[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36823-36826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14639]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; 
Joint Comment Request
AGENCY:  Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury; 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); and Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice of information collection to be submitted to OMB for 
review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the OCC, the Board, and the 
FDIC (the agencies) may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is 
not required to respond to, an information collection unless it 
displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
control number.
    On January 29, 2013, the agencies, under the auspices of the 
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), published a 
notice in the Federal Register (78 FR 6176) requesting public comment 
on a proposal to extend, with revision, the currently approved 
information collections contained in the Country Exposure Report (FFIEC 
009) and the Country Exposure Information Report (FFIEC 009a). The 
comment period for this notice expired on April 1, 2013. The agencies 
received comments from seven entities: three banking organizations, a 
savings and loan holding company (SLHC), and three banking 
associations. After considering the comment letters received, the 
agencies plan to modify certain aspects of the proposed revisions. In 
addition, the agencies plan to delay the implementation of the proposed 
changes until September 30, 2013, for current respondents and until 
March 31, 2014, for SLHC respondents. The agencies are now submitting 
requests to OMB for approval of the extension, with revision, of the 
FFIEC 009 and FFIEC 009a.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 19, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to 
any or all of the agencies. All comments, which should refer to the OMB 
control number, will be shared among the agencies.
    OCC: Because paper mail in the Washington, DC, area and at the OCC 
is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments by 
email if possible. Comments may be sent to: Legislative and Regulatory 
Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 
Attention: 1557-0100, 400 7th Street SW., Suite 3E-218, Mail Stop 9W-
11, Washington, DC 20219. In addition, comments may be sent by fax to 
(571) 465-4326 or by electronic mail to [email protected]. 
You may personally inspect and photocopy comments at the OCC, 400 7th 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. For security reasons, the OCC 
requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. You may 
do so by calling (202) 649-6700. Upon arrival, visitors will be 
required to present valid government-issued photo identification and to 
submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy 
comments.
    All comments received, including attachments and other supporting 
materials, are part of the public record and subject to public 
disclosure. Do not enclose any information in your comment or 
supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate 
for public disclosure.
    Board: You may submit comments, identified by FFIEC 009 or FFIEC 
009a, by any of the following methods:
    Agency Web site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the 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 the OMB control 
number in the subject line of the message.
    Fax: 202-452-3819 or 202-452-3102.
    Mail: Robert deV. Frierson, 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 
http://

[[Page 36824]]

www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, 
except as necessary 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 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.
    FDIC: You may submit written comments, which should refer to 
``Country Exposure Reports, 3064-0017,'' by any of the following 
methods:
    Agency Web site: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/propose.html. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the 
FDIC Web site.
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected]. Include ``Country Exposure Reports, 3064-
0017'' in the subject line of the message.
    Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary, Attention: Comments, 
FDIC, 550 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20429.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: Guard station at the rear of the 550 17th 
Street Building (located on F Street) on business days between 7 a.m. 
and 5 p.m.
    Public Inspection: All comments received will be posted without 
change to http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/propose/html 
including any personal information provided. Comments may be inspected 
at the FDIC Public Information Center, Room E-1002, 3501 Fairfax Drive, 
Arlington, VA 22226, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on business days.
    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
OMB desk officer for the agencies by mail to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, New 
Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, 
DC 20503, by email to oira [email protected], or by fax to 202-
395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information or a copy of 
the collections may be requested from:
    OCC: Mary H. Gottlieb or Johnny Vilela, OCC Clearance Officers, 
202-649-5490, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of 
the Comptroller of the Currency, Washington, DC 20219.
    Board: Cynthia Ayouch, Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer, 
202-452-3829, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets NW., Washington, DC 
20551. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may call 202-
263-4869.
    FDIC: Gary Kuiper, Counsel, (202) 898-3877, Legal Division, Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 
20429.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The agencies are proposing to revise and 
extend for three years the FFIEC 009 and FFIEC 009a, which are 
currently approved collections of information for each agency. The 
burden estimates presented below are for the FFIEC 009 and FFIEC 009a 
as they are proposed to be revised effective September 30, 2013, for 
current respondents and March 31, 2014, for SLHC respondents.

