[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 184 (Thursday, September 21, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57119-57121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24214]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 000609170-0170-01]
RIN 0691-AA38


International Services Surveys: BE-82, Annual Survey of Financial 
Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and 
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document sets forth proposed rules to revise regulations 
to present the reporting requirements for the BE-82, Annual Survey of 
Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services 
Providers an Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
    The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and 
other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995. The BE-82 survey is mandatory and is conducted annually, in which 
years the BE-80, Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions 
Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign 
Persons is not conducted, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), 
U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International Investment and 
Trade in Services Survey Act hereinafter ``the Act,'' and under Section 
5408 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. The first 
annual survey conducted under these proposed rules will cover 
transactions in fiscal year 2000. BEA will send the survey to potential 
respondents in January of the year 2001; responses will be due by March 
31, 2001. The last annual survey was conducted for 1998. The annual 
survey will obtain data used to update universe data, collected on the 
BE-80 benchmark survey, on trade in financial services, by type and by 
country, between U.S. financial services providers and unaffiliated 
foreign persons. Data from the BE-82 survey (and the benchmark survey, 
the BE-80) are needed to monitor trade in financial services, analyze 
its impact on the U.S. and foreign economies, compile and improve the 
U.S. economic accounts, support U.S. commercial policy on financial 
services, conduct trade promotion, improve the ability of U.S. 
businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities, and for other 
Government uses.
    BEA proposes to raise the exemption level for the BE-82 survey to 
$10 million in covered sales or purchases transactions, from $5 million 
on the previous (1998) survey. Raising the exemption level will reduce 
burden, particularly for small companies. BEA also proposes to combine 
private placement services with underwriting services, combine foreign 
exchange brokerage services with other brokerage services, and create a 
separate category for electronic funds transfers. The changes in the 
types of services to be reported separately mirror changes introduced 
in the 1999 BE-80 benchmark survey. Finally, BEA has restated the 
definition of ``financial services provider'' using the nomenclature of 
the new North American Industry Classification System that has replaced 
the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification System.
    The changes in the types of services to be reported separately 
reflect BEA's experience in collecting data on financial services 
transactions over the past 6 years. Data collected for both private 
placement and foreign exchange brokerage services have been very small 
and do not justify the continuation of separate reporting. Electronic 
funds transfer services, in contract, appear to account for a large 
fraction of both total receipts and total payments for ``other 
financial services,'' in which electronic funds transfers were 
previously included.

DATES:  Comments on these proposed rules will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before November 20, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Mail comments to the Office of the Chief, International 
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, or hand deliver comments 
to room M-100, 1441 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005. Comments will 
be available for public inspection in room 7005, 1441 L Street, NW., 
between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R. David Belli, Chief, International 
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These proposed rules amend 15 CFR Part 801 
to set forth revised reporting requirements for the BE-82, Annual 
Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between Financial Services 
Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. The Bureau of Economic 
Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, will conduct the survey 
under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 
U.S.C. 3101-3108), and under Section 5408 of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4908). Section 4(a) of the Act 
(22 U.S.C. 3103(a)) provides that ``The President shall, to the extent 
he deems necessary and feasible--* * * (1) conduct a regular data 
collection program to secure current information * * * related to 
international investment and trade in services * * *; and (5) publish 
for the use of the general public and United States Government agencies 
periodic, regular, and comprehensive statistical information collected 
pursuant to this subsection * * *'' In Section 3 of Executive Order 
11961, the President delegated authority granted under the Act as 
concerns international trade in services to the Secretary of Commerce, 
who has redelegated it to BEA.
    The major purposes of the survey are to monitor trade in financial 
services, analyze its impact on the U.S. and foreign economies, compile 
and improve the U.S. economic accounts, support U.S. commercial policy 
on

