[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 251 (Monday, December 30, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68814-68817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-33064]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: 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 comment.

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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 is 
not required to 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 Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 
(FFIEC), of which the agencies are members, has recently approved the 
agencies' publication for public comment of proposed revisions to the 
Foreign Branch Report of Condition (Foreign Branch Report), which is 
currently an approved collection of information. At the end of the 
comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be 
analyzed to determine the extent to which the FFIEC should modify the

[[Page 68815]]

proposed revisions prior to giving its final approval. The agencies 
will then submit the revisions to OMB for review and approval. Comments 
are invited on: (a) whether the proposed revisions to the following 
collection of information are necessary for the proper performance of 
the agencies' functions, including whether the information has 
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agencies' estimate of the 
burden of the information collection as it is proposed to be revised, 
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of information 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 28, 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, Third Floor, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E 
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20219; Attention: Paperwork Docket No. 
1557-0099 [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, 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 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. 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 T. 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 collection of information may be requested from the agency 
clearance officers whose names appear below.
    OCC: Jessie Gates, OCC Clearance Officer, or Dionne Walsh, (202) 
874-5090, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency, 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, 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, Washington, DC 20551.
    FDIC: Steven F. Hanft, FDIC Clearance Officer, (202) 898-3907, 
Office of the Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, 550 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20429.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal to Revise the Following Currently Approved Collection of 
Information

    Title: Foreign Branch Report of Condition.
    Form Number: FFIEC 030.
    Frequency of Response: Annually, and quarterly for significant 
branches.
    Affected Public: Business or other for profit.

For OCC

    OMB Number: 1557-0099.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 234 annual respondents; 59 
quarterly respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3.9 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1833 burden hours.

For Board

    OMB Number: 7100-0071.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 100 annual respondents; 33 
quarterly respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3.9 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 904.80 burden hours.

For FDIC

    OMB Number: 3064-0011.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 41 annual respondents; 1 quarterly 
respondent.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3.9 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 175.50 burden hours.
    General Description of Report: This information collection is 
mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 321, 324, and 602 (Board); 12 U.S.C. 602 (OCC); 
and 12 U.S.C. 1828 (FDIC). This information collection is given 
confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(8)). Small businesses (that 
is, small banks) are not affected.
    Abstract: This report contains asset and liability information for 
foreign branches of insured U.S. commercial banks and is required for 
regulatory and supervisory purposes. The information is used to analyze 
the foreign operations of U.S. commercial banks. All foreign branches 
of U.S. banks regardless of charter type file this report with the 
appropriate Federal Reserve District Bank. The Federal Reserve collects 
this information on behalf of the U.S. bank's primary federal bank 
regulatory agency.
    Current Actions: New items would be added to the Foreign Branch 
Report to enhance the agencies' ability to monitor asset quality and 
the usage of off-balance sheet transactions and to conform the 
reporting of securities to generally accepted accounting principles 
(GAAP). The Foreign Branch Report's instructions reference the 
reporting standards used in the Consolidated Reports of Condition and 
Income (FFIEC 031; OMB No. 7100-0036 for Board; 3064-0052 for FDIC; 
1557-0081 for OCC). The FFIEC 031 instructions are being revised by 
eliminating instructions that differ from GAAP, effective with the 
March 1997 report date. Thus, the Foreign Branch Report's instructions 
would conform to GAAP by reference to the FFIEC 031 instructions. In 
addition, the criteria used to determine whether a respondent files 
this report on a quarterly basis would be revised.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    The FFIEC has approved the agencies' publication of this notice's 
proposed revisions to the Foreign Branch Report.

[[Page 68816]]

Implementation of these revisions would take place as of the June 30, 
1997, report date for quarterly respondents, and as of the December 31, 
1997, report date for annual respondents. As is customary for Foreign 
Branch Report changes, quarterly respondents are advised that, for the 
June 30, 1997, report date, reasonable estimates may be provided for 
any new or revised item for which the requested information is not 
readily available. The specific wording of the captions for the new or 
revised items discussed below should be regarded as preliminary.

Asset Quality

    The Foreign Branch Report currently does not collect information on 
past due and nonaccrual loans and lease financing receivables. For more 
than ten years, such information has been collected for the 
consolidated banking entity as a whole on the FFIEC 031, Consolidated 
Reports of Condition and Income. The FFIEC 031 form's disclosures have 
proven to be a valuable source of information about the asset quality 
of the consolidated banking entity's loan and lease portfolio. The 
disclosure of similar information on the Foreign Branch Report would 
identify potential asset quality problems in specific foreign branch 
operations sooner than would otherwise be possible and improve the 
agencies' ability to develop appropriate supervisory measures, 
including the agencies' targeting of examination resources to 
particular foreign branches.
    Three new items would be added to collect information on past due 
and nonaccrual loans and leases of the foreign branch in a manner 
consistent with the reporting of such data in the FFIEC 031 form. The 
items would be ``Past due 30 through 89 days and still accruing,'' 
``Past due 90 days or more and still accruing,'' and ``Nonaccrual.'' 
The collection would cover all loans and leases reported by the branch.

