[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 78 (Monday, April 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24205-24206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9644]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY: 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), 
pursuant to 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 part 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 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 22, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 2230 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.
     Email: [email protected]. Include OMB 
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 
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 may send a copy 
of their comments to the OMB Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed --Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, 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.
    Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Cynthia Ayouch--Division 
of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551 (202-452-3829) Telecommunications Device 
for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202-263-4869), Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

    The following information collection, which is being handled under 
this delegated authority, has received initial Board approval and is 
hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, the 
proposed information collection, 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;
    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; and

[[Page 24206]]

    e. Estimates of capital or start up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    Proposal to approve under OMB delegated authority the extension for 
three years, without revision, of the following report:
    Report title: Suspicious Activity Report by Depository 
Institutions.
    Agency form number: FR 2230.
    OMB Control number: 7100-0212.
    Frequency: On occasion.\1\
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    \1\ Between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2011, 6,000 state 
member banks, bank holding companies, Edge and agreement 
corporations, and U.S. branches and agencies, representative 
offices, and nonbank subsidiaries of foreign banks filed 90,397 
suspicious activity report, generating an annual frequency of 
15.0661for each institution.
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    Reporters: State member banks, bank holding companies and their 
nonbank subsidiaries, Edge and agreement corporations, and the U.S. 
branches and agencies, representative offices, and nonbank subsidiaries 
of foreign banks supervised by the Federal Reserve.
    Annual reporting hours: 90,397 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1 hour.
    Number of respondents: 6,000.
    General description of report: The Suspicious Activity Report by 
Depository Institutions (SAR) is mandatory, pursuant to authority 
contained in the following statutes: 12 U.S.C. 248(a)(1), 625, 1844(c), 
3105(c)(2), 3106(a), and 1818(s). SARs are exempt from Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA) disclosure by 31 U.S.C. 5319 and FIOA exemption 
3 which incorporates into the FOIA certain nondisclosure provisions 
that are contained in other federal statutes, 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(3), by 
FOIA exemption 7, which generally exempts from public disclosure 
``records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes,'' 5 
U.S.C. 552 (b)(7), and by exemption 8, 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(8), which 
exempts information ``contained in or related to examination, 
operating, or condition reports,'' prepared for the use of financial 
institution supervisory agencies. Additionally, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 
5318(g), officers and employees of the Federal government are generally 
forbidden from disclosing the contents of a SAR, or even acknowledging 
that a SAR exists, to a party involved in a transaction that is the 
subject of a SAR. Finally, information contained in SARs may be exempt 
from certain disclosure and other requirements of the Privacy Act 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2).
    Abstract: Since 1996, the federal banking agencies (the Federal 
Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union 
Administration) and the Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network have required certain types of financial 
institutions to report known or suspected violations of law and 
suspicious transactions. To fulfill these requirements, supervised 
banking organizations file SARs. Law enforcement agencies use the 
information submitted on the reporting form to initiate investigations 
and the Federal Reserve uses the information in the examination and 
oversight of supervised institutions.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 17, 
2012.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2012-9644 Filed 4-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P