[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 25, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48983-48985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23844]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 186 / Tuesday, September 25, 2001 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 48983]]



DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

12 CFR Part 8

[Docket No. 01-20]
RIN 1557-ACOO


Assessment of Fees

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is 
proposing to amend 12 CFR 8.2(a), which sets forth the formula for the 
semiannual assessment the OCC charges each national bank. The amendment 
would revise the formula to establish a minimum base amount for the 
semiannual assessment for the first assessment bracket ($0-$2 million) 
of the assessment schedule. This change will enable the OCC to modestly 
adjust its assessments to better align with its costs of supervision.

DATES: Comments must be received October 25, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to: Communications Division, 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Mailstop 
1-5, Washington, DC 20219, Attention: Docket No. 01-20. In addition, 
comments may be sent via facsimile to (202) 874-4448 or via Internet at 
[email protected]. You may make an appointment to inspect and 
photocopy comments at the same location by calling (202) 874-5043.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Meyer, Counsel, Legislative 
and Regulatory Activities Division, (202) 874-5090; or David Nebhut, 
Director, Policy Analysis, (202) 874-5220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The OCC charters, regulates, and supervises approximately 2,200 
national banks and 58 Federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in 
the United States, accounting for approximately 55 percent of the 
nation's banking assets. Our mission is to ensure a safe, sound, and 
competitive national banking system that supports the citizens, 
communities, and economy of the United States.
    The OCC funds the activities it undertakes to carry out this 
mission through assessments on institutions regulated by the OCC. The 
National Bank Act authorizes the OCC to collect assessments, fees, or 
other charges as necessary or appropriate to carry out the 
responsibilities of the Office. 12 U.S.C. 482 (Supp. 2000). The statute 
requires that our charges be set to meet the Comptroller's expenses in 
carrying out authorized activities. Id. Pursuant to part 8 of its 
regulations, the OCC currently assesses national banks and Federal 
branches and agencies according to the following formula, set forth in 
the table at Sec. 8.2(a):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 If the banks' total assets  (consolidated domestic                  The semiannual assessment is:
           and foreign subsidiaries) are:            -----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------  This amount--Base    Plus--Marginal     Of excess over--
             Over--                 But not over--          Amount               rates       -------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Column A                   Column B            Column C            Column D            Column E
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Million                    Million                                                     Million
$0..............................  $2................  $0................  Y1................  $0
2...............................  20................  X1................  Y2................  2
20..............................  100...............  X2................  Y3................  20
100.............................  200...............  X3................  Y4................  100
200.............................  1,000.............  X4................  Y5................  200
1,000...........................  2,000.............  X5................  Y6................  1,000
2,000...........................  6,000.............  X6................  Y7................  2,000
6,000...........................  20,000............  X7................  Y8................  6,000
20,000..........................  40,000............  X8................  Y9................  20,000
40,000..........................  ..................  X9................  Y10...............  40,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under this formula, the OCC assesses a national bank according to 
the amount of assets the bank reports on its Consolidated Report of 
Condition (Including Domestic and Foreign Subsidiaries) (``Call 
Report'') filed for the quarter preceding the semiannual assessment 
period. A bank calculates the book-asset component of its assessment by 
first identifying which of 10 asset categories it fits within. If the 
bank fits within the smallest category (i.e., $0 to $2 million), it 
multiplies all of its assets by a marginal rate that is provided each 
year by the OCC in the Notice of the Comptroller of the Currency Fees 
(Notice of Fees). Under this system, a national bank with $2 million in 
assets currently pays approximately $3,211 ($2 million multiplied by 
the 0.0016057180 marginal rate currently in effect) semiannually for 
the cost of its supervision by the OCC.
    If the bank fits within any of the other nine asset categories, the 
bank pays a base amount provided in the Notice of Fees for that 
category (which equals the assessment on the largest bank in the next 
smallest asset category), plus an amount determined by multiplying a 
marginal rate (also provided in the Notice of Fees) by the amount of 
its assets that exceed the low end-point of its category. Thus, for 
example, a bank with $10 million in assets would fall into the second 
asset category ($2 million to $20 million) and would pay an assessment 
equal to $3,211, which is

[[Page 48984]]

the current base amount for its category, plus $1605, which is the 
product of the current marginal rate for that category (0.0002007170), 
multiplied by $8 million (the amount of its assets that exceeds the $2 
million low-end point for its category).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ This simple calculation assumes no adjustments would be made 
to the assessment to reflect, for instance, a bank's status as a 
non-lead bank or a composite supervisory rating of 3, 4, or 5 under 
the Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System or ROCA rating 
(which rates risk management, operational controls, compliance, and 
asset quality), as appropriate. See 12 CFR 8.2(a)(6) and (7).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Proposed Rule