Off-Balance-Sheet Transactions

    The Foreign Branch Report currently includes a minimal number of 
items that disclose a branch's involvement in off-balance-sheet 
transactions. The agencies propose to expand the number of disclosures 
on off-balance-sheet transactions to include information on the 
notional value of exchange swaps, the notional value of other swaps, 
the amount of unused securities underwriting commitments, the amount of 
unused commitments on loans and all other lines of credit, and the 
aggregate amount of all other off-balance-sheet liabilities. The FFIEC 
031 form collects similar information on unused commitments and off-
balance-sheet transactions; however, the FFIEC 031 form collects more 
detailed breakdowns for commitments and additional breakdowns for the 
underlying risk exposures related to swaps. The collection of 
information on off-balance-sheet activities in the Foreign Branch 
Report, although less extensive than the off-balance-sheet information 
collected from the consolidated banking entity on the FFIEC 031 form, 
would improve the agencies' overall ability to monitor risk exposures 
resulting from a foreign branch's involvement in off-balance-sheet 
activities.
    In addition, a new item for trading liabilities, including amounts 
resulting from derivative transactions, would be added in a manner 
consistent with the reporting of such data in the FFIEC 031 form. The 
new item would improve the agencies' ability to monitor foreign branch 
trading operations involving third parties and would be a complement to 
the existing item for assets held in trading accounts (which is being 
recaptioned as trading assets to conform this item to the FFIEC 031 
form caption).

Securities

    The reporting for branch holdings of debt and equity securities 
would be revised to be consistent with the three GAAP categories as 
prescribed by Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 115, 
``Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities'' 
(FASB 115). FASB 115 established three categories of securities: held-
to-maturity securities, available-for-sale securities, and trading 
securities, each of which has its own basis of accounting. FASB 115 
permits an entity to include debt securities in the held-to-maturity 
category only if it has the positive intent and ability to hold those 
debt securities to maturity. Under FASB 115, the accounting basis of 
held-to-maturity debt securities is amortized cost. Securities in the 
available-for-sale category under FASB 115 are those debt securities 
not acquired for trading purposes for which an entity does not have the 
positive intent and ability to hold to maturity and those equity 
securities with readily determinable fair values that it does not 
intend to trade as part of its trading account. Under FASB 115, 
available-for-sale securities are reported at fair value on the 
balance-sheet. Trading securities are those debt and equity securities 
that an entity buys and holds principally for the purpose of selling in 
the near term.
    The two existing breakdowns for securities on the Foreign Branch 
Report would be amended to collect information on debt and equity 
securities in a manner consistent with the reporting of such data in 
the FFIEC 031 form which already conforms to FASB 115. Items 4.a. and 
4.b. on the Foreign Branch Report would be revised into items for 
``Held-to-maturity securities'' and ``Available-for-sale securities.'' 
Trading securities would continue to be reported on the Foreign Branch 
Report in item 5, Trading Assets.

Quarterly Reporting

    The Foreign Branch Report is currently filed on a quarterly basis 
by significant branches, that is, branches with either: (1) total 
assets of $2 billion or more, or (2) commitments to purchase foreign 
currencies and U.S. dollar exchange (spot, forwards, and futures) of $5 
billion or more. The agencies propose to revise the scope of off-
balance-sheet transactions used in the quarterly filing criteria to 
include all those off-balance-sheet derivatives proposed herein to be 
covered by the Foreign Branch Report. Thus, the Foreign Branch Report 
would be filed quarterly by significant branches with either: (1) total 
assets of $2 billion or more, or (2) commitments to purchase foreign 
currencies and U.S. dollar exchange (spot, forwards, and futures), all 
other futures and forwards contracts, options contracts, and the 
notional value of interest rate swaps, exchange swaps and other swaps 
of $5 billion or more. The revised criteria are consistent with the 
expanded disclosures for off-balance-sheet transactions that are part 
of this proposed revision.

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 should address the accuracy of the burden 
estimates and ways to minimize burden including the use of automated 
collection techniques or the use of other forms of information 
technology as well as other relevant aspects of the information 
collection request.


[[Page 68817]]


    Dated: December 20, 1996.
Karen Solomon,
Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, December 23, 
1996.
William W. Wiles,
Secretary of the Board.

    Dated at Washington, D.C., this 16th day of December, 1996.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Steven F. Hanft,
Assistant Executive Secretary (Regulatory Analysis).
[FR Doc. 96-33064 Filed 12-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P; 6210-01-P; 6714-01-P