[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 187-189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-25463]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury; 
and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Joint notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The OCC and FDIC (Agencies), as part of their continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invite the public and 
other Federal agencies to comment on proposed revisions to a continuing 
information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995. The Agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is 
not required to respond to, an information collection unless it 
displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
control number. The Agencies are soliciting comments on proposed 
revisions to the information collections titled: ``Interagency Bank 
Merger Act Application.'' The General Information and Instructions 
section has been revised to delete information about the Bank Insurance 
Fund (BIF), the Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF), and the 
Oakar statutory provisions. In addition, corresponding legal citations 
on the form to these provisions are being deleted. The Agencies also 
solicit comment on the renewal without change to the information 
collections titled: ``Interagency Biographical and Financial Report'' 
and ``Interagency Notice of Change in Control.'' The OCC solicits 
comment on the renewal without change to its ``Interagency Notice of 
Change in Directors or Senior Executive Officers'' information 
collection. Additionally, the OCC is making other clarifying changes to 
the Comptroller's Licensing Manual (Manual). The Agencies are also 
giving notice that the information collection has been submitted to OMB 
for review.

DATES: You should submit written comments by February 1, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments to any or 
all of the Agencies and the OMB Desk Officer. All comments, which 
should refer to the OMB control number, will be shared among the 
Agencies:

OCC

    Communications Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 
Public Information Room, Mail Stop 1-5, Attention: 1557-0014, 250 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. In addition, comments may be sent by 
fax to (202) 874-4448, or by electronic mail to 
[email protected]. You may personally inspect and photocopy 
comments at the OCC's Public Information Room, 250 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC. For security reasons, the OCC requires that visitors 
make an appointment to inspect comments. You may do so by calling (202) 
874-5043. Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present valid 
government-issued photo identification and submit to security screening 
in order to inspect and photocopy comments.

FDIC

    Valerie Best, Supervisory Counsel, (202) 898-3812, Legal Division, 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20429. All comments should refer to ``Interagency Bank 
Merger Act Application,'' the ``Interagency Biographical and Financial 
Report,'' or the ``Interagency Notice of Change in Control,'' as 
appropriate.

[[Page 188]]

Comments may be hand-delivered to the guard station at the rear of the 
17th Street Building (located on F Street), on business days between 7 
a.m. and 5 p.m. [E-mail address: [email protected]]. All comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/notices.html including any personal 
information provided. Comments may be inspected and photocopied in the 
FDIC Public Information Center, Room E-1002, 3501 Fairfax Drive, 
Arlington, VA 22226, between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on business days.
    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
OMB Desk Officer for the Agencies by mail to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, New 
Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may request additional information 
from:

OCC

    Mary Gottlieb, OCC Clearance Officer, Legislative and Regulatory 
Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. For subject matter information, you 
may contact Yoo Jin Na at (202) 874-4604, Licensing Activities, 
Licensing Department, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219.

FDIC

    Valerie Best, Supervisory Counsel, (202) 898-3812, Legal Division, 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20429.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Proposal to extend for three years, with 
revision, the following currently approved collections of information:
    OCC's Information Collection Title: Comptroller's Licensing Manual 
(Manual). The specific portions of the Manual covered by this notice 
are those that pertain to the ``Business Combinations,'' ``Branches and 
Relocations,'' ``Capital and Dividends,'' ``Charters,'' ``Change in 
Bank Control,'' ``Comments to Other Agencies,'' ``General Policies and 
Procedures,'' ``Investment in Bank Premises,'' ``Investment in 
Subsidiaries and Equities,'' ``Management Interlocks,'' and ``Public 
Notice and Comments'' booklets of the Manual and various portions to 
which the OCC is making technical and clarifying changes.
    All Agencies' Report Title and FDIC's Information Collection Title: 
Interagency Bank Merger Act Application.
    All Agencies' Report Titles and FDIC's Information Collection 
Title: Interagency Biographical and Financial Report and Interagency 
Notice of Change in Control.
    OCC Report Title: Interagency Notice of Change in Directors or 
Senior Executive Officers.
    OMB Numbers:
    OCC: 1557-0014.
    FDIC: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application, 3064-0015; 
Interagency Biographical and Financial Report, 3064-0006; Interagency 
Notice of Change in Control, 3064-0019.
    Form Numbers:
    OCC: None.
    FDIC: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application, 6220/01 and 6220/07; 
Interagency Notice of Change in Control, Form 6822/01; Interagency 
Biographical and Financial Report, Form 6200/06.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Businesses or other 
for-profit.
    Type of Review: Revision or renewal of currently approved 
collections.
    Estimated Number of Respondents:
    OCC: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application--152; Interagency 
Biographical and Financial Report--450; Interagency Notice of Change in 
Directors or Senior Executive Officers--150; Interagency Notice of 
Change in Control--13.
    FDIC: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application--275; Interagency 
Biographical and Financial Report--1,769; Interagency Notice of Change 
in Control--27.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours per Response:
    OCC: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application--23.5; Interagency 
Biographical and Financial Report--4; Interagency Notice of Change in 
Directors or Senior Executive Officers--2; Interagency Notice of Change 
in Control--30.
    FDIC: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application--23.5; Interagency 
Biographical and Financial Report--4; Interagency Notice of Change in 
Control--30.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours:
    OCC: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application--3,572; Interagency 
Biographical and Financial Report--1,800; Interagency Notice of Change 
in Directors or Senior Executive Officers--300; Interagency Notice of 
Change in Control--510. Total: 6,182 burden hours.
    FDIC: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application--6,463; Interagency 
Biographical and Financial Report--7,076; Interagency Notice of Change 
in Control--810.
    Total: 14,349 burden hours.

