[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46779-46785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15923]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

12 CFR Chap. I

[Docket No. 05-15]

BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Chap. II

[Docket No. OP-1232]

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

12 CFR Chap. III

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Thrift Supervision

12 CFR Chap. V

[No. 2005-26]


Request for Burden Reduction Recommendations; Rules Relating to 
Banking Operations; Directors, Officers and Employees; and Rules of 
Procedure; Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1996 Review

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

ACTION: Notice of regulatory review; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, FDIC, and OTS (``we'' or ``the Agencies'') are 
reviewing our regulations to identify outdated, unnecessary, or unduly 
burdensome regulatory requirements pursuant to the Economic Growth and 
Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA). Today, we request 
your comments and suggestions on ways to reduce burden in rules we have 
categorized as Banking Operations; Directors, Officers and Employees; 
and Rules of Procedure. All comments are welcome. We specifically 
invite comment on the following issues: whether statutory changes are 
needed; whether the regulations contain requirements that are not 
needed to serve the purposes of the statutes they implement; the extent 
to which the regulations may adversely affect competition; whether the 
cost of compliance associated with reporting, recordkeeping, and 
disclosure requirements, particularly on small institutions, is 
justified; whether any regulatory requirements are inconsistent or 
redundant; and whether any regulations are unclear.
    We will analyze the comments received and propose burden-reducing 
changes to our regulations where appropriate. Some of your suggestions 
for burden reduction might require legislative changes. Where 
legislative changes would be required, we will consider your 
suggestions in recommending appropriate changes to Congress.

DATES: Written comments must be received no later than November 9, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    EGRPRA Web site: http://www.EGRPRA.gov.
     Comments submitted at the Agencies' joint Web site will 
automatically be distributed to all the Agencies. Comments received at 
the EGRPRA Web site and by other means will be posted on the Web site 
to the extent possible.

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    Individual agency addresses: You are also welcome to submit 
comments to the Agencies at the following contact points (due to delays 
in paper mail delivery in the Washington area, commenters may prefer to 
submit their comments by alternative means):
    OCC: You may submit comments, identified by [docket 
], by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include [docket 
] in the subject line of the message. Please include 
your name and address.
     Fax: (202) 874-4448.
     Mail: Public Information Room, Office of the Comptroller 
of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Mailstop 1-5, Washington, DC 20219. 
Attention: Docket .
    Public Inspection: You may inspect and photocopy comments at the 
Public Information Room. You can make an appointment to inspect the 
comments by calling (202) 874-5043.
    Board: You may submit comments, identified by Docket Number 
, by any of the following methods:
     Agency 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 may also be viewed electronically or in 
paper in Room MP-500 of the Board's Martin Building (20th and C 
Streets, NW.) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
    FDIC: You may submit comments, identified as EGRPRA burden 
reduction comments, by any of the following methods:
     Agency Web site: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/propose.html.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``EGRPRA burden 
reduction comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary, Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20429.
     Hand Delivery: 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.
    Public Inspection: You may inspect comments at the FDIC Public 
Information Center, Room 100, 801 17th Street, NW., between 9 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m. on business days.
    OTS: You may submit comments, identified by ``No. 
.'' by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-Mail: [email protected]. Include ``No. 
'' in the subject line of the message, and provide 
your name and telephone number.
     Fax: (202) 906-6518.
     Mail: Regulation Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Office 
of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.
     Hand Delivery: Comments may be hand delivered to the 
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.
    Public Inspection: OTS will post comments and the related index on 
the OTS Internet Site at 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 fax to (202) 906-7755. (Please 
identify the material you would like to inspect to assist us in serving 
you.) OTS schedules 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 OTS receives a request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

OCC

     Heidi Thomas, Special Counsel, Legislative and Regulatory 
Activities Division, (202) 874-5090.
     Lee Walzer, Counsel, Legislative and Regulatory Activities 
Division, (202) 874-5090.
    Board:
     Patricia A. Robinson, Assistant General Counsel, Legal 
Division, (202) 452-3005.
     Michael J. O'Rourke, Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 452-
3288.
     John C. Wood, Counsel, Division of Consumer and Community 
Affairs, (202) 452-2412.
     Kevin H. Wilson, Supervisory Financial Analyst, Division 
of Banking Supervision and Regulation, (202) 452-2362.
     For users of Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) 
only, contact (202) 263-4869.

