[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 25, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42017-42018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11804]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

12 CFR Part 8

[Docket No. 06-08]
RIN 1557-AC96


Assessment of Fees

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is 
adopting in final form, without change, an interim final rule that 
amended our regulations at 12 CFR part 8 concerning the timing of 
payments of OCC assessments. The interim rule replaced the process used 
to determine the amount of assessment due to the OCC. Previously, 
national banks were required to make the initial calculation of the 
amount due to the OCC. Under the interim rule, the OCC, rather than 
each national bank, calculates the semiannual assessment based on the 
most recent Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report). 
The assessment is due by March 31 and September 30 of each year, two 
months later than under the previous process. Thus, payments that would 
have been due on January 31 of each year are instead due on March 31, 
and payments that would have been due on July 31 are due on September 
30 of each year. The OCC will notify each national bank of the amount 
of its semiannual assessment and automatically deduct that amount from 
each bank's designated account on the payment due date. The interim 
rule changed the assessment collection process only; it did not make 
any changes to the method for calculating assessments due from national 
banks.

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is adopted as final, effective August 
24, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Campbell, Senior Attorney, or 
Mitchell Plave, Counsel, Legislative and Regulatory Activities 
Division, (202) 874-5090; or Colette Baylson, Accounting Operations 
Manager, Financial Management, (202) 874-4403, Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The National Bank Act authorizes the OCC to collect assessments, 
fees, or other charges as necessary or appropriate to carry out its 
responsibilities. 12 U.S.C. 482. Under this authority, the OCC collects 
semiannual assessments from national banks, as described in 12 CFR part 
8 and in the Notice of Comptroller of the Currency Fees, which is 
published no later than the first business day of December each 
year.\1\ Prior to adoption of the interim final rule on November 17, 
2005, 70 FR 69641, part 8 required

[[Page 42018]]

each national bank to compute the amount of its semiannual assessment 
and pay that amount to the OCC by January 31 and July 31 of each year. 
Banks based their assessments on the data each bank submitted in its 
most recent Call Report.
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    \1\ Under part 8, the OCC also collects assessments from Federal 
branches and Federal agencies. The changes provided for in this 
final rule will also apply to payment of assessments by Federal 
branches and Federal agencies.
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    Under the procedure in effect prior to November 17, 2005, the OCC 
reviewed each assessment computation after receiving Call Report data 
from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in March and 
September of each year. When the OCC found an overpayment or 
underpayment of a semiannual assessment, we contacted the national 
bank, explained the error, and refunded (or collected, as the case may 
be) the funds electronically. This assessment collection process was 
cumbersome and outdated, and the procedure for reviewing and correcting 
miscalculations was inefficient. For these reasons the OCC revised the 
assessment process as described below.

II. The Interim and Final Rules

    On November 17, 2005, the OCC published and requested comment on an 
interim rule amending 12 CFR part 8. The comment period ended on 
December 17, 2005, and no comments were received. Accordingly, the OCC 
is adopting the interim rule as a final rule with no modifications.

Calculation of the Semiannual Assessment Fee

    The final rule provides that the OCC will calculate the semiannual 
assessment due from each bank based on the most recent Call Report 
data. Under the new assessment process, the OCC will send each national 
bank an assessment collection notification no later than 7 business 
days prior to March 31 and September 30 of each year. The assessment 
covers the six-month period beginning on January 1 and July 1 before 
each payment date. The OCC will automatically deduct the assessed 
amount from the bank's designated account on March 31 and September 30. 
By delaying the assessment calculation date by two months, the OCC will 
collect assessments based on final Call Report data, and thus eliminate 
the cumbersome correction process that we previously used. Under the 
final rule, a national bank can notify the OCC of any errors in the 
calculation of semiannual assessments or errors in the electronic 
transfer process, and the Comptroller is required to respond to such 
notices within 30 days of receipt.
    This streamlining of the OCC's assessment collection process 
reduces regulatory burden for national banks and is therefore 
consistent with the objectives of section 2222 of the Economic Growth 
and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996,\2\ which calls for the 
periodic review of the OCC's regulations and the elimination of 
unnecessary burden.
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    \2\ Pub. L. 104-208, Sec.  2222, 110 Stat. 3009-414 to 3009-415 
(Sept. 30, 1996).
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Technical and Conforming Amendments

    The final rule eliminates an erroneous sentence in Sec.  8.7(a) 
regarding delinquent semiannual assessment payments. The final rule 
also makes conforming changes to Sec.  8.7(b) to describe the new 
streamlined procedure to correct errors in the assessment process. The 
final rule makes non-substantive changes to conform part 8 to the new 
assessment collection process and other minor technical changes. 
Finally, in Sec.  8.6(a)(1), (2), and (4), and Sec.  8.7(a), the final 
rule eliminates references to ``District of Columbia,'' ``District of 
Columbia banks'' and ``each district bank'' to reflect the provisions 
of the 2004 District of Columbia Omnibus Authorization Act, section 8, 
Public Law 108-386, 118 Stat. 2228 (2004), which shifted regulatory 
responsibility of District of Columbia banks from the OCC to the FDIC 
and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Effective Date

    This final rule takes effect 30 days after publication in the 
Federal Register. 5 U.S.C. 553(d). Under 12 U.S.C. 4802(b)(1), Federal 
banking agency regulations or amendments to regulations ``which impose 
additional reporting, disclosure, or other requirements on insured 
depository institutions'' must be effective on the first day of a 
calendar quarter which begins on or after the date on which the 
regulations are published in final form. As described above, this final 
rule imposes no new requirements on national banks. Accordingly, the 
delayed effective date requirement in section 4802(b)(1) does not apply 
to this final rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354, Sept. 19, 1980) 
(RFA) applies only to rules for which an agency publishes a general 
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b).\3\ 
Because the OCC did not publish an NPRM, the RFA does not apply to this 
final rule. In any case, however, the final rule affects only the 
process for calculating the semiannual assessment and the timing of 
required payment. It does not affect the amount of assessment a bank 
must pay.
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    \3\ 5 U.S.C. 601(2).
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Executive Order 12866

    The OCC has determined that this final rule is not a significant 
regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 Determinations

    Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 \4\ 
(Unfunded Mandates Act) requires that an agency prepare a budgetary 
impact statement before promulgating any rule likely to result in a 
Federal mandate that may result in the expenditure by state, local, and 
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 
million or more in any one year. If a budgetary impact statement is 
required, section 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Act also requires the 
agency to identify and consider a reasonable number of regulatory 
alternatives before promulgating the rule. The OCC has determined that 
this final rule will not result in expenditures by state, local, and 
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 
million or more in any one year. Accordingly, the OCC has not prepared 
a budgetary impact statement or specifically addressed any regulatory 
alternatives.
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    \4\ 2 U.S.C. 1532.
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Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Ch. 3506; 5 CFR 1320 Appendix A.1), we have reviewed the final rule to 
determine whether it contains any information collections. There are no 
collections of information as defined by the Paperwork Reduction Act in 
the final rule.

Lists of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 8

    Assessment of fees.

PART 8--ASSESSMENT OF FEES

0
Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 12 CFR part 8 which was 
published at 70 FR 69641 on November 17, 2005, is adopted as a final 
rule without change.

    Dated: July 18, 2006.
John C. Dugan,
Comptroller of the Currency.
 [FR Doc. E6-11804 Filed 7-24-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P