2021 Reg B Supporting Statement

Federal Trade Commission
Supporting Statement for Information Collection Provisions of Regulation B
(Equal Credit Opportunity Act)
12 C.F.R. Pt. 202; 12 C.F.R. Pt. 1002
OMB Control Number: 3084-0087
1.

Necessity for Collecting the Information

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”), 15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq., was enacted to
ensure that credit is made available to all creditworthy applicants without discrimination on the
basis of sex, marital status, race, color, religion, national origin, or age. The ECOA also
prohibits discrimination because an applicant’s income is derived from a public assistance
program, or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer
Credit Protection Act.
The ECOA applies to anyone who regularly extends or arranges for the extension of
credit and to an assignee who participates in the decision to extend credit, including mortgage
lenders, mortgage brokers, finance companies and others. 1 Subject to the discussion below, the
Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) enforces the ECOA as to all creditors
except those (such as federally chartered or insured depository institutions) that are subject to the
regulatory authority of another federal agency. The ECOA also contains a private right of action
with a five-year statute of limitations for aggrieved applicants.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Board”) promulgated the
original Regulation B (12 C.F.R. Part 202) to implement the ECOA, as required by the statute.
Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”),
Pub. L. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010), however, almost all rulemaking authority for the ECOA
transferred from the Board to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) on July 21,
2011 (“transfer date”). Although the Dodd-Frank Act transferred most rulemaking authority
under ECOA to the CFPB, the Board retained rulemaking authority for certain motor vehicle
dealers. 2 The CFPB’s regulations for entities under its jurisdiction for Regulation B appear in 12
C.F.R. Part 1002. 3
1
The law applies to a person who, in the normal course of business, regularly participates in a credit decision,
including setting the terms of credit. See 12 C.F.R. 202.2(l); 12 C.F.R. 1002.2(l). It includes all persons
participating in the credit decision. It may include an assignee or potential purchaser of the obligation who
influences the credit decision by indicating whether or not it will purchase the obligation if the transaction is
consummated. Section 202.2(l)-1 of the Board Official Staff Commentary; Section 1002.2(l)-1 of the CFPB Official
Staff Commentary.

Generally, these are dealers “predominantly engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and
servicing of motor vehicles, or both.” See Dodd-Frank Act, § 1029(a), -(c), 12 U.S.C. 5519(a), (c).

2

Because both the Board and the CFPB have certain rulemaking authority under Regulation B – as discussed
further below – citations to both aspects of the regulation are included in this document. Hence, 12 C.F.R. part 202
refers to the Board-issued Regulation B; 12 C.F.R. part 1002 refers to the CFPB-issued Regulation B. Generally,
these two aspects of Regulation B are virtually identical, other than occasional minor technical differences, and
citations.
3

As a result of the Dodd-Frank Act, the FTC and the CFPB generally share the authority
to enforce Regulation B for entities for which the FTC had enforcement authority before the Act,
except for certain motor vehicle dealers 4 and certain state-chartered credit unions. 5 The FTC
generally has sole authority to enforce Regulation B regarding motor vehicle dealers
predominantly engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and servicing of
motor vehicles, or both. 6
Recordkeeping
Sections 202.12(b)/1002.12(b) of Regulation B require creditors to retain records relating
to consumer credit applications for 25 months from the date that the applicant is notified of the
action taken on the application or, where notice is not required, for 25 months from the date of
the application. When a creditor takes adverse action on an existing account, the creditor must
retain records for 25 months after the applicant is notified of the action taken. Records of
business credit applications must be retained for comparable 12-month periods, with certain
exceptions. Regulation B also requires creditors who have been informed that they are the
subject of an investigation by the FTC (or another agency) regarding their compliance with the
ECOA to retain such records until the agency or a court informs the creditor that retention is no
longer necessary. Regulation B also requires creditors to retain certain prescreened solicitation
materials for 25 months after the date on which an offer of credit is made to potential customers
(12 months for business credit, with certain exceptions). 7 Moreover, Regulation B requires
creditors to retain all written or recorded information about a self-test (including corrective
action), as defined in Sections 202.15/1002.15 of Regulation B, for 25 months after a self-test
has been completed (and longer under some circumstances).
Sections 202.13/1002.13 of Regulation B require that creditors who receive applications
for certain mortgage credit requests, as part of the application process, obtain information about
the applicant’s race/national origin, sex, marital status, and age. The applicant is asked but not
required to supply the information. If the applicant chooses not to provide the information or
See Dodd-Frank Act § 1029(a), as limited by subsection (b) as to motor vehicle dealers. Subsection (b) does not
preclude CFPB regulatory oversight regarding, among others, businesses that extend retail credit or retail leases for
motor vehicles in which the credit or lease offered is provided directly from those businesses to consumers, where
the contract is not routinely assigned to unaffiliated third parties. .

