[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 17, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58851-58852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20413]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 collections 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.

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-Alexander T. Hunt--Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503.

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

    1. Report title: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application
    Agency form number: FR 2070
    OMB control number: 7100-0171
    Frequency: On occasion
    Reporters: State member banks
    Annual reporting hours: Nonaffiliate Transactions: 1,560; Affiliate 
Transactions: 234
    Estimated average hours per response: Nonaffiliate Transactions: 
30; Affiliate Transactions: 18
    Number of respondents: Nonaffiliate Transactions: 52; Affiliate 
Transactions: 13
    General description of report: This information collection is 
mandatory (12 U.S.C. 1828(c)) and is not given confidential treatment. 
However, applicants may request that parts of a submitted application 
be kept confidential. In such cases, the burden is on the applicant to 
justify the exemption by demonstrating that disclosure would cause 
substantial competitive harm or result in an unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy or would otherwise qualify for an exemption under the 
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). The confidentiality status 
of the information submitted will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
    Abstract: The Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and 
the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) (the agencies) each use this 
application form to collect information for bank merger proposals that 
require prior approval under the Bank Merger Act. Prior approval is 
required for every merger transaction involving affiliated or 
nonaffiliated institutions and must be sought from the regulatory 
agency of the depository institution that would survive the proposed 
transaction. A merger transaction may include a merger, consolidation, 
assumption of deposit liabilities, or certain asset-transfers between 
or among two or more institutions. The Federal Reserve collects this 
information so that it may meet its statutory obligation to evaluate 
the competitive, financial, managerial, future prospects, and 
convenience and needs aspects of each state member bank merger 
proposal.
    Current Actions: The Federal Reserve will update the General 
Information and Instructions to reflect passage of the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Reform Act of 2005, which was enacted on February 8, 2006. 
Provisions of this legislation directed the merger of the Bank 
Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund into a new 
Deposit Insurance Fund. The formation of the single insurance fund 
eliminated the need for two types of insurance-related applications 
that had been required for certain bank merger transactions. The 
revisions relate entirely to the eliminated filing requirements. On 
July 18, 2007, the Federal Reserve published a notice in the Federal 
Register (72 FR 39429) requesting public comment for sixty days on the 
extension, with revision, of the Interagency Bank Merger Act 
Application; the comment period expired on September 17, 2007. The 
Federal Reserve did not receive any comments. The revisions will be 
implemented as proposed.
    On August 7, 2007, the OCC and FDIC published a separate Federal 
Register notice (72 FR 44220) requesting public comment for sixty days 
on these revisions; the comment period expired on October 9, 2007. The 
OTS will publish a separate Federal Register notice requesting public 
comment on these revisions.
    2. Report title: Intermittent Survey of Businesses
    Agency form number: FR 1374
    OMB control number: 7100-0302
    Frequency: on occasion
    Reporters: businesses
    Annual reporting hours: 205
    Estimated average hours per response: 15 minutes
    Number of respondents: 250
    General description of report: This information collection is 
voluntary (12 U.S.C. 225a and 263) and may be given confidential 
treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
    Abstract: The survey data are used by the Federal Reserve to gather 
information specifically tailored to the Federal Reserve's policy and 
operational responsibilities. There are two parts to this event-
generated survey. First, the Federal Reserve Banks survey business 
contacts as economic developments warrant. Currently, they conduct 
these surveys two times per year, with approximately 120 business 
respondents for each survey (about ten per Reserve Bank). Usually, 
these surveys are conducted by Reserve Bank economists telephoning or 
emailing purchasing managers, economists, or other knowledgeable 
individuals at selected, relevant businesses. The frequency and content 
of the questions, as well as the businesses contacted, vary depending 
on changing developments in the economy. Second, economists at the 
Board survey business contacts by telephone, inquiring about current 
business conditions. Historically, these surveys have been conducted 
biweekly, with approximately ten respondents for each survey.
    Current actions: The Federal Reserve will revise the frequency of 
both parts of the survey in response to recent changes in the demand 
for these data by the Board members. The Reserve Bank portion of the 
survey will be conducted as economic events dictate (about three times 
per year). The Board portion of the survey will be conducted on an

[[Page 58852]]

event-generated basis, no more than ten times per year. In addition, 
the Federal Reserve will increase the number of respondents for the 
Reserve Bank part of the survey from 120 to 240 (twenty per Reserve 
Bank). On July 23, 2007, the Federal Reserve published a notice in the 
Federal Register (72 FR 40152) requesting public comment for sixty days 
on the extension, with revision, of the Intermittent Survey of 
Businesses; the comment period expired on September 21, 2007. The 
Federal Reserve did not receive any comments. The revisions will be 
implemented as proposed.

