[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 18, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51166-51167]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20347]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Departmental Offices; Proposed Collections; Comment Requests

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general public and 
other Federal agencies to comment on a new information collection that 
is to be proposed for approval by the Office of Management and Budget. 
The Office of International Affairs of the Department of the Treasury 
is soliciting comments concerning Treasury International Capital Form 
SLT, Report of U.S. and Foreign Resident Aggregate Holdings of Long-
Term Securities.
    The recent global financial crisis has highlighted the importance 
of enhanced surveillance of the world economy. As a consequence, the 
international financial community has a heightened awareness of the 
importance of collecting economic and financial data, including more 
frequent and accurate data regarding each country's external claims and 
liabilities. As a result, the United States needs to collect certain 
data on a more frequent and accurate basis, including monthly holdings 
of long-term securities. Data on securities are important because they 
constitute a large portion of U.S. external claims and liabilities. The 
Treasury International Capital (TIC) data reporting system currently 
collects monthly data on holdings of short-term securities and on 
purchases and sales of long-term securities. It also collects data 
annually, but not monthly, on holdings of long-term securities. 
Although the annual data currently collected on holdings of long-term 
securities, together with the monthly data on purchases and sales, can 
be used to estimate aggregate monthly holdings of long-term securities, 
the time required to produce the estimates is lengthy and the estimates 
must usually be revised substantially when the subsequent annual survey 
is released. Consequently, the Department of the Treasury is proposing 
the Form SLT to collect data on holdings of long-term securities on a 
monthly basis so as to ensure more timely and accurate measurement of 
the aggregate holdings of long-term securities. That, in turn, will 
help improve the preparation of the U.S. balance of payments accounts 
and the U.S. international investment position, as well as the 
formulation of U.S. international financial and monetary policies.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before October 18, 
2010 to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Dwight Wolkow, International 
Portfolio Investment Data Systems, Department of the Treasury, Room 
5422, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20220. In view of 
possible delays in mail delivery, please also notify Mr. Wolkow by 
email ([email protected]), FAX (202-622-2009) or telephone 
(202-622-1276).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the proposed forms and 
instructions are available on the Treasury's TIC Forms webpage, http://www.treas.gov/tic/forms.html. Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Mr. Wolkow.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Treasury International Capital Form 
SLT, Report of U.S. and Foreign Resident Aggregate Holdings of Long-
Term Securities.
    OMB Control Number: NEW.
    Abstract: Form SLT will be part of the Treasury International 
Capital (TIC) reporting system, which is required by law (22 U.S.C. 
286f; 22 U.S.C. 3103; E.O. 10033; 31 CFR Part 128) for the purpose of 
providing timely information on international capital movements. Form 
SLT will be used to collect monthly data on cross-border ownership by 
U.S. and foreign residents of long-term securities for portfolio 
investment purposes. These data will be used by the U.S. Government in 
the formulation of international and financial policies and for the 
preparation of the U.S. balance of payments accounts and the U.S. 
international investment position.
    Current Actions: (a) The fair values of long-term U.S. securities 
owned by foreign residents and long-term foreign securities owned by 
U.S. residents are to be reported on Form SLT. (b) The reporting panel 
for Form SLT consists of U.S.-resident custodians, U.S.-resident 
issuers of U.S. securities, and U.S.-resident end-investors in foreign 
securities, where for each reporting entity, the consolidated total of 
all reportable long-term U.S. and foreign securities on the last 
business day of the reporting month has a total fair value equal to or 
more than the exemption level. The exemption level is $1 billion. This 
consolidated total includes amounts held for a reporting entity's own 
account and for customers. The reporting entity should include 
reportable securities for all U.S.-resident parts of the reporting 
entity, including all U.S. subsidiaries and affiliates of the reporting 
entity and investment companies, trusts, and other legal entities 
created by the reporting entity. U.S.-resident entities include the 
affiliates in the United States of foreign entities. Reportable long-
term securities include: (1) U.S. securities held by U.S.-resident 
custodians on behalf of foreign residents; (2) foreign securities held 
by U.S.-resident custodians on behalf of U.S. residents; (3) U.S. 
securities issued by U.S.-resident issuers in foreign markets and held 
directly by foreign residents, i.e., where no U.S.-resident custodian 
or U.S.-resident central securities depository is used by the U.S.-
resident issuer; and (4) foreign securities held directly by U.S.-
resident end-investors, i.e., where no U.S.-resident custodian is used 
by the U.S.-