4

The FTC’s enforcement authority includes state-chartered credit unions. In varying ways, other federal agencies
also have enforcement authority over state-chartered credit unions. For example, for large credit unions (exceeding
$10 billion in assets), the CFPB has certain authority. The National Credit Union Administration also has certain
authority for state-chartered federally insured credit unions, and it additionally provides insurance for certain statechartered credit unions through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund and examines state-chartered credit
unions for various purposes. See generally Dodd-Frank Act, §§ 1061, 1025, 1026.
5

6

See Dodd-Frank Act, § 1029(a), (c). 12 U.S.C. 5519(a), (c).

The records generally are already retained by creditors in connection with their business operations in part due to
the credit extension that will be made to responding applicants.

7

2

any part of it, the creditor must note that fact on the form and must note the applicant’s
race/national origin and sex, to the extent that it is possible to determine these characteristics
based on a visual observation or a surname. The creditor is required to inform the applicant that
the information is sought by the federal government to help monitor compliance with federal
statutes that prohibit creditors from discriminating against applicants based on the above-noted
factors. 8
The recordkeeping requirement ensures that records that might contain evidence of
violations of the ECOA remain available to the FTC, other agencies, and private litigants.
Disclosure 9
Sections 202.9/1002.9 of Regulation B require creditors to provide notice (within
specified time periods) to applicants for credit against whom adverse action is taken. 10
Generally, the required notice must be in writing and contain: a statement of the action taken; the
name and address of the creditor; a statement describing the anti-discrimination provisions of the
ECOA; the name and address of the federal agency that administers compliance as to the
creditor; and either a statement of specific reasons for the action taken or a notice of the
applicant's right to obtain such a statement.
Sections 202.10/1002.10 of Regulation B require creditors that furnish credit information
to consumer reporting agencies to designate accounts to reflect the participation of both spouses,
if the applicant’s spouse is permitted to use or is contractually liable on the account.
Sections 202.14/1002.14 of Regulation B require that creditors provide applicants for a
mortgage loan with a first lien on the dwelling a copy of the appraisal report or other written
valuation prepared in connection with an application. 11 The material must be furnished promptly
but no later than three business days prior to consummation of the transaction (closed-end credit)
or account opening (open-end credit), whichever is earlier. The requirement that the creditor
provide a copy of the appraisal report or other written valuation, for a loan secured by a first lien
on a dwelling, is statutorily mandated by Section 1691(e) of the ECOA.
Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, 15 U.S.C. 1691c-2, amended the ECOA to require financial institutions to
collect and report information concerning credit applications by women- or minority-owned businesses and small
businesses, effective on the July 21, 2011 transfer date. Both the Board and CFPB have exempted affected entities
from complying with this requirement until a date set by the prospective final rules these agencies issue to
implement it. The Commission will address PRA burden for its enforcement of the requirement after the Board and
CFPB have issued the associated final rules.
8

Regulation B permits many disclosures to be made orally. Any required written disclosures must be made clearly
and conspicuously and in a form the applicant can retain.

