[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 20, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56910-56913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24156]


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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 56911]]

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 Information Collection Proposals

    The following information collections, which are being handled 
under this delegated authority, have received initial Board approval 
and are hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, 
the proposed information collections, 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 collections of information are 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 collections, 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 collections on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 20, 2000.

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 mailed electronically to 
[email protected]. Comments addressed to Ms. Johnson 
also may be delivered to the Board's mailroom between 8:45 a.m. and 
5:15 p.m., and to the security control room outside of those hours. 
Both the mailroom 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, 
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer (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 Reports

    1. Report title: Annual Report of Bank Holding Companies (FR Y-6) 
and Changes in Investments and Activities of Top-Tier Financial Holding 
Companies, Bank Holding Companies, and State Member Banks (FR Y-6A)
    Agency form number: FR Y-6 and FR Y-6A
    OMB control number: 7100-0124
    Frequency: annual and event-generated
    Reporters: domestic top-tier BHCs
    Annual reporting hours: 22,552 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 4 hours.
    Number of respondents: 5,638.
    Small businesses are not affected.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
mandatory; Section 5(c) of the Bank Holding Company Act (BHC Act) (12 
U.S.C. 1844(c)); Section 9 of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 321); Section 25 of 
the FRA (12 U.S.C. 601-604a); Section 25A of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 611-
631); and, Regulation Y (12 CFR part 225). Upon request from a 
respondent, certain information may be given confidential treatment 
pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. Secs. 552(b)(4) 
and (6)).
    Abstract: All top-tier BHCs file the FR Y-6 which collects 
financial data, an organization chart and information about 
shareholders. The Federal Reserve uses the data to monitor holding 
company operations and determine holding company compliance with the 
provisions of the Bank Holding Company Act (BHC Act) and Regulation Y 
(12 CFR 225). The FR Y-6A is an event-generated report filed by top-
tier bank holding companies and unaffiliated state member banks to 
report changes in regulated investments and activities made pursuant to 
the Bank Holding Company Act and Regulation Y. The report collects 
information relating to acquisitions, divestitures, changes in 
activities, and legal authority. The number of FR Y-6As submitted 
varies depending on the reportable activity engaged in by each bank 
holding company.
    Current actions: The FR Y-6 organization charts would be revised to 
exclude small merchant banking investments and to include parallel 
language from the reportable entities sections of the proposed FR Y-10 
instructions, as appropriate. To reduce respondent burden and make the 
forms easier to use, the Federal Reserve proposes to reformat the FR Y-
6A into a new form, the FR Y-10. The proposed FR Y-10 and FR Y-10F 
forms would make the reporting of structure data for domestic and 
foreign banking organizations more similar. In addition to the 
formatting changes, the following changes would be made to the data 
content currently collected on the FR Y-6A: increase the thresholds for 
investments to be included, reduce the types of investments to be 
included, and streamline the method of reporting percentage of 
ownership for nonbanking investments. Reporting fewer investments will 
reduce reporting burden. In addition, reporting of legal authority 
(regulatory) and activity codes would be simplified.
    2. Report title: Annual Report of Foreign Banking Organizations (FR 
Y-7) and Foreign Banking Organization Structure Report on U.S. Banking 
and Nonbanking Activities (FR Y-7A)
    Agency form number: FR Y-7 and FR Y-7A
    OMB control number: 7100-0125
    Frequency: annual, event-generated
    Reporters: foreign banking organizations
    Annual reporting hours: 3,761
    Estimated average hours per response: 11.5 hours
    Number of respondents: 327
    Small businesses are not affected.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
mandatory; Section 5(c) of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1844(c)); Section 7 
and 13(a) of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3106 and 
3108 (a)); Section 25 of

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the FRA (12 U.S.C. 601-604a); Section 25A of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 611-
631); and, Regulation Y (12 CFR part 225). Upon request from a 
respondent, certain information may be given confidential treatment 
pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. Secs. 552(b)(4) 
and (6)).
    Abstract: The FR Y-7 is a report filed by all FBOs that engage in 
banking in the United States, either directly or indirectly, to update 
their financial and organizational information. The Federal Reserve 
uses information to assess an FBO's ability to be a continuing source 
of strength to its U.S. banking operations and to determine compliance 
with U.S. laws and regulations. The FR Y-7A is a structural report 
completed by foreign banking organizations that engage in banking in 
the United States, either indirectly through a subsidiary bank, Edge or 
agreement corporation, or commercial lending company, or directly 
through a branch or agency. The information contained in this report is 
used by the Federal Reserve System to assess the foreign banking 
organization's ability to be a continuing source of strength to its 
U.S. banking operations and to determine compliance with U.S. laws and 
regulations.
    Current actions: The FR Y-7 would be revised to include information 
on business measurement tests currently included on the FR Y-7A. Also, 
the due date would be changed to 90 calendar days after the 
respondent's fiscal year end to be consistent with the FR Y-6. The FR 
Y-7 organization charts would be revised to exclude small merchant 
banking investments and to include parallel language from the 
reportable entities sections of the proposed FR Y-10F instructions, as 
appropriate. To reduce respondent burden and make the forms easier to 
use, the Federal Reserve proposes to reformat the FR Y-7A into a new 
form, the FR Y-10F. The proposed FR Y-10F and FR Y-10 forms would make 
the reporting of structure data for foreign banking organizations and 
domestic more similar. In addition to the formatting changes, the 
following changes would be made to the data content currently collected 
on the FR Y-7A: increase the thresholds for investments to be included, 
reduce the types of investments to be included, and streamline the 
method of reporting percentage of ownership for nonbanking investments. 
Reporting fewer investments will reduce reporting burden. In addition, 
reporting of legal authority (regulatory) and activity codes would be 
simplified. For consistency purposes, FBOs, which currently file on an 
annual basis, would report the required structure information on an 
event-generated basis. The FR Y-10F report would also include data on 
managed non-U.S. branches, not included on the FR Y-7A report.