Country Exposure Report (FFIEC 009) and Country Exposure Information 
Report (FFIEC 009a)--OMB Control Numbers: OCC, 1557-0100; Board, 7100-
0035; FDIC, 3064-0017--Extension

    Proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the following 
currently approved collections of information:
    Report Titles: Country Exposure Report and Country Exposure 
Information Report.
    Form Numbers: FFIEC 009 and FFIEC 009a.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Affected Public: Business or other for profit.
    OCC:
    OMB Number: 1557-0100.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 16 (FFIEC 009), 9 (FFIEC 009a).
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 131 burden hours (FFIEC 009), 
6 burden hours (FFIEC 009a).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 8,384 burden hours (FFIEC 009), 216 
burden hours (FFIEC 009a).
    Board:
    OMB Number: 7100-0035.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 42 (FFIEC 009), 32 (FFIEC 009a).
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 131 burden hours (FFIEC 009), 
6.0 burden hours (FFIEC 009a).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 22,008 burden hours (FFIEC 009), 768 
burden hours (FFIEC 009a).
    FDIC:
    OMB Number: 3064-0017.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 17 (FFIEC 009), 9 (FFIEC 009a).
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 131 burden hours (FFIEC 009), 
6 burden hours (FFIEC 009a).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 8,908 burden hours (FFIEC 009), 216 
burden hours (FFIEC 009a).

General Description of Reports

    The Country Exposure Report (FFIEC 009) is filed quarterly with the 
agencies and provides information on international claims of U.S. 
banks, savings associations, bank holding companies, and savings and 
loan holding companies that is used for supervisory and analytical 
purposes. The information is used to monitor the foreign country 
exposures of reporting institutions, determine the degree of risk in 
their portfolios, and assess the potential risk of loss. The Country 
Exposure Information Report (FFIEC 009a) is a supplement to the FFIEC 
009 and provides publicly available information on material foreign 
country exposures (all exposures to a country in excess of 1 percent of 
total assets or 20 percent of capital, whichever is less) of U.S. 
banks, savings associations, and holding companies that file the FFIEC 
009 report. As part of the Country Exposure Information Report, 
reporting institutions also must furnish a list of countries in which 
they have lending exposures above 0.75 percent of total assets or 15 
percent of total capital, whichever is less.

Current Actions

    On January 29, 2013, the agencies published an initial PRA notice 
in the Federal Register (78 FR 6718) requesting public comment for 60 
days on the revision, with extension, of the FFIEC 009 and FFIEC 009a 
reports. The comment period for this notice expired on April 1, 2013. 
The agencies received comment letters addressing the proposed changes 
to the FFIEC 009 and FFIEC 009a from seven entities: three banking 
organizations, an SLHC, and three banking associations. The changes 
were proposed to be implemented for the June 30, 2013, report date and 
were designed to improve the utility of the data for policy makers, 
bank supervisors, and market participants.
    In broad terms, the proposed revisions to the FFIEC 009 report 
would increase the number of counterparty categories, add additional 
information on the type of claim being reported, provide details on a 
limited number of risk mitigants to help provide perspective to 
currently reported gross exposure numbers, add more detailed reporting 
of credit derivatives, add the United States as a country row to 
facilitate the analysis of domestic and foreign exposures and comply 
with enhancements to International Banking Statistics proposed by the 
Bank for International Settlements, and expand the entities that must 
report to include SLHCs.
    The FFIEC 009 report, as proposed to be revised, would serve an 
important purpose by ensuring consistency of reporting across 
institutions for a number of important components of