9

10
For incomplete applications, creditors may initially provide the adverse action notice or a notice of
incompleteness.

While the rule also requires the creditor to provide a short written disclosure regarding the appraisal process, the
disclosure is now provided by the CFPB, and is thus not a “collection of information” for PRA purposes. See 5
C.F.R. 1320.3(c)(2). Accordingly, it is not included in burden estimates below.
11

3

Under Sections 202.5(b)/1002.5(b) and 202.15/1002.15 of Regulation B, creditors that
collect applicant characteristics for purposes of conducting a self-test under Regulation B must
disclose, orally or in writing, that providing the information is optional, that the creditor will not
take into account the information in any aspect of the credit transactions, and, if applicable, that
the information will be noted by visual observation or surname, if the applicant chooses not to
provide it.
The requirement that spousal credit history information on shared accounts be reported
under both spouses’ names (if it is reported at all) is intended to ensure that each spouse has the
benefit of that shared credit history from which to seek and obtain further credit. The
requirement that a notice of adverse action be provided assists applicants in detecting unlawful
discrimination, correcting errors that may have occurred in the evaluation of their applications,
and learning how to become more creditworthy. The requirement that information about the
race/national origin, sex, marital status, and age of applicants be collected helps the FTC, other
enforcement agencies, and private litigants to determine whether creditors discriminated against
applicants on those bases. The collateral requirement that applicants be notified of the purpose
for collecting this information helps to ensure that the information is provided. The applicants’
copy of the appraisal or other written valuation allows applicants to determine the role that the
appraisal played in the credit decision. The self-testing disclosure helps applicants understand
the nature of the information collection process.
The Board and CFPB have issued model forms that may be used to comply with the
notice requirements of the ECOA and Regulation B. See Appendices B and C to 12 C.F.R. Part
202/1002. Correct use of these model forms insulates creditors from liability for the respective
requirements under the ECOA and Regulation B. Id.
2.

Use of the Information

The FTC, other agencies, and private litigants use recordkeeping information to compare
accepted and rejected applicants in order to determine whether applicants are treated less
favorably on the basis of race, sex, age, or other prohibited bases under the ECOA. Information
derived from these records has been the primary evidence of law violations in most of the ECOA
enforcement actions brought by the FTC. Self-testing records (including for corrective action)
are used by creditors to identify potential violations and reflect their efforts to correct the
problem. Absent the Regulation B requirement that creditors retain monitoring information, the
FTC’s ability to detect unlawful discrimination and enforce the ECOA would be significantly
impaired.
The adverse action notice requirement apprises applicants of their rights under the ECOA
and of the basis for a creditor’s decision. Applicants use their copy of the appraisal to review
(and possibly challenge) the accuracy and/or fairness of the information contained within, and to
determine the role that the appraisal played in the credit decision. Applicants use the self-testing
disclosure to facilitate understanding of creditors’ information collection, including its
4

optionality. These disclosures are necessary for the FTC and private litigants to enforce the
ECOA.
3.

Consideration of the Use of Improved Information Technology

The Board and CFPB have issued rules to establish uniform standards for using
electronic communication to deliver disclosures required under Regulation B, within the context
of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (“ESIGN”), 15 U.S.C. 7001
et seq., and Sections 202.4(d)/1002.4(d) of Regulation B. These rules enable businesses to
utilize electronic disclosures and compliance, consistent with the requirements of ESIGN. Use
of such electronic communications is also consistent with the Government Paperwork
Elimination Act (“GPEA”), codified at 44 U.S.C. 3504, note. ESIGN and GPEA serve to reduce
businesses’ compliance burden related to federal requirements, including Regulation B, by
enabling creditors to utilize more efficient electronic media for disclosures and compliance.
Regulation B also permits a creditor to retain records as “carbon copies, photocopies,
microfilm or microfiche copies, or copies produced by any other accurate retrieval system, such
as documents stored and reproduced by computer.” Section 202.12(b)-1 of the Board
Commentary; Section 1002.12(b)-1 of the CFPB Commentary. In addition, Regulation B
permits a creditor to record the information required for monitoring purposes “by recording on
paper or by means of computer . . . .” Section 202.13(b)-2 of the Board Commentary; Section
1002.13(b)-2 of the CFPB Commentary.
4.

Efforts to Identify Duplication/Availability of Similar Information

The recordkeeping requirement of Regulation B preserves the information considered by
the creditor in deciding whether to extend credit or terminate an existing credit account. The
creditor is the only source of this information, and no other federal law mandates its retention.
State laws do not duplicate these requirements. 12 Similarly, the creditor is the only source of the
information provided by appraisal reports, adverse action notices, and self-testing information,
and no other federal law mandates provision of the report (in a fully duplicative manner) or the
disclosure nor is staff aware of any state law mandating this information. 13
12
Regarding prescreened solicitations, Section 615(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) requires retention
of some, but not identical, information required by the ECOA. Among other things, the FCRA requires persons who
use information in consumer reports to select consumers to receive certain offers of credit to maintain the criteria
used to select the consumer, for three years from the date the credit offer is made. The ECOA focuses on creditors,
includes certain business applicants, and also addresses the solicitation including the text and any related complaints.
The Board and CFPB issued these rules to ensure that creditors would retain all necessary information for
enforcement and avoidance of circumvention of the ECOA.

