinds, as of
April 1, 2021, the Statement and
provides guidance on how entities
should now meet the following
information collections requirements
relating to credit card and prepaid
accounts:
• Annual submission of certain
information concerning agreements
between credit card issuers and
institutions of higher education (and
certain affiliated organizations), as
required by TILA, 15 U.S.C. 1637(r), and
Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.57(d)(3);
SUMMARY:
BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P
1 https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/
cfpb_data-collection-statement_covid-19_202003.pdf.
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17693
• Quarterly submission of consumer
credit card agreements, as required by
TILA, 15 U.S.C. 1632(d)(2), and
Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.58(c);
• Collection of certain credit card
price and availability information from
a sample of credit card issuers under
TILA, 15 U.S.C 1646(b)(1) et seq.; and
• Submission of prepaid account
agreements and related information
required by Regulation E, 12 CFR
1005.19(b).
The Statement expressed the Bureau’s
recognition of the impact of the COVID–
19 pandemic on consumers and the
operations of many financial
institutions, the critical role played by
credit card and prepaid account issuers
in ensuring that consumers have access
to credit and other funds, as well as the
critical importance of this access in light
of the dramatic effects of the pandemic
on the finances of consumers. The
Bureau therefore believed it was
necessary to provide credit card and
prepaid account issuers with flexibility
and reduce their administrative burden
to allow them to focus their attention on
making sure consumers have access to
credit and other funds. The Bureau has
concluded that this tradeoff is no longer
necessary. Since March 2020 and over
the course of the COVID–19 pandemic,
financial institutions, including credit
card and prepaid account issuers, have
adjusted operations by, for example,
shifting to a remote mode of operation
and adding more robust remote
operational capabilities. As States and
other jurisdictions have rescinded and
modified stay-at-home orders over the
course of the pandemic, the Bureau has
learned that many financial services
entities have resumed some level of inperson operations. In many instances,
combined with more robust remote
capabilities, financial entities have
demonstrated improved business
continuity. Based on the Bureau’s
market monitoring, the Bureau believes
that companies, including credit card
and prepaid account issuers, have had
sufficient time to adapt to the pandemic
and should now be able to respond to
consumers’ need to access credit and
other funds while complying with the
data submission obligations under
TILA, Regulation Z, and Regulation E
without the flexibility afforded under
the Statement. The Statement noted that
entities should maintain records
sufficient to allow them to make such
delayed submissions and that entities
could continue making otherwise
required submissions notwithstanding
the flexibility extended under the
Statement. The Bureau notes that most
of the financial entities subject to the
noted information collections
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 6, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17692-17693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06965]
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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
12 CFR Part 1003
Rescission of Statement of Policy on Supervisory and Enforcement
Practices Regarding Quarterly Reporting Under the Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act
AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
ACTION: Rescission of statement of policy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is
rescinding the Statement on Supervisory and Enforcement Practices
Regarding Quarterly Reporting Under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
DATES: This rescission is applicable on April 1, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zixta Q. Martinez, Division of
Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending, at (202) 435-7204. If you
require this document in an alternative electronic format, please
contact [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 26, 2020, the Bureau issued a
statement entitled, ``Statement on Supervisory and Enforcement
Practices Regarding Quarterly Reporting Under the Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act'' (Statement), regarding the Bureau's exercise of its
supervisory and enforcement discretion in connection to the Home
Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), 12 U.S.C. 2801 through 2810, and
Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.5(a)(1)(ii).\1\ Specifically, the Statement
provided that until further notice, the Bureau does not intend to cite
in an examination or initiate an enforcement action against any
institution for failure to report its HMDA data quarterly, as required
under Regulation C. Under Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.5(a)(1)(ii),
financial institutions that report for the preceding calendar year at
least 60,000 covered loans and applications (excluding purchased loans)
must report their HMDA data quarterly (except for the fourth quarter)
in addition to annually.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_hmda-statement_covid-19_2020-03.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bureau hereby rescinds, as of April 1, 2021, the Statement and
provides guidance on how entities subject to Regulation C, 12 CFR
1003.5(a)(1)(ii) should now meet this obligation.
The Statement expressed the Bureau's recognition of the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers and the operations of many financial
institutions, the vital role played by mortgage lenders in ensuring
that consumers have access to credit, as well as the critical
importance of this access in light of the dramatic effects of the
pandemic on the finances of consumers. The Bureau therefore believed it
was necessary to provide financial institutions with flexibility and
reduce their administrative burden to allow them to focus their
attention on making sure consumers have access to credit. The Bureau
has concluded that this tradeoff is no longer necessary. With regard to
the quarterly filing of HMDA data, the Bureau believes that companies
have had sufficient time to adapt to the pandemic and should now be
able to respond to the credit needs of consumers while still complying
with the quarterly data submission requirement under Regulation C
without the flexibility afforded under the Statement. The Statement
noted that entities should continue collecting and recording HMDA data
in anticipation of making annual data submissions and that entities
could continue to make quarterly HMDA submissions notwithstanding the
flexibility extended under the Statement. The Bureau notes that
approximately half of the financial institutions subject to the
requirement are now filing their data, choosing not to take advantage
of the flexibility provided by the Statement. In addition, because the
Statement did not create binding legal obligations on the Bureau or
create or confer any substantive rights on external parties, it did not
create any reasonable reliance interests for industry participants. The
Bureau never intended the Statement to be permanent, and expressly
noted that at a later date, the Bureau would provide information as to
how and when it expects financial institutions subject to the
requirement would resume quarterly HMDA data submissions. This Policy
Statement provides that guidance.
The Bureau hereby rescinds, as of April 1, 2021, the Statement and
instructs all financial institutions required to file quarterly to do
so beginning with their 2021 first quarter data, due on or before May
31, 2021, for all covered loans and applications with a final action
taken date between January 1 and March 31, 2021. The Bureau does not
intend to cite in an examination or initiate an enforcement action
against any entity that did not make the quarterly filing for data
collected in 2020.
The Bureau reminds HMDA reporters of the existing safe harbor in
Regulation C, 12 CFR 1003.6(c)(2), that applies to any data financial
institutions report on
[[Page 17693]]
a quarterly basis. If a financial institution that is required to
report data quarterly makes a good faith effort to report such data
fully and accurately within 60 calendar days after the end of each
calendar quarter, inaccuracies or omissions in quarterly data reported
do not need to be corrected or completed until the financial
institution submits its annual loan/application register by March 1 of
the following calendar year.
Regulatory Requirements
The Statement constituted a general statement of policy exempt from
the notice and comment rulemaking requirements of the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA). It was intended to provide information regarding
the Bureau's general plans to exercise its supervisory and enforcement
discretion and did not impose any legal requirements on external
parties, nor did it create or confer any substantive rights on external
parties that could be enforceable in any administrative or civil
proceeding. This rescission likewise is a general statement of policy
exempt from the notice and comment rulemaking requirements of the APA.
It is intended to provide information regarding the Bureau's general
plans to exercise its supervision and enforcement discretion and does
not impose any legal requirements on external parties or create or
confer any substantive rights on external parties that could be
enforceable in any administrative or civil proceedings. No notice of
proposed rulemaking was originally required in issuing the Statement,
and it is not required in issuing this rescission. The Regulatory
Flexibility Act also does not require an initial or final regulatory
flexibility analysis for this rescission. The Bureau has also
determined that the rescission of the Statement does not impose any new
or revise any existing recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure
requirements on covered entities or members of the public that would be
collections of information requiring approval by the Office of
Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Dated: March 29, 2021.
David Uejio,
Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2021-06965 Filed 4-5-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P
