[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 10, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52576-52577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-20905]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

12 CFR Part 8

[Docket No. OCC-2008-0013]
RIN 1557-AD06


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 as final and without change the interim final assessments rule 
issued on February 19, 2008. The interim final rule added two new 
asset-size categories to the table in 12 CFR 8.2(a) used to calculate 
each national bank's semiannual assessment. The addition of these 
categories is warranted to take account of significant structural 
changes in the national banking system since 1992, when the table was 
last revised, and has enabled the OCC to realign assessments to better 
reflect industry structure and OCC's corresponding expenses of 
operations. No comments were received in response to the request for 
comment on the interim final rule.

DATES: Effective Date: Effective September 10, 2008 the rule published 
on February 19, 2008 (73 FR 9012) and corrected at 73 FR 9625, Feb. 21, 
2008 is adopted as final without change.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MaryAnn Nash, Counsel, Legislative and 
Regulatory Activities Division, (202) 874-5090; Stuart Feldstein, 
Assistant Director, 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: 

Background

    The National Bank Act authorizes the OCC to fund the expenses of 
its operations through assessments on national banks.\1\ Under this 
authority, the OCC collects semiannual assessments from national banks 
in accordance with part 8 of our regulations and with the OCC's Notice 
of the Comptroller of the Currency Fees (Notice of Fees).\2\
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    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 482.
    \2\ 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 assessments of Federal branches and 
Federal agencies.
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    Part 8 establishes categories, or brackets, each of which comprises 
a range of size values for a national bank's total assets. Each 
national bank's assessment is the sum of a base amount, which is the 
same for every national bank in that asset-size bracket, plus a 
marginal amount, which is computed by applying a marginal assessment 
rate to the amount of total assets in excess of the lower boundary of 
the asset-size bracket.\3\ The marginal assessment rate declines as 
asset size increases, reflecting economies of scale in bank examination 
and supervision, which factor into the OCC's overall cost of 
operations. Both the base amounts and the marginal rates applicable to 
each asset-size bracket are published at least once a year in the OCC's 
Notice of Fees.\4\
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    \3\ See 12 CFR 8.2(a) (listing the asset-size brackets).
    \4\ See, e.g., OCC Bulletin 2007-46, ``Notice of the Comptroller 
of the Currency Fees for Year 2008'' (December 1, 2007). The OCC's 
regulations provide for the annual publication of the Notice of Fees 
and also authorize the publication of interim, or amended, notices 
of fees ``from time to time throughout the year as necessary.'' 12 
CFR 8.8.
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    Prior to the issuance of the interim final rule, the national bank 
assessments were based on asset-size brackets that had been last 
updated in 1992 \5\ and no longer reflected the structure and 
distribution of assets in the national banking system as a whole. For 
example, since 1992, there has been a significant increase not only in 
the amount of assets held by the largest banks, but also in the assets 
held by national banks in other asset-size brackets, resulting in a 
general upward shift in the distribution of the population of national 
banks on the asset-size bracket table in 12 CFR 8.2(a). The growth in 
the average assets held by national banks reflects the consolidation in 
the banking industry that has occurred since 1992.
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    \5\ 57 FR 22413 (May 28, 1992).
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    Given these developments, the OCC has determined that it is 
appropriate to update the existing asset-size brackets to reflect the 
current structure of the national banking system. The interim final 
rule has enabled the OCC to adjust the assessment framework to better 
reflect industry structure and the OCC's corresponding expenses of 
operations.

Interim Final Rule and Comments

    On February 19, 2008, the OCC published and requested comment on an 
interim final rule that expanded the number of asset-size assessment 
brackets in the table at 12 CFR 8.2(a) by revising the current top 
bracket, presently $40 billion and above, to cover banks with assets 
between $40 billion and $250 billion.\6\ In addition, the interim final 
rule created a new top bracket that applies to banks with assets in 
excess of $250 billion.
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    \6\ 73 FR 9012 (February 19, 2008).
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    The OCC also made a conforming change to delete the word ``ten'' 
from the description of the asset-size brackets in Sec.  8.2(a)(1) of 
the assessment rules since it no longer accurately described the number 
of brackets.
    The OCC received no comments in response to the interim final rule 
and has determined that it is appropriate to adopt as final the interim 
final rule as originally published on February 19, 2008.

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 pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b).\7\ Pursuant 
to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), 
notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required prior to 
the issuance of a final rule if an

[[Page 52577]]

agency, for good cause, finds that ``notice and public procedure 
thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest.'' \8\
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    \7\ 5 U.S.C. 601(2).
    \8\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).
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    As we have described, the asset brackets in the assessments table 
in 12 CFR 8.2(a) were last revised in 1992 and did not reflect the 
current structure of the national banking industry. The OCC adopted the 
changes to that framework in the form of an interim final rule because 
completion of notice and comment rulemaking procedures prior to issuing 
the interim final rule would have required delaying implementation of 
the new asset brackets beyond the next scheduled assessment date. Such 
a delay would have been contrary to the public interest since it would 
have resulted in national banks' continued payment of assessments under 
a framework that the OCC has determined is no longer representative of 
current industry structure and the OCC's corresponding expenses of 
operation. Issuance of the interim final rule also furthered the public 
interest and reduced regulatory burden because it allowed the OCC, as 
appropriate, to issue an amended Notice of Fees that better reflects 
the structure of the national banking system and allocates the OCC's 
expenses of operation on that basis. For the same reasons, the OCC 
found good cause to publish the interim final rule with an immediate 
effective date. See 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1), 553(d)(3).\9\
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    \9\ Although notice and comment were not required prior to the 
effective date of the interim final rule, the OCC nonetheless 
invited comments on all aspects of this interim final rule and 
intended to revise the interim final rule if necessary or 
appropriate in light of the comments received. As explained above, 
however, the OCC received no comments on the interim final rule.
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    Because the OCC determined for good cause that the APA did not 
require public notice and comment on the interim final rule, we did not 
publish a general notice of proposed rulemaking. Thus, the RFA, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 601(2), does not apply to this final rule because 
it is not a rule for which the OCC was required to publish a general 
notice of proposed rulemaking pursuant to section 553(b) of the APA.

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 \10\ 
(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 the regulatory 
alternatives considered.
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    \10\ 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. 
3506; 5 CFR 1320 appendix A.1), we have reviewed the final rule to 
assess 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 under the authority at 12 U.S.C. 482 the interim rule 
amending 12 CFR part 8 which was published at 73 FR 9012 on February 
19, 2008, and corrected at 73 FR 9012, Feb. 21, 2008 is adopted as 
final without change.

    Dated: August 11, 2008.
John C. Dugan,
Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. E8-20905 Filed 9-9-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P