This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.
Proposed Rules Federal Register
60389
Vol. 85, No. 187
Friday, September 25, 2020
1 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376
(2010).
2 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5411.
3 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5414(b).
4 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5414(c).
5 76 FR 39247 (July 6, 2011).
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Parts 338 and 390
RIN 3064–AF35
Transferred OTS Regulations
Regarding Nondiscrimination
Requirements
AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY: In this notice of proposed
rulemaking, the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) proposes
to rescind and remove from the Code of
Federal Regulations rules entitled
‘‘Nondiscrimination Requirements’’
(part 390, subpart G), and to amend
FDIC regulation part 338 to make it
applicable to State savings associations.
Part 390, subpart G was included in the
regulations that were transferred to the
FDIC from the Office of Thrift
Supervision (OTS) on July 21, 2011, in
connection with the implementation of
applicable provisions of Title III of the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank
Act). The FDIC’s part 338 is entitled
‘‘Fair Housing’’ and applies to insured
State nonmember banks. Several
provisions for State savings associations
in part 390, subpart G have
substantively similar provisions in part
338. The remaining provisions in part
390, subpart G without a direct
counterpart are largely duplicative of
federal laws (Equal Credit Opportunity
Act (ECOA), Fair Housing Act (FHA),
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
(EEOA) and other laws concerning
nondiscrimination in lending,
employment, and services) and
implementing regulations. After careful
review of part 390, subpart G, the FDIC
proposes to rescind and remove in its
entirety part 390, subpart G to
streamline the FDIC’s rules and
eliminate unnecessary, inconsistent,
and duplicative regulations and to
modify the scope of part 338 to include
State savings associations to reflect the
scope of the FDIC’s current supervisory
responsibilities as the appropriate
Federal banking agency for those
institutions. The FDIC also proposes to
define ‘‘FDIC-supervised institution’’
and ‘‘State savings association.’’ If the
proposal is adopted in final form,
insured State nonmember banks and
State savings associations will be
subject to the same anti-discrimination
requirements. Upon removal of part 390,
subpart G, nondiscrimination
regulations related to lending applicable
for all insured depository institutions
for which the FDIC has been designated
the appropriate Federal banking agency
will be found at part 338 and related
nondiscrimination federal regulations
listed above, as applicable.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before October 26, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by RIN 3064–AF35, by any of
the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments in
the portal.
• Agency Website: https://
www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/.
Follow the instructions for submitting
comments on the website.
• Email: Comments@fdic.gov. Include
RIN 3064–AF35 in the subject line of
the message.
• Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive
Secretary, Attention: Comments, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20429.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Comments
may be hand-delivered to the guard
station at the rear of the 550 17th Street
NW building (located on F Street) on
business days between 7:00 a.m. and
5:00 p.m.
Instructions: All submissions for this
rulemaking must include the agency
name and RIN 3064–AF35. Comments
received will be posted without change
to https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/
laws/federal/, including any personal
information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Navid Choudhury, Counsel, Legal
Division, (202) 898–6526, nchoudhury@
fdic.gov; Jamie Goodson, Senior Policy
Analyst, (202) 898–6685, jagoodson@
fdic.gov; Ernestine Ward, Policy
Analyst, (202) 898–3812, erward@
fdic.gov; and Evelyn Manley, Fair
Lending Specialist, (202) 898–3775,
emanley@fdic.gov, Division of Depositor
and Consumer Protection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Dodd-Frank Act
Title III of the Dodd-Frank Act 1
provided for a substantial reorganization
of the regulation of State and Federal
savings associations and their holding
companies. Beginning July 21, 2011, the
transfer date established by section 311
of the Dodd-Frank Act,2 the powers,
duties, and functions formerly
performed by the OTS were divided
among the FDIC, as to State savings
associations, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), as to
Federal savings associations, and the
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System (FRB), as to savings and
loan holding companies. Section 316(b)
of the Dodd-Frank Act 3 provides the
manner of treatment for all orders,
resolutions, determinations, regulations,
and advisory materials that had been
issued, made, prescribed, or allowed to
become effective by the OTS. Section
316(b) states that if the materials were
in effect on the day before the transfer
date, they continue to be in effect and
are enforceable by or against the
appropriate successor agency until they
are modified, terminated, set aside, or
superseded in accordance with
applicable law by such successor
agency, by any court of competent
jurisdiction, or by operation of law.