Proposal to Approve Under OMB Delegated Authority the Revision, 
Without Extension, of the Following Report

    Report title: Report of Changes in Foreign Investments Made 
Pursuant to Regulation K
    Agency form number: FR 2064
    OMB control number: 7100-0109
    Frequency: event-generated
    Reporters: BHCs, member banks, and Edge and agreement corporations
    Annual reporting hours: 64
    Estimated average hours per response: .40 hours
    Number of respondents: 40
    Small businesses are not affected.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
mandatory; Section 5(c) of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1844(c)); Section 7 
and 13(a) of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3106 and 
3108 (a)); Section 25 of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 601-604a); Section 25A of 
the FRA (12 U.S.C. 611-631); and, Regulation K (12 CFR part 211.7(c)); 
and is given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and (b)(6)).
    Abstract: The Report of Changes in Foreign Investments Made 
Pursuant to Regulation K is an event-generated report filed by BHCs, 
member banks, and Edge and agreement corporations to record changes in 
their international investments. The Federal Reserve uses the 
information to monitor investments in the international operations of 
U.S. banking organizations and to fulfill its supervisory 
responsibilities under Regulation K.
    Current Actions: The FR 2064 would be revised to include only the 
information on historical cost of investments, as required by 
Regulation K; structure information would be moved to the proposed FR 
Y-10. Also, the threshold for reporting these foreign investments would 
be raised, and the reporting frequency of the FR 2064 would be changed 
from event-generated to quarterly.

Proposal To Approve Under OMB Delegated Authority the 
Implementation of the Following Reports

    Report title: Report of Changes in Organizational Structure (FR Y-
10) and Report of Changes in FBO Organizational Structure (FR Y-10F).
    Agency form number: FR Y-10 and FR Y-10F.
    Frequency: event-generated.
    Reporters: FR Y-10: bank holding companies, member banks not 
affiliated with a bank holding company, Edge and agreement 
corporations; FR Y-10F: foreign banking organizations.
    Annual reporting hours: FR Y-10: 12,240 hours; FR Y-10F: 2,044 
hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1.25 hours.
    Number of respondents: FR Y-10: 2,448; FR Y-10F: 327.
    Small businesses are not affected.
    General description of report: These information collections are 
mandatory; Section 5(c) of the Bank Holding Company Act (BHC Act) (12 
U.S.C. 1844(c)); Section 4 of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1843(k)); Section 
25 of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 601-604a); Section 25A of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 
611-631); and, Regulation Y (12 CFR part 225); FR Y-10 only--Section 9 
of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 321); FR Y-10F only--Section 7 and 13(a) of the 
international Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3106 and 3108 (a)). Upon 
request from a respondent, certain information may be given 
confidential treatment pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (5 
U.S.C. Secs. 552(b)(4) and (6)).
    Current actions: To reduce burden and make the forms easier to use, 
the Federal Reserve proposes to reformat the FR Y-6A and FR Y-7A into 
two forms, the FR Y-10 and FR Y-10F, respectively. These forms would 
make the reporting of structure data for domestic and foreign banking 
organizations more similar. In addition to the formatting changes, the 
following changes would be made to the data content currently collected 
on the FR Y-6A and FR Y-7A: increase the thresholds for investments to 
be included, reduce the types of investments to be included, and 
streamline the method of reporting percentage of ownership for 
nonbanking investments. In addition, reporting of legal authority 
(regulatory) and activity codes would be simplified. To improve the 
timeliness of the data, the reporting schedule of the FR Y-10 and FR Y-
10F reports would vary for different types of transactions. For 
consistency purposes, FBOs, which currently file on an annual basis, 
would report the required structure information on an event-generated 
basis. The FR Y-10F report would also include data on managed non-U.S. 
branches, not included on the FR Y-7A report. In addition structure 
information would be moved from the FR 2064 to the FR Y-10.
    In particular the Federal Reserve is requesting comment on the 
following:
    The Federal Reserve considered additional alternatives for reducing 
reporting burden for these reports. One possibility would be a 
materiality test for reporting nonbanking companies

[[Page 56913]]

(such as insurance and securities companies) that do not file financial 
reports with the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve solicits 
comment on whether such a materiality test would be helpful, and, if 
so, how this should be defined. The FR Y-6 and FR Y-7 include 
organization charts, which would collect information about entities 
that would not be reportable on the proposed FR Y-10 and FR Y-10F. The 
Federal Reserve solicits comment on whether reporters would find it 
easier to annotate the organization charts to show the entities that 
are not reportable on the proposed new reports or to list those 
entities separately.
    The proposed FR Y-10 and FR Y-10F would collect information about a 
reportable entity's primary activity, and the proposed definition of 
`primary' is based on revenue. The Federal Reserve solicits comment on 
whether gross or net revenue is appropriate for this definition or, as 
an alternative, whether assets should be used.
    The Federal Reserve also solicits comments on whether reporters 
would find NAICS codes useful in describing the activities of their 
nonbanking entities.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September 15, 
2000.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 00-24156 Filed 9-19-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P