[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51121-51123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24545]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
SUMMARY:
    Background: On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
(Board) its approval authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act, as 
per 5 CFR 1320.16, to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to 
collection of information requests and requirements conducted or 
sponsored by the Board under conditions set forth in 5 CFR 1320 
Appendix A.1. Board-approved collections of information are 
incorporated into the official OMB

[[Page 51122]]

inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of 
the OMB 83-Is and supporting statements and approved collection of 
information instruments are placed into OMB's public docket files. The 
Federal Reserve 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 OMB control number.
    Request for comment on an information collection proposal.
    The following information collection, which is being handled under 
this delegated authority, has received initial Board approval and is 
hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, the 
proposed information collection, along with an analysis of comments and 
recommendations received, will be submitted to the Board for final 
approval under OMB delegated authority. Comments are invited on the 
following:
    a. whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Federal Reserve's functions; including 
whether the information has practical utility;
    b. the accuracy of the Federal Reserve's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    c. ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    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.
    In addition, the Federal Reserve invites comments on whether it 
would be more efficient to collect the proposed information on the 
commercial bank Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (FFIEC 
031-034).
    DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before [insert date 60 days 
from publication in the Federal Register].
    ADDRESSES: Comments, which should refer to the OMB control number 
or agency form number, should be addressed to Jennifer J. Johnson, 
Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C 
Streets, N.W., 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, 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 261.14 of the Board's Rules Regarding Availability 
of Information, 12 CFR 261.14(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 and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 3208, Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the proposed form and 
instructions, the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission (OMB 83-I), 
supporting statement, and other documents that will be placed into 
OMB's public docket files once approved may be requested from the 
agency 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, 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, Washington, DC 20551.
    Proposal to approve under OMB delegated authority the extension for 
three years, with revision, of the following report:
    1. Report title: The Bank Holding Company Report of Subsidiary 
Banks' Section 23A Transactions with Affiliates.
    Agency form number: FR Y-8.
    OMB control number: 7100-0126.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Reporters: Bank holding companies.
    Annual reporting hours: 73,282.
    Estimated average hours per response: 3.6.
    Number of respondents: 5089.
Small businesses are not affected.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
authorized by section 5 (c) of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 
1844 (c)) and section 225.5 (b) of Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.5 (b)) and 
is given confidential treatment pursuant to the Freedom of Information 
Act (5 U.S.C. 552 (b) (4) and (8)).
    Abstract: The FR Y-8 collects information on the movement of funds 
between a domestic bank holding company and its subsidiaries in order 
to identify broad categories of intercompany transactions and balances 
that may affect the financial condition of the subsidiary bank. The 
report also collects information on income recognized by subsidiary 
banks from other bank holding company members as well as information on 
credit extended by subsidiary banks to other bank holding company 
members. Domestic top-tier bank holding companies with assets of $300 
million or more are required to file the FRY-8 on a semiannual basis 
(June and December). Also, interim reporting is currently required 
within ten calendar days of certain large asset transfers. The Federal 
Reserve proposes to delete the current information on the FRY-8 and 
collect only four items of information on Section 23A covered 
transactions.
    Current actions: The Federal Reserve proposes to completely revise 
the FR Y-8 to collect information to enhance the Federal Reserve's 
ability to monitor bank exposures to affiliates and to ensure 
compliance with Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act. The revisions 
would include renaming the report, changing all of the reportable items 
and revising the reporting panel and reporting frequency. The report 
would be retitled, ``The Bank Holding Company Report of Subsidiary 
Banks' Section 23A Transactions with Affiliates.'' Domestic financial 
top-tier bank holding companies would be required to file the report 
quarterly, providing the requested information on an individual bank-
basis for each of their subsidiary banks. For purposes of the FR Y-8, 
banks are defined as insured depository institutions. The interim 
report would be eliminated.
    Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act is one of the most important 
statutes protecting the federal safety net by limiting exposure of 
insured depository institutions to affiliates, defined as organizations 
under common control with the insured depository institution. Section 
23A contains restrictions to safeguard the resources of insured 
depository institutions against misuse for the benefit of affiliates, 
including the following:
    (1) The statute limits ``covered transactions'' with any single 
affiliate to no more than 10 percent of the depository institution's 
capital stock and surplus, and limits aggregate covered transactions 
with all affiliates to no more than 20 percent of the depository 
institution's capital stock and surplus. Covered transactions are 
specifically described in Section 23A and include extensions of credit 
to an affiliate, the purchase of securities issued by an affiliate, the 
purchase of assets from an affiliate, the acceptance of securities 
issued by an affiliate as collateral for any loan, and the issuance of 
a guarantee or letter of credit on behalf of an affiliate.
    (2) The statute requires that all transactions between an insured 
depository institution and its affiliates