[[Page 57120]]

financial services, conduct trade promotion, and improve the ability of 
U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities.
    As proposed, BEA will conduct the BE-82 survey in years in which a 
BE-80 benchmark survey, or census, is not conducted. The last survey 
was conducted for 1998. The survey will update the data provided on the 
universe of financial services transactions between U.S. financial 
services providers and unaffiliated foreign persons. Reporting is 
required from U.S. financial services providers who have sales to or 
purchases from unaffiliated foreign persons in all covered financial 
services combined in excess of $10 million during the reporting year. 
Financial services providers meeting this criteria must supply data on 
the amount of their sales or purchases for each covered type of 
service, disaggregated by country. U.S. financial services providers 
that have covered transactions of less than $10 million during the 
reporting year are asked to provide voluntary estimates of their total 
sales and purchases of each type of financial service.

Executive Order 13132

    These proposed rules do not contain policies with Federalism 
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism 
assessment under E.O. 13132.

Executive Order 12866

    These proposed rules are not significant for purposes of E.O. 
12866.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    These proposed rules contain a collection of information 
requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and have been 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review under the 
PRA.
    Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty 
for failure to comply with, a collection-of-information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection 
displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget Control 
Number.
    The survey, as proposed, is expected to result in the filing of 
reports, containing mandatory or voluntary data, from about 375 
respondents. The average burden for completing the BE-82--both the 
mandatory and voluntary sections--is estimated to be 7 hours. Thus, the 
total respondent burden of the survey is estimated at 2,600 hours (375 
respondents times 7 hours average burden). The actual burden will vary 
from reporter to reporter, depending upon the number and variety of 
their financial services transactions and the ease of assembling the 
data. Thus, it may range from 4 hours for a reporter that has a small 
number and variety of transactions and easily accessible data, or that 
reports only in the voluntary section of the form, to 150 hours for a 
very large reporter that engages in a large number and variety of 
financial services transactions and has difficulty in locating and 
assembling the required data. This estimate includes time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information.
    Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the burden estimate; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Comments should be addressed to: Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis 
(BE-1), U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, and to the 
Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A., Paperwork Reduction Project 
0608-0062, Washington, DC 20503 (Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Chief Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, has 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business 
Administration, under provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 605(b)), that this proposed rulemaking, if adopted, will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The information collection excludes most small businesses 
from mandatory reporting. Companies that engage in international 
financial services transactions tend to be quite large. In addition, 
the reporting threshold for this survey is set at a level that will 
exempt most small businesses from reporting. The BE-82 annual survey 
will be required only from U.S. persons with sales to, or purchases 
from, unaffiliated foreign persons in excess of $10 million during the 
reporting year, in all covered financial services transactions 
combined; the exemption level for the previous annual survey, covering 
1998, was $5 million. Thus, the exemption level will exclude most small 
businesses from mandatory coverage. Of those smaller businesses that 
must report, most will tend to have specialized operations and 
activities, so they will likely report only one type of transaction; 
therefore, the burden on them should be small.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

    Balance of payments, Economic statistics, Foreign trade, Penalties, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 15, 2000.
J. Steven Landefeld,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 
CFR Part 801, as follows:

PART 801--SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S. 
AND FOREIGN PERSONS

    1. The authority citation for 15 CFR Part 801 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; 
E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86 as amended by E.O. 12013, 3 
CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 147; E.O. 12318, 3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173; and 
E.O. 12518 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 348.

    2. Section 801.9 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(7) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 801.9  Reports required.

    (b) * * *
    (7) BE-82, Annual Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between 
U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons:
    (i) A BE-82, Annual Survey of Financial Services Transactions 
Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign 
Persons, will be conducted covering companies' 1995 fiscal year and 
every year thereafter except when a BE-80 Benchmark Survey of Financial 
Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and 
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons, is conducted (see Sec. 801.11). All legal 
authorities, provisions, definitions, and requirements contained in 
Sec. 801.1 through Sec. 801.8 are applicable to this survey. Additional 
rules and regulations for the BE-82 survey are given in paragraphs 
(b)(7)(i)(A) through (D) of this section. More detailed instructions 
are given on the report from itself.
    (A) Who must report--(1) Mandatory reporting. Reports are required 
from

