[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 55 (Thursday, March 22, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13492-13495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5192]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency information collection activities: Announcement of Board 
approval under delegated authority and submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
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 Paperwork Reduction Act Submission, 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.

[[Page 13493]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Reserve Board Clearance 
Officer --Michelle Shore--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 e-mail to 
[email protected].

Final approval under OMB delegated authority of the extension for three 
years, with revision, of the following reports

    1. Report title: Weekly Report of Assets and Liabilities for Large 
Banks and Weekly Report of Selected Assets
    Agency form number: FR 2416 and FR 2644
    OMB Control number: 7100-0075
    Frequency: Weekly
    Reporters: U.S.-chartered commercial banks
    Annual reporting hours: FR 2416, 22,386 hours; FR 2644, 80,652 
hours
    Estimated average hours per response: FR 2416, 8.61 hours; FR 2644, 
1.41 hours
    Number of respondents: FR 2416, 50; FR 2644, 1,100
    General description of report: These information collections are 
voluntary [12 U.S.C. Sec.  225(a) and 248(a)(2)]. Individual respondent 
data are regarded as confidential under the Freedom of Information Act 
[5 U.S.C. Sec.  552(b)(4)].
    Abstract: The FR 2416, FR 2644, and the Weekly Report of Assets and 
Liabilities for Large U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FR 
2069; OMB No. 7100-0030) are referred to collectively as the bank 
credit reports. The FR 2416 is a detailed balance sheet that covers 
domestic offices of large U.S.-chartered commercial banks. The FR 2644 
collects less-detailed information on investments, loans, total assets, 
and several memoranda items, covering domestic offices of small U.S.-
chartered commercial banks. The bank credit reports are collected as of 
each Wednesday.
    These three voluntary reports are mainstays of the Federal 
Reserve's reporting system from which data for analysis of current 
banking developments are derived. The FR 2416 is used on a stand-alone 
basis as the large domestic bank series. The FR 2644 collects sample 
data, which are used to estimate universe levels using data from the 
quarterly commercial bank Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income 
(FFIEC 031 and 041; OMB No. 7100-0036) (Call Report). Data from the 
bank credit reports, together with data from other sources, are used 
for constructing weekly estimates of bank credit, of sources and uses 
of bank funds, and of a balance sheet for the banking system as a 
whole.
    The Federal Reserve publishes the data in aggregate form in the 
weekly H.8 statistical release, Assets and Liabilities of Commercial 
Banks in the United States, which is followed closely by other 
government agencies, the banking industry, the financial press, and 
other users. This release provides a balance sheet for the banking 
industry as a whole and data disaggregated by its large domestic, small 
domestic, and foreign-related components.
    Current Actions: On January 11, 2007, the Federal Reserve published 
a notice in the Federal Register (72 FR 1325) requesting public comment 
for 60 days on the extension, with revision, of the FR 2416 and FR 
2069. The comment period for this notice expired on March 12, 2007. The 
Federal Reserve received one supportive comment letter from a federal 
agency describing its use of the data to prepare monthly, quarterly, 
and annual estimates of personal interest payments, a component of 
personal outlays in the national income and product accounts.
    2. Report title: Weekly Report of Assets and Liabilities for Large 
U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks
    Agency form number: FR 2069
    OMB Control number: 7100-0030
    Frequency: Weekly
    Reporters: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks
    Annual reporting hours: 14,560 hours
    Estimated average hours per response: 4.00 hours
    Number of respondents: 70
    General description of report: This information collection is 
voluntary [12 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  248(a)(2) and 3105(a)(2)]. Individual 
respondent data are regarded as confidential under the Freedom of 
Information Act [5 U.S.C. Sec.  552(b)(4)].
    Abstract: The FR 2069 is a detailed balance sheet that covers large 
U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks. This report, along with 
the FR 2416 and FR 2644, is collected as of each Wednesday.
    These three voluntary reports are mainstays of the Federal 
Reserve's reporting system from which data for analysis of current 
banking developments are derived. The FR2069 collects sample data, 
which are used to estimate universe levels using data from the 
quarterly Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and 
Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 002; OMB No. 7100-0032). Data from the 
bank credit reports, together with data from other sources, are used 
for constructing weekly estimates of bank credit, of sources and uses 
of bank funds, and of a balance sheet for the banking system as a 
whole.
    The Federal Reserve publishes the data in aggregate form in the 
weekly H.8 statistical release, Assets and Liabilities of Commercial 
Banks in the United States, which is followed closely by other 
government agencies, the banking industry, the financial press, and 
other users. This release provides a balance sheet for the banking 
industry as a whole and data disaggregated by its large domestic, small 
domestic, and foreign-related components.
    Current Actions: On January 11, 2007, the Federal Reserve published 
a notice in the Federal Register (72 FR 1325) requesting public comment 
for 60 days on the extension, with revision, of the FR 2069. The 
comment period for this notice expired on March 12, 2007. The Federal 
Reserve did not receive any comments.
    3. Report titles: Report of Changes in Organizational Structure, 
Annual Report of Bank Holding Companies
    Agency form numbers: FR Y-10 and FR Y-6
    OMB Control numbers: 7100-0297
    Effective Dates: FR Y-6, December 31, 2007; FR Y-10, April 30, 2008
    Frequency: Event-generated, annual
    Reporters: Bank holding companies (BHCs), foreign banking 
organizations (FBOs), member banks, Edge and agreement corporations
    Annual reporting hours: FR Y-10, 16,608 hours; FR Y-6, 27,069 hours
    Estimated average hours per response: FR Y-10, 1.00 hour; FR Y-6, 
5.25 hours;
    Number of respondents: FR Y-10, 2,768; FR Y-6, 5,156
    General description of report: These information collections are 
mandatory under the Federal Reserve Act, the BHC Act, and the 
International Banking Act (12 U.S.C. 248 (a)(1), 321, 601, 602, 611a, 
615, 1843(k), 1844(c), and 3106, and Regulations K and Y (12 CFR 
211.13(c), 225.5(b), and 225.87). Individual respondent data are not 
considered confidential. However, respondents may request confidential 
treatment for any information that they believe is subject to an 
exemption from disclosure under the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. Sec.  552(b).
    Abstract: The FR Y-10 is an event-generated information collection 
submitted by top-tier domestic BHCs, including financial holding 
companies (FHCs), and state member banks unaffiliated with a BHC, to 
capture changes in their regulated investments and activities. The 
Federal Reserve uses the data to monitor structure information on 
subsidiaries and

