[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 66 (Friday, April 4, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18531-18532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6991]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


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

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board).

ACTION: Notice of information collection to be submitted to OMB for 
review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Board, the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency (OCC) (collectively, 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.
    On January 15, 2008, the Board, under the auspices of the Federal 
Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and on behalf of the 
agencies, published a notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 2491) 
requesting public comment for 60 days to extend, with revision, the 
Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies of 
Foreign Banks (FFIEC 002) and the Report of Assets and Liabilities of a 
Non-U.S. Branch That Is Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch or 
Agency of a Foreign (Non-U.S.) Bank (FFIEC 002S), which are currently 
approved information collections. The comment period for this notice 
expired on March 17, 2008. After receiving four comment letters, the 
FFIEC and the agencies have made no modifications to the proposal, but 
are delaying implementation to September 30, 2008, except for certain 
changes for which a transition period begins June 30, 2008. The Board 
hereby gives notice that it plans to submit to OMB on behalf of the 
agencies a request for approval of the FFIEC 002 and the FFIEC 002S.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 5, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to 
the agency listed below. All comments, which should refer to the OMB 
control number, will be shared among the agencies. You may submit 
comments, identified by FFIEC 002 (7100-0032) or FFIEC 002S (7100-
0273), by any of the following methods:
     Agency Web Site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include the OMB 
control number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 202-452-3819 or 202-452-3102.
     Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20551.

    All public comments are available from the Board's Web site at 
www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, 
unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your comments will 
not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public 
comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper in Room MP-500 
of the Board's Martin Building (20th and C Streets, NW.) between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
    Additionally, commenters should send a copy of their comments to 
the Desk Officer for the agencies by mail to U.S. Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 17th Street NW., 10235, Washington, DC 20503 
or by fax to 202-395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information or a copy of 
the collection may be requested from Michelle Shore, Federal Reserve 
Board Clearance Officer, 202-452-3829, Division of Research and 
Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and 
C Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20551. Telecommunications Device for the 
Deaf (TDD) users may call 202-263-4869, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Proposal to request approval from OMB of the extension for three 
years, with revision, of the following currently approved collections 
of information:
    Report Titles: Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches 
and Agencies of Foreign Banks; Report of Assets and Liabilities of a 
Non-U.S. Branch that is Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch or 
Agency of a Foreign (Non-U.S.) Bank Form Numbers: FFIEC 002; FFIEC 
002S.
    OMB Numbers: 7100-0032; 7100-0273.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Affected Public: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: FFIEC 002-264; FFIEC 002S-65.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: FFIEC 002-25 hours; FFIEC 
002S-6 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: FFIEC 002-26,400 hours; FFIEC 002S-
1,560 hours.
    General Description of Reports: These information collections are 
mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 3105(c)(2), 1817(a)(1) and (3), and 3102(b). 
Except for select sensitive items, the FFIEC 002 is not given 
confidential treatment; the FFIEC 002S is given confidential treatment 
[5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)].
    Abstract: On a quarterly basis, all U.S. branches and agencies of 
foreign banks are required to file the FFIEC 002, which is a detailed 
report of condition with a variety of supporting schedules. This 
information is used to fulfill the supervisory and regulatory 
requirements of the International Banking Act of 1978. The data are 
also used to augment the bank credit, loan, and deposit information 
needed for monetary policy and other public policy purposes. The FFIEC 
002S is a supplement to the FFIEC 002 that collects information on 
assets and liabilities of any non-U.S. branch that is managed or 
controlled by a U.S. branch or agency of the foreign bank. (Managed or 
controlled means that a majority of the responsibility for business 
decisions, including but not limited to decisions with regard to 
lending or asset management or funding or liability management, or the

[[Page 18532]]

responsibility for recordkeeping in respect of assets or liabilities 
for that foreign branch resides at the U.S. branch or agency.) A 
separate FFIEC 002S must be completed for each managed or controlled 
non-U.S. branch and filed quarterly along with the U.S. branch or 
agency's FFIEC 002. The data from both reports are used for: (1) 
Monitoring deposit and credit transactions of U.S. residents; (2) 
monitoring the impact of policy changes; (3) analyzing structural 
issues concerning foreign bank activity in U.S. markets; (4) 
understanding flows of banking funds and indebtedness of developing 
countries in connection with data collected by the International 
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) 
that are used in economic analysis; and (5) assisting in the 
supervision of U.S. offices of foreign banks. The Federal Reserve 
System collects and processes these reports on behalf of all three 
agencies.

Current Actions

    In a Federal Register notice published on January 15, 2008 (73 FR 
2491), the Board, on behalf of the agencies, requested comment on a 
proposal to implement a number of revisions to the existing reporting 
requirements of the FFIEC 002. The proposed revisions would help to 
achieve consistency with the Reports of Condition and Income (Call 
Report) (FFIEC 031 and FFIEC 041) filed by insured commercial banks and 
state-chartered savings banks. The agencies also proposed to combine 
the FFIEC 002 and FFIEC 002S into one OMB control number, 7100-0032. In 
response to the January 15, 2008, notice, the agencies received four 
comment letters from a branch of a foreign bank, a federal agency, a 
bankers' organization, and a foreign banking organization. One 
commenter supported the proposed changes and described its use of the 
data to analyze the effect of quarterly developments on the U.S. 
International Transactions Accounts. Two commenters had no comments on 
the proposed revisions, but did offer comments on the use of 
International Financial Reporting Standards in regulatory reports such 
as the FFIEC 002 and the FFIEC 002S. The last commenter had no comments 
on the proposed revisions, but did suggest delaying the proposed 
implementation date for some of these revisions. After considering 
these comments, the FFIEC and the agencies have approved the revisions 
to the FFIEC 002 and the FFIEC 002S as originally proposed. However, 
the agencies will implement the changes as of the September 30, 2008, 
reporting date rather than the proposed June 30, 2008, reporting date 
with one exception. The Schedule O changes will remain on the same 
interim transition period that had been proposed, which covers the June 
30, 2008, through December 31, 2008, reporting dates.

Request for Comment

    Comments are invited on:
    a. Whether the information collections are 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 collections, 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 the information collections 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.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be shared among 
the agencies. All comments will become a matter of public record. 
Written comments should address the accuracy of the burden estimates 
and ways to minimize burden including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology as well as other 
relevant aspects of the information collection request.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 1, 2008.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E8-6991 Filed 4-3-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P