The requirement in ECOA to provide applicants with copies of written appraisals, in part, duplicates a
requirement in the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) to provide copies of written appraisals for certain higher-priced
mortgage loans, 15 U.S.C. 1639h. The Dodd-Frank Act amended both ECOA and TILA to add the appraisal rules
that overlap only in part. For example, the ECOA appraisal rule applies to those transactions that meet all of the
following conditions: (1) first liens; (2) involving business or consumer transactions; and (3) that are open-end or
13

5

Regulation C under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (“HMDA”) requires mortgage
lenders subject to that Act to collect and report information about the race or national origin and
sex of applicants. The data collection requirements of HMDA are similar, but not identical to,
those of the ECOA. However, the FTC has no enforcement authority for HMDA, and ordinarily
has no right to obtain this information except to the extent that it becomes publicly available.
Moreover, the HMDA information released publicly does not include identifying information
about individual applicants. Thus, the HDMA monitoring information is less useful to FTC staff
in its enforcement efforts than is the ECOA monitoring information. The creditor is also the
only source of the credit history reporting information regarding the applicant’s spouse.
5.

Efforts to Minimize Burdens on Small Businesses

The ECOA and Regulation B accord special treatment to creditors that receive fewer than
150 applications each year. Sections 202.9(d)/1002.9(d) of the Regulation states that such
creditors may provide required notices to rejected applicants orally rather than in writing. Where
fewer written records are required to be created, the recordkeeping burden is correspondingly
reduced. In addition, Sections 202.3(c)/1002.3(c) of the Regulation exempts providers of
incidental credit, such as a doctor or lawyer who allows a patient or client to defer payment of a
bill, from many requirements including notifications under Sections 202.9/1002.9 of the
Regulation and recordkeeping. The requirements to collect monitoring information and to
provide a copy of the appraisal report apply to all creditors who extend applicable mortgage
credit. There is no exception based on creditor size.
Additionally, as noted above, Regulation B provides model forms that may be used in
compliance with its requirements. Correct use of these forms insulates creditors from liability
from the respective requirements.
6.

Consequences of Conducting Collection Less Frequently

The current record retention period of 25 months supports the five-year statute of
limitations for private actions, and the FTC’s (and other administrative agencies’) need for
sufficient time to bring enforcement actions regarding ECOA issues. If the retention period were
shortened, applicants who sue under the ECOA, and administrative agencies that enforce the
closed-end mortgages. The TILA appraisal rule applies to those loans that meet all of the following conditions: (1)
any lien; (2) involving consumer transactions; and (3) that are higher-priced mortgage loans (HPMLs) (a type of
closed-end credit) under TILA and that are not exempt under those rules (such as bridge loans, reverse mortgages,
loans for $25,000 or less as indexed each year for inflation, and any mortgage that constitutes a qualified mortgage
under TILA or that meets rules on qualified mortgages issued by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban
Development, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, or U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs). However, where duplicative
requirements apply (e.g., for consumer credit that involves first lien, closed-end HPMLs that are also non-exempt
under the TILA appraisal rules), creditors can provide one appraisal, based upon the applicable rules. See CFPB,
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) Valuations Rule, Small Entity Compliance Guide (Jan. 13, 2014), and CFPB,
TILA Higher-Priced Mortgage Loans (HPML) Appraisal Rule, Small Entity Compliance Guide (Jan. 13, 2014).
This approach ensures that applicants will receive a copy of the required appraisal, and it also limits burden to
creditors.

