Notice2024-19637
Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Renewal; Submission for OMB Review; Debt Cancellation Contracts and Debt Suspension Agreements
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 3, 2024
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentComptroller of the Currency
Abstract
The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled, "Debt Cancellation Contracts and Debt Suspension Agreements." The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the collection to OMB for review.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71783-71784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19637]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection
Renewal; Submission for OMB Review; Debt Cancellation Contracts and
Debt Suspension Agreements
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden, invites comment on a continuing information
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct
or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an
information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting
comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled,
``Debt Cancellation Contracts and Debt Suspension Agreements.'' The OCC
also is giving notice that it has sent the collection to OMB for
review.
DATES: Comments must be received by October 3, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if
possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d9a9abb8b0b7bfb699b6babaf7adabbcb8aaf7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="78080a1911161e1738171b1b560c0a1d190b561f170e">[email protected]</span></a>.
<bullet> Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment
Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-
0224, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
<bullet> Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218,
Washington, DC 20219.
<bullet> Fax: (571) 293-4835.
Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and
``1557-0224,'' in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish
comments on <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a> without change, including any business or
personal information provided, such as name and address information,
email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including
attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public
record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information
in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential
or inappropriate for public disclosure.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should also be sent within 30 days of publication of this
notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. You can find this
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to
this information collection following the close of the 30-day comment
period for this notice by the method set forth in the next bullet.
<bullet> Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>.
Hover over the ``Information Collection Review'' tab and click on
``Information Collection Review'' from the drop-down menu. From the
``Currently under Review'' drop-down menu, select ``Department of
Treasury'' and then click ``submit.'' This information collection can
be located by searching OMB control number ``1557-0224,'' or ``Debt
Cancellation Contracts and Debt Suspension Agreements.'' Upon finding
the appropriate information collection, click on the related ``ICR
Reference Number.'' On the next screen, select ``View Supporting
Statement and Other Documents'' and then click on the link to any
comment listed at the bottom of the screen.
<bullet> For assistance in navigating <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>, please
contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482-7340.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, Clearance Officer,
(202) 649-5490, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf,
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to
access telecommunications relay services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.),
Federal agencies must obtain approval from the OMB for each collection
of information that they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of
information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to
include agency requests or requirements that members of the public
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party.
The OCC asks the OMB to extend its approval of the collection in this
notice.
Title: Debt Cancellation Contracts and Debt Suspension Agreements.
OMB Control No.: 1557-0224.
Type of Review: Regular.
Description: Twelve U.S.C. 24 (Seventh) authorizes a national bank
(bank) to enter into Debt Cancellation Contracts (DCCs) and Debt
Suspension Agreements (DSAs). Twelve CFR part 37 requires banks to
disclose information about a DCC or DSA using either a short or long
form disclosure. The short form disclosure usually is made orally and
issued at the time a bank first solicits the purchase of a contract.
The long form disclosure usually is made in writing and issued before
the customer completes the purchase of the contract. There are special
rules for transactions by telephone, solicitations using written mail
inserts or ``take one'' applications, and electronic transactions. Part
37 provides two model forms of disclosure for satisfying the
requirements of the rule. Use of the forms is not mandatory, and the
regulation permits a bank to adjust the form and wording of its
disclosures so long as it meets the applicable requirements. The
requirements of part 37 enhance consumer protections for customers who
purchase DCCs and DSAs from banks and ensure that banks offer these
products in a safe and sound manner by requiring them to effectively
manage their risk exposure.
Sec. 37.6 Disclosures
Section 37.6 requires the disclosures to be readily understandable
and meaningful. The content of the short and long form may vary,
depending on whether a bank elects to provide a summary of the
conditions and exclusions in the long form disclosures or refer the
customer to the pertinent paragraphs in the contract. For example, the
short form disclosure requires a bank to instruct the customer to read
carefully both the long form disclosures and the contract for a full
explanation of the contract terms, while the long form gives a bank the
option of either: (i) summarizing the limitations; or (ii) advising the
customer that a complete explanation of the eligibility requirements,
conditions, and exclusions is available in the contract and identifying
the paragraphs where the customer may find that information.
Section 37.6 and appendices A and B to part 37 require a bank to
provide the following disclosures (summarized below), as appropriate:
<bullet> Anti-tying (short and long form)--A bank must inform the
customer that purchase of the product is optional and
[[Page 71784]]
that neither the bank's decision whether to approve the loan nor the
terms and conditions of the loan are conditioned on the purchase of a
DCC or DSA.
