[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 118 (Monday, June 21, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34354-34356]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14052]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

[Docket No. 04-12]

Office of Thrift Supervision

[Docket No. 2004-27]

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

[Docket No. OP-1189]

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-49873; File No. S7-22-04]


Interagency Statement on Sound Practices Concerning Complex 
Structured Finance Activities

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury (OCC), 
Office of Thrift Supervision, Treasury (OTS); Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System (Board); Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
(FDIC); and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

ACTION: Request for comments; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: On May 19, 2004, the OCC, OTS, Board, FDIC, and SEC 
(collectively, the Agencies) requested public comment on a proposed 
Interagency Statement on Sound Practices Concerning Complex Structured 
Finance Activities (Interagency Statement) (69 FR 28980, May 19, 2004). 
The Agencies are extending the comment period on the Interagency 
Statement until July 19, 2004. This action will allow interested 
persons additional time to analyze the issues and prepare their 
comments.

DATES: Comments should be received by July 19, 2004.

ADDRESSES: 
    OCC: You may submit comments, identified by Docket number 04-12, by 
any of the following methods:
    E-mail address: [email protected].
    Fax: (202) 874-4448.
    Mail: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., 
Public

[[Page 34355]]

Reference Room, Mail Stop 1-5, Washington, DC 20219.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: 250 E Street, SW., Attn: Public Reference 
Room, MailStop 1-5, Washington, DC 20219. You may review the comments 
received by the OCC and other related materials by any of the following 
methods:
    Viewing Comments Personally: You may personally inspect and 
photocopy comments received at the OCC's Public Reference Room, 250 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC You can make an appointment to inspect 
comments by calling (202) 874-5043.
    Viewing Comments Electronically: You may request copies of comments 
received for a particular docket via e-mail or CD-ROM by contacting the 
OCC's Public Reference Room at http://[email protected].
    OTS: You may submit comments, identified by No. 2004-27, by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Please include No. 
2004-27 in the subject line of the message, and include your name and 
telephone number in the message.
     Fax: (202) 906-6518.
     Mail: Regulation Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Office 
of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552, 
Attention: No. 2004-27.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Guard's Desk, East Lobby Entrance, 
1700 G Street, NW., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on business days, Attention: 
Regulation Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: No. 2004-27.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and document number. All comments received will be posted without 
change to http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catNumber=67&an=1, 
including any personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catNumber=67&an=1. In addition, you may inspect comments 
at the Public Reading Room, 1700 G Street, NW., by appointment. To make 
an appointment for access, call (202) 906-5922, send an e-mail to 
public.info@ots.treas.gov">public.info@ots.treas.gov, or send a facsimile transmission to (202) 
906-7755. (Prior notice identifying the materials you will be 
requesting will assist us in serving you.) We schedule appointments on 
business days between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. In most cases, appointments 
will be available the next business day following the date we receive a 
request.
    Board: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. OP-1189, 
by any of the following methods:
     Board's Web Site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http//www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include docket 
number in the subject line of the message.
     FAX: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's Web site at 
http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as 
submitted, except as necessary for technical reasons. Accordingly, your 
comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact 
information. Public comments also may be viewed electronically or in 
paper form in Room MP-500 of the Board's Martin Building (C and 20th 
Streets, NW.) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
    FDIC: Written comments should be addressed to Robert E. Feldman, 
Executive Secretary, Attention: Comments/OES, Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429. Comments may 
be hand delivered to the guard station at the rear of the 550 17th 
Street Building (located on F Street), on business days between 7 a.m. 
and 5 p.m. (Fax number: (202) 898-3838; Internet address: 
[email protected]). Comments may be inspected and photocopied in the 
FDIC Public Information Center, Room 100, 801 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on business days.
    SEC: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
    Electronic comments:
     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/policy); or
     Send an e-mail to [email protected]. Please include 
File Number S7-22-04 on the subject line; or
     Use the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov). Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Paper comments:
     Send paper comments in triplicate to Jonathan G. Katz, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20549-0609.
    All submissions should refer to File Number S7-22-04. This file 
number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To 
help us process and review your comments more efficiently, please use 
only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the 
Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/policy). 
Comments are also available for public inspection and copying in the 
Commission's Public Reference Room, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20549. All comments received will be posted without change; we do 
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should 
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: OCC: Kathryn E. Dick, Deputy 
Comptroller, (202) 874-4660, Risk Evaluation, Grace E. Dailey, Deputy 
Comptroller, (202) 874-4610, Large Bank Supervision, Ellen Broadman, 
Director, (202) 874-5210, Securities and Corporate Practices Division, 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20219.
    OTS: John C. Price, Jr., Director, Supervision Policy, Examinations 
and Supervision Policy, (202) 906-5745; Debbie Merkle, Project Manager, 
Credit Risk, Supervision Policy, (202) 906-5688; David A. Permut, 
Senior Attorney, Business Transactions Division, (202) 906-7505, Office 
of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.
    Board: Michael G. Martinson, Senior Adviser (202-452-3640), Walt H. 
Miles, Assistant Director (202) 452-5264, or Sabeth I. Siddique, 
Manager (202) 452-3861, Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation; 
or Kieran J. Fallon, Managing Senior Counsel (202) 452-5270, Legal 
Division, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street 
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20551. Users of 
Telecommunication Device for Deaf (TTD) only, call (202) 263-4869.
    FDIC: William A. Stark, Associate Director, Capital Markets Branch, 
(202) 898-6972, Jason C. Cave, Chief, Policy Section, Capital Markets 
Branch, (202) 898-3548, Division of Supervision and Consumer 
Protection; or Mark G. Flanigan, Counsel, Supervision and Legislation 
Branch, Legal Division, (202) 898-7426, Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429.