[[Page 36825]]

foreign country exposure. These data would allow supervisors to compare 
the amount of an institution's exposures to those of its peers for a 
country or set of countries, to analyze the aggregate exposure of U.S. 
banks to foreign creditors, and to monitor trends in exposures. The 
revised FFIEC 009a data would allow market participants to analyze more 
detailed aggregate exposure data. The FFIEC 009 report is not a 
substitute for other more detailed supervisory data or internal 
management information.
    As a form of banker outreach, the agencies conducted a conference 
call on February 20, 2013, with various interested outside parties 
(approximately 230 bank representatives and accountants), primarily 
those that would be subject to the proposed revisions to the country 
exposure reporting requirements. The purpose of the call was to provide 
clarification on certain elements of the initial PRA notice and respond 
to questions from interested parties on procedures and technical issues 
arising from the proposed reporting changes. The agencies began by 
providing a summary of the initial PRA notice, which included 
identifying changes from the current FFIEC 009 reporting requirements. 
Following this background, the agencies addressed questions received 
from interested parties on the call. The questions received mostly 
concerned the technicalities of completing line items on the proposed 
FFIEC 009 and 009a reporting forms and definitions for terms included 
in the instructions for the forms.

Summary of Comments

    All seven commenters expressed concern over the proposed June 30, 
2013, effective date for the implementation of the revised reports and 
requested a postponement of the effective date to allow more time to 
implement necessary system changes, update procedures, and train staff. 
In addition, two commenters indicated that because SLHCs will be 
required to file for the first time, the proposed effective date would 
not provide sufficient time to design and implement the systems to 
capture the needed data. In response to these concerns, the agencies 
would postpone the effective date for the revisions to the September 
30, 2013, report date. In addition, for SLHCs that would be required to 
begin submitting the Country Exposure Reports as a result of the 
proposed expansion in scope of entities that must file these reports, 
the initial report date would be March 31, 2014.
    Two of the banking organizations commented that the inclusion of 
the United States country row would create a significant reporting 
burden and that guidance for how to properly reconcile the FFIEC 009 to 
the Consolidated Financial Statements for Bank Holding Companies (FR Y-
9C; OMB No. 7100-0128) should be provided. In addition, the banking 
associations requested the agencies conduct further industry outreach 
because they asserted that the addition of the United States country 
row as a reconciliation tool would not enhance the analysis of cross-
border exposures and that existing processes used by their member 
institutions are sufficient to ensure consistent reporting across 
regulatory reports. Although the agencies recognize the additional 
burden of reporting exposures for the United States, this information 
will enhance the agencies' ability to conduct effective analysis of 
foreign and domestic exposures. In addition, the inclusion of the 
United States will allow the agencies to comply with enhancements to 
International Banking Statistics proposed by the Bank for International 
Settlements. The reconciliation of the FFIEC 009 to the FR Y-9C report 
(or, if appropriate, to the Consolidated Reports of Condition and 
Income; OMB No. 1557-0081 for the OCC, OMB No. 7100-0036 for the Board, 
and OMB No. 3064-0052 for the FDIC) is not required; however, it is 
recommended as a best practice. Because the agencies' proposed 
inclusion of a country row for the United States was not primarily for 
reconciliation purposes, the agencies are not planning to publish 
guidance regarding reconciliation between these reports. After 
considering comments received and feedback from outreach conducted 
prior to the publication of the proposed revisions, the agencies plan 
to proceed with the addition of the United States as a country row.
    The banking associations also recommended that the year-end due 
date for the Country Exposure Reports be delayed five days to provide 
an opportunity to reconcile data with the FR Y-9C report (for which the 
year-end due date is currently five days later than the due date for 
the report in the other three calendar quarters). After consideration 
of this comment, the agencies agree with this recommendation and plan 
to delay the year-end due date for the Country Exposure Reports by five 
days. This would make the difference between the year-end due dates of 
the Country Exposure Reports and the FR Y-9C report consistent with the 
difference between the due dates for these reports in the other 
quarters and would allow institutions the opportunity for further 
internal review between these reports.
    A banking organization and the banking associations requested that 
clarification of definitions and instructions be provided for certain 
terms, such as the definitions of the ``household'' sector, ``country 
of residence,'' ``country of legal residence,'' and the ``country of 
incorporation.'' In addition, the banking associations provided 
thirteen questions requesting reporting clarifications. The agencies 
have clarified the instructions to provide guidance on the reporting 
and definitional issues noted, and have posted a ``Fact Sheet'' on the 
FFIEC Web site outlining the reporting clarifications for the questions 
raised and referencing the updated instructions, as appropriate.
    The banking associations also suggested that the list of countries 
included on the FFIEC 009 report should be consistent with the Treasury 
International Capital (``TIC'') reports \1\ and the Quarterly Reports 
of Asset and Liabilities of Large Foreign Offices of U.S. Banks (FR 
2502Q; OMB No. 7100-0079). The banking associations specifically noted 
that the list of countries has not been revised since 2006 resulting in 
inconsistencies and the inclusion of obsolete countries. In addition, 
the banking associations noted that the proposed instructions indicated 
that the European Central Bank should be reported as ``Other Europe'' 
on the FFIEC 009, although a separate line for the European Central 
Bank currently exists on the form. The agencies agree with the 
suggestion and plan to revise the proposed FFIEC 009 form and 
instructions to include an up-to-date country listing consistent with 
the TIC reports, with minor exceptions (the United States and Total 
Foreign Countries are reporting rows on the FFIEC 009).
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    \1\ TIC Form BC, OMB No. 1505-0017; TIC Form BL-1, OMB No. 1505-
0019; TIC Form BL-2, OMB No. 1505-0018; TIC Form BQ-1, OMB No. 1505-
0016; TIC Form BQ-2, OMB No. 1505-0020; TIC Form BQ-3, OMB No. 1505-
0189; TIC Form CQ-1 and CQ-2, OMB No. 1505-0024; TIC Form D, OMB No. 
1505-0199; TIC Form S, OMB No. 1505-0001.
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    One banking organization commented that the data needed to report 
credit default swap (CDS) contracts on a basket, index, or portfolio of 
securities by component countries is not readily available and would 
require a significant effort to capture. The organization requested the 
ability to continue to report by geographic region. Although the 
agencies understand the effort required to report CDS contracts

