Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Renewal; Comment Request; Privacy of Consumer Financial Information

AGENCY:

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 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 respondents are 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, “Privacy of Consumer Financial Information.”

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before August 1, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• Email: prainfo@occ.treas.gov.

• Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-0216, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.

• Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.

• Fax: (571) 465-4326.

Instructions: You must include “OCC” as the agency name and “1557-0216” in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish comments on www.reginfo.gov 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.

Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, the OCC will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period. You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to this information collection beginning on the date of publication of the second notice for this collection by the method set forth in the next bullet.

• Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. Hover over the “Information Collection Review” 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 by OMB control number “1557-0216” or “Privacy of Consumer Financial Information.” 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.

• For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482-7340.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shaquita Merritt, Clearance Officer, (202) 649-5490 or, for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired, TTY, (202) 649-5597, 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, 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. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the OCC is publishing notice of the renewal of the collection of information set forth in this document.

Title: Privacy of Consumer Financial Information.

OMB Control No.: 1557-0216.

Description: The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Act) (Pub. L. 106-102) requires this information collection. Regulation P (12 CFR part 1016), a regulation promulgated by the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB), implements the Act's notice requirements and restrictions on a financial institution's ability to disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties.

The information collection requirements in 12 CFR part 1016 are as follows:

§ 1016.4(a) Initial privacy notice to consumers requirement —A national bank or Federal savings association must provide a clear and conspicuous notice to customers and consumers that accurately reflects its privacy policies and practices.

§ 1016.5(a)(1) Annual privacy notice to customers requirement —A national bank or Federal savings association must provide a clear and conspicuous notice to customers that accurately reflects its privacy policies and practices not less than annually during the continuation of the customer relationship.

§ 1016.8 Revised privacy notices —A national bank or Federal savings association must not disclose any nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party in a way that is inconsistent with the notices previously given to a consumer unless the institution has provided the consumer with a clear and conspicuous revised notice of the institution's policies and practices, the institution has provided the consumer with a new opt out notice, the institution has given the consumer a reasonable opportunity to opt out of the disclosure, and the consumer has not opted out.

§ 1016.7(a) Form of opt out notice to consumers; opt out methods—Form of opt out notice If a national bank or Federal savings association is required to provide an opt out notice under § 1016.10(a), it must provide to each of its consumers a clear and conspicuous notice that accurately explains the right to opt out under that section. The notice must state:

• That the national bank or Federal savings association discloses or reserves the right to disclose nonpublic personal information about its consumer to a nonaffiliated third party;
• That the consumer has the right to opt out of that disclosure; and
• A reasonable means by which the consumer may exercise the opt out right.

A national bank or Federal savings association provides a reasonable means to exercise an opt out right if it:

• Designates check-off boxes on the relevant forms with the opt out notice;
• Includes a reply form with the opt out notice;
• Provides an electronic means to opt out; or
• Provides a toll-free number that consumers may call to opt out.

§§ 1016.10(a)(1) and (2) and 1016.10(c)—Limits on disclosure of nonpublic personal information to nonaffiliated parties —A national bank or Federal savings association may not disclose any nonpublic personal information about a consumer to a nonaffiliated third party unless the institution has provided the consumer with an initial notice under § 1016.4, the institution has provided the consumer with a opt out notice, the institution has given the consumer a reasonable opportunity to opt out of the disclosure, and the consumer has not opted out. A customer may direct one of the following forms of opt out:

• Opt out—Consumers may direct that the national bank or Federal savings association not disclose nonpublic personal information about them to a nonaffiliated third party, other than permitted by §§ 1016.13-1016.15.
• Partial opt out—Consumers may exercise partial opt out rights by selecting certain nonpublic personal information or certain nonaffiliated third parties with respect to which the consumer wishes to opt out.

§§ 1016.7(h) and 1016.7(i) Continuing right to opt out and Duration of right to opt out —A consumer may exercise the right to opt out at any time. A consumer's direction to opt out is effective until the consumer revokes it in writing or, if the consumer agrees, electronically. When a customer relationship terminates, the customer's opt out direction continues to apply to the nonpublic personal information collected during or related to that relationship. If the consumer subsequently establishes a new customer relationship with the institution, the opt out direction that applied to the former relationship does not apply to the new relationship.

Type of Review: Regular.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit; individuals.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 2,451,659.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 626,011.25 hours.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. Comments are 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.