[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38165-38166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10410]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

SUMMARY:

Background

    Notice is hereby given of the final approval of proposed 
information collection by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System (Board) under OMB delegated authority, as per 5 CFR 1320.16 (OMB 
Regulations on Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public). Board-
approved collections of information are incorporated into the official 
OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies 
of the OMB 83-Is and supporting statements and approved collection of 
information instrument(s) are placed into OMB's public docket files. 
The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is 
not required to respond to, an information collection that has been 
extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless 
it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Reserve Board Clearance 
Officer--Michelle Long--Division of Research and Statistics, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551 (202-452-
3829) .
    OMB Desk Officer--Mark Menchik--Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, or email to 
[email protected].
    Final approval under OMB delegated authority of the extension for 
three years, with revision, of the following report:
    Report title: Suspicious Activity Report by Depository 
Institutions.
    Agency form number: FR 2230.
    OMB Control number: 7100-0212.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Reporters: Depository institutions, bank holding companies, nonbank 
subsidiaries of bank holding companies, Edge and agreement 
corporations, and U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.
    Annual reporting hours: 93,600 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1 hour.
    Number of respondents: 7,000.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
mandatory, pursuant to authority contained in the following statutes: 
12 U.S.C. 248(a)(1), 324, 334, 625, 1844(c), 3105(c)(2), and 3106(a). 
The obligation to file a Suspicious Activity Report by Depository 
Institutions (SAR) is set forth in the Federal Reserve's rules, and is 
mandatory (12 CFR 208.62(c) (state member banks), 12 CFR 225.4(f) 
(entities subject to the Bank Holding Company Act), 12 CFR 211.5(k) 
(Edge and agreement corporations), and 12 CFR 211.24(f) (branches, 
agencies, and representative offices of foreign banks)).
    Section 5318(g)(2)(a)(ii) of Title 31 prohibits an officer or 
employee of the federal government from disclosing the existence of a 
SAR to anyone involved in the transaction, and section 5319 of Title 31 
provides that all reports, including SARs filed thereunder, are exempt 
from disclosure under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The 
information collected on a SAR is covered by exemptions three and seven 
of the FOIA (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(3)(7)) and exemption two of the Privacy 
Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2)).
    Abstract: Since 1996, the federal banking agencies (the Federal 
Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the 
Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration) and the 
Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 
(FinCEN) (collectively, the agencies) have required certain types of 
financial institutions to report known or suspected violations of law 
and suspicious transactions. To fulfill these requirements, supervised 
banking organizations file SARs. Law enforcement agencies use the 
information submitted on the reporting form to initiate investigations 
and the Federal Reserve uses the information in the examination and 
oversight of supervised institutions.
    Current Actions: On February 17, 2006, the federal banking agencies 
and FinCEN published a joint Federal Register notice (71 FR 8640) 
seeking comment on proposed revisions to the existing SAR. The agencies 
proposed several revisions to the reporting form and instructions in 
order to enhance clarity, allow for joint filing of SARs, and to 
improve the usefulness of the SAR to law enforcement. The agencies 
collectively received twenty-three comment letters. The commenters 
raised several minor issues and provided

[[Page 38166]]

editorial comments about certain data items. The other agencies 
published a separate Federal Register notice on June 19, 2006 (71 FR 
35325) and will each separately submit their SAR information collection 
to OMB.
    Several commenters suggested that the agencies provide a test site 
for filing electronic submissions. Due to time constraints, FinCEN is 
unable to provide a test site; however, respondents will have a six-
month transition period before being required to use the revised 
reporting form for submitting data.
    Two commenters stated that the overall burden estimate appeared to 
be low even though it was increased from thirty minutes to one hour. 
One commenter specifically noted that the burden estimate did not 
account for regulatory compliance, fraud detection, and mitigation. 
While important, these regulatory requirements are outside the scope of 
the burden calculation required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The 
agencies, however, continue to welcome comments from the industry and 
would reevaluate and make adjustments to the burden, as appropriate.
    Several commenters expressed concern over the new format of the 
reporting form and whether it would cause important information to be 
omitted by respondents. The agencies rearranged data items on the 
reporting form, per law enforcement request, to improve the usefulness 
of the data. Also, additional clarifications were included in the 
instructions to provide respondents with better guidance on how to 
submit the revised data.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 28, 2006.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E6-10410 Filed 7-3-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P