[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 166 (Friday, August 27, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52613-52615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-19561]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 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. 69, No. 166 / Friday, August 27, 2004 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 52613]]



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 040803225-4225-01]
RIN 0691-AA51


International Services Surveys: BE-80, Benchmark 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 proposed rule would amend regulations that set forth 
reporting requirements for the BE-80, Benchmark Survey of Financial 
Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and 
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
    The BE-80 survey is conducted once every five years by the Bureau 
of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act and under the 
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. The proposed benchmark 
survey will be conducted for 2004. The data are needed to compile the 
U.S. international transactions, national income and product, and 
input-output accounts; support U.S. economic policy; assess U.S. 
competitiveness in international trade in services; and improve the 
ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market 
opportunities.
    The proposed rule would change the reporting of data on 
international transactions in financial services by: Creating a new 
category for brokerage services related to equities transactions; 
collecting total receipts and total payments for financial services 
transactions with affiliated foreign parties (that is, with foreign 
affiliates and foreign parents); and revising the definition of a 
financial services provider to more fully align the definition with the 
North American Industry Classification System--2002.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before October 26, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0691-AA51, and 
referencing the agency name (Bureau of Economic Analysis), by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: HTTP://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: Office of the Chief, International Investment 
Division, (202) 606-5318.
     Mail: Office of the Chief, International Investment 
Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, Washington, DC 20230.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau 
of Economic Analysis (BE-50), Shipping and Receiving Section, room M-
100, 1441 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005.
    Public Inspection: Comments may be inspected at BEA's offices, 1441 
L Street, NW., Room 7006, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Obie G. Whichard, Chief, International 
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule would amend 15 CFR part 
801.11 to set forth reporting requirements for the BE-80, Benchmark 
Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial 
Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. The Department of 
Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal 
agencies to comment on the proposed and/or continuing information 
collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Description of Revisions

    The BE-80, Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions 
Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign 
Persons, is mandatory and is conducted every 5 years by the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 
3101-3108)--hereinafter, ``the Act,'' and under Section 5408 of the 
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 4908). BEA 
will send the survey to potential respondents in January 2005, and a 
response will be due by March 31, 2005. BEA proposes the following 
changes to the Code of Federal Regulations: (1) Break the category for 
brokerage services into two categories, by collecting information on 
services related to equities transactions separately from other 
brokerage services; (2) add questions covering total receipts and total 
payments for transactions in financial services with affiliated foreign 
parties (i.e., foreign affiliates and foreign parents); and (3) revise 
the definition of a financial services provider to more fully align the 
definition with the 2002 version of North American Industry 
Classification System. The forms and instructions for the 2004 
benchmark survey would be amended to reflect these proposed changes to 
the Code of Federal Regulations.

Survey Background

    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)--hereinafter, ``the Act,'' 
and under Section 5408 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 
1998 (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 the 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 the authority under the Act as concerns 
international trade in services to the

[[Page 52614]]

Secretary of Commerce, who has redelegated it to BEA.
    The major purposes of the survey are to compile the U.S. 
international transactions, national income and product, and input-
output accounts; support U.S. international economic policy; assess 
U.S. competitiveness in international trade in financial services; and 
improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market 
opportunities.
    The survey is intended to cover the universe of financial services 
transactions between U.S. financial services providers and foreign 
persons. Reporting is required from U.S. financial services providers 
who have sales to or purchases from unaffiliated foreign persons in all 
financial services combined in excess of $3 million during the 
reporting year. Financial services providers meeting these criteria 
must supply data on the amount of their sales or purchases with 
unaffiliated foreign persons for each type of covered service, 
disaggregated by country, and must report transactions with foreign 
affiliates and foreign parents at the global level for both total sales 
and total purchases of the covered financial services. U.S. financial 
services providers that have covered transactions of $3 million or less 
during the reporting year are asked to provide voluntary estimates of 
their total sales and total purchases of each type of financial 
service.

Executive Order 12866

    This proposed rule has been determined to be 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 review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The requirement 
has been submitted to OMB for approval as a reinstatement, with change, 
of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired 
under OMB control number 0608-0062.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall a 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 
survey, as proposed, is expected to result in the filing of reports 
from approximately 375 respondents. The respondent reporting burden for 
this collection of information is estimated to vary from less than four 
hours to 150 hours, with an overall average burden of 8 hours. This 
includes time for reviewing the instructions, searching existing data 
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and 
reviewing the collection of information. Thus, the total respondent 
burden of the survey is estimated at 3,000 hours (375 responses times 8 
hours average burden).
    Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance 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; and either 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).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Chief Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, has 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business 
Administration, under the 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. Although BEA does not collect data on total sales or other 
measures of the overall size of the businesses that respond to the 
survey, historically the respondent universe has been comprised mainly 
of major U.S. corporations. With the exemption level for the survey 
being $3 million for all covered receipts or for all covered payments, 
the reporting threshold for this survey is set at a level that will 
exempt most small businesses from reporting. Of those smaller 
businesses that must report, most will tend to have specialized 
operations and activities and thus will be likely to report only one 
type of service transaction, often limited to transactions with a 
single partner country; therefore, the burden on them can be expected 
to be small.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

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

    Dated: July 30, 2004.
J. Steven Landefeld,
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 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; 
and E.O. 11961, January 19,1977 (as amended by E.O. 12318, August 
21, 1981, and E.O. 12518, June 3, 1985).

    2. Section 801.11(b) and (c) are revised to read as follows:
    (b) BE-80 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, and holding companies 
that own or influence, and are principally engaged in making management 
decisions for these firms (part of Sector 55--Management of Companies 
and Enterprises, 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, 
savings institutions, credit unions, and other depository credit 
intermediation); nondepository credit intermediation (including credit 
card issuing, sales financing, and other nondepository credit 
intermediation); activities related to credit intermediation (including 
mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers, financial transactions 
processing, reserve, and clearinghouse activities, and other activities 
related to credit intermediation); securities and commodity contracts 
intermediation and brokerage (including investment banking and 
securities dealing, securities brokerage, commodity contracts dealing, 
and commodity contracts brokerage); securities and commodity exchanges; 
other financial investment activities (including miscellaneous 
intermediation, portfolio

[[Page 52615]]

management, investment advice, and all other financial investment 
activities); insurance carriers; insurance agencies, brokerages, and 
other insurance related activities; insurance and employee benefit 
funds (including pension funds, health and welfare funds, and other 
insurance funds); other investment pools and funds (including open-end 
investment funds, trusts, estates, and agency accounts, real estate 
investment trusts, and other financial vehicles); and holding companies 
that own, or influence the management decisions of, firms principally 
engaged in the aforementioned activities.
    (c) Covered types of services. The BE-80 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 related to equities transactions; 
other 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; securities lending services; electronic funds transfer 
services; and other financial services. The BE-80 also covers total 
receipts and total payments for the above-listed types of financial 
services transactions with affiliated foreign parties (foreign 
affiliates and foreign parents).

[FR Doc. 04-19561 Filed 8-26-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P