[[Page 13494]]

regulated investments of these entities engaged in banking and 
nonbanking activities.
    The FR Y-6 is an annual information collection submitted by top-
tier BHCs and nonqualifying FBOs. It collects financial data, an 
organization chart, and information about shareholders. The Federal 
Reserve uses the data to monitor holding company operations and 
determine holding company compliance with the provisions of the BHC Act 
and Regulation Y (12 CFR 225).
    Current Actions: On September 13, 2006, the Federal Reserve 
published a notice in the Federal Register (71 FR 54075) requesting 
public comment for 60 days on the extension, with revision, of the 
Structure Reports.\1\ The comment period for this notice expired on 
November 13, 2006. The Board received comment letters from four large 
BHCs and three industry trade associations. Most of these comments were 
addressed in a final Federal Register notice dated December 28, 2006 
(71 FR 78207). In this notice, the Federal Reserve stated that it was 
continuing to evaluate several substantive comments on the collection 
of domestic branch data and would address these comments in a separate 
Federal Register notice in 2007. Below is a summary of the original 
proposal, a summary of the comments received, and the modifications to 
the original proposal.
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    \1\ The Structure Reports included in the initial notice were 
the Report of Changes in Organizational Structure (FR Y-10), the 
Report of Changes in FBO Organizational Structure (FR Y-10F), the 
Supplement to the Report of Changes in Organizational Structure (FR 
Y-10S), the Notification of Foreign Branch Status (FR 2058), the 
Annual Report of Bank Holding Companies (FR Y-6), and the Annual 
Report of Foreign Banking Organizations (FR Y-7).
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Original Proposal

    FR Y-6 Organization Chart
    The Federal Reserve proposed to add to the organization chart an 
annual requirement for institutions to verify a list of domestic 
branches that the Federal Reserve has on file for the institution. The 
list of domestic branches would include those of depository 
institutions and Edge and agreement corporations held directly or 
indirectly by the respondent.
    The Federal Reserve would provide institutions with a hardcopy of 
their data and, in response to industry feedback, a means for 
institutions to download their data in a spreadsheet format. The 
institutions would be required to return to the Federal Reserve an 
annotated document incorporating any changes or corrections to the 
data. The effective date for this proposed change would have been 
December 31, 2006.
    FR Y-10 Domestic Branch Schedule
    The Federal Reserve proposed to add a schedule to collect data on 
domestic branches and offices of depository institutions, held directly 
or indirectly, and domestic branches of Edge and agreement 
corporations. Data regarding branch openings, acquisitions, sales, 
closings or relocations would be collected on an event-generated basis, 
parallel to the other schedules on the FR Y-10, within thirty calendar 
days following the event. Institutions would be permitted to combine 
multiple transactions occurring within a 30-day period into a single 
monthly filing. The effective date for this proposed change would have 
been June 30, 2007.
    Data would be submitted for the following branches and offices:
    1. Full service (brick and mortar, retail) - traditional offices.
    2. Electronic banking - offices where Internet and other similar 
deposits are booked.
    3. Limited service (military, drive-through, mobile or seasonal, 
and retail) - limited, but often take or include deposits.
    4. Loan production offices (LPOs) and consumer credit - limited, 
normally nondeposit, but extend credit.
    5. Trust - limited and nondeposit
    6. Administrative (administrative, contractual, messenger) - all 
other limited and nondeposit

