[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 125 (Monday, June 30, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35175-35177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16981]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCIES: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); and 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice of information collection to be submitted to OMB for 
review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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SUMMARY: On December 30, 1996, the Board and the FDIC (the 
``agencies'') requested public comment for 60 days on proposed 
revisions to the Foreign Branch Report of Condition (Foreign Branch 
Report), which is currently an approved collection of information (61 
FR 68814-68817). After reviewing the comments received, the Federal 
Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), of which the 
agencies are members, decided to study further the agencies' needs for 
information on the foreign branches of U.S. banks for supervisory and 
other public policy purposes. Thus, the FFIEC and the agencies are not 
proceeding with most of the proposed changes to the Foreign Branch 
Report. The only change that will be implemented at this time is a 
revision to conform the reporting instructions with generally accepted 
accounting principles (GAAP).
    In accordance with requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), 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. Comments are invited on: a. 
whether the following proposed revised collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the agencies' functions, 
including whether the information has practical utility; b. the 
accuracy of the agencies' estimates 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 startup costs 
and costs of operations, maintenance, and purchase of services to 
provide information.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 30, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments, which should refer to the OMB control number, 
should be addressed 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, DC 20503. Comments may also be addressed to either of the 
agencies. All comments, which should refer to the OMB control 
number(s), will be shared among the agencies.
    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).

[[Page 35176]]

    FDIC: Written comments should be addressed to the Office of the 
Executive Secretary, Attention: Comments/OES, Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, 550 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20429. Comments 
may be hand-delivered to the guard station at the rear of the 550 17th 
Street Building (located on F Street), on business days between 7:00 
a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Fax number: (202) 898-3838; Internet address: 
[email protected]). Comments may be inspected and photocopied in the 
FDIC Public Information Center, room 100, 801 17th Street, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20429, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on business 
days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
Submission (OMB 83-I), supporting statement, and other documents that 
have been submitted to OMB for review and approval may be requested 
from the agency clearance officers, whose names appear below.
    Board: Mary M. McLaughlin, Chief, Financial Reports (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), Diane Jenkins (202-452-3544), Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, Washington, D.C. 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: Request for OMB approval to extend for three 
years, with revision, 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 Board

    OMB Number: 7100-0071.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 100 annual respondents; 33 
quarterly respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 696 burden hours.

For FDIC

    OMB Number: 3064-0011.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 41 annual respondents; 1 quarterly 
respondent.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3.25 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 146.25 burden hours.
    General Description of Report: This information collection is 
mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 321, 324, and 602 (Board); 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 information on assets, liabilities, 
and off-balance-sheet items 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: Revisions initially proposed for the Foreign 
Branch Report of Condition consisted of: the addition of a small number 
of new items to enhance the agencies' ability to monitor asset quality 
and the use of off-balance-sheet instruments, revisions to conform the 
reporting instructions to GAAP, revisions to conform the reporting of 
securities to three GAAP reporting categories, and revisions to the 
criteria used to determine whether a respondent files this report on a 
quarterly basis. After reviewing the comments received, the FFIEC has 
decided not to implement most of the proposed changes to the Foreign 
Branch report and, instead, to study further the agencies' needs for 
information on the foreign branches of U.S. banks for supervisory and 
other public policy purposes. The only change that will be implemented 
at this time is a revision to conform the reporting instructions with 
GAAP for consistency with the March 31, 1997, changes to the Reports of 
Condition and Income (FFIEC 031-034, Call Report, OMB No. 7100-0036 for 
Board, and 3064-0052 for FDIC).
    Type of Review: Revision.
    On December 30, 1996, the agencies jointly published a notice in 
the Federal Register (61 FR 68814-68817) soliciting comments for 60 
days on proposed revisions to the currently approved information 
collection. The notice described the specific changes that the 
agencies, with the approval of the FFIEC, were proposing to implement 
as of June 30, 1997.
    In response to this notice, the agencies collectively received two 
comment letters: one from an accounting organization and one from a 
large commercial bank. Both the accounting organization and the large 
commercial bank generally supported the agencies' efforts to produce 
greater consistency between the information collected in regulatory 
reports and general-purpose financial statements. The accounting 
organization supported the proposal to adopt generally accepted 
accounting principles, which included conforming the reporting of 
securities with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Statement of 
Financial Accounting Standards No. 115, Accounting for Certain 
Investments in Debt and Equity Securities (FASB 115).
    Also, the bank indicated that specific references to the line items 
in the Call Report would be helpful in clarifying reporting 
requirements. As of March 1997, the Call Report instructions were 
revised to eliminate instructions that differed from GAAP. Thus the 
Foreign Branch Report's instructions will conform to GAAP, including 
FASB 115, by reference to the FFIEC 031 instructions. Several other 
Call Report references will be incorporated into the FFIEC 030 
instructions.
    The bank expressed concerns over the proposed addition of new items 
to enhance the agencies' ability to monitor asset quality and the use 
of off-balance-sheet instruments at the branch level. The bank stated 
that it is more practical to monitor potential asset quality problems 
and off-balance-sheet risk exposures at the consolidated bank level 
since risks are managed in this manner by most major institutions. The 
agencies have decided to study further the most appropriate method for 
monitoring asset quality and off-balance-sheet risk exposure at the 
foreign branch level. Thus, the agencies are not adding these proposed 
new items at this time.
    In the proposal, the agencies' estimate reflected an average of 3.9 
burden hours for each branch or group of branches required to complete 
the Foreign Branch Report of Condition. The bank mentioned that it 
considers the estimated 3.9 burden hours for the proposed revised 
Foreign Branch Report to be significantly understated and recommended 
that the reporting burden should be measured by the number of foreign 
branches a respondent has. However, since the agencies' only revision 
to the Foreign Branch Report of Condition will be to conform the 
instructions to GAAP for consistency with the Call Report, each 
agency's

[[Page 35177]]

burden estimate will remain at its current level.
    The bank also mentioned the possibility of extending the due date 
to 60 days after quarter-end, obtaining a menu driven software package, 
and transmitting the data electronically. The agencies have decided to 
retain the current due date of 45 days after quarter-end, but will 
consider whether to offer electronic reporting in the future.
    After considering the comments received on the proposal and further 
banking agency staff discussions about the content of the Foreign 
Branch Report of Condition, the FFIEC and the agencies decided not to 
proceed with the addition of the new items, the revision of other 
items, and the revised criteria for quarterly reporting, as had been 
proposed. Instead, the agencies will study further their needs for 
information on the foreign branches of U.S. banks for supervisory and 
other public policy purposes. Should this study lead to recommended 
changes to the information that the agencies collect in the Foreign 
Branch Report of Condition, including some or all of those that the 
agencies proposed on December 30, 1996, the agencies will request 
public comment for 60 days on such proposed revisions in accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The only change to the 
Foreign Branch Report of Condition that the agencies are implementing 
at this time is a revision to conform the reporting instructions with 
GAAP.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 24, 1997.
William W. Wiles,
Secretary of the Board.

    Dated at Washington, D.C., this 23rd day of June, 1997.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-16981 Filed 6-27-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P, 6714-01-P