    The OCC proposes to revise the table at Sec. 8.2(a) to establish a 
minimum base amount for the semiannual assessment for the first 
assessment bracket of the assessment schedule. This would be 
accomplished by deleting the figure of $0 as the base amount in Column 
C for the first asset bracket and replacing it with a variable (X1), 
and deleting the variable Y1 in Column D and replacing it with $0. The 
proposed revised table at Sec. 8.2(a) would look as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 If the banks' total assets  (consolidated domestic                  The semiannual assessment is:
           and foreign subsidiaries) are:            -----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------  This amount--Base    Plus--Marginal     Of excess over--
             Over--                 But not over--          Amount               rates       -------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Column A                   Column B            Column C            Column D            Column E
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Million                    Million                                                     Million
$0..............................  $2................  X1................  $0................  ..................
2...............................  20................  X2................  Y1................  2
20..............................  100...............  X3................  Y2................  20
100.............................  200...............  X4................  Y3................  100
200.............................  1,000.............  X5................  Y4................  200
1,000...........................  2,000.............  X6................  Y5................  1,000
2,000...........................  6,000.............  X7................  Y6................  2,000
6,000...........................  20,000............  X8................  Y7................  6,000
20,000..........................  40,000............  X9................  Y8................  20,000
40,000..........................  ..................  X10...............  Y9................  40,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As amended, the OCC's assessment formula would require national 
banks to pay an assessment equal to the base amount (X1) for assets 
subject to the first asset bracket. The OCC anticipates that the 
December 1, 2001, Notice of Fees will include a base amount in the 
range of $5,000. For example, if this base amount were applied to the 
smallest asset bracket, this would result in a minimum semiannual 
assessment charge for these banks of $5,000, or an increase of $1,789 
for a bank with balance sheet assets of $2 million. The base amount for 
each of the larger categories (X2-X10) would increase by the same 
dollar amount, because the base amount for any category is the maximum 
that a bank in the immediately preceding asset category would pay.
    This modest increase is necessary and appropriate under 12 U.S.C. 
482 to carry out the OCC's supervisory responsibilities, particularly 
in regard to the smallest banks it supervises. The adjustment will help 
to provide that the assessments received from national banks are better 
aligned with the banks' fair share of the expenses of the OCC.

III. Comment Solicitation

    The OCC requests comment on all aspects of this proposal, as well 
as on alternatives to the proposal. We also ask for comment on the 
impact of this proposal on small banks and on community banks. The OCC 
recognizes that these banks operate with more limited resources than 
larger institutions and may present a different risk profile. Thus, the 
OCC requests comment on the impact of the proposal on small banks' and 
community banks' current resources, and whether the goals of the 
proposal could be achieved, for these banks, through an alternative 
approach.

Solicitation of Comments on Use of Plain Language

    Section 722 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Pub. L. 106-102, sec. 
722, 113 Stat. 1338, 1471 (Nov. 12. 1999), requires the Federal banking 
agencies to use plain language in all proposed and final rules 
published after January 1, 2000. We invite your comments on how to make 
this proposal easier to understand. For example:
     Have we organized the material to suit your needs? If not, 
how could this material be better organized?
     Are the requirements in the proposed regulation clearly 
stated? If not, how could the regulation be more clearly stated?
     Does the proposed regulation contain language or jargon 
that is not clear? If so, which language requires clarification?
     Would a different format (grouping and order of sections, 
use of headings, paragraphing) make the regulation easier to 
understand? If so, what changes to the format would make the regulation 
easier to understand?
     What else could we do to make the regulation easier to 
understand?

IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    An agency must prepare a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis if a rule 
it proposes will have a ``significant economic impact'' on a 
``substantial number of small entities.'' 5 U.S.C. 603, 605. If, after 
an analysis of a rule, an agency determines that the rule is not 
expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities, section 605(b) provides that the head of the agency 
may so certify.
    The OCC has reviewed the impact this proposed rule will have on 
small national banks. For purposes of this Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis and proposed regulation, the OCC defines ``small national 
banks'' to be those banks with less than $100 million in total assets. 
Based on that review, the OCC certifies that the proposed rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The basis for this conclusion is that the minimum semiannual 
assessment for these banks will increase by only approximately $1,789. 
The OCC does not believe this to be a significant economic impact.

V. Executive Order 12866

    The OCC has determined that this proposal is not a significant 
regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

[[Page 48985]]

VI. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, Pub. L. 
104-4 (2 U.S.C. 1532) (Unfunded Mandates Act), requires that an agency 
prepare a budgetary impact statement before promulgating any rule 
likely to result in a federal mandate that may result in the 
expenditure by state, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, 
or by the private sector of $100 million or more in any one year. If a 
budgetary impact statement is required, section 205 of the Unfunded 
Mandates Act also requires an agency to identify and consider a 
reasonable number of regulatory alternatives before promulgating a 
rule. The OCC has determined that the proposed rule will not result in 
expenditures by state, local, and tribal governments, or by the private 
sector, of $100 million or more in any one year. Accordingly, this 
rulemaking requires no further analysis under the Unfunded Mandates 
Act.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 8

    National banks, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Authority and Issuance

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the OCC proposes to 
amend part 8 of chapter I of title 12 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations as follows:

PART 8--ASSESSMENT OF FEES

    1. The authority citation for Part 8 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 93a, 481, 482, 1867, 3102, and 3108; 15 
U.S.C. 78c and 781; and 26 D.C. Code 102.

    2. In Sec. 8.2, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 8.2  Semiannual assessment.

    (a) Each national bank and each District of Columbia bank shall pay 
to the Comptroller of the Currency a semiannual assessment fee, due by 
January 31 and July 31 of each year, for the six-month period beginning 
30 days before each payment date. The amount of the semiannual 
assessment paid by each bank is computed as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 If the banks' total assets  (consolidated domestic                  The semiannual assessment is:
           and foreign subsidiaries) are:            -----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------  This amount--Base    Plus--Marginal     Of excess over--
             Over--                 But not over--          Amount               rates       -------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Column A                   Column B            Column C            Column D            Column E
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Million                    Million                                                     Million
$0..............................  $2................  X1................  $0................  ..................
2...............................  20................  X2................  Y1................  2
20..............................  100...............  X3................  Y2................  20
100.............................  200...............  X4................  Y3................  100
200.............................  1,000.............  X5................  Y4................  200
1,000...........................  2,000.............  X6................  Y5................  1,000
2,000...........................  6,000.............  X7................  Y6................  2,000
6,000...........................  20,000............  X8................  Y7................  6,000
20,000..........................  40,000............  X9................  Y8................  20,000
40,000..........................  ..................  X10...............  Y9................  40,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

    Dated: September 17, 2001.
John D. Hawke, Jr.,
Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 01-23844 Filed 9-24-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P