[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 214 (Monday, November 4, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56737-56740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-28238]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Federal Reserve System

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury; 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); and Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC 
(the ``agencies'') may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent need 
not respond to, an information collection that has been extended, 
revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays 
a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. 
The Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) are 
currently approved collections of information for the agencies. Under 
the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 
(FFIEC), of which the agencies are members, the agencies are proposing 
to no longer accept Call Reports that are filed directly with them in 
hard copy (paper) form. The only Call Reports that the agencies would 
accept would be those filed electronically or on computer diskette with 
the agencies' electronic collection agent. A bank could either file its 
reports directly with the agent or contract with a third party for the 
conversion of its reports from hard copy (paper) to automated form and 
the filing of the reports with the agent. The agencies would phase out 
their acceptance of paper Call Report forms as of the June 30, 
September 30, and December 31, 1997, report dates based on bank size. 
Comments are invited on the use of this automated collection technique 
from both users and nonusers of Call Report software and the electronic 
filing method. In particular, respondents are requested to comment on 
the automated collection process as a way to minimize the burden of 
this information collection on banks, on any initial implementation 
costs to banks, and on ongoing costs to banks after initial 
implementation. At the end of the comment period, the comments received 
will be evaluated to determine whether modifications should be made to 
the proposal before the FFIEC gives its final approval. The agencies 
will then submit the filing policy to OMB for review and approval.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 3, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to 
any or all of the agencies. All comments, which should refer to the OMB 
control number(s), will be shared among the agencies.
    OCC: Written comments should be submitted to the Communications 
Division, Ninth Floor, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E 
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20219, Attention: OMB Control No. 1557-
0081 [FAX number (202) 874-5274; Internet address: 
[email protected]]. Comments will be available for inspection 
and photocopying at that address.
    Board: Written comments should be addressed to Mr. William W. 
Wiles, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 
20th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551, Attention: OMB 
Control No. 7100-0036, or delivered to the Board's mail room between 
8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., and to the security control room outside of

[[Page 56738]]

those hours. Both the mail room and the security control room are 
accessible from the courtyard entrance on 20th Street between 
Constitution Avenue and C Street, N.W. Comments received may be 
inspected in room M-P-500 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., except as 
provided in section 261.8 of the Board's Rules Regarding Availability 
of Information, 12 CFR 261.8(a).
    FDIC: Written comments should be addressed to the Office of the 
Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th 
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20429, Attention: OMB Control No. 3064-
0052. Comments may be hand-delivered to room F-402, 1776 F Street, 
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20429, on business days between 8:30 a.m. and 
5:00 p.m. Comments may be sent through facsimile to: (202) 898-3838 or 
by the Internet to: [email protected]. Comments will be available for 
inspection at the FDIC Public Information Center, room 100, 801 17th 
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on 
business days.
    A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk 
officer for the agencies: Alexander Hunt, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 3208, Washington, D.C. 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the proposed revisions to 
the collections of information may be requested from any of the agency 
clearance officers whose names appear below.
    OCC: Jessie Gates, OCC Clearance Officer, (202) 874-5090, Office of 
the Comptroller of the Currency, OMB Control No. 1557-0081, 250 E 
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20219.
    Board: Mary M. McLaughlin, Board Clearance Officer, (202) 452-3829, 
Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, OMB Control No. 7100-0036, 20th and C Streets, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20551. For the hearing impaired only, 
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD), Dorothea Thompson, (202) 
452-3544, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C 
Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551.
    FDIC: Steven F. Hanft, FDIC Clearance Officer, (202) 898-3907, 
Office of the Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, OMB Control No. 3064-0052, 550 17th Street N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20429.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal to Revise the Filing Method for the Following Currently 
Approved Collections of Information

    Title: Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report).
    Form Number: FFIEC 031, 032, 033, 034.1
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    \1\ The FFIEC 031 report form is filed by banks with domestic 
and foreign offices. The FFIEC 032 report form is filed by banks 
with domestic offices only and total assets of $300 million or more. 
The FFIEC 033 report form is filed by banks with domestic offices 
only and total assets of $100 million or more but less than $300 
million. The FFIEC 034 report form is filed by banks with domestic 
offices only and total assets of less than $100 million.
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    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Affected Public: Business and other for-profit (Insured commercial 
and FDIC-supervised savings banks).

