[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 79 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21867-21870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-8939]


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Part XIII





Department of the Treasury





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###Semiannual Regulatory Agenda###

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (TREAS)

_______________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

31 CFR Subtitle A, Chs. I and II

Semiannual Agenda

AGENCY: Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Semiannual regulatory agenda.

_______________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY: This notice is given pursuant to the provisions of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354, September 19, 1980) and 
Executive Order 12866 (``Regulatory Planning and Review''), which 
require the publication by the Department of a semiannual agenda of 
regulations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Agency contact identified in the 
item relating to that regulation.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The semiannual regulatory agenda includes 
regulations that the Department has issued or expects to issue and 
rules currently in effect that are under departmental or agency review. 
Beginning with the fall 2007 edition, the Internet is the basic means 
for disseminating the Unified Agenda. The complete Unified Agenda will 
be available online at www.reginfo.gov and www.regulations.gov in a 
format that offers users an enhanced ability to obtain information from 
the Agenda database. Because publication in the Federal Register is 
mandated for the regulatory flexibility agendas required by the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 602), Treasury's printed agenda 
entries include only:

    (1) Rules that are in the regulatory flexibility agenda in 
accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act because they are 
likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities; and

    (2) Any rule that has been identified for periodic review under 
section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

    Printing of these entries is limited to fields that contain 
information required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act's Agenda 
requirements. Additional information on these entries is available 
in the Unified Agenda published on the Internet. The semiannual 
agenda of the Department of the Treasury conforms to the Unified 
Agenda format developed by the Regulatory Information Service 
Center (RISC).

Dated: February 26, 2010.

 Richard G. Lepley,

Deputy Assistant General Counsel for
General Law and Regulation.

                            Financial Crimes Enforcement Network--Proposed Rule Stage
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Regulation
 Sequence                                           Title                                            Identifier
  Number                                                                                               Number
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
260         Amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act Regulations--Definitions and Other Regulations          1506-AB07
            Relating to Prepaid Access............................................................
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                                  Comptroller of the Currency--Final Rule Stage
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Regulation
 Sequence                                           Title                                            Identifier
  Number                                                                                               Number
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
261         S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act.......................................................    1557-AD23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                 Comptroller of the Currency--Completed Actions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Regulation
 Sequence                                           Title                                            Identifier
  Number                                                                                               Number
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262         Interagency Proposal for Model Privacy Form Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act..........    1557-AC80
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                                  Internal Revenue Service--Proposed Rule Stage
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                                                                                                     Regulation
 Sequence                                           Title                                            Identifier
  Number                                                                                               Number
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263         Regulations Governing Practice Before the IRS--Tax Return Preparers...................    1545-BJ17
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[[Page 21869]]

_______________________________________________________________________
Department of the Treasury (TREAS)                  Proposed Rule Stage
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN)
_______________________________________________________________________

260.  AMENDMENT TO THE BANK SECRECY ACT REGULATIONS--
DEFINITIONS AND OTHER REGULATIONS RELATING TO PREPAID ACCESS

Legal Authority: 12 USC 1829b; 12 USC 1951 to 1959; 31 USC 5311 to 
5314; 31 USC 5316 to 5332

Abstract: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau 
of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), is proposing to revise 
the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations applicable to Money Services 
Businesses to include stored value or prepaid access. In this proposed 
rulemaking, we are reviewing the stored value/prepaid access regulatory 
framework with a focus on developing appropriate BSA regulatory 
oversight without impeding continued development of the industry, as 
well as improving the ability of FinCEN, other regulators and law 
enforcement to safeguard the U.S. financial system from the abuses of 
terrorist financing, money laundering, and other financial crime.
The proposed changes are intended to address regulatory gaps that have 
resulted from the proliferation of prepaid innovations over the last 10 
years and their increasing use as an accepted payment method. If these 
gaps are not addressed, there is increased potential for the use of 
prepaid access as a means for furthering money laundering, terrorist 
financing, and other illicit transactions through the financial system. 
This would significantly undermine many of the efforts previously taken 
by government and industry to safeguard the financial system through 
the application of BSA requirements to other areas of the financial 
sector.
While seeking to address vulnerabilities existing currently in the 
prepaid industry, FinCEN also intends for this proposed rule to provide 
the necessary flexibility to address new developments in technology, 
markets, and consumer behavior. This is important, in order to avoid 
creating artificial limits on a mechanism that can be an avenue to meet 
the financial services needs of the unbanked and the underbanked.
This rule proposes to subject certain providers of prepaid access to a 
comprehensive BSA regime. To make BSA reports and records valuable and 
meaningful, the proposed changes impose obligations on the party within 
any given prepaid access transaction chain with predominant oversight 
and control, as well as others in a unique position to provide 
meaningful information to regulators and law enforcement. More 
specifically, the proposed changes include the following: (1) Renaming 
``stored value'' as ``prepaid access'' and defining that term; (2) 
deleting the terms ``issuer and redeemer'' of stored value; (3) 
imposing registration, suspicious activity reporting and customer 
information recordkeeping requirements on providers of prepaid access, 
and new transactional recordkeeping requirements on both providers and 
sellers of prepaid access; and (4) exempting certain categories of 
prepaid access products and services posing lower risks of money 
laundering and terrorist financing from certain requirements.
FinCEN recognizes that the Credit CARD Act of 2009 mandated the 
increased regulation of prepaid access, as well as the consideration of 
the issue of international transport, and we will address these 
mandates, either through regulatory text or solicitation of comment in 
this rulemaking. In the course of our regulatory research into the 
operation of the prepaid industry, we have encountered a number of 
distinct issues, such as the appropriate obligations of payment 
networks and financial transparency at the borders, and we anticipate 
future rulemakings in these areas. We will seek to phase in any 
additional requirements, however, as the most prudent course of action 
for an evolving segment of the money services business (MSB) community.

