TITLE 7. BANKING AND SECURITIES

DIVISION 10. DUTIES AND AUTHORITY OF AUTHORIZED LENDERS

7 TAC §83.828, §83.829

The Finance Commission of Texas (commission) adopts amendments to §83.828 (relating to Files and Records Required (Subchapter E and F Lenders)) and §83.829 (relating to Files and Records Required (Subchapter G Lenders)) in 7 TAC Chapter 83, Subchapter A, concerning Rules for Regulated Lenders.

The commission adopts the amendments to §83.828 and §83.829 without changes to the proposed text as published in the March 6, 2026, issue of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 1351). The rules will not be republished.

The rules in 7 TAC Chapter 83, Subchapter A govern regulated lenders. In general, the purpose of the rule changes to 7 Chapter 83, Subchapter A is to implement changes resulting from the commission's review of the subchapter under Texas Government Code, §2001.039.

Adopted amendments to §83.828 update recordkeeping requirements for regulated lenders making consumer loans that are not secured by real property under Texas Finance Code, Chapter 342, Subchapter E or Subchapter F. Regulated lenders are required to maintain transaction records under Texas Finance Code, §342.558, and are required to allow the OCCC to access records under Texas Finance Code, §342.552. Currently, provisions throughout §83.828 refer to both paper and electronic recordkeeping systems. Amendments throughout §83.828 simplify and rearrange this language to refer to electronic recordkeeping systems before referring to paper systems, based on licensees' increasing use of electronic systems rather than paper systems. Additional amendments to §83.828 relate to data security recordkeeping. An amendment at §83.828(14)(A) specifies that licensees must maintain written policies and procedures for an information security program to protect consumers' customer information, as required by the Federal Trade Commission's Safeguards Rule, 16 C.F.R. part 314. Another amendment at §83.828(14)(B) specifies that if a licensee maintains customer information concerning 5,000 or more consumers, then the licensee must maintain a written incident response plan and written risk assessments, as required by 16 C.F.R. §314.4. An amendment at §83.828(15) specifies that licensees must maintain data breach notifications to consumers and to the Office of the Attorney General under Texas Business & Commerce Code, §521.053. Data security is a crucial issue. The OCCC's 2025-2029 strategic plan includes action items to "[p]romote cybersecurity awareness and best practices among regulated entities" and "[m]onitor cybersecurity incidents and remediation efforts reported by regulated entities." Recent data breaches affecting financial institutions highlight the urgent need for vigilance in this industry. The data security recordkeeping amendments will help ensure that the OCCC can monitor this crucial issue.

Adopted amendments to §83.829 update recordkeeping requirements for regulated lenders making secondary mortgage loans under Texas Finance Code, Chapter 342, Subchapter G. Similarly to the amendments described in the previous paragraph of this preamble, the amendments to §83.829 simplify and rearrange language to refer to electronic recordkeeping before paper systems, specify that licensees must maintain records for an information security program, and specify that licensees must maintain data breach notifications.

In November 2025, the OCCC issued an advance notice of rule review, seeking informal feedback on the rule review. Notice of the review of 7 TAC Chapter 83, Subchapter A was published in the Texas Register on December 5, 2025 (50 TexReg 7925). The OCCC and the commission did not receive any comments in response to these notices.

The OCCC distributed an early precomment draft of proposed changes to interested stakeholders for review. The OCCC did not receive any written precomments on the rule text draft.

The OCCC received no official comments on the proposed amendments.

The rule changes are adopted under Texas Finance Code, §342.551, which authorizes the commission to adopt rules to enforce Texas Finance Code, Chapter 342. In addition, Texas Finance Code, §11.304 authorizes the commission to adopt rules to ensure compliance with Texas Finance Code, Title 4.

The statutory provisions affected by the adoption are contained in Texas Finance Code, Chapter 342.

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on April 17, 2026.

TRD-202601658

Matthew Nance

General Counsel

Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner

Effective date: May 7, 2026

Proposal publication date: March 6, 2026

For further information, please call: (512) 936-7660

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