For OCC:
    OMB Number: 1557-0081.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,800 national banks.
    Estimated Time per Response: 39.62 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 443,744 burden hours.
For Board:
    OMB Number: 7100-0036.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,002 state member banks.
    Estimated Time per Response: 45.70 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 183,166 burden hours.
For FDIC:
    OMB Number: 3064-0052.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,668 insured state nonmember 
commercial and savings banks.
    Estimated Time per Response: 28.72 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 765,900 burden hours.

    Note Regarding Burden: The preceding burden estimates include the 
time for reviewing the Call Report instructions, gathering and 
maintaining data in the form required for the Call Report, and 
completing the Call Report information collection, but exclude the time 
for compiling and maintaining business records in the normal course of 
a bank's activities. The estimated time per response varies by agency 
because of differences in the composition of the banks under each 
agency's supervision (e.g., size distribution of banks, types of 
activities in which they are engaged, and number of banks with foreign 
offices).
    General Description of Report: This information collection is 
mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 161 (for national banks), 12 U.S.C. 324 (for state 
member banks), and 12 U.S.C. 1817 (for insured state nonmember 
commercial and savings banks). Except for select sensitive items, this 
information collection is not given confidential treatment. Small 
businesses (i.e., small banks) are affected.
    Abstract: Call Reports are filed quarterly with the agencies for 
their use in monitoring the condition and performance of reporting 
banks and the industry as a whole. The reports are also used to 
calculate banks' deposit insurance assessments and for monetary policy 
and other public policy purposes.
    Current Actions: Under the auspices of the FFIEC, the agencies are 
proposing to no longer accept Call Reports filed directly with them in 
hard copy (paper) form. The only Call Reports that the agencies would 
accept would be those filed electronically or on computer diskette with 
the agencies' electronic collection agent. A bank could either file its 
reports directly with the agent or arrange for a third party to convert 
its reports from hard copy (paper) form to automated form and then file 
them with the agent. The agencies' acceptance of paper Call Report 
forms would be phased out as of the June 30, September 30, and December 
31, 1997, report dates based on bank size.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    For the past eight years, a bank has been permitted to 
electronically submit its Call Report to the agencies' electronic 
collection agent over telephone lines using a computer and modem.2 
Alternatively, a bank could mail a computer diskette containing its 
Call Report to the agent. Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS) is 
the electronic collection agent for the agencies. A bank submitting its 
Call Report to EDS electronically or on diskette is not required to 
mail a hard copy of its Call Report directly to any of the agencies 
unless specifically requested to do so.3 Nevertheless, the bank 
must maintain in its files a signed and attested printout of the data 
submitted to EDS showing at least the title of each Call Report item 
and the reported amount. To fulfill the Call Report's signature and 
attestation requirement, the cover page of the Call Report forms that 
the agencies mail to the bank each quarter must be signed by an officer 
and bank directors and

[[Page 56739]]