Section 316(c) of the Dodd-Frank
Act 4 further directed the FDIC and the
OCC to consult with one another and to
publish a list of the continued OTS
regulations which would be enforced by
the FDIC and the OCC, respectively. On
June 14, 2011, the FDIC’s Board of
Directors approved a ‘‘List of OTS
Regulations to be Enforced by the OCC
and the FDIC Pursuant to the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act.’’ This list was published
by the FDIC and the OCC as a Joint
Notice in the Federal Register on July
6, 2011.5
VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:00 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 250001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\25SEP1.SGM 25SEP1
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.
Proposed Rules Federal Register
60389
Vol. 85, No. 187
Friday, September 25, 2020
1 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376
(2010).
2 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5411.
3 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5414(b).
4 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5414(c).
5 76 FR 39247 (July 6, 2011).
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Parts 338 and 390
RIN 3064–AF35
Transferred OTS Regulations
Regarding Nondiscrimination
Requirements
AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY: In this notice of proposed
rulemaking, the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) proposes
to rescind and remove from the Code of
Federal Regulations rules entitled
‘‘Nondiscrimination Requirements’’
(part 390, subpart G), and to amend
FDIC regulation part 338 to make it
applicable to State savings associations.
Part 390, subpart G was included in the
regulations that were transferred to the
FDIC from the Office of Thrift
Supervision (OTS) on July 21, 2011, in
connection with the implementation of
applicable provisions of Title III of the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank
Act). The FDIC’s part 338 is entitled
‘‘Fair Housing’’ and applies to insured
State nonmember banks. Several
provisions for State savings associations
in part 390, subpart G have
substantively similar provisions in part
338. The remaining provisions in part
390, subpart G without a direct
counterpart are largely duplicative of
federal laws (Equal Credit Opportunity
Act (ECOA), Fair Housing Act (FHA),
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
(EEOA) and other laws concerning
nondiscrimination in lending,
employment, and services) and
implementing regulations. After careful
review of part 390, subpart G, the FDIC
proposes to rescind and remove in its
entirety part 390, subpart G to
streamline the FDIC’s rules and
eliminate unnecessary, inconsistent,
and duplicative regulations and to
modify the scope of part 338 to include
State savings associations to reflect the
scope of the FDIC’s current supervisory
responsibilities as the appropriate
Federal banking agency for those
institutions. The FDIC also proposes to
define ‘‘FDIC-supervised institution’’
and ‘‘State savings association.’’ If the
proposal is adopted in final form,
insured State nonmember banks and
State savings associations will be
subject to the same anti-discrimination
requirements. Upon removal of part 390,
subpart G, nondiscrimination
regulations related to lending applicable
for all insured depository institutions
for which the FDIC has been designated
the appropriate Federal banking agency
will be found at part 338 and related
nondiscrimination federal regulations
listed above, as applicable.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before October 26, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by RIN 3064–AF35, by any of
the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments in
the portal.
• Agency Website: https://
www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/.
Follow the instructions for submitting
comments on the website.
• Email: Comments@fdic.gov. Include
RIN 3064–AF35 in the subject line of
the message.
• Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive
Secretary, Attention: Comments, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20429.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Comments
may be hand-delivered to the guard
station at the rear of the 550 17th Street
NW building (located on F Street) on
business days between 7:00 a.m. and
5:00 p.m.
