[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 179 (Monday, September 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58425-58427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23430]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

ACTION: Notice

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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 inventory of currently approved 
collections of information. Copies of the OMB 83-I's 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 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 15, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Ms. Jennifer J. Johnson, 
Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th 
Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20551. However, 
because paper mail in the

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Washington area and at the Board of Governors is subject to delay, 
please consider submitting your comments by e- mail to 
[email protected], or faxing them to the Office of the 
Secretary at 202-452-3819 or 202-452-3102. Comments addressed to Ms. 
Johnson may also be delivered to the Board's mail facility in the West 
Courtyard between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., located on 21st Street 
between Constitution Avenue and C Street, N.W. Members of the public 
may inspect comments in Room MP-500 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on 
weekdays pursuant to 261.12, except as provided in 261.14, of the 
Board's Rules Regarding Availability of Information, 12 CFR 261.12 and 
261.14.
    A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk 
officer for the Board: Joseph F. Lackey, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the reporting 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 Capria Mitchell (202) 872-4984, 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

Proposal to approve under OMB delegated authority to revise the Filing 
Method for the following reports:

Report title: Financial Statements for Bank Holding Companies
Agency form number: FR Y-9C, FR Y-9LP, FR Y-9SP, and FR Y-9CS
OMB control number: 7100-0128
Frequency: Quarterly, semiannually
Reporters: Bank holding companies (BHCs)
Annual reporting hours: FR Y-9C: 252,675 hours, FR Y-9LP: 40,495 hours, 
FR Y-9SP: 28,273 hours, FR Y-9CS: 1,200 hours
Estimated average hours per response: FR Y-9C: 33.98 hours, FR Y-9LP: 
4.55 hours, FR Y-9SP: 3.89 hours, FR Y-9CS: 30 minutes
Number of respondents: FR Y-9C: 1,859, FR Y-9LP: 2,225, FR Y-9SP: 
3,634, FR Y- 9CS: 600
Small businesses are affected.
General description of report: This information collection is mandatory 
(12 U.S.C. 1844(c)). Confidential treatment is not routinely given to 
the data in these reports. However, confidential treatment for the 
reporting information, in whole or in part, can be requested in 
accordance with the instructions to the form.
Abstract: The FR Y-9C consists of standardized consolidated financial 
statements similar to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination 
Council (FFIEC) Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call 
Reports) (FFIEC 031 & 041; OMB No.7100- 0036). The FR Y-9C is filed 
quarterly by top-tier bank holding companies that have total assets of 
$150 million or more and by lower-tier bank holding companies that have 
total consolidated assets of $1 billion or more. In addition, multibank 
holding companies with total consolidated assets of less than $150 
million with debt outstanding to the general public or engaged in 
certain nonbank activities must file the FR Y-9C.
    The FR Y-9LP includes standardized financial statements filed 
quarterly on a parent company only basis from each bank holding company 
that files the FR Y-9C. In addition, for tiered bank holding companies, 
a separate FR Y-9LP must be filed for each lower tier bank holding 
company.
    The FR Y-9SP is a parent company only financial statement filed 
semiannually by one-bank holding companies with total consolidated 
assets of less than $150 million, and multibank holding companies with 
total consolidated assets of less than $150 million that meet certain 
other criteria. This report, an abbreviated version of the more 
extensive FR Y-9LP, is designed to obtain basic balance sheet and 
income statement information for the parent company, information on 
intangible assets, and information on intercompany transactions.
    The FR Y-9CS is a free form supplement that may be utilized to 
collect any additional information deemed to be critical and needed in 
an expedited manner. It is intended to supplement the FR Y-9C and FR Y-
9SP reports.
Current actions: The Federal Reserve proposes to require electronic 
submission of all FR Y-9 reports effective with the June 30, 2003, 
report date for FR Y-9C and FR Y-9LP filers and the December 31, 2003, 
report date\1\for FR Y-9SP filers. The Federal Reserve would no longer 
accept paper copy reports from BHCs. The current submission deadline 
would remain 45 calendar days after the report date.
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    \1\ The Federal Reserve is proposing to implement a new annual 
report (FR Y-9ES) that would be filed by ESOP banking holding 
companies effective December 31, 2002. If the FR Y-9ES report is 
approved it would be subject to the electronic submission 
requirement for the December 31, 2003 report date. See Federal 
Register notice (67 FR 49356) published July 30, 2002.
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    BHCs that do not currently submit their FR Y-9 reports 
electronically may either develop the appropriate software for 
electronic submission or contract with a software vendor that can 
provide the required software and services.\2\ Any BHC that would like 
to develop its own electronic submission software would be required to 
contact its district Federal Reserve Bank for guidance.
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    \2\ For further information on available BHC reporting 
preparation software, a list of some of the vendors who market this 
software follows: The InterCept Group, 27200 Agoura Road, Suite 100 
Calabasas Hills, CA 91301, Telephone: (800) 825-3772, 
www.intercept.net. DBI Financial Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 90360 Santa 
Barbara, CA 91390-0360, Telephone: (800) 774-3279, www.e-dbi.com. 
Milas LLC, 2936 Graceland Way, Glendale, CA 91206, Telephone: (888) 
862-7610. Financial Architects US, 80 Slocum Avenue, Bronxville, New 
York 10708, Telephone: (914) 376-5405, www.finarch.com. Sheshunoff 
Information Services, P.O. Box 13203 Capital Station, Austin, TX 
78711, Telephone: (800) 456-2340, www.sheshunoff.com. S1 
Corporation, 2815 Coliseum Centre Drive, Suite 300, Charlotte, NC 
28217, Telephone: (704) 423-0394, frs.s1.com. STB Systems, 245 Park 
Avenue, 39th Floor, New York, NY 10167, Telephone: (212) 792-4136, 
www.stbsystems.com. This list is not an endorsement from the Federal 
Reserve of any of these products.
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    The Federal Reserve has provided BHCs the option to submit their FR 
Y-9 reports electronically (via FedLine in 1991 and the Internet in 
2000), but has never required electronic submission. The Federal 
Reserve has continued to promote the use of electronic submission of 
the FR Y-9 series of reports and other regulatory reports. Currently, 
approximately 60% of the larger BHCs submit their FR Y-9C and FR Y-9LP 
reports electronically, while only about 20% of the smaller BHCs submit 
their FR Y-9SP reports electronically. However, all banks have been 
required to submit their FFIEC Call Reports electronically since 1997.
    The Federal Reserve proposes to require electronic submission of 
the reports as part of an ongoing effort to provide the public with 
financial information for U.S. BHCs on a timelier basis. Requiring 
electronic submission would be the first phase in this effort. The 
Federal Reserve anticipates that in the future BHCs would be required 
to build into their electronic submission software data editing 
capabilities utilizing the Federal Reserve's ``validity'' and 
``quality'' edits. As part of the electronic submission process,