Timetable:
________________________________________________________________________

Action                            Date                      FR Cite

________________________________________________________________________

NPRM                            04/00/10

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes

Agency Contact: Elizbzeth Baltierra, Regulatory Policy Project Officer, 
Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, PO 
Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183
Phone: 703 905-5132
Email: [email protected]

Koko (Nettie) Ives, Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network, Suite 4600, 1099 14th Street NW., Washington, DC 
20005
Phone: 202 354-6014
Email: [email protected]

RIN: 1506-AB07
BILLING CODE 4810--33--S
_______________________________________________________________________
Department of the Treasury (TREAS)                     Final Rule Stage
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
_______________________________________________________________________

261. S.A.F.E. MORTGAGE LICENSING ACT

Legal Authority: 12 USC 1 et seq; 12 USC 29; 12 USC 93a; 12 USC 371; 12 
USC 1701j-3; 12 USC 1828(o); 12 USC 3331 et seq

Abstract: These regulations implement the Federal registration 
requirement imposed by the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act, title V of 
the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-289, 122 
Stat. 2654 (2008)) with respect to national banks and their operating 
subsidiaries. They are being issued by the OCC, FRB, FDIC, OTS, NCUA, 
and Farm Credit Administration.

Timetable:
________________________________________________________________________

Action                            Date                      FR Cite

________________________________________________________________________

NPRM                            06/09/09                    74 FR 27386
NPRM Comment Period End         07/09/09
Final Action                    05/00/10

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes

Agency Contact: Heidi M. Thomas, Special Counsel, Department of the 
Treasury, Comptroller of the Currency, Legislative and Regulatory 
Activities Division, 250 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20219
Phone: 202 874-5090
Fax: 202 874-4889
Email: [email protected]

RIN: 1557-AD23

[[Page 21870]]

_______________________________________________________________________
Department of the Treasury (TREAS)                    Completed Actions
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
_______________________________________________________________________

262. INTERAGENCY PROPOSAL FOR MODEL PRIVACY FORM UNDER THE GRAMM-LEACH-
BLILEY ACT

Legal Authority: 12 USC 93a; 15 USC 6801 et seq

Abstract: Pursuant to section 728 of the Financial Services Regulatory 
Relief Act, the OCC, FRB, FDIC, OTS, NCUA, FTC, CFTC, and SEC jointly 
amended their rules that implement sections 502 and 503 of the Gramm-
Leach-Bliley Act to allow financial institutions to provide a safe 
harbor model privacy form and remove the sample clauses contained in 
these rules as of December 1, 2011.

Completed:
________________________________________________________________________

Reason                            Date                      FR Cite

________________________________________________________________________

Final Action                    12/01/09                    74 FR 62890
Final Action Effective          12/31/09

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes

Agency Contact: Heidi M. Thomas
Phone: 202 874-5090
Fax: 202 874-4889
Email: [email protected]

RIN: 1557-AC80
BILLING CODE 4830--01--S
_______________________________________________________________________
Department of the Treasury (TREAS)                  Proposed Rule Stage
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
_______________________________________________________________________

263.  REGULATIONS GOVERNING PRACTICE BEFORE THE IRS--
TAX RETURN PREPARERS

Legal Authority: 31 USC 330

Abstract: These proposed regulations modify the general standards of 
practice for tax return preparers under Circular 230.

Timetable:
________________________________________________________________________

Action                            Date                      FR Cite

________________________________________________________________________

NPRM                            06/00/10

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes

Agency Contact: Matthew S. Cooper, Attorney, Department of the 
Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Room 5111, 1111 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20224
Phone: 202 622-4570
Fax: 202 622-7330
Email: [email protected]

RIN: 1545-BJ17
[FR Doc. 2010-8939 Filed 04-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-S