[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 37 (Thursday, February 26, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8794-8796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4115]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY: Background. On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System (Board) its approval authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA), as per 5 CFR 1320.16, to approve of and assign OMB control 
numbers to collection of information requests and requirements 
conducted or sponsored by the Board under conditions set forth in 5 CFR 
1320 Appendix A.1. 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 instruments are placed into OMB's public docket files. The 
Federal Reserve may not

[[Page 8795]]

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.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposals

    The following information collections, which are being handled 
under this delegated authority, have received initial Board approval 
and are hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, 
the proposed information collections, along with an analysis of 
comments and recommendations received, will be submitted to the Board 
for final approval under OMB delegated authority. Comments are invited 
on the following:
    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Federal Reserve's functions; including 
whether the information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Federal Reserve's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed 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; and
    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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 27, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 2018, FR 2023, FR 
2835, or FR 2835a by any of the following methods:
     Agency Web Site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments at 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 docket 
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 http://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 form 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 OMB Desk Officer 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: A copy of the PRA OMB submission 
including, the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting 
statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public 
docket files, once approved. These documents will also be made 
available on the Federal Reserve Board's public Web site at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/reportforms/review.cfm or may be 
requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.
    Michelle Shore, Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer (202-452-
3829), Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551. Telecommunications Device 
for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202-263-4869), Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.
    Proposals to approve under OMB delegated authority the extension 
for three years, without revision, of the following reports:
    1. Report title: The Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank 
Lending Practices.
    Agency form number: FR 2018.
    OMB control number: 7100-0058.
    Frequency: Up to six times a year.
    Reporters: Large U.S. commercial banks and large U.S. branches and 
agencies of foreign banks.
    Annual reporting hours: 1,008 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 2 hours.
    Number of respondents: 84.
    Small businesses are not affected.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
voluntary (12 U.S.C. 225a, 248(a)(2), and 3105(c)(2)) and is given 
confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
    Abstract: The FR 2018 is conducted with a senior loan officer at 
each respondent bank, generally through a telephone interview, up to 
six times a year. The purpose of the survey is to provide qualitative 
and limited quantitative information on credit availability and demand, 
as well as evolving developments and lending practices in the U.S. loan 
markets. Consequently, a portion of the questions in each survey 
typically covers special topics of timely interest. There is the option 
to survey other types of respondents (such as other depository 
institutions, bank holding companies, or other financial entities) 
should the need arise. The FR 2018 survey provides crucial information 
for monitoring and understanding the evolution of lending practices at 
banks and developments in credit markets.
    2. Report title: Senior Financial Officer Survey.
    Agency form number: FR 2023.
    OMB control number: 7100-0223.
    Frequency: Up to four times per year.
    Reporters: Large commercial banks.
    Annual reporting hours: 240 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1 hour.
    Number of respondents: 60.
    Small businesses are not affected.
    General description of report: This information collection is 
voluntary (12 U.S.C. 225a, 248(a), and 263). It has been anticipated 
that most, if not all, of the information to be collected on the FR 
2023 would be exempt from disclosure under subsection (b)(4) of the 
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)). However, the 
confidentiality status of the survey would be determined on a case-by-
case basis, when the specific questions to be asked on each particular 
survey are formulated but before respondents are contacted. Respondents 
will be informed of the confidentiality status of that particular 
survey, each time the survey would be conducted.
    Abstract: The FR 2023 collects qualitative and limited quantitative 
information about liability management, the provision of financial 
services, and the functioning of key financial markets from a selection 
of sixty large commercial banks (or, if appropriate, from other 
depository institutions or major financial market participants). 
Responses are obtained from a senior officer at each participating 
institution through a telephone interview. The survey is conducted when 
major informational needs arise and cannot be met from existing data 
sources. The survey does not have a fixed set of questions; each survey 
consists of a limited number of questions directed at topics of timely 
interest. The survey helps pinpoint developing trends in bank funding 
practices, enabling the

[[Page 8796]]

Federal Reserve to distinguish these trends from transitory phenomena.
    3. Report titles: Quarterly Report of Interest Rates on Selected 
Direct Consumer Installment Loans and Quarterly Report of Credit Card 
Plans.
    Agency form numbers: FR 2835 and FR 2835a.
    OMB control number: 7100-0085.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Reporters: Commercial banks.
    Annual reporting hours: FR 2835, 132 hours; and FR 2835a, 100 
hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: FR 2835, 13.2 minutes; and FR 
2835a, 30 minutes.
    Number of respondents: FR 2835, 150; and FR 2835a, 50.
    Small businesses are not affected.
    General description of report: These information collections are 
voluntary (12 U.S.C. 248(a)(2)). The FR 2835a individual respondent 
data are given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)), the FR 2835 
data however, is not given confidential treatment.
    Abstract: The FR 2835 collects the most common interest rate 
charged at a sample of 150 commercial banks on two types of consumer 
loans made in a given week each quarter: new auto loans and other loans 
for consumer goods and personal expenditures.
    The FR 2835a collects information on two measures of credit card 
interest rates from a sample of 50 commercial banks (authorized panel 
size), selected to include banks with $1 billion or more in credit card 
receivables, and a representative group of smaller issuers. The data 
are representative of interest rates paid by consumers on bank credit 
cards because the panel includes virtually all large issuers and an 
appropriate sample of other issuers.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 23, 
2009.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E9-4115 Filed 2-25-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P