[[Page 51123]]

be on terms and conditions consistent with safe and sound banking 
practices.
    (3) The statute prohibits an insured depository institution from 
purchasing ``low-quality'' assets from affiliates. A ``low-quality'' 
asset is defined in the statute as an asset that falls in any one or 
more of the following categories: (a) an asset classified as 
``substandard,'' ``doubtful,'' or ``loss'' or treated as ``other loans 
especially mentioned'' in the most recent report of examination or 
inspection of an affiliate prepared by either a Federal or State 
supervisory agency; (b) an asset in a nonaccrual status; (c) an asset 
on which principal or interest payments are more than thirty days past 
due; or (d) an asset whose terms has been renegotiated or compromised 
due to the deteriorating financial condition of the obligor.
    (4) The statute imposes collateral requirements when an insured 
depository institution is lending to an affiliate or is issuing a 
guarantee, acceptance, or letter of credit on behalf of an affiliate. 
The collateral requirements, which vary based on the type of 
collateral, are designed to reduce risk related to these exposures.
    As the activities of nonbank subsidiaries of bank holding companies 
have expanded, and as regulatory restrictions have been reduced or 
eliminated to lessen the burden on the industry, the importance of the 
limits imposed by Section 23A has increased. Yet, at present, there is 
no uniform or regular reporting of bank transactions subject to Section 
23A. The current bank holding company FR Y-8 report collects data on 
intercompany transactions on a combined, aggregate basis for all 
subsidiary banks of a bank holding company at the bank holding company 
level; hence, Section 23A transactions cannot be identified from data 
submitted in the current report. Additionally, while this information 
may be reviewed in examinations, data on covered transactions are not 
always contained in examination reports, or if contained in the 
reports, the data are not presented in comparable detail or a uniform 
format. Moreover, examinations for most insured depository institutions 
occur infrequently, whereas compliance with Section 23A is required 
continuously.
    In order to identify and monitor for each individual institution, 
potential Section 23A compliance issues, and to identify and monitor 
industry-wide levels of activity and the effect on insured depository 
institution risk exposure, the Federal Reserve proposes to revise the 
FR Y-8 report to collect for each insured subsidiary only four items:
    (1) For covered transactions subject to Section 23A's collateral 
requirements, (a) the outstanding amount of such transactions as of the 
report date and (b) the maximum amount of such transactions during the 
calendar quarter ending with the report date.
    (2) For covered transactions not subject to the collateral 
requirements, (a) the outstanding amount of such transactions as of the 
report date and (b) the maximum amount of such transactions during the 
calendar quarter ending with the report date.
    Transactions exempt from the quantitative limits of the statute 
such as extensions of credit fully secured by the U.S. Government 
securities or transactions with affiliated insured depository 
institutions known as sister banks would be excluded from the report.
    The proposed revised report distinguishes between covered 
transactions that are subject to collateral requirements and those that 
are not in order to distinguish, with the fewest possible report items, 
between the various types of covered transactions that, collectively, 
represent extensions of credit, and those that do not (e.g., purchases 
of assets). The information requested should be available and not 
significantly burdensome to report because insured depository 
institutions already should, on an ongoing basis, be continually 
monitoring their Section 23A covered transaction exposures to ensure 
compliance with the statute on an ongoing basis. Also, bank holding 
companies currently required to file the FR Y-8 must currently obtain 
thirty items of data for each individual subsidiary bank in order to 
provide aggregate data on the thirty items requested on the existing 
report. The reduction in burden associated with reducing the number of 
items reported on the current semiannual report from thirty items to 
four items and discontinuing the FR Y-8 interim report, comprising 
twenty items of aggregated data compiled from data from each insured 
subsidiary bank, should offset any burden associated with the report.
    The proposed revised report would become effective with the June 
30, 2000, reporting date.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September 15, 
1999.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 99-24545 Filed 9-20-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-F