6

ECOA, might find that the records needed to prove ECOA violations no longer exist.
Were the requirement that creditors provide notice of adverse action eliminated,
applicants could be deprived of the right to receive timely notice of the creditor’s decision, the
reasons for any adverse action by the creditor, and the applicants’ rights under the ECOA.
Eliminating the requirement that creditors provide a copy of the appraisal report or notice of its
availability would greatly impair applicants’ ability to assess the report’s impact on the creditor’s
decision and to challenge it in timely fashion. Were the requirement that creditors collect
information about an applicant's race or national origin eliminated or changed, the creditor would
still have access to this information when obtained through a face-to-face interview with the
applicant and could use the information to discriminate. However, the FTC and others seeking
to enforce compliance with the ECOA would not have that information and would thereby be
disadvantaged. Eliminating the self-test disclosure could disadvantage consumers who may then
not understand the purpose of the information being collected, or their option not to provide it.
Finally, eliminating the credit history reporting requirement regarding spouses with shared
accounts would undermine the goal of affording both spouses the benefit of that shared credit
history in seeking further credit.
7.

Circumstances Requiring Collection Inconsistent with Guidelines

Regulation B’s recordkeeping and disclosure requirements are consistent with the
guidelines contained in 5 C.F.R. 1320.5(d)(2).
8.

Consultation Outside the Agency

Both the recordkeeping and the notice requirements of Regulation B were issued by the
Board and CFPB. Before the regulation was initially issued and prior to each amendment, the
amendments were published for public comment in the Federal Register.
More recently, the Commission sought public comment in connection with its latest
Paperwork Reduction Act (“PRA”) clearance request for these regulations, in accordance with 5
C.F.R. 1320.8(d). See 86 Fed. Reg. 26,725 (May 17, 2021). No relevant comments were
received. Consistent with 5 C.F.R. 1320.12(c), the FTC is again seeking public comment
contemporaneously with this submission.
9.

Payments or Gifts to Respondents
Not applicable.

10. & 11.

Assurances of Confidentiality/Matters of a Sensitive Nature

The required recordkeeping and written disclosures contain private financial information
about applicants for consumer credit. This information is protected by the Right to Financial
Privacy Act, 12 U.S.C. 3401 et seq. Such records may also constitute confidential customer lists.
7

Any of these records provided to the FTC would be covered by the protections of Sections 6(f)
and 21 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f) and 57b-2, by Section 4.10 of the Commission’s Rules of
Practice, 16 C.F.R. 4.10, and by the applicable exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act, 5
U.S.C. 552(b).
12.

Estimated Hours and Labor Cost Burden

Estimated Hours Burden: 1,797,798 (708,886 recordkeeping hours + 1,088,912
disclosure hours)
Given their generally shared enforcement jurisdiction for Regulation B, 14 the CFPB and
the FTC have divided the FTC’s previously cleared PRA burden estimates between them, except
that the FTC has assumed all of the burden estimates associated with motor vehicle dealers and
also, when appropriate, regarding estimated burden for state-chartered credit unions.. 15 The
division of PRA burden hours not attributable to motor vehicle dealers and, when appropriate, to
state-chartered credit unions, is reflected in the CFPB’s PRA clearance requests to OMB, 16 as
well as in the FTC’s burden estimates below.
The following discussion and ensuing tables present the FTC’s estimates of PRA
recordkeeping and disclosure burden (average time and labor costs) for this very broad spectrum
of covered entities. These estimates exclude time and labor costs that the FTC believes those
entities incur customarily in the normal course of business 17 as well as information compiled and
produced in response to FTC law enforcement investigations or prosecutions. 18

14

See supra notes 4 and 5 and accompanying text.

15
As of the fourth quarter of 2020, FTC staff estimates that there were approximately 2,126 state-chartered credit
unions – 1,914 which were federally insured, an estimated 112 or more which were privately insured, and an
estimated 100 or more in Puerto Rico which were insured by a quasi-governmental entity. Because of the difficulty
in parsing out PRA burden for such entities in view of agencies’ overlapping enforcement authority (see supra note
5 and accompanying text), the FTC’s estimates include PRA burden for all state-chartered credit unions. However,
in view of fluctuations due to COVID-19 and to avoid undercounting, we have retained the prior estimate of 2,300
state-chartered credit unions. Similarly, because it is not practicable for PRA purposes to estimate the portion of
motor vehicle dealers that engage in one form of financing versus another (and that would or would not be subject to
CFPB oversight), the FTC staff’s PRA burden analysis reflects a general estimated volume of motor vehicle dealers.
These attributions of burden estimation for motor vehicle dealers and state-chartered credit unions do not bear on
actual enforcement authority.
16

OMB Control Number 3170-0013 (Regulation B).

