[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 164 (Thursday, August 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44346-44347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21333]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

SUMMARY:

Background

    Notice is hereby given of the final approval of a proposed 
information collection by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System (Board) under OMB delegated authority, as per 5 CFR 1320.16 (OMB 
Regulations on Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public). Board-
approved collections of information are incorporated into the official 
OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies 
of the OMB 83-Is and supporting statements and approved collection of 
information instrument(s) 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Reserve Board Clearance 
Officer--Mary M. West--Division of Research and Statistics, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551 (202-452-
3829); OMB Desk Officer--Alexander T. Hunt--Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 3208, Washington, DC 20503 (202-395-7860).

Final Approval Under OMB Delegated Authority of the Implementation 
of the Following Reports

    Report title: the Consolidated Bank Holding Company Report of 
Equity Investments in Nonfinancial Companies.
    Agency form number: FR Y-12.
    OMB control number: 7100-0300.
    Frequency: Quarterly and semi-annually.
    Reporters: bank holding companies.
    Annual reporting hours: 14,112 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 16 hours.
    Number of respondents: 232.
    Small businesses are affected.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
mandatory (12 U.S.C. 1844(c)) and data may be exempt from disclosure 
pursuant to Sections (b)(4) and (b)(8) of the Freedom of Information 
Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and (8)).
    Abstract: The Federal Reserve will implement the mandatory FR Y-12, 
effective September 30, 2001. The FR Y-12 will collect information from 
certain domestic bank holding companies on their investments in 
nonfinancial companies on three schedules: Type of Investments, Type of 
Security, and Type of Entity within the Banking Organization. Large 
bank holding companies will report on a quarterly basis, and small bank 
holding companies will report semi-annually.
    Current actions: On May 10, 2001, the Federal Reserve issued a 
Federal Register notice (66 FR 23929) requesting public comment on a 
proposal to implement the FR Y-12. The comment period ended on July 9, 
2001, and the Federal Reserve received public comments from two 
domestic banking organizations. Both commenters stated that the manner 
and level of detail in which the Federal Reserve proposed to collect 
this information is unnecessary for monitoring the growth in 
nonfinancial equity investment portfolios. The first commenter 
suggested alternative monitoring through expanded disclosure on the 
Consolidated Financial Statements for Bank Holding Companies (FR Y-9C) 
in conjunction with analysis of information available in the Securities 
and Exchange Commission 10-Q and 10-K filings. However, institutions 
that will be required to file the FR Y-12 are a small subset of the 
institutions required to file the FR Y-9C. By expanding disclosures on 
the FR Y-9C, institutions not active in this business line may be 
confused and misleading information may be gathered as a result.
    The second commenter suggested monitoring of this information 
through the examination process. For institutions active in this 
business line, annual reviews generally are conducted through the 
supervisory examination process. However, the FR Y-12 will

[[Page 44347]]

allow the Federal Reserve to monitor an institution's activity between 
review dates and help in the examination planning process. It also will 
serve as an ``early warning'' mechanism to identify institutions where 
equity investment activities are growing rapidly and that, therefore, 
may warrant special supervisory attention.
    One commenter felt that the detailed information on Schedule A on 
the number of companies in which the bank holding company had invested 
was unnecessary. As originally proposed, the FR Y-12 required the 
reporting bank holding company to provide information separately on the 
number of direct investments in public entities, direct investments in 
nonpublic entities, and all indirect investments (lines 1 through 3 on 
Schedule A). In light of the comment and after further discussions, the 
Federal Reserve has decided that obtaining information on the total 
number of investments in the portfolio will be sufficient.
    This same commenter also strongly disagreed that the FR Y-12 should 
be made publicly available, stating that disclosure of this information 
would likely be harmful to the competitive position of BHCs. The Board 
has determined that a reporting BHC may request confidential treatment 
for certain information on the FR Y-12 under the Freedom of Information 
Act if the BHC is of the opinion that the disclosure of specific 
commercial or financial information in the report would likely result 
in substantial harm to its competitive position, or that disclosure of 
the submitted information would result in an unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy.
    The initial Federal Register notice requested comment on the 
addition of a new item related to consolidated recognized gains or 
losses on equity investments in nonfinancial companies. No public 
comments were received on this item. Therefore, the Federal Reserve 
will add this item to Schedule A as memorandum item 3. Finally, the 
commenters suggested a number of clarifications to the reporting form 
and instructions. All of the clarifications mentioned in the comment 
letters have been addressed in the final form and instructions.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 20, 
2001.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 01-21333 Filed 8-22-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P