General Description of Report

    These information collections are mandatory. Interagency Bank 
Merger Act Application: 12 U.S.C. 1828(c), 1815(a), 12 U.S.C. 215, 
215a-c. Interagency Biographical and Financial Report: 12 U.S.C. 1814, 
1816, 1817(j), 2903, and 4804. Interagency Notice of Change in 
Directors or Senior Executive Officers: 12 U.S.C. 1831i; Interagency 
Notice of Change in Control: 12 U.S.C. 1817(j) and 4804. The notices 
and reporting form are treated as public documents. The organizations 
and individuals that use the forms may request that all or a portion of 
the submitted information be kept confidential. In such cases, the 
burden is on the filer 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 OCC, FDIC, Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) each use the 
Interagency Bank Merger Act 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 information 
collected by the remaining notifications and forms assist the 
regulatory agency in fulfilling their statutory responsibilities as 
supervisors. The regulatory agency uses the information to evaluate the 
controlling owners, senior officers, and directors of the insured 
depository institutions subject to their oversight.

Current Actions

    This submission covers a revision to the Agencies' Interagency Bank 
Merger Act Application. The General Information and Instructions 
section of the application would be revised based

[[Page 189]]

on the passage of the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005, 
enacted on February 8, 2006. Provisions of the legislation directed the 
FDIC to merge the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association 
Insurance Fund to form the new Deposit Insurance Fund, which 
subsequently merged on March 31, 2006. The formation of the single 
insurance fund eliminated the need for two types of insurance-related 
applications that existed to allow certain depository institutions to 
convert their coverage from one insurance fund to another. Accordingly, 
references in the Instructions to the previously required applications 
have been deleted. Also, the legal citations on page 1 of the 
application form, that correspond to the previously required 
application have been deleted (previously 12 U.S.C. 1815(d)(2), 
1815(d)(3)). There are no other proposed changes to this information 
collection. Additionally, each of the Agencies proposes to renew two 
other forms, Interagency Biographical and Financial Report and the 
Interagency Notice of Change in Control, with no changes. The OCC 
proposes to renew, with no changes, one additional form, the 
Interagency Notice of Change in Directors or Senior Executive Officers. 
The Agencies need the information from these forms to ensure that the 
proposed transactions are permissible under law and regulation and are 
consistent with safe and sound banking practices. The Board published a 
separate Federal Register notice (72 FR 39428 (July 18, 2007)) and the 
OTS plans to publish a notice requesting public comment on these 
revisions.

Comments

    The Agencies issued a 60-day notice seeking comment on the 
collection on August 8, 2007 (72 FR 44220). No comments were received.
    Written comments continue to be invited on:
    a. Whether the information collection is necessary for the proper 
performance of the Agencies' functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Agencies' estimates of the burden of the 
information collection, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or start up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

    Dated: December 14, 2007.
Stuart Feldstein,
Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

    Dated at Washington, DC, this 19th day of December, 2007.
Valerie J. Best,
Assistant Executive Secretary.

FDIC: 6714-01-P (50%)

[FR Doc. E7-25463 Filed 12-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P (50%); 6714-01-P (50%)