PRA “burden” does not include “time, effort, and financial resources” expended in the normal course of business,
regardless of any regulatory requirements. See 5 C.F.R. 1320.3(b)(2).

17

See 5 C.F.R. 1320.4(a) (excluding information collected in response to, among other things, a federal civil action
or “during the conduct of an administrative action, investigation, or audit involving an agency against specific
individuals or entities”).

18

8

Recordkeeping
FTC staff estimates that Regulation B’s general recordkeeping requirements affect
530,762 credit firms subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction, at an average annual burden of
1.25 hours per firm for a total of 663,453 hours. 19 Staff also estimates that the requirement that
mortgage creditors monitor information about race/national origin, sex, age, and marital status
imposes a maximum burden of one minute each (of skilled technical time) for approximately 2.6
million credit applications (based on industry data regarding the approximate number of
mortgage purchase and refinance originations), for a total of 43,333 hours. 20 Staff also estimates
that recordkeeping of self-testing subject to the regulation would affect 1,500 firms, with an
average annual burden of one hour (of skilled technical time) per firm, for a total of 1,500 hours,
and that recordkeeping of any corrective action as a result of self-testing would affect 10% of
them, i.e., 150 firms, with an average annual burden of four hours (of skilled technical time) per
firm, for a total of 600 hours. 21 This yields a total annual recordkeeping burden of 708,886
hours.
Disclosure
Regulation B requires that creditors (i.e., entities that regularly participate in the decision
whether to extend credit under Regulation B) provide notices whenever they take adverse action,
such as denial of a credit application. It requires entities that extend mortgage credit with first
liens to provide a copy of the appraisal report or other written valuation to applicants. 22
Regulation B also requires that for accounts that spouses may use or for which they are
contractually liable, creditors who report credit history must do so in a manner reflecting both
spouses’ participation. Further, it requires creditors that collect applicant characteristics for
purposes of conducting a self-test to disclose to those applicants that: (1) providing the
information is optional; (2) the creditor will not take the information into account in any aspect
of the credit transactions; and (3) if applicable, the information will be noted by visual
observation or surname if the applicant chooses not to provide it. 23

19

See supra note 8.

20

Regulation B contains model forms that creditors may use to gather and retain the required information.

In contrast to banks, for example, entities under FTC jurisdiction are not subject to audits by the FTC for
compliance with Regulation B; rather they may be subject to FTC investigations and enforcement actions. This may
impact the level of self-testing (as specifically defined by Regulation B) in a given year, and staff has sought to
address such factors in its burden estimates.
21

22

See supra note 11.

The model form provided by Regulation B assists creditors in providing the written disclosure, which helps to
reduce burden.

23

9

Regulation B: Disclosures – Burden Hours

Disclosures

--------------- Setup/Monitoring1 ----------------------- Transaction-related----------Average
Total Setup/
Average
Total
Burden per
Monitoring
Number of Burden per Transaction
Total
Respondents Respondent
Burden
Transactions Transaction
Burden
Burden
(hours)
(hours)
(minutes)
(hours)
(hours)

Credit history reporting
133,553
Adverse action notices
530,762
Appraisal reports/written valuations 4,650
Self-test disclosures
1,500

.25
.75
1
.5

33,388
398,072
4,650
750

60,098,850
92,883,350
1,725,150
60,000

Total
1

.25
.25
.50
.25

250,412
387,014
14,376
250

283,800
785,086
19,026
1,000
1,088,912

The estimates assume that all applicable entities would be affected, with respect to appraisal reports and other written valuations

Associated labor cost: $65,320,576 ($15,666,176 recordkeeping costs; + $49,654,400
disclosure costs)
Staff calculated labor costs by applying appropriate hourly cost figures to the burden
hours described above. The hourly rates used below ($60 for managerial or professional time,
$44 for skilled technical time, and $18 for clerical time) are averages. 24
Recordkeeping
Staff estimates that the general recordkeeping responsibility of one hour per creditor
would involve approximately 90 percent clerical time and 10 percent skilled technical time.
Keeping records of race/national origin, sex, age, and marital status requires an estimated one
minute of skilled technical time. Keeping records of the self-test responsibility and of any
corrective actions requires an estimated one hour and four hours, respectively, of skilled
technical time. As shown below, the total recordkeeping cost is $15,666,176.
Disclosure
For each notice or information item listed, staff estimates that the burden hours consist of
10 percent managerial or professional time and 90 percent skilled technical time. As shown
below, the total disclosure cost is $49,654,400.

