[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 124 (Friday, June 27, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 34617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16871]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 265

[Docket No. R-0973]


Rules Regarding Delegation of Authority

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Board is amending its delegation rules to allow the 
Secretary of the Board to determine the Federal Reserve District in 
which an institution is located for purposes of Federal Reserve 
membership and reserve account maintenance. This amendment should 
provide for more expeditious handling of location determinations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Oliver Ireland, Associate General 
Counsel, (202/452-3625) or Stephanie Martin, Senior Attorney (202/452-
3198), Legal Division. For the hearing impaired only, contact Diane 
Jenkins, Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) (202/452-3544), 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, 
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board has adopted amendments to its 
Regulations D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions, 12 CFR 
part 204) and Regulation I (Issue and Cancellation of Capital Stock of 
Federal Reserve Banks, 12 CFR part 209) to define the location of a 
depository institution for purposes of Federal Reserve membership and 
reserve account maintenance. (See Docket No. R-0963, elsewhere in 
today's Federal Register.) The amendments provide that an institution 
is considered to be located in the Federal Reserve District specified 
in its charter or organizing certificate, or, if no such location is 
specified, the location of its head office. The Board could make 
exceptions to the general rule for a particular institution after 
considering certain criteria. Thus, if the institution's location were 
uncertain or its location based on its charter, organizing certificate, 
or head office differed from the location where it conducted most of 
its business, the Board could designate the appropriate location, after 
consultation with the institution and the relevant Reserve Banks. (The 
relevant Reserve Banks are the Reserve Bank whose district contains the 
bank's charter, organizing certificate, license, or head office 
location and the Reserve Bank in whose district the bank is proposed to 
be located.)
    The Board is delegating to the Secretary of the Board the authority 
to make a location determination under Regulation D or Regulation I if 
the relevant Federal Reserve Banks and the institution agree on the 
specific Reserve Bank in which the institution should hold stock or 
with which the institution should maintain a reserve account, and the 
agreed-upon location does not raise any significant policy issues.

Administrative Procedure Act

    The Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A)) exempts 
``rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice'' from the 
notice of proposed rulemaking and public comment requirements. As the 
Board's delegation rules fall under this exemption, the Board is 
adopting these amendments without notice-and-comment procedures.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 265

    Authority delegations (Government agencies), Banks, banking, 
Federal Reserve System.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Board is amending 12 
CFR Part 265 as set forth below:

PART 265--RULES REGARDING DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

    1. The authority citation for part 265 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 248 (i) and (k).

    2. Section 265.5 is amended by adding a new paragraph (f) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 265.5  Functions delegated to Secretary of the Board.

* * * * *
    (f) Location of institution. To determine the Federal Reserve 
District in which an institution is located pursuant to 
Sec. 204.3(b)(2)(ii) of Regulation D (12 CFR part 204) or 
Sec. 209.15(b) of Regulation I (12 CFR part 209) if:
    (1) The relevant Federal Reserve Banks and the institution agree on 
the specific Reserve Bank in which the institution should hold stock or 
with which the institution should maintain reserve balances; and
    (2) The agreed-upon location does not raise any significant policy 
issues.

    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, June 23, 1997.
William W. Wiles,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 97-16871 Filed 6-26-97; 8:45 am]
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