FDIC

     Claude A. Rollin, Special Assistant to the Vice Chairman, 
(202) 898-8741.
     Steven D. Fritts, Associate Director, Division of 
Supervision and Consumer Protection, (202) 898-3723.
     Ruth R. Amberg, Senior Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898-
3736.
     Susan van den Toorn, Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898-
8707.

OTS

     Glenn Gimble, Senior Project Manager, Thrift Policy, 
Supervision Policy, (202) 906-7158.
     Josephine Battle, Program Analyst, Thrift Policy, 
Supervision Policy, (202) 906-6870.
     Karen Osterloh, Special Counsel, Regulations and 
Legislation Division, Chief Counsel's Office, (202) 906-6639.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview of the EGRPRA Review and the Steps Taken So Far

    The Agencies \1\ are asking for your comments and suggestions on 
ways in which we can reduce regulatory burden consistent with our 
statutory obligations. Today, we request your input to help us identify 
which regulatory requirements in three categories--Banking Operations; 
Directors, Officers and Employees; and Rules of Procedure--are 
outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome. We list the rules in these 
categories in a chart at the end of this notice. Please send us your 
recommendations at our Web site, http://www.EGRPRA.gov, or to one of 
the listed addresses.
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    \1\ The National Credit Union Administration has participated in 
planning the EGRPRA review but has issued, and will issue, requests 
for comment separately.
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    Today's request for comment is the fifth notice in our multi-year 
review of regulations for burden reduction required by section 2222 of 
EGRPRA.\2\ We described the EGRPRA review's requirements in our first 
EGRPRA notice. In summary, EGRPRA requires us to:
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    \2\ Public Law 104-208, Sept. 30, 1996, 12 U.S.C. 3311. We 
published our first notice in the Federal Register on June 16, 2003, 
at 68 FR 35589; our second notice on January 21, 2004, at 69 FR 
2852; our third notice on July 20, 2004, at 69 FR 43347; and our 
fourth notice on February 3, 2005, at 70 FR 5571. You may view the 
notices at our Web site, http://www.EGRPRA.gov.

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     Categorize our regulations by type.
     Publish the regulations by category to request comments on 
which regulations contain requirements that are: outdated, unnecessary, 
or unduly burdensome.
     Publish a summary of those comments.
     Eliminate unnecessary regulations to the extent 
appropriate.
     Report to Congress: summarizing the significant issues 
raised and their relative merits and analyzing whether legislative 
change is required to reduce burden.
    The first publication and review cycle must be completed by 
September 2006. The regulatory response and report to Congress will 
occur after the publication cycle is finished.
    We have identified 13 categories of rules to implement our EGRPRA 
review. The categories are: Applications and Reporting; Banking 
Operations; Capital; Community Reinvestment Act; Consumer Protection: 
Lending Related Rules; Consumer Protection: Account/Deposit 
Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer Rules; Directors, Officers and 
Employees; International Operations; Money Laundering; Powers and 
Activities; Rules of Procedure; Safety and Soundness; and Securities. 
You may see the categories and the rules placed within them at our Web 
site, http://www.EGRPRA.gov.
    We previously requested public comment about possible burden 
reduction in eight categories of rules. Our June 16, 2003, notice 
requested comment on three categories: Applications and Reporting; 
Powers and Activities; and International Operations. Our January 21, 
2004, notice requested comment on Consumer Protection: Lending Related 
Rules. Our July 20, 2004, notice requested comment on Consumer 
Protection: Account/Deposit Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer 
Rules. Our February 3, 2005, notice requested comment about three 
categories: Money Laundering, Safety and Soundness, and Securities. 
Today, we request comment on rules related to Banking Operations; 
Directors, Officers and Employees; and Rules of Procedure.
    In addition to soliciting written comments, we held banker outreach 
meetings in Orlando, St. Louis, Denver, San Francisco, New York City, 
Nashville, Seattle, Chicago, Phoenix, and New Orleans to hear directly 
from the industry about ways the Agencies could reduce regulatory 
burden. More than 450 representatives from the industry have attended 
the outreach meetings. The Agencies also have held three outreach 
meetings with over 100 participants for representatives of consumer and 
community groups to obtain their input on regulatory burden reduction. 
The consumer meetings were held in Arlington, Virginia, San Francisco, 
and Chicago. Another consumer meeting is scheduled for September, 2005 
in Boston. These meetings have helped focus our regulatory burden 
reduction efforts. We anticipate holding additional outreach events 
this year. You may learn more about the meetings and related 
recommendations at our EGRPRA Web site, http://www.EGRPRA.gov.
    We received 19 comments in response to the first notice, about 560 
to the second notice, over 100 to the third notice, and 123 to the 
fourth notice. The Agencies appreciate the response to our notices and 
outreach meetings. The written comments and remarks at the meetings 
came from individuals, banks, savings associations, holding companies, 
industry trade groups, and consumer and community groups. You may view 
the comments at our EGRPRA Web site, http://www.EGRPRA.gov. We are 
actively reviewing the feedback received about specific ways to reduce 
regulatory burden, as well as conducting our own analyses.
    In addition, Congress has considered various legislative proposals 
to reduce burden on the financial services industry. In 2004 and 2005, 
representatives of the Agencies and industry leaders testified before 
congressional committees about these legislative reform proposals and 
other ideas for reducing burden on the financial services industry. We 
will continue to post information about legislative and regulatory 
reform efforts on our Web site.