Instructions: All submissions for this
rulemaking must include the agency
name and RIN 3064–AF35. Comments
received will be posted without change
to https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/
laws/federal/, including any personal
information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Navid Choudhury, Counsel, Legal
Division, (202) 898–6526, nchoudhury@
fdic.gov; Jamie Goodson, Senior Policy
Analyst, (202) 898–6685, jagoodson@
fdic.gov; Ernestine Ward, Policy
Analyst, (202) 898–3812, erward@
fdic.gov; and Evelyn Manley, Fair
Lending Specialist, (202) 898–3775,
emanley@fdic.gov, Division of Depositor
and Consumer Protection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Dodd-Frank Act
Title III of the Dodd-Frank Act 1
provided for a substantial reorganization
of the regulation of State and Federal
savings associations and their holding
companies. Beginning July 21, 2011, the
transfer date established by section 311
of the Dodd-Frank Act,2 the powers,
duties, and functions formerly
performed by the OTS were divided
among the FDIC, as to State savings
associations, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), as to
Federal savings associations, and the
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System (FRB), as to savings and
loan holding companies. Section 316(b)
of the Dodd-Frank Act 3 provides the
manner of treatment for all orders,
resolutions, determinations, regulations,
and advisory materials that had been
issued, made, prescribed, or allowed to
become effective by the OTS. Section
316(b) states that if the materials were
in effect on the day before the transfer
date, they continue to be in effect and
are enforceable by or against the
appropriate successor agency until they
are modified, terminated, set aside, or
superseded in accordance with
applicable law by such successor
agency, by any court of competent
jurisdiction, or by operation of law.
Section 316(c) of the Dodd-Frank
Act 4 further directed the FDIC and the
OCC to consult with one another and to
publish a list of the continued OTS
regulations which would be enforced by
the FDIC and the OCC, respectively. On
June 14, 2011, the FDIC’s Board of
Directors approved a ‘‘List of OTS
Regulations to be Enforced by the OCC
and the FDIC Pursuant to the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act.’’ This list was published
by the FDIC and the OCC as a Joint
Notice in the Federal Register on July
6, 2011.5
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khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
60390 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 187 / Friday, September 25, 2020 / Proposed Rules
6 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5412(b)(2)(B)(i)(II).
7 12 U.S.C. 1813(q).
8 76 FR 47652 (Aug. 5, 2011).
9 37 FR 8436 (Apr. 3 1972).
10 43 FR 22332 (May 25, 1978).
11 43 FR 22332 (May 25, 1978).
12 In 1996, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), in accordance with the
President’s initiative on regulatory reinvention and
reform which requires deletion of nonbinding
guidance or explanations, entirely eliminated
HUD’s part 109 (Advertising Guidelines), which
provided a variety of nonbinding suggestions and
examples of advertising practices that would violate
the FHA. 61 FR 14378 (April 1, 1996).
13 The updates followed the passage of the
Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and
Enforcement Act of 1989. Public Law 101–73, 103
Stat. 183 (1989).
14 57 FR 40352 (Sept. 3, 1992).
15 See 12 CFR 203.4(c) (1993).
16 58 FR 4309 (Jan. 14, 1993).
Although section 312(b)(2)(B)(i)(II) of
the Dodd-Frank Act 6 granted the OCC
rulemaking authority relating to both
State and Federal savings associations,
nothing in the Dodd-Frank Act affected
the FDIC’s existing authority to issue
regulations under the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act (FDI Act) and other laws
as the ‘‘appropriate Federal banking
agency’’ or under similar statutory
terminology. Section 312(c) of the Dodd-
Frank Act amended the definition of
‘‘appropriate Federal banking agency’’
contained in section 3(q) of the FDI Act 7
to add State savings associations to the
list of entities for which the FDIC is
designated as the ‘‘appropriate Federal
banking agency.’’ As a result, when the
FDIC acts as the designated
‘‘appropriate Federal banking agency’’
(or under similar terminology) for State
savings associations, as it does here, the
FDIC is authorized to issue, modify and
rescind regulations involving such
associations, insured State nonmember
banks, and insured branches of foreign
banks.