[[Page 36826]]

on a basket, index, or portfolio of securities by component country, 
they believe reporting CDS contracts in this way reflects industry 
practice related to country risk management and will enhance analysis 
of the data by the agencies and the public. The agencies plan to 
proceed with the revision as proposed.
    Finally, a banking organization stated that the elimination of 
``Net Foreign Office Claims on Local Residents'' on the FFIEC 009a will 
result in it no longer reporting the voluntary local-office claims and 
liabilities on derivative contracts items on the FFIEC 009 report. 
After consideration of this comment and the voluntary nature of these 
data items, the agencies plan to eliminate Columns 6 and 7 of proposed 
Schedule D for the reporting of such local office data.

Legal Basis for the Information Collection

    These information collections are mandatory under the following 
statutes: 12 U.S.C. 161 and 1817 (national banks), 12 U.S.C. 1464 
(federal savings associations), 12 U.S.C. 248(a), 1844(c), and 3906 
(state member banks and bank holding companies); 12 U.S.C. 1467a(b)(2) 
and 5412 (savings and loan holding companies); and 12 U.S.C. 1817 and 
1820 (insured state nonmember commercial and savings banks and insured 
state savings associations). The FFIEC 009 information collection is 
given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and (b)(8)). The FFIEC 
009a information collection is not given confidential treatment.

Request for Comment

    The agencies invite comment on the following topics related to this 
collection of information:
    (a) Whether the information collections are necessary for the 
proper performance of the agencies' functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of the agencies' estimates of the burden of the 
information collections, 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 collections on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    (e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    All comments will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: June 7, 2013.
Michele Meyer,
Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 13, 2013.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Secretary of the Board.
    Dated at Washington, DC, this 7th day of June 2013.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2013-14639 Filed 6-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P;6210-01-P -P;6714-01-P