[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 17, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7890-7892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3758]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


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

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board).

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

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Board, the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency (OCC) (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.
    On November 19, 1998 the agencies requested public comments for 60 
days on proposed revisions to the Report of Assets and Liabilities of 
U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 002) and the 
extension, without revision, of the Report of Assets and Liabilities of 
Non-U.S. Branches that are Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch or 
Agency of a Foreign Bank (FFIEC 002s). Both reports are currently 
approved collections of information. The Federal Financial 
(Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), of which the agencies are 
members, has given final approval to the proposed revisions. The Board 
is publishing the proposed revisions and extension on behalf of the 
agencies.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 19, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to

[[Page 7891]]

the agency listed below. All comments, which should refer to the OMB 
control number, will be shared among the agencies.
    Written comments should be addressed to Jennifer J. Johnson, 
Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C 
Streets, NW, Washington, DC 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, NW. 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 261.12 of the Board's Rules Regarding Availability 
of Information, 12 CFR 261.12(a).
    A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk 
officer for the Board: Alexander T. Hunt, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management the Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, room 3208, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the proposed revised 
collections of information may be requested from the Board's clearance 
officer whose name appears below.
    Mary M. West, Chief, Financial Reports Section, (202) 452-3829, 
Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20551. 
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact Diane 
Jenkins, (202) 452-3544, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, 20th and C Streets, NW, Washington, D.C. 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Request for OMB approval to extend, with 
revision, of the following currently approved collections of 
information:
    Report Title: Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and 
Agencies of Foreign Banks.
    Form Number: FFIEC 002.
    OMB Number: 7100-0032.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Affected Public: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 506.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 2,024.
    Estimated Time per Response: 23.15 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 46,856 burden hours.
    General Description of Report: This information collection is 
mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 3105(b)(2), 1817(a)(1) and (3), and 3102(b). 
Except for select sensitive items, this information collection is not 
given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)).
    Small businesses (that is, small U.S. branches and agencies of 
foreign banks) are affected.
    Abstract: On a quarterly basis, all U.S. branches and agencies of 
foreign banks (U.S. branches) are required to file detailed schedules 
of assets and liabilities in the form of a condition report and a 
variety of supporting schedules. This balance sheet information is used 
to fulfill the supervisory and regulatory requirements of the 
International Banking Act of 1978. The data are also used to augment 
the bank credit, loan, and deposit information needed for monetary 
policy and other public policy purposes. The Federal Reserve System 
collects and processes this report on behalf of all three agencies.
    Current Actions: The agencies propose to revise the Report of 
Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks 
(FFIEC 002) effective March 31, 1999, by: deleting the existing 
memorandum items for the amortized cost and fair value of high-risk 
mortgage securities; revising the instructions to conform with the 
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Statement of 
Position (SOP) 98-1, including a new Glossary entry for ``internal-use 
computer software'' that summarizes SOP 98-1; and clarifying the 
Glossary and other reporting instructions for unsuitable investment 
practices, re-booking of charged-off loans, and consolidation of 
subsidiaries.
    The Board did not receive any comments in response to the notice 
published in the Federal Register on November 19, 1998, (63 FR 64258) 
requesting comment on the proposed revisions to the FFIEC 002 for 1999.
    Summary of the Revisions to the Report of Assets and Liabilities of 
U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 002): The revisions 
to the FFIEC 002 Report listed below have been approved by the FFIEC. 
The agencies will implement these changes as of the March 31, 1999, 
report date.

Deletion

    (1) In Schedule RAL--Assets and Liabilities, Memorandum items 5 and 
6 for the fair value and amortized cost of ``High-risk mortgage 
securities'' will be deleted.

Instructional Changes

    (1) The instructions will be revised to conform with AICPA 
Statement of Position 98-1, Accounting for the Costs of Computer 
Software Developed or Obtained for Internal Use.
    (2) A new entry will be added to the Glossary section of the 
instructions discussing the reporting of securities activities, 
including descriptions of certain trading practices. These practices 
were previously discussed in the agencies' 1992 Supervisory Policy 
Statement on Securities Activities, which was replaced in April 1998 by 
a revised policy statement on investment securities that does not 
address these reporting issues.
    (3) The Glossary entry for ``Assets Classified Loss'' will be 
revised to indicate that the cost basis of a loan or lease that has 
been reduced through a direct write-down may not be increased at a 
later date by reversing the previous write-down.