attached to the printout placed in the bank's files.
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    \2\ Since the June 30, 1989, report date, banks that have or 
have had more than one foreign office, other than a ``shell'' branch 
or an International Banking Facility, and that use any of the 
additional 15 days allowed for the completion of their reports, have 
been required to file their reports electronically with the 
agencies' electronic collection agent. This requirement applies to 
fewer than 200 banks.
    \3\ Such requests rarely have been made.
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    Electronic filing capability is available through the use of 
computer software that supports this submission method. Software that 
EDS has certified for electronic filing is available through certain 
vendors that have completed a certification process. Currently, Call 
Report preparation software products marketed by the American Bankers 
Association/DBI Financial Systems, Inc.; DPSC Software, Inc.; 
Information Technology, Inc.; and Sheshunoff Information Services, 
Inc., have been certified for electronic submission by EDS.4 
Information Technology's software operates on mainframe computers while 
the other three vendors' software products run on personal computers. 
The annual cost of Call Report software for personal computers starts 
at approximately $200 for small banks and the software runs effectively 
on any 286 or higher personal computer with a hard drive. No formal 
computer training is necessary to operate Call Report software. Banks 
generally have found that the instruction manuals for the Call Report 
software and the customer support help desks operated by the software 
vendors provide all the assistance necessary for their use of the 
software.
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    \4\ For further information on available Call Report preparation 
software, contact:
    American Bankers Assoc./DBI Financial Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 
1249, Cannon Beach, Oregon 97110, Telephone: (800) 774-3279.
    DPSC Software, Inc., 23501 Park, Sorrento, Suite 105, Calabasas, 
California 91302, Telephone: (800) 825-3772.
    Information Technology, Inc., 1345 Old Cheney Road, Lincoln, 
Nebraska 68512, Telephone: (403) 423-2682. Sheshunoff Information 
Services, Inc., P.O. Box 13203 Capitol Station, Austin, Texas 78711-
3203, Telephone: (800) 456-2340.
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    As an alternative to purchasing software, a bank could develop its 
own Call Report software and go through the certification process. 
However, banks normally find that purchasing certified computer 
software which is updated regularly by a vendor is more economical than 
developing and maintaining their own software.
    The agencies have provided the aforementioned software companies 
with a significant number of edits that the agencies normally use for 
validating the Call Report information submitted to them each quarter. 
As a result, while each bank is responsible for the quality of its Call 
Report data, a bank using a commercial software package can correct 
errors identified by the software package prior to filing the Call 
Report, and provide better quality data to the agencies. This procedure 
saves a bank time by reducing agency inquiries for data correction 
after the Call Report has been filed. The commercial software also 
provides immediate confirmation to a bank that files electronically 
that EDS has received its Call Report. Thus, electronic submission 
promotes the accuracy of and speeds the receipt and processing of Call 
Report data. This means that electronic submission also translates into 
lower costs for the agencies and for the insurance funds administered 
by the FDIC.
    Over the past five years, the percentage of banks submitting Call 
Reports to the electronic collection agent has climbed from 28 percent 
to 54 percent. The number of banks using certified computer software to 
file Call Reports in this manner has increased from 3,503 as of the 
June 30, 1991, report date to 5,570 as of the June 30, 1996, report 
date. This reflects the banking industry's growing recognition of the 
benefits of this powerful tool for completing and filing reports. 
Furthermore, some 2,400 additional banks, 23 percent of all 
institutions, used computer software to prepare their June 30, 1996, 
Call Report, but submitted a computer-generated hard copy (paper) 
facsimile report to the agencies. The agencies believe that these banks 
can change from their current paper-based filing method to the 
electronic or computer diskette filing method with little difficulty. 
Thus, about 77 percent of banks currently use computer software for 
preparing and filing their Call Reports. The distribution of banks by 
size and report preparation and filing method as of the June 30, 1996, 
report date is as follows:

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                                                          Banks using         Banks using         Banks using       Banks not using       Total banks   
                                                       computer software   computer software   computer software   computer software -------------------
                                                         to file with      to file computer- ----------------------------------------                   
                                                          electronic        generated hard                                                              
                     Asset size                        collection agent      copy (paper)                                                               
                                                     --------------------       reports        Number    Percent   Number    Percent   Number    Percent
                                                                         --------------------                                                           
                                                       Number    Percent   Number    Percent                                                            
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Less than $10 million...............................        90        29        48        16       138        45       170        55       308       100
$10-$25 million.....................................       507        34       403        27       910        61       575        39     1,485       100
$25-$50 million.....................................       926        39       724        30     1,650        69       734        31     2,384       100
$50-$100 million....................................     1,371        53       681        27     2,052        80       515        20     2,567       100
Over $100 million...................................     2,676        74       542        15     3,218        89       376        11     3,594       100
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    All banks.......................................     5,570        54     2,398        23     7,968        77     2,370        23    10,338       100
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    The agencies are proposing to phase out their acceptance of hard 
copy (paper) Call Reports filed directly with them according to the 
following timetable:
     Beginning with the Call Reports for June 30, 1997, banks 
with assets of $50 million or more (as reported in the June 30, 1996, 
Call Report) must file their Call Reports electronically or on computer 
diskette with the agencies' electronic collection agent.
     Beginning with the Call Reports for September 30, 1997, 
banks with assets of $25 million or more (as reported in the June 30, 
1996, Call Report) must file their Call Reports electronically or on 
computer diskette with the collection agent.
     Beginning with the Call Reports for December 31, 1997, all 
banks must file their Call Reports electronically or on computer 
diskette with the collection agent.
    Once a bank's Call Reports must be filed electronically or on 
computer diskette with EDS, the agencies' electronic collection agent, 
the bank would have two ways to satisfy this filing requirement. The 
bank could prepare its reports in automated form and file them directly 
with EDS. Alternatively, it could complete its reports in hard copy 
(paper) form and contract with a third party, such as one of the Call 
Report software companies,

[[Page 56740]]

for the conversion of its paper reports to automated form and the 
filing of the reports with EDS.
    Under the proposed timetable, each bank would receive the 
applicable set of Call Report forms at the end of each of the first 
three quarters of 1997 (i.e., through the September 30, 1997, report 
date) just as at present without regard to their eligibility to file 
paper Call Report forms. For the December 31, 1997, report date, each 
bank would receive a sample set of Call Report forms but could not file 
a hard copy (paper) report with the agencies. In 1998 and subsequent 
years, the agencies would send each bank a sample of the applicable set 
of that year's Call Report forms only once during the year, i.e., 
before the end of the first quarter, rather than quarterly. The 
agencies would monitor banks' need for annual sample forms and could 
modify this procedure if deemed appropriate.

Request for Comment

    Comments submitted in response to this Notice will be shared among 
the agencies and will be summarized or included in the agencies' 
requests for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public 
record. Written comments are invited on the use of this automated 
collection technique from both users and nonusers of Call Report 
software and the electronic filing method. Respondents are requested to 
comment on the automated collection process as a way to minimize the 
burden of this information collection on banks. Commenters also are 
requested to provide estimates of any initial costs that banks not 
currently using Call Report preparation software will incur in 
implementing this electronic filing method as well as estimates of the 
ongoing costs to such banks from the use of this method after its 
initial implementation. Similarly, commenters are requested to provide 
estimates of any initial and ongoing costs that would not otherwise be 
incurred by banks that currently use Call Report software, but submit 
computer-generated hard copy (paper) reports to the agencies.
    The agencies invite comment on the accuracy of their estimates of 
the overall burden of the Call Report information collections as the 
filing requirements are proposed to be revised. These burden estimates 
include the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining 
data in the required form for the Call Report, and completing the 
report. In addition, comment is requested on whether this proposed 
revision to the Call Report information collections is necessary for 
the proper performance of the agencies' functions, including whether 
the information has practical utility, and on ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected in the Call 
Report.
    The agencies also request comments on whether they should consider 
discontinuing their acceptance of other hard copy (paper) reports (such 
as the Annual Report of Trust Assets (form FFIEC 001), which is filed 
annually as of each December 31 by insured banks and savings 
associations with trust powers and nondeposit trust companies, and the 
Summary of Deposits, which is filed annually as of each June 30 by each 
bank with more than one office) and instead accept only reports that 
are filed electronically or on computer diskette.
    Dated: October 28, 1996.
Karen Solomon,
Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency.
    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 28, 
1996.

William W. Wiles,
Secretary of the Board.
    Dated at Washington, D.C., this 29th day of October, 1996.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Jerry L. Langley,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-28238 Filed 11-1-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P; 6210-01-P; 6714-01-P