These inputs are based broadly on mean hourly data found within the “Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic
News Release,” March 31, 2021, Table 1, “National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment
Statistics survey by occupation, May 2020.” http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm.
24

10

Regulation B: Recordkeeping and Disclosures – Cost

Required Task

------Managerial-----Time
Cost
(hours)
($60/hr.)

General recordkeeping
Other recordkeeping
Recordkeeping of self-test
Recordkeeping of corrective action
Total Recordkeeping
Disclosures:
Credit history reporting
Adverse action notices
Appraisal reports
Self-test disclosure

0
0
0
0

$0
$0
$0
$0

28,380
78,509
1,903
100

$1,702,800
$4,710,540
$114,180
$6,000

-----Skilled Technical----- --------Clerical-------Time
Cost
Time
Cost
(hours)
($44/hr.)
(hours)
($18/hr.)
66,345
43,333
1,500
600

$2,919,180
$1,906,652
$66,000
$26,400

255,420 $11,238,480
706,577 $31,089,388
17,123
$753,412
900
$39,600

597,108 $10,747,944
0
$0
0
$0
0
$0
0
0
0
0

$0
$0
$0
$0

Total
Cost
($)
$13,667,124
$1,906,652
$66,000
$26,400
$15,666,176
$12,941,280
$35,799,928
$867,592
$45,600

Total Disclosures

$49.654,400

Total Recordkeeping and Disclosures

$65,320,576

13.

Estimated Capital and Other Non-Labor Costs

The applicable requirements impose minimal start-up costs, as lenders generally have or
obtain necessary equipment for other business purposes. For the same reason, staff believes that
the cost of printing and copying needed to comply with Regulation B is minimal. Staff
anticipates that the above requirements necessitate ongoing, regular training so that lenders stay
current and have a clear understanding of federal mandates. This training, however, would be a
small portion of and subsumed within the normal training that employees receive apart from that
associated with collecting information to comply with Regulation B.
14.

Estimated Cost to the Federal Government

The Board and CFPB issued the recordkeeping requirement of Regulation B, so there is
no cost to the FTC for that purpose. Enforcement of the recordkeeping requirements of
Regulation B is incidental to overall enforcement of the ECOA. In the course of compliance
investigations, staff routinely requests records of credit applications. If the records requested are
not available, it indicates that records are not being retained as required. Staff estimates that
enforcing this requirement will cost the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection no more than
$139,231, which is a representative year’s cost of enforcing Regulation B’s requirements during
the three-year clearance period sought. This estimate is based on the assumption that threequarters of one attorney work year will be expended. Clerical and other support services are
included in this estimate.
The Board and CFPB issued the Regulation B disclosure requirements, so there is no cost
to the FTC for that purpose. Regarding enforcement, staff estimates that the cost to the FTC
Bureau of Consumer Protection for this requirement will approximate $324,870. This estimate is
based on the assumption that 1.75 attorney work years will be expended to enforce various
aspects of these rules. Clerical and other support services are also included in this estimate.
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15.

Program Changes or Adjustments

There are no program changes or adjustments. For this clearance renewal period, FTC
staff have updated the labor cost estimates to take into account updated BLS wage data.
16.

Publishing Results of the Collection of Information
Not applicable. There are no plans to publish any information for statistical use.

17.

Display of Expiration Date for OMB Approval
Not applicable.

18.

Exceptions to the Certification for PRA Submissions

The FTC certifies that this collection of information is consistent with the requirements
of 5 C.F.R. 1320.9, and the related provisions of 5 C.F.R. 1320.8(b)(3), and is not seeking an
exception to these certification requirements.

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