[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 168 (Friday, August 29, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51939-51941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22140]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 030815201-3201-01]
RIN 0691-AA50


International Services Surveys: BE-85, Quarterly 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 a proposed rule to institute a new 
survey, BE-85, Quarterly Survey of Financial Services Transactions 
Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign 
Persons, to be conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. 
Department of Commerce.
    The proposed survey is mandatory and will be conducted under the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act and under 
Section 5408 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. The 
first survey conducted under this proposed rule will cover transactions 
in the first quarter of 2004. Data from the proposed BE-85 survey are 
needed to monitor

[[Page 51940]]

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.
    The proposed survey will cover the same financial services 
presently covered by the BE-82, Annual Survey of Financial Service 
Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated 
Foreign Persons, which the proposed quarterly survey would replace, 
following a final annual data collection for 2003.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before October 28, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to the Office of the Chief, 
International Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington DC 20230. Because of slow mail, 
and to assure that comments are received in a timely manner, please 
consider using one of the following delivery methods: (1) Fax to (202) 
606-5318, (2) deliver by courier to U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau 
of Economic Analysis, BE-50, Shipping and Receiving Section M100, 1441 
L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005, or (3) e-mail to 
[email protected]. Comments will be available for public inspection 
in room 7006, 1441 L Street, NW., between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Obie G. Whichard, Assistant Chief, 
International Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; or via the Internet 
at [email protected] (Telephone (202) 606-9890).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule would amend 15 CFR 801.9 
to set forth the reporting requirements for the BE-85, Quarterly 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, conduct a regular data collection program 
to secure current information related to international investment and 
trade in services and 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, as amended by Executive Order 
12518, the President delegated authority granted under the Act as 
concerns international trade in services to the Secretary of Commerce, 
who has redelegated that authority 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 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-85 survey on a quarterly basis 
beginning with the first quarter of 2004. BEA will send the survey to 
potential respondents in March of 2004, responses will be due by May 
15, 2004. 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 whose sales of covered services to 
unaffiliated foreign persons exceeded $20 million for the previous 
fiscal year or that expect such sales to exceed that amount during the 
current fiscal year, or whose purchases of covered services from 
unaffiliated foreign persons exceeded $15 million for the previous 
fiscal year or that expect such purchases to exceed that amount during 
the current fiscal year. Financial services providers meeting any of 
these 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 do not meet the mandatory 
reporting requirements are requested to provide voluntary estimates of 
their total sales or purchases of each type of financial service.

Executive Order 12866

    This proposed rule is not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.

Executive Order 13132

    This proposed rule does not contain policies with Federalism 
implications as that term is defined in E.O. 13132.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule contains a collection of information requirement 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and has 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 BE-85 survey, as proposed, is expected to result in the filing 
of reports containing mandatory data from about 55 respondents on a 
quarterly basis, or 220 responses annually. The average burden for 
completing the BE-85 is estimated to be 10 hours. Thus, the total 
respondent burden of the survey is estimated at 2,200 hours (220 
responses times 10 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, for each quarter it may range from 4 hours for a reporter 
that has a small number and variety of transactions and easily 
accessible data to 100 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; or faxed 
(202-395-7245) or e-mailed ([email protected]) to the Office of 
Management and Budget, O.I.R.A., (Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA).

[[Page 51941]]

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 proposed BE-85 
quarterly survey will be required from U.S. financial services 
providers whose sales of covered services to unaffiliated foreign 
persons exceeded $20 million for the previous fiscal year or that 
expect such sales to exceed that amount during the current fiscal year, 
or whose purchases of covered services from unaffiliated foreign 
persons exceeded $15 million for the previous fiscal year or that 
expect such purchases to exceed that amount during the current fiscal 
year. 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

    Economic statistics, Foreign trade, International transactions, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Rosemary D. Marcuss,
Deputy 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 adding new paragraph (c)(4) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  801.9  Reports required.

    (c) Quarterly surveys. * * *
    (4) BE-85, Quarterly Survey of Financial Services Transactions 
Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign 
Persons:
    (i) A BE-85, Quarterly Survey of Financial Services Transactions 
Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign 
Persons, will be conducted covering the first quarter of the 2004 
calendar year and every quarter thereafter.
    (A) Who must report--(1) Mandatory reporting. Reports are required 
from 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 that had sales of covered services to 
unaffiliated foreign persons that exceeded $20 million for the previous 
fiscal year or expects sales to exceed that amount during the current 
fiscal year, or had purchases of covered services from unaffiliated 
foreign persons that exceeded $15 million for the previous fiscal year 
or expects purchases to exceed that amount during the current fiscal 
year. These thresholds 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 thresholds are applied 
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 mandatary reporting requirement may 
be 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 a financial services provider or 
intermediary, or all of a firm's subsidiaries or parts combined that 
are financial services providers or intermediaries, had covered sales 
of $20 million or less, or covered purchases of $15 million or less 
during the previous fiscal year, and if covered sales or purchases are 
not expected to exceed these amounts in the current fiscal year, a 
person is requested to provide an estimate of the total for each type 
of service for the most recent quarter. Provision of this information 
is voluntary. The estimates may be based on the reasoned judgement of 
the reporting entity. Because these thresholds apply separately to 
sales and purchases, voluntary reporting may apply only to sales, only 
to purchases, or to both.
    (B) BE-85 definition of financial services provider. 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, 2002. 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 carriers and 
related activities (including agents, brokers, and services 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-85 survey covers the 
following types of financial services transactions (purchases and/or 
sales) between U.S. financial services providers and unaffiliated 
foreign persons: Brokerage services, including foreign exchange 
brokerage services; underwriting and private placement services; 
financial management services; credit-related services, except credit 
card services; credit card services; financial advisory and custody 
services; security lending services; electronic funds transfers; and 
other financial services.
    (ii) [Reserved]
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[FR Doc. 03-22140 Filed 8-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P