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BHCs would be required to pass all validity edits and provide narrative 
remarks for all quality edit exceptions prior to data being accepted by 
the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve will submit these data editing 
requirements for public comment as a separate proposal at a later date.
    A list of validity edits is located in the instructions to the FR 
Y-9 reports (except for the FR Y-9CS) and has been available to BHCs 
and software vendors for a number of years. These validity edits are 
principally used by the Federal Reserve to check the mathematical 
accuracy of financial data submitted in the FR Y-9 reports. The Federal 
Reserve also employs quality edits, currently not available to BHCs and 
software vendors, typically used to review the relationships between 
report line items and schedules. The Federal Reserve anticipates 
releasing many of the quality edits to BHCs and software vendors in the 
near future so that they may become familiar with the type of review 
performed by the Federal Reserve.
    The Federal Reserve envisions that when these two requirements, 
mandated electronic submission and editing, are operating effectively, 
it could accelerate the public release of BHC financial data in a time 
frame that is much closer to the submission date. Currently, the 
Federal Reserve makes available to the public via the Internet (at the 
Federal Reserve Board's public web site at www.federalreserve.gov) data 
from the FR Y-9C and FR Y-9LP reports for the 50 largest U.S. BHCs 
generally within 10 days of the submission deadline. All other FR Y-9 
data are typically posted to the Internet within 35 days after the 
submission date. These data are posted to the Internet after the 
financial data are reviewed and edited by the Federal Reserve.
    The Federal Reserve believes that this approach will result in a 
more efficient financial data collection and dissemination process. 
This revised process should not be a significant burden to large or 
small bank holding companies because of advancements in, and the common 
use of, computer technology, and because all banks are currently 
required to submit their Call Reports electronically.
    The Federal Reserve plans to extend the electronic submission 
requirement to other Federal Reserve regulatory reports in the future.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September 10, 
2002.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 02-23430 Filed 9-13-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-S