<bullet> Explanation of debt suspension agreement (long form)--A
bank must disclose that if a customer activates the agreement, the
customer's duty to pay the loan principal and interest is only
suspended and the customer must fully repay the loan after the period
of suspension has expired.
<bullet> Amount of the fee (long form)--A bank must make
disclosures regarding the amount of the fee. The content of the
disclosure depends on whether the credit is open-end or closed-end. In
the case of closed-end credit, the bank must disclose the total fee. In
the case of open-end credit, the bank must either: (i) disclose that
the periodic fee is based on the account balance multiplied by a unit
cost and provide the unit cost; or (ii) disclose the formula used to
compute the fee.
<bullet> Lump sum payment of fee (short and long form)--A bank must
disclose, where appropriate, that a customer has the option to pay the
fee in a single payment or in periodic payments and that adding the fee
to the amount borrowed will increase the cost of the contract. This
disclosure is not appropriate in the case of a DCC or DSA provided in
connection with a home mortgage loan where the option to pay the fee in
a single payment is not available.
<bullet> Lump sum payment of fee with no refund (short and long
form)--A bank must disclose that the customer has the option to choose
a contract with or without a refund provision. This disclosure must
also state that the prices of refund and no-refund products are likely
to differ.
<bullet> Refund of fee paid in lump sum (short and long form)--If a
bank permits a customer to pay the fee in a single payment and add the
fee to the amount borrowed, the bank must disclose its cancellation
policy. The disclosure informs the customer of the bank's refund
policy, as applicable, i.e., that the DCC or DSA may be: (i) cancelled
at any time for a refund; (ii) cancelled within a specified number of
days for a full refund; or (iii) cancelled at any time with no refund.
<bullet> Whether use of a card or credit line is restricted (long
form)--A bank must inform a customer if the customer's activation of
the contract would prohibit the customer from incurring additional
charges on the credit card or using the credit line.
<bullet> Termination of a DCC or DSA (long form)-- If termination
is permitted during the life of the loan, a bank must include an
explanation of the circumstances under which a customer or the bank may
terminate the contract.
<bullet> Additional disclosures (short form)--A bank must inform
customers that it will provide additional information before the
customer is required to pay for the product.
<bullet> Eligibility requirements, conditions, and exclusions
(short and long form)--A bank must describe any material limitations
relating to the DCC or DSA.
Sec. 37.7 Affirmative Election To Purchase and Acknowledgement of
Receipt of Disclosures Required
Section 37.7 requires a bank to obtain a customer's written
affirmative election to purchase a contract and written acknowledgment
of receipt of the disclosures required by Sec. 37.6. The section
further provides that the election and acknowledgment must be
conspicuous, simple, direct, readily understandable, and designed to
call attention to their significance.
Pursuant to Sec. 37.7(b), if the sale of the contract occurs by
telephone, the customer's affirmative election to purchase and
acknowledgment of receipt of the required short form may be made
orally, provided the bank: (i) maintains sufficient documentation to
show that the customer received the short form disclosures and then
affirmatively elected to purchase the contract; (ii) mails the
affirmative written election and written acknowledgment, together with
the long form disclosures required by Sec. 37.6, to the customer
within 3 business days after the telephone solicitation and maintains
sufficient documentation to show it made reasonable efforts to obtain
the documents from the customer; and (iii) permits the customer to
cancel the purchase of the contract without penalty within 30 days
after the bank has mailed the long form disclosures to the customer.
Pursuant to Sec. 37.7(c), if the DCC or DSA is solicited through
written materials such as mail inserts or ``take one'' applications and
the bank provides only the short form disclosures in the written
materials, then the bank shall mail the acknowledgment, together with
the long form disclosures, to the customer. The bank may not obligate
the customer to pay for the contract until after the bank has received
the customer's written acknowledgment of receipt of disclosures, unless
the bank takes certain steps, maintains certain documentation, and
permits the customer to cancel the purchase within 30 days after
mailing the long form disclosures to the customer. Section 37.7(d)
permits the customer's affirmative election and acknowledgment to be
made electronically.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.
Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,044.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 25,056 hours.
Comments: On June 27, 2024, the OCC published a 60-day notice for
this information collection, (89 FR 53700). No comments were received.
Comments continue to be invited on:
(a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the OCC, including whether the
information has practical utility;
(b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimate of the burden of the
collection of information;
(c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected;
(d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection on respondents,
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology; and
(e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
Patrick T. Tierney,
Assistant Director, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2024-19637 Filed 8-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 3, 2024.
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