[[Page 57121]]

each U.S. person who is a financial services provider or intermediary, 
or whose consolidated U.S. enterprise includes a separately organized 
subsidiary or part that is a financial services provider or 
intermediary, and who had transactions (either sales or purchases) 
directly with unaffiliated foreign persons in all financial services 
combined in excess of $10,000,000 during its fiscal year covered by the 
survey. The $10,000,000 threshold should be applied to financial 
services transactions with unaffiliated foreign persons by all parts of 
the consolidated U.S. enterprise combined that are financial services 
providers or intermediaries. Because the $10,000,000 threshold applies 
separately to sales and purchases, the mandatory reporting requirement 
may apply only to sales, only to purchases, or to both sales and 
purchases.
    (i) The determination of whether a U.S. financial services provider 
or intermediary is subject to this mandatory reporting requirement may 
be judgmental, that is, based on the judgement of knowledgeable persons 
in a company who can identify reportable transactions on a recall 
basis, with a reasonable degree of certainty, without conducting a 
detailed manual records search.
    (ii) Reporters who file pursuant to this mandatory reporting 
requirement must provide data on total sales and/or purchases of each 
of the covered types of financial services transactions and must 
disaggregate the totals by country.
    (2) Voluntary reporting. If, during the fiscal year covered, sales 
or purchases of financial services by a firm that is a financial 
services provider or intermediary, or by a firm's subsidiaries or parts 
combined that are financial services providers or intermediaries, are 
$10,000,000 or less, the U.S. person is requested to provide an 
estimate of the total for each type of service. Provision of this 
information is voluntary. Because the $10,000,000 threshold applies 
separately to sales and purchases, this voluntary reporting option may 
apply only to sales, only to purchases, or to both sales or purchases.
    (B) BE-82 definition of financial services provider. Except for 
Monetary Authorities (i.e., Central Banks), the definition of financial 
services provider used for this survey is identical in coverage to 
Sector 52--Finance and Insurance--of the North American Industry 
Classification System, United States, 1997. For example, companies and/
or subsidiaries and other separable parts of companies in the following 
industries are defined as financial services providers: Depository 
credit intermediation and related activities (including commercial 
banking, holding companies, savings institutions, check cashing, and 
debit card issuing); nondepository credit intermediation (including 
credit card issuing, sales financing, and consumer lending); 
securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and 
related activities (including security and commodity futures brokers, 
dealers, exchanges, traders, underwriters, investment bankers, and 
providers of securities custody services); insurance carries and 
related activities (including agents, brokers, and service providers); 
investment advisors and managers and funds, trusts, and other financial 
vehicles (including mutual funds, pension funds, real estate investment 
trusts, investors, stock quotation services, etc.).
    (C) Covered types of services. The BE-82 survey covers the same 
types of financial services transactions that are covered by the BE-80 
benchmark survey, as listed in Sec. 801.11(c)
    (D) What to file. (1) The BE-82 survey consists of Forms BE-82 (A) 
and BE-82(B). Before completing a form BE-82 (B), a consolidated U.S. 
enterprise (including the top parent and all of its subsidiaries and 
parts combined) must complete Form BE-82(A) to determine its reporting 
status. If the enterprise is subject to the mandatory reporting 
requirement, or if it is exempt from the mandatory reporting 
requirement but chooses to report data voluntarily, either a separate 
Form BE-82(B) for each separately organized financial services 
subsidiary or part of a consolidated U.S. enterprise, or a single BE-
82(B) representing the sum of all covered transactions by all financial 
services subsidiaries or parts of the enterprise combined.
    (2) Reporters who receive the BE-82 survey from BEA, but that are 
not reporting data in either the mandatory or voluntary section of any 
BE-82(B), must return the Exemption Claim, attached to Form BE-82 (A), 
to BEA.
    (ii) [Reserved]
* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00-24214 Filed 9-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-M