[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58171-58172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21854]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board)

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Board, the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency (the ``agencies'') may not conduct or sponsor, and the 
respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection 
unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) control number. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination 
Council (FFIEC), of which the agencies are members, has approved the 
agencies' publication for public comment of a proposal to extend, 
without revision, the Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches 
and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 002) and the Report of Assets and 
Liabilities of a Non-U.S. Branch that is Managed or Controlled by a 
U.S. Branch or Agency of a Foreign (Non-U.S.) Bank (FFIEC 002S), which 
are currently approved information collections. The Board is publishing 
this proposal on behalf of the agencies. At the end of the comment 
period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to 
determine the extent to which the FFIEC should modify the reports. The 
Board will then submit the reports to OMB for review and approval.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 29, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to 
the agency listed below. All comments, which should refer to the OMB 
control number, will be shared among the agencies. You may submit 
comments, identified by FFIEC 002 (7100-0032) or FFIEC 002S (7100-
0273), by any of the following methods:

[[Page 58172]]

     Agency Web Site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the 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, 
N.W., Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's web site at 
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 may also be viewed electronically or in paper in Room 
MP-500 of the Board's Martin Building (20th and C Streets, N.W.) 
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information or a copy of 
the collections may be requested from Cindy Ayouch, Federal Reserve 
Board Clearance Officer, 202-452-3829, Division of Research and 
Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and 
C Streets, N.W., Washington, DC 20551. Telecommunications Device for 
the Deaf (TDD) users may call 202-263-4869, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal to extend for three years without revision the following 
currently approved collections of information:

    1. Report Title: Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches 
and Agencies of Foreign Banks
    Form Number: FFIEC 002
    OMB Number: 7100-0032
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly
    Affected Public: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 281
    Estimated Time per Response: 22.75 hours
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 25,571 hours
    General Description of Report: This information collection is 
mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 3105(b)(2), 1817(a)(1) and (3), and 3102(b). 
Except for select sensitive items, this information collection is not 
given confidential treatment [5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)].
    Abstract: On a quarterly basis, all U.S. branches and agencies of 
foreign banks (U.S. branches) are required to file detailed schedules 
of assets and liabilities in the form of a condition report and a 
variety of supporting schedules. This information is used to fulfill 
the supervisory and regulatory requirements of the International 
Banking Act of 1978. The data are also used to augment the bank credit, 
loan, and deposit information needed for monetary policy and other 
public policy purposes. The Federal Reserve System collects and 
processes this report on behalf of all three agencies.
    2. Report Title: Report of Assets and Liabilities of a Non-U.S. 
Branch that is Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch or Agency of a 
Foreign (Non-U.S.) Bank
    Form Number: FFIEC 002S
    OMB Number: 7100-0273
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly
    Affected Public: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 76
    Estimated Time per Response: 6 hours
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,824 hours
    General Description of Report: This information collection is 
mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 3105(b)(2), 1817(a)(1) and (3), and 3102(b) and is 
given confidential treatment [5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)].
    Abstract: On a quarterly basis, all U.S. branches and agencies of 
foreign banks are required to file detailed schedules of their assets 
and liabilities in the form FFIEC 002. The FFIEC 002S is a separate 
supplement to the FFIEC 002 that collects information on assets and 
liabilities of any non-U.S. branch that is ``managed or controlled'' by 
a U.S. branch or agency of the foreign bank. Managed or controlled 
means that a majority of the responsibility for business decisions, 
including but not limited to decisions with regard to lending or asset 
management or funding or liability management, or the responsibility 
for recordkeeping in respect of assets or liabilities for that foreign 
branch resides at the U.S. branch or agency. A separate FFIEC 002S must 
be completed for each managed or controlled non-U.S. branch. The FFIEC 
002S must be filed quarterly along with the U.S. branch's or agency's 
FFIEC 002.
    The data are used for: (1) monitoring deposit and credit 
transactions of U.S. residents; (2) monitoring the impact of policy 
changes; (3) analyzing structural issues concerning foreign bank 
activity in U.S. markets; (4) understanding flows of banking funds and 
indebtedness of developing countries in connection with data collected 
by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International 
Settlements (BIS) that are used in economic analysis; and (5) assisting 
in the supervision of U.S. offices of foreign banks, which often are 
managed jointly with these branches.

Request for Comment

    Comments are invited on:
    a. Whether the information collections are necessary for the proper 
performance of the agencies' functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the agencies' estimates of the burden of the 
information collections, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collections on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or start up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be shared among 
the agencies. All comments will become a matter of public record. 
Written comments should address the accuracy of the burden estimates 
and ways to minimize burden including the use of automated collection 
techniques or the use of other forms of information technology as well 
as other relevant aspects of the information collection request.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September 24, 
2004.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 04-21854 Filed 9-28-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE: 6210-01-S