Other Revisions

    (1) Consolidation of Subsidiaries: Some U.S. branches have 
requested that the FFIEC clarify whether subsidiaries of U.S. branches 
should be consolidated in the FFIEC 002. Consistent with U.S. generally 
accepted accounting principles (GAAP) subsidiaries that are controlled 
by a U.S. branch should be consolidated in the FFIEC 002. Accordingly, 
the general instructions will be revised to indicate that, consistent 
with GAAP, a U.S. branch should consolidate all entities in which it 
maintains a controlling financial ownership interest, e.g., a direct or 
indirect ownership interest of more than 50 percent of an entity's 
outstanding voting shares.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposal to approve under OMB delegated 
authority the extension for three years, without revision, of the 
following reports:
    Report Title: Report of Assets and Liabilities of a Non-U.S. Branch 
that is Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch of Agency of a Foreign 
(Non-U.S.) Bank.
    Form Number: FFIEC 002S.
    OMB Number: 7100-0273.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Affected Public: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 114.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 456.
    Estimated Time per Response: 6 burden hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2,736 burden hours..
    General Description of Report: This information collection is 
mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 3105(b)(2), 1817(a)(1) and (3), and 3102(b) and is 
given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)).
    Small businesses are not affected.

[[Page 7892]]

    Abstract: On a quarterly basis, all U.S. branches and agencies of 
foreign banks are required to file detailed schedules of their assets 
and liabilities in the form FFIEC 002. The FFIEC 002S is a separate 
supplement to the FFIEC 002 that collects information on assets and 
liabilities of any non-U.S. branch that is ``managed or controlled'' by 
a U.S. branch or agency of the foreign bank. Managed or controlled 
means that a majority of the responsibility for business decisions, 
including but not limited to decisions with regard to lending or asset 
management or funding or liability management, or the responsibility 
for recordkeeping in respect of assets or liabilities for that foreign 
branch resides at the U.S. branch or agency. A separate FFIEC 002S must 
be completed for each managed or controlled non-U.S. branch. The FFIEC 
002S must be filed quarterly along with the U.S. branch's or agency's 
FFIEC 002.
    The data are used: (1) to monitor deposit and credit transactions 
of U.S. residents; (2) for monitoring the impact of policy changes; (3) 
for analyzing structural issues concerning foreign bank activity in 
U.S. markets; (4) for understanding flows of banking funds and 
indebtedness of developing countries in connection with data collected 
by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International 
Settlements (BIS) that are used in economic analysis; and (5) to 
provide information to assist in the supervision of U.S. offices of 
foreign banks, which often are managed jointly with these branches.
    Current Actions: The proposal to extend for three years, without 
revision, the Report of Assets and Liabilities of a Non-U.S. Branch 
that is Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch or Agency of a Foreign 
(Non-U.S.) Bank (FFIEC 002S) that is the subject of this notice has 
been approved by the FFIEC.
    The Board did not receive any letters of comment in response to the 
notice published in the Federal Register on November 19, 1998, 
requesting comment on the proposal to extend the FFIEC 002S for three 
years.

Request for Comments Regarding the FFIEC 002 and FFIEC 002S

    Comments submitted in response to this Notice will be shared among 
the agencies. All comments will become a matter of public record. 
Written comments should address the accuracy of the burden estimates 
and ways to minimize burden as well as other relevant aspects of the 
information collection requests. Comments are invited on:
    (1) Whether the proposed revisions to the FFIEC 002 and the 
extension of the FFIEC 002S collections of information are necessary 
for the proper performance of the agencies' functions, including 
whether the information has practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the agencies' estimates of the burden of the 
information collections, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of information collections on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    (5) Estimates of capital or start up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 10, 
1999.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 99-3758 Filed 2-16-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-M