Final approval under OMB delegated authority of the extension for three 
years, without revision, of the following report:

    1. Report title: Interagency Notice of Change in Control, 
Interagency Notice of Change in Director or Senior Executive Officer, 
and Interagency Biographical and Financial Report.
    Agency form number: FR 2081a, FR 2081b, and FR 2081c
    OMB control number: 7100-0134
    Frequency: On occasion
    Reporters: Financial institutions and certain of their officers and 
shareholders
    Annual reporting hours: FR 2081a: 3,150; FR 2081b: 142; FR 2081c: 
2,464
    Estimated average hours per response: FR 2081a: 30; FR 2081b: 2; FR 
2081c: 4
    Number of respondents: FR 2081a: 105; FR 2081b: 71; FR 2081c: 616
    General description of report: This information collection is 
mandatory (12 U.S.C. 1817(j) and 12 U.S.C. 1831(i)) and is not given 
confidential treatment. However, applicants may request that parts of a 
submitted application be kept confidential. In such cases, the burden 
is on the applicant to justify the exemption by demonstrating that 
disclosure would cause substantial competitive harm or result in an 
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or would otherwise qualify for 
an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). The 
confidentiality status of the information submitted will be judged on a 
case-by-case basis.
    Abstract: The information collected assists the Federal Reserve, 
the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of Thrift 
Supervision (OTS) (the agencies) in fulfilling their statutory 
responsibilities as supervisors. Each of these forms is used to collect 
information in connection with applications and notices filed prior to 
proposed changes in the ownership or management of banking 
organizations. The agencies use the information to evaluate the 
controlling owners, senior officers, and directors of the insured 
depository institutions subject to their oversight.
    Current Actions: On July 18, 2007, the Federal Reserve published a 
notice in the Federal Register (72 FR 39429) requesting public comment 
for sixty days on the extension, without revision, of these notices and 
reporting form; the comment period expired on September 17, 2007. The 
Federal Reserve did not receive any comments. On August 7, 2007, the 
OCC and FDIC published a separate Federal Register notice (72 FR 44220) 
requesting public comment for sixty days on the extension; the comment 
period expired on October 9, 2007. The OTS will publish a separate 
Federal Register notice requesting public comment on the extension.
    2. Report title: Semiannual Report of Derivatives Activity
    Agency form number: FR 2436
    OMB control number: 7100-0286
    Frequency: Semiannually
    Reporters: U.S. dealers of over-the-counter derivatives
    Annual reporting hours: 2,100
    Estimated average hours per response: 150
    Number of respondents: 7
    General description of report: This information collection is 
voluntary (12 U.S.C. 225a, 263, 348a, and 353-359) and is given 
confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
    Abstract: Data are collected on notional amounts and gross market 
values of outstanding OTC derivatives contracts for broad categories of 
market risk: foreign exchange, interest rate, equities, commodities, 
and credit. For the different types of market risk except commodities, 
further detail is collected on the underlying market risk of each 
contract-- the underlying currency, equity market, or reference entity 
(borrower). This collection of information complements the triennial 
Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity 
(FR 3036; OMB No. 7100-0285). The FR 2436 collects similar data on the 
outstanding volume of derivatives, but not on derivatives turnover. The 
Federal Reserve conducts both surveys in coordination with other 
central banks and forwards the aggregated data furnished by U.S. 
reporters to the Bank for International Settlements, which publishes 
global market statistics that are aggregations of national data.
    Current Actions: On July 23, 2007, the Federal Reserve published a 
notice in the Federal Register (72 FR 40152) requesting public comment 
for sixty days on the extension, without revision, of the Semiannual 
Report of Derivatives Activity; the comment period expired on September 
21, 2007. The Federal Reserve did not receive any comments.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 12, 
2007.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E7-20413 Filed 10-16-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-S