As noted, on June 14, 2011, operating
pursuant to this authority, the FDIC’s
Board of Directors reissued and
redesignated certain transferred OTS
regulations. These transferred OTS
regulations were published as new FDIC
regulations in the Federal Register on
August 5, 2011.8 When it republished
the transferred OTS regulations as new
FDIC regulations, the FDIC specifically
noted that its staff would evaluate the
transferred OTS regulations and might
later recommend incorporating them
into other FDIC regulations, amending
them, or rescinding them, as
appropriate.
One of the OTS rules transferred to
the FDIC requires State savings
associations to not discriminate with
respect to lending, employment, and
other services provided. The OTS rule,
formerly found at 12 CFR part 528 (part
528), was transferred to the FDIC with
only technical changes and is now
found in the FDIC’s rules at part 390,
subpart G, entitled ‘‘Nondiscrimination
Requirements.’’ Although few
provisions of part 390, subpart G have
a direct counterpart within the FDIC’s
regulations, the provisions are largely
duplicative of regulations implementing
federal laws (ECOA, FHA, EEOA, and
other laws concerning
nondiscrimination in lending,
employment, and services)
implemented by other agencies. After
careful review of part 390, subpart G,
the FDIC proposes to rescind and
remove part 390, subpart G, because, as
discussed below, it is duplicative,
unnecessary, and burdensome to require
State savings associations to comply
with additional requirements to which
insured State nonmember banks are not
subject. The FDIC also proposes to
makes technical conforming edits to
part 338 to encompass State savings
associations and update the regulation.
FDIC’s Existing 12 CFR Part 338 and
Former OTS Part 528 (Transferred to
FDIC Part 390, Subpart G)
The Fair Housing Act of 1968
prohibits discrimination concerning the
sale, rental and financing of housing
based on race, religion, national origin
or sex. Section 808 of the FHA directed
all executive departments and agencies
to administer their programs relating to
housing and urban development
(including any Federal agency having
regulatory or supervisory authority over
financial institutions, e.g., the OTS’
predecessor, the Federal Home Loan
Bank Board (FHLBB)) in a manner to
further the purposes of the FHA.
Effective May 1, 1972, the FHLBB
amended Chapter V, subchapter B of
Title 12, by issuing a new section part
528 which prohibited ‘‘discrimination
by member institutions in their lending
and employment practices and in their
advertising and requiring that such
institutions display an Equal Housing
Lender Poster.’’ 9
Following this initial issuance of part
528 in 1972, in 1978 the FHLBB
finalized major amendments to the
regulation to update and strengthen its
nondiscrimination in lending
regulations to reflect provisions of the
FHA, ECOA, and the Community
Reinvestment Act (CRA) and to
‘‘strengthen the Bank Board’s ability to
enforce member institutions’
compliance with these and other
Federal laws which prohibit
discriminatory lending practices.’’ 10
Specifically, these amendments to the
FHLBB’s fair lending regulation: ‘‘(1)
[p]rohibit member institutions from
automatically refusing to lend because
of the age or location of a dwelling; (2)
prohibit loan decisions based on
discriminatory appraisals; (3) emphasize
that there is a right to file a written loan
application; (4) require member
institutions to have written loan
underwriting standards which are
available to the public upon request; (5)
revise the Equal Housing Lender poster
which member institutions display in
their lobbies; and (6) establish a new
monitoring system for fair lending
enforcement and analysis.’’ 11
In 1993, following the President’s
order for federal agencies to review all
Federal regulations and policies to
eliminate over-burdensome regulations
that discourage economic growth,12 the
OTS (as successor to the FHLBB) 13
updated part 528 to eliminate certain
definitions that were deemed
unnecessary and amended § 528.6,
regarding compliance with Home
Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) loan/
application registers (LARs).