[[Page 51167]]

resident end-investor. Securities held as part of a direct investment 
relationship should not be reported. (c) Form SLT consists of Parts A 
and B, each of which is divided into 13 columns. Part A is required to 
be completed by U.S.-resident custodians (including U.S.-resident 
central securities depositories). Columns 1 through 9 of Part A capture 
long-term U.S. securities owned by foreign residents that are held by 
U.S.-resident custodians. Columns 10 through 13 of Part A capture 
foreign securities owned by U.S. residents that are held by U.S.-
resident custodians. Part B is required to be completed by U.S.-
resident issuers and U.S.-resident end-investors, including funds and 
investment managers. Columns 1 through 9 of Part B, to be completed by 
U.S.-resident issuers, capture long-term U.S. securities that are 
issued by them in foreign markets and are held directly by foreign 
residents, i.e. where no U.S.-resident custodian or U.S.-resident 
central securities depository is used by the U.S.-resident issuer. 
Columns 10 through 13 of Part B, to be completed by U.S.-resident end-
investors, capture long-term foreign securities that are owned directly 
by them, i.e. where no U.S.-resident custodian is used by the U.S.-
resident end-investor. If a reporting entity is both a U.S.-resident 
custodian and a U.S.-resident issuer and/or a U.S.-resident end-
investor, then both Parts A and B must be completed. (d) In both Parts 
A and B, columns 1 through 9 cover U.S. securities owned by foreign 
residents, where each row denotes the residence of the foreign holder. 
Each of the columns captures a different type of long-term U.S. 
securities: Columns 1 and 2 cover U.S. Treasury and Federal Financing 
Bank Bonds and Notes; columns 3 and 4 cover Bonds of U.S. Government 
Corporations and Federally Sponsored Agencies; columns 5 and 6 cover 
U.S. Corporate and Other Bonds; and columns 7 and 8 cover U.S. Equity. 
Further, each of the columns is also subdivided into the two types of 
foreign holders: foreign official institutions (columns 1, 3, 5, and 7) 
and all other foreigners (columns 2, 4, 6 and 8). Column 9 is the total 
of columns 1 through 8. Columns 10 through 13 cover foreign securities 
owned by U.S. residents, where each row denotes the residence of the 
foreign issuer. Each of the columns captures a different type of 
foreign security: Column 10 covers Foreign Government Bonds, column 11 
covers Foreign Corporate and Other Bonds, and column 12 covers Foreign 
Equity. Column 13 is the total of columns 10, 11 and 12. The Grand 
Total of each column is reported in row 9999-6. (e) For each Grand 
Total, additional detailed subtotals are also to be reported. For that 
purpose, the Grand Total of each column (row 9999-6) is broken out, 
depending on the column, into the following subtotals: Type of Security 
(Asset-Backed Securities and Fund Shares); Type of U.S. Issuer 
(Depository Institutions, Other Financial Institutions, and Non-
Financial Institutions); and Type of U.S. Holder (Depository 
Institutions, Other Financial Institutions, and Non-Financial 
Institutions). (f) In any month in which the consolidated total of all 
reportable long-term U.S. and foreign securities for a reporting entity 
has a total fair value equal to or more than the exemption level on the 
last business day of a reporting month, that reporting entity must 
submit a report for that month. In addition, the reporting entity also 
must submit a report for each remaining month in that calendar year, 
regardless of the consolidated total of reportable long-term U.S. and 
foreign securities held in any subsequent month. (g) These mandatory 
reporting requirements will be phased in during 2011. In 2011, the Form 
SLT will be required to be submitted quarterly as of June 30, September 
30, and December 30, with the mandatory monthly reporting on Form SLT 
beginning with the report as of January 31, 2012.
    Type of Review: NEW.
    Affected Public: Business or other for profit organizations.
    Form: SLT (NEW).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 150.
    Estimated Average Time per Respondent: 9.4 hours per respondent per 
filing, effective with the report as of January 2012 when mandatory 
monthly reporting is fully implemented. The estimated average time per 
respondent varies widely from about 17 hours for a U.S.-resident 
custodian filing Part A to about five hours for a U.S.-resident issuer 
or U.S.-resident end-investor filing Part B.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 21,500 hours, based on 12 
reporting periods per year.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of 
Management and Budget approval. All comments will become a matter of 
public record. The public is invited to submit written comments 
concerning: (a) Whether Form SLT is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the Office, including whether the 
information will have practical uses; (b) the accuracy of the above 
estimate of the burdens; (c) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize 
the reporting and/or record keeping burdens on respondents, including 
the use of information technologies to automate the collection of the 
data; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

Dwight Wolkow,
Administrator, International Portfolio Investment Data Systems.
[FR Doc. 2010-20347 Filed 8-17-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-25-P