[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15708-15709]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6949]


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

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 
instruments 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--Shagufta Ahmed, 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 implementation 
of the following survey:
    Report title: Senior Credit Officer Opinion Survey on Dealer 
Financing Terms.
    Agency form number: FR 2034.
    OMB control number: 7100- to be assigned.
    Frequency: Up to six times a year.
    Reporters: U.S. banking institutions and U.S. branches and agencies 
of foreign banks.
    Estimated annual reporting hours: 450 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 3 hours.
    Number of respondents: 25.
    General description of report: This information collection will be 
voluntary (12 U.S.C. 225a, 248(a)(2), 1844(c), and 3105(c)(2)) and will 
be given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
    Abstract: This voluntary survey will be conducted with a senior 
credit officer at each respondent financial institution up to six times 
a year. The reporting panel consists of up to 25 U.S. banking 
institutions and U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, the 
majority of which are affiliated with a Primary Government Securities 
Dealer.\1\ The purpose of the survey is to provide qualitative and 
limited quantitative information on (1) stringency of credit terms, (2) 
credit availability and demand across the entire range of securities 
financing and over-the-counter derivatives transactions, and (3) the 
evolution of market conditions and conventions applicable to such 
activities. The FR 2034 survey is significantly modeled after the long-
established Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (FR 2018; OMB No. 7100-
0058), which provides qualitative information on changes in the supply 
of, and demand for, bank loans to businesses and households. A portion 
of the questions in each administration of the FR 2034 survey will 
typically cover special topics of timely interest; however, the survey 
form also includes 47 core questions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ A list of the current Primary Dealers in Government 
Securities is available at http://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/pridealers_current.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Although the Federal Reserve seeks the authority to conduct the 
survey up to six times a year, the survey is expected to be conducted 
only four times a year consistent with the FR 2018. Consistent with the 
FR 2018, other types of respondents, such as other depository 
institutions, bank holding companies, or other financial entities, may 
be surveyed if appropriate.
    The respondents' answers are intended to provide information 
critical to the Federal Reserve's monitoring of credit markets and 
capital market activity. As is currently the case with FR 2018, 
aggregate results from this survey are expected to be made available to 
the public on the Federal Reserve Board website. Selected aggregate 
information from the surveys may also be published annually in Federal 
Reserve Bulletin articles and in the Monetary Policy Report to the 
Congress.
    Current Actions: On December 15, 2009, the Federal Reserve 
published a notice in the Federal Register (74 FR 66359) requesting 
public comment for 60 days on implementation of the FR 2034 survey. The 
comment period for this notice expired on February 16, 2010. The 
Federal Reserve received one comment letter on this proposal.

Summary of Comments

    The comment letter was based on a series of informal discussions in 
early January 2010 between Federal Reserve staff and several dealer 
firms which are potential respondents to the new survey. These 
discussions helped the Federal Reserve to assess the clarity, utility, 
and burden of the FR 2034 survey, and led to changes to the content of 
the survey and formulation of particular questions as described below:
    Increased focus on the maturity of trades was suggested, as this is 
an important dimension on which the stringency of credit terms is 
routinely adjusted, as was the inclusion of

[[Page 15709]]

questions relating to certain other instruments such as stock loan and 
total return swaps. Market participants suggested additional attention 
should be accorded to the volume of disputes with clients and the 
degree to which clients seek through negotiation to elicit more 
favorable terms.
    Feedback from these discussions also led to the elimination or 
consolidation of questions regarding the credit terms applicable to 
other dealers, or to the funding of Treasury securities, as these terms 
do not vary markedly across the normal credit cycle.
    Adoption of a more granular classification of ``clients by type'' 
was recommended in order to draw a clearer distinction between hedge 
funds and other types of institutional investors, such as insurance 
companies and pension funds. Finally, in several instances alternate 
language was suggested, including (1) using the term vendor financing 
to describe a situation where a dealer provides more favorable terms 
for funding securities in which it has played an underwriting role and 
(2) eliminating words in one possible response (to a survey question) 
that might be construed as reflecting adversely on a dealer's own 
access to funding.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, March 24, 
2010.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2010-6949 Filed 3-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P