Commenters favored elimination of the
nondiscrimination disclosure
requirements of § 528.6, arguing it was
duplicative of the requirements set forth
in 12 CFR part 203, which made HMDA
requirements applicable to savings
associations. In its proposed rule, the
OTS stated that its own ‘‘loan
application register’’ was ‘‘more
comprehensive than required by
Regulation C’’ and that ‘‘the additional
register information is useful to
examiners’’ but also stated that the
additional information was available to
examiners through other means.14 In its
final rule, the OTS agreed that part
528.6 was substantially duplicative of
HMDA part 203 but disagreed that the
OTS’ requirement to report ‘‘reason for
denial’’ is unnecessary. At the time,
reporting the reason for denial was
optional under Regulation C.15 The OTS
argued that ‘‘[t]he ‘reason for denial’
provides us with useful information that
assists the examination process. We
believe that retaining the regulatory
requirement assures that this important
data field is completed by all OTS-
regulated filers, including any majority-
owned savings association service
corporations or affiliates.’’ 16 As a result,
the OTS continued to require that
savings associations and other OTS
regulated filers required to keep HMDA
LARs pursuant to part 203 to report the
‘‘reason for denial’’ for all loan denials.
Part 528 was among the regulations
that were transferred to the FDIC from
the OTS on July 21, 2011, pursuant to
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khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
6 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5412(b)(2)(B)(i)(II).
7 12 U.S.C. 1813(q).
8 76 FR 47652 (Aug. 5, 2011).
9 37 FR 8436 (Apr. 3 1972).
10 43 FR 22332 (May 25, 1978).
11 43 FR 22332 (May 25, 1978).
12 In 1996, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), in accordance with the
President’s initiative on regulatory reinvention and
reform which requires deletion of nonbinding
guidance or explanations, entirely eliminated
HUD’s part 109 (Advertising Guidelines), which
provided a variety of nonbinding suggestions and
examples of advertising practices that would violate
the FHA. 61 FR 14378 (April 1, 1996).
13 The updates followed the passage of the
Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and
Enforcement Act of 1989. Public Law 101–73, 103
Stat. 183 (1989).
14 57 FR 40352 (Sept. 3, 1992).
15 See 12 CFR 203.4(c) (1993).
16 58 FR 4309 (Jan. 14, 1993).
Although section 312(b)(2)(B)(i)(II) of
the Dodd-Frank Act 6 granted the OCC
rulemaking authority relating to both
State and Federal savings associations,
nothing in the Dodd-Frank Act affected
the FDIC’s existing authority to issue
regulations under the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act (FDI Act) and other laws
as the ‘‘appropriate Federal banking
agency’’ or under similar statutory
terminology. Section 312(c) of the Dodd-
Frank Act amended the definition of
‘‘appropriate Federal banking agency’’
contained in section 3(q) of the FDI Act 7
to add State savings associations to the
list of entities for which the FDIC is
designated as the ‘‘appropriate Federal
banking agency.’’ As a result, when the
FDIC acts as the designated
‘‘appropriate Federal banking agency’’
(or under similar terminology) for State
savings associations, as it does here, the
FDIC is authorized to issue, modify and
rescind regulations involving such
associations, insured State nonmember
banks, and insured branches of foreign
banks.
As noted, on June 14, 2011, operating
pursuant to this authority, the FDIC’s
Board of Directors reissued and
redesignated certain transferred OTS
regulations. These transferred OTS
regulations were published as new FDIC
regulations in the Federal Register on
August 5, 2011.8 When it republished
the transferred OTS regulations as new
FDIC regulations, the FDIC specifically
noted that its staff would evaluate the
transferred OTS regulations and might
later recommend incorporating them
into other FDIC regulations, amending
them, or rescinding them, as
appropriate.
One of the OTS rules transferred to
the FDIC requires State savings
associations to not discriminate with
respect to lending, employment, and
other services provided. The OTS rule,
formerly found at 12 CFR part 528 (part
528), was transferred to the FDIC with
only technical changes and is now
found in the FDIC’s rules at part 390,
subpart G, entitled ‘‘Nondiscrimination
Requirements.’’ Although few
provisions of part 390, subpart G have
a direct counterpart within the FDIC’s
regulations, the provisions are largely
duplicative of regulations implementing
federal laws (ECOA, FHA, EEOA, and
other laws concerning
nondiscrimination in lending,
employment, and services)
implemented by other agencies. After
careful review of part 390, subpart G,
the FDIC proposes to rescind and
remove part 390, subpart G, because, as
discussed below, it is duplicative,
unnecessary, and burdensome to require
State savings associations to comply
with additional requirements to which
insured State nonmember banks are not
subject. The FDIC also proposes to
makes technical conforming edits to
part 338 to encompass State savings
associations and update the regulation.