II. Request for Comment on Rules Related to: Banking Operations; 
Directors, Officers and Employees; and Rules of Procedure

    Today, we are asking the public to identify ways in which the rules 
related to Banking Operations; Directors, Officers and Employees; and 
Rules of Procedure may be outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome. 
As shown on the chart at the end of this notice, there are 28 
regulations in these categories.
    Specific issues to consider. While all comments are welcome, we 
specifically invite comment on the following issues:
    A. Need for statutory change. (1) Do any statutory requirements 
underlying the rules impose unnecessary, redundant, conflicting or 
unduly burdensome requirements? (2) Are there less burdensome 
alternatives?
    B. Need and purpose of the regulations. (1) Are the regulations 
consistent with the purposes of the statutes that they implement? (2) 
Have circumstances changed so that a rule is no longer necessary or 
needs revision? (3) Do changes in the financial products and services 
offered to consumers and businesses suggest a need to revise certain 
regulations (or statutes)? (4) Do any of the regulations impose 
compliance burdens not required by the statutes they implement?
    C. General approach/flexibility. (1) Would a different general 
approach to regulating achieve statutory goals with less burden? (2) Do 
any of these rules impose unnecessarily inflexible requirements?
    D. Effect of the regulations on competition. Do any of the 
regulations or statutes create competitive disadvantages for insured 
depository institutions compared to the rest of the financial services 
industry or competitive disadvantages for one type of insured 
depository institution over another?
    E. Reporting, recordkeeping, and disclosure requirements. (1) Which 
reporting, recordkeeping, or disclosure requirements impose the most 
compliance burdens? (2) Are any of the reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements unnecessary to demonstrate compliance with the law?
    F. Consistency and redundancy. (1) Are any of the requirements 
under one regulation inconsistent with or duplicative of requirements 
under another regulation? (2) If so, are the inconsistencies not 
warranted by the purposes of the regulations?
    G. Clarity. Are any of the regulations drafted unclearly?
    H. Burden on small insured institutions. We have particular 
interest in minimizing burden on small insured institutions (those with 
assets of $150 million or less). Are there appropriate ways to amend 
these rules to minimize adverse economic impact on small insured 
institutions?
    The Agencies appreciate the efforts of all interested parties to 
help us eliminate outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome 
regulatory requirements.
BILLING CODE 4810-33; 6210-01; 6714-01; 6720-01-P

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    Dated: July 18, 2005.
Julie L. Williams,
Acting Comptroller of the Currency.

    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
on August 1, 2005.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.

    By order of the Board of Directors.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

    Dated at Washington, DC, this 19th day of July, 2005.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.

    Dated: July 19, 2005.
Richard M. Riccobono,
Acting Director, Office of Thrift Supervision.
[FR Doc. 05-15923 Filed 8-10-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33; 6210-01; 6714-01; 6720-01-C