View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 2900-0891	ICR Reference No: 202106-2900-014
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No:
Agency/Subagency: VA	Agency Tracking No: VBA-LGY-NK
Title: COVID-19 Refund Modification
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Emergency	Approval Requested By: 07/30/2021
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 07/30/2021
	Date Received in OIRA: 07/29/2021
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	01/31/2022	6 Months From Approved
Responses	17,200	0	0
Time Burden (Hours)	25,800	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	869,116	0	0

Abstract: VA anticipates tens of thousands of Veterans will be exiting forbearance in the coming months and will require the COVID-19 Refund Modification to help avoid foreclosure of their homes. VA is temporarily expanding the list of loan modification options available to servicers that do not require VA’s prior approval to include a new loan modification, the COVID-19 Refund Modification, to assist certain COVID-impacted veterans as they exit a COVID-19 forbearance. Under 38 U.S.C. 3720(a)(2), Congress has provided the Secretary with discretion “[n]otwithstanding the provisions of any other law” to set the terms and conditions to which the Secretary will consent to loan modifications. Additionally, while VA has outlined in regulation at 38 CFR 36.4315(a) the terms of loan modifications that do not require prior VA approval, VA may waive a regulatory requirement if VA finds the interest of the Government are not adversely affected and such waiver would relieve undue prejudice to a debtor, holder, or other person without impairing the vest rights of any person affected. 38 CFR 36.4338(a).

Emergency Justfication: To further assist Veterans with VA-guaranteed loans retain their homes, VA is temporarily expanding the list of loan modification options that do not require VA’s prior approval to include a new loan modification, the COVID-19 Refund Modification, to assist certain COVID-impacted Veterans as they exit a COVID-19 forbearance. To ensure that servicers are able to implement this new modification in time to assist the large number of borrowers exiting forbearance this summer/fall, VA plans to announce the COVID-19 Refund Modification via VA Circular in early- to mid-July with an effective date of July 27, 2021. This timeline is being coordinated by an interagency working group led by the Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council to ensure that all federal housing agencies release guidance this summer offering additional home retention options to borrowers with federally backed mortgages. As outlined in the VA Circular, servicers will be required to prepare and execute a note and security instrument on behalf of VA as part of this new modification, which includes a VA purchase of past due payments and, in some cases, unpaid principal. Servicers will also be required to provide VA with both legal documents and report the actions taken to bring the defaulted loan current in VA’s electronic loan servicing system (VALERI). As part of this administrative action, VA is requesting emergency approval of a new information collection (IC) that is associated with servicers (and Veterans) preparing, executing, and providing the required loan documents to VA. Much like VA’s recently published COVID-19 Veterans Assistance Partial Claim Payment program (COVID-VAPCP), and its accompanying IC requirements under OMB control number 2900-0889, this new IC does not require any specific form. Rather, VA will accept any note and security instrument that meet the requirements outlined in VA’s Circular guidance. The terms VA requires for the note and security instrument for the COVID-19 Refund Modification and the COVID-VAPCP are identical; the only differences are who is eligible for each program and what amounts can be included in the loan repayable to VA (e.g., past due payments, unpaid principal). In addition to the new IC request, VA is requesting emergency approval of a revision to existing OMB control number 2900-0021. Under this IC, servicers are already required to report activity on every VA-guaranteed loan in their servicing portfolio, regardless of the home retention option pursued. The amendment to this IC merely adds additional data elements to existing reporting requirements/loss mitigation events to facilitate reporting and oversight of the COVID-19 Refund Modification, as well as payment of the COVID-19 Refund. Given the time constraints associated with launching this new modification option, VA is developing technology requirements that will deliver a minimally viable product (MVP) to enable servicers to report data elements associated with executing the COVID-19 Refund Modification and requesting VA purchase of past due payments and, if necessary, unpaid principal. In order to deliver an MVP on time, VA will ask servicers to utilize existing loss mitigation events; that is, the Partial Claim and Loss Mitigation events to report necessary data elements. Both events already collect from servicers the information relevant to reporting the execution of the COVID-19 Refund Modification. VA plans, however, to add a drop-down indicator to the Partial Claim event to allow it to track that the event being reported is a COVID-19 Refund Modification. VA also plans to add an additional data element to the Partial Claim event to collect information regarding any amounts of unpaid principal included in the COVID-19 Refund request.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 38 USC 3720(a)(2)

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
COVID - 19 Refund Modification

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion
Annual Number of Responses	17,200	17,200
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	25,800	25,800
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	869,116	869,116

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This is a new collection.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $351,740

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Yes

Agency Contact: Maribel Aponte 202 266-4688 maribel.aponte@va.gov

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