Summary of Comments

    Several commenters indicated that adding a schedule to the FR Y-10 
to collect data on domestic branches would be overly burdensome and may 
be duplicative of other information collected by the Federal Reserve or 
other regulators. As explained in the initial proposal, the current 
process for gathering domestic branch structure data is inadequate. 
Branch data for domestic state member banks are communicated to the 
Federal Reserve primarily through the application process. Information 
for all other domestic bank branches (branches of national and 
nonmember banks) is obtained by searching Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) 
bulletins. The results of this process are data that are not consistent 
and are often stale. The timing and extent of notifications to various 
bank regulators do not allow for consistent maintenance of the data. 
For example, branch openings and closings are reported with different 
lags and through different channels. Also, domestic bank branch data 
are submitted to the FDIC on the Summary of Deposits (OMB No. 3064-
0061) as of June 30 each year.\2\ However, the volume of branch 
structure changes is large. As a result, the relevancy of the annual 
data substantially diminishes over time. The Federal Reserve needs a 
formal information collection to ensure that these data are consistent, 
complete, and current.
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    \2\ Thrift branches are reported as of June 30 each year to the 
OTS, on their annual Branch Office Survey (OMB No. 1550-0004).
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    One commenter questioned the usefulness of the data, since only 
institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve would be required to 
submit the data. This commenter noted that the data would be incomplete 
for analyzing the competitive effects of proposed bank mergers and 
acquisitions in specific markets. As described in the original 
proposal, 95 percent of all domestic banking branches and 82 percent of 
all banking and thrift branches would be covered by this information 
collection. Information for the remaining small percentage of branches 
would continue to be collected using the current process for gathering 
domestic branch structure data discussed above. Although the 
information for these branches will not be as reliable as that obtained 
from the FR Y-10 respondents, the overall quality of the branch data 
will be dramatically improved by this framework.
    Several commenters asked the Federal Reserve to coordinate with the 
other agencies to collect consistent structure data. The Federal 
Reserve acknowledges that coordination with other agencies could 
achieve organizational and technical efficiencies for both banking 
organizations and the regulatory community. The Federal Reserve has 
been in contact with the other agencies during the development of this 
proposal. Discussions among the regulatory agencies regarding possible 
gains from coordination, as well as changes and enhancements to the 
technological platforms used for the collection are ongoing.
    Two commenters requested amending the information collection to 
allow respondents to provide their complete list of branches monthly on 
a separate report rather than providing changes on an event-generated 
basis on the FR Y-10. The Federal Reserve believes that the data would 
be more accurately and efficiently collected if banking organizations 
submit changes directly to the Federal Reserve, rather than requiring 
Federal Reserve staff to discern changes by comparing monthly filings. 
Furthermore, relative to existing

[[Page 13495]]

branches, the number of branch openings, closings, sales, and 
relocations is quite small. The current proposal allows for greater 
flexibility in how the schedule is filed, which should allow banks to 
find efficient ways to transmit the data.
    One commenter requested clarification of the administrative branch 
type. This term was defined in the draft instructions as a branch that 
has limited nondeposit functions, including back office operations and 
check processing facilities.

Modifications to the Original Proposal

    In response to comments and industry feedback, the Federal Reserve 
approved the following modifications to the original proposal:
     Eliminating LPOs, consumer credit offices, and 
administrative offices from the list of reportable branches on the FR 
Y-6 and FR Y-10;
     Excluding from the FR Y-10 address changes that result 
from changes in street names or zip codes, with no actual change in the 
physical location of the branch;
     Making FR Y-10 reporting of branch relocations of less 
than 1,000 feet optional, if the move does not involve a change of 
county; and
     Changing the implementation dates to December 31, 2007, 
for the FR Y-6 revisions and April 30, 2008, for the FR Y-10 revisions.

Final approval under OMB delegated authority the implementation of the 
following survey:

    Report title: Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and 
Derivatives Market Activity
    Agency form number: FR 3036
    OMB control number: 7100-0285
    Frequency: One-time
    Reporters: Financial institutions that serve as intermediaries in 
the wholesale foreign exchange and derivatives market and dealers.
    Annual reporting hours: 3,150 hours
    Estimated average hours per response: Turnover survey: 51 hours; 
outstandings survey: 60 hours
    Number of respondents: 60
    General description of report: This information collection is 
voluntary (12 U.S.C. 225a, 248(a)(2), 358, and 3105(c)) and is given 
confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. Sec.  552(b)(4)).
    Abstract: The FR 3036 is the U.S. part of a global data collection 
that is conducted by central banks every three years. More than fifty 
central banks plan to conduct the survey in 2007. The Bank for 
International Settlements compiles national data from each central bank 
to produce global market statistics.
    The Federal Reserve System and other government agencies use the 
survey to monitor activity in the foreign exchange and derivatives 
markets. Respondents use the published data to gauge their market 
share.
    Current actions: On January 11, 2007, the Federal Reserve published 
a notice in the Federal Register (72 FR 1325) requesting public comment 
for 60 days on the implementation of the FR 3036 survey. The comment 
period for this notice expired on March 12, 2007. The Federal Reserve 
received no comments on the proposed survey and will implement it as 
proposed.
    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, March 16, 2007.

Jennifer J. Johnson
Secretary of the Board
[FR Doc. E7-5192 Filed 3-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-S