[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 135 (Friday, July 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41405-41406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17183]


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

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the final approval of a proposed 
information collection 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 instrument(s) 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--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.
    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.
    Final approval under OMB delegated authority of 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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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 reports, generating an annual frequency of 
15.0661 for each institution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 FOIA 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

[[Page 41406]]

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.
    Current actions: On April 23, 2012, the Federal Reserve published a 
notice in the Federal Register (77 FR 24205) requesting public comment 
for 60 days on the extension, without revision, of the interagency 
Suspicious Activities Report by Depository Institutions. The comment 
period for this notice expired on June 22, 2012. The Federal Reserve 
did not receive any comments.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, July 10, 2012.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2012-17183 Filed 7-12-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P