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    SEC: Mary Ann Gadziala, Associate Director, Office of Compliance 
Inspections and Examinations, or Catherine McGuire, Chief Counsel, 
Linda Stamp Sundberg, Attorney Fellow, or Randall W. Roy, Special 
Counsel, at (202) 942-0073, Division of Market Regulation, Securities 
and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549-
1001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 19, 2004, the Agencies requested 
comment on their Interagency Statement concerning the complex 
structured finance activities of financial institutions supervised by 
the Agencies (national and state banks; bank holding companies; federal 
and state savings associations; savings and loan holding companies; and 
SEC-registered broker-dealers and investment advisors). The Interagency 
Statement describes the types of internal controls and risk management 
procedures that the Agencies believe are particularly effective in 
assisting financial institutions to identify and address the 
reputational, legal, and other risks associated with complex structured 
finance transactions. The Interagency Statement, among other things, 
provides that financial institutions should have effective policies and 
procedures in place to identify those complex structured finance 
transactions that may involve heightened reputational and legal risk, 
to ensure that these transactions receive enhanced scrutiny by the 
institution, and to ensure that the institution does not participate in 
illegal or inappropriate transactions.
    Several trade associations that represent financial institutions 
have requested that the Agencies extend the public comment period for 
the Interagency Statement for an additional 30-day period. The trade 
associations have indicated that such an extension would enable them 
and their members to better analyze and address the substantive, 
operational and legal issues associated with the Interagency Statement
    In light of these requests, the Agencies are providing the public 
additional time to comment on the proposed Interagency Statement.
    You should submit your comments on the Interagency Statement by 
July 19, 2004.

    Dated: June 16, 2004.
John D. Hawke, Jr.,
Comptroller of the Currency.

    Dated: June 16, 2004.
James E. Gilleran,
Director, Office of Thrift Supervision.

    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System.


    Dated: June 16, 2004.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.

    Dated at Washington, DC, this 16th day of June, 2004.

    Pursuant to the Order of the Board of Directors, Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.

    By the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Dated: June 16, 2004.
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-14052 Filed 6-18-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P; 6720-01-P; 6210-01-P; 6714-01-P; 8010-01-P