FDIC’s Existing 12 CFR Part 338 and
Former OTS Part 528 (Transferred to
FDIC Part 390, Subpart G)
The Fair Housing Act of 1968
prohibits discrimination concerning the
sale, rental and financing of housing
based on race, religion, national origin
or sex. Section 808 of the FHA directed
all executive departments and agencies
to administer their programs relating to
housing and urban development
(including any Federal agency having
regulatory or supervisory authority over
financial institutions, e.g., the OTS’
predecessor, the Federal Home Loan
Bank Board (FHLBB)) in a manner to
further the purposes of the FHA.
Effective May 1, 1972, the FHLBB
amended Chapter V, subchapter B of
Title 12, by issuing a new section part
528 which prohibited ‘‘discrimination
by member institutions in their lending
and employment practices and in their
advertising and requiring that such
institutions display an Equal Housing
Lender Poster.’’ 9
Following this initial issuance of part
528 in 1972, in 1978 the FHLBB
finalized major amendments to the
regulation to update and strengthen its
nondiscrimination in lending
regulations to reflect provisions of the
FHA, ECOA, and the Community
Reinvestment Act (CRA) and to
‘‘strengthen the Bank Board’s ability to
enforce member institutions’
compliance with these and other
Federal laws which prohibit
discriminatory lending practices.’’ 10
Specifically, these amendments to the
FHLBB’s fair lending regulation: ‘‘(1)
[p]rohibit member institutions from
automatically refusing to lend because
of the age or location of a dwelling; (2)
prohibit loan decisions based on
discriminatory appraisals; (3) emphasize
that there is a right to file a written loan
application; (4) require member
institutions to have written loan
underwriting standards which are
available to the public upon request; (5)
revise the Equal Housing Lender poster
which member institutions display in
their lobbies; and (6) establish a new
monitoring system for fair lending
enforcement and analysis.’’ 11
In 1993, following the President’s
order for federal agencies to review all
Federal regulations and policies to
eliminate over-burdensome regulations
that discourage economic growth,12 the
OTS (as successor to the FHLBB) 13
updated part 528 to eliminate certain
definitions that were deemed
unnecessary and amended § 528.6,
regarding compliance with Home
Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) loan/
application registers (LARs).
Commenters favored elimination of the
nondiscrimination disclosure
requirements of § 528.6, arguing it was
duplicative of the requirements set forth
in 12 CFR part 203, which made HMDA
requirements applicable to savings
associations. In its proposed rule, the
OTS stated that its own ‘‘loan
application register’’ was ‘‘more
comprehensive than required by
Regulation C’’ and that ‘‘the additional
register information is useful to
examiners’’ but also stated that the
additional information was available to
examiners through other means.14 In its
final rule, the OTS agreed that part
528.6 was substantially duplicative of
HMDA part 203 but disagreed that the
OTS’ requirement to report ‘‘reason for
denial’’ is unnecessary. At the time,
reporting the reason for denial was
optional under Regulation C.15 The OTS
argued that ‘‘[t]he ‘reason for denial’
provides us with useful information that
assists the examination process. We
believe that retaining the regulatory
requirement assures that this important
data field is completed by all OTS-
regulated filers, including any majority-
owned savings association service
corporations or affiliates.’’ 16 As a result,
the OTS continued to require that
savings associations and other OTS
regulated filers required to keep HMDA
LARs pursuant to part 203 to report the
‘‘reason for denial’’ for all loan denials.
Part 528 was among the regulations
that were transferred to the FDIC from
the OTS on July 21, 2011, pursuant to
VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:00 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 250001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\25SEP1.SGM 25SEP1
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS