[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4228-4231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01491]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 150108021-5021-01]
RIN 0691-AA84


International Services Surveys: BE-180, Benchmark Survey of 
Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services 
Providers and Foreign Persons

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would amend regulations of the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis (BEA), Department of Commerce, to reinstate reporting 
requirements for the BE-180, Benchmark Survey of Financial Services 
Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign 
Persons. Benchmark surveys are conducted every five years; the prior 
survey covered 2009. For the 2014 benchmark survey, BEA proposes one 
change in the data items collected. This mandatory survey would be 
conducted under the authority of the International Investment and Trade 
in Services Survey Act (the Act). Unlike most other BEA surveys 
conducted pursuant to the Act, a response would be required from 
persons subject to the reporting requirements of the BE-180, Benchmark 
Survey of Financial Services Transactions between U.S. Financial 
Services Providers and Foreign Persons, whether or not they are 
contacted by BEA, to ensure complete coverage of financial services 
transactions between U.S. financial services providers and foreign 
persons.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before 5 p.m., March 30, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0691-AA84, and 
referencing the agency name (Bureau of Economic Analysis), by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. For Keyword or ID, 
enter ``EAB-2015-0001.''
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: Christopher Stein, Services Surveys Branch, Balance 
of Payments Division, (202) 606-5318.
     Mail: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch 
(BE-50), Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of Economic Analysis, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services 
Surveys Branch (BE-50), Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Shipping and Receiving, 
Section M100, 1441 L Street NW., Washington, DC 20005.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in the 
proposed rule should be sent to both BEA through any of the methods 
above and to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), OIRA, Paperwork 
Reduction Project 0608-0062, Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA, via 
email at [email protected], or by FAX at 202-395-7245.
    Public Inspection: All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personal identifying information (for example, 
name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be 
publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. BEA will accept anonymous 
comments (enter N/A in required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats 
only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services 
Surveys Branch (BE-50), Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; 
phone (202) 606-9850.

[[Page 4229]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BE-180, Benchmark Survey of Financial 
Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and 
Foreign Persons, is a mandatory survey and is conducted once every five 
years by BEA under the authority provided by the International 
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108 (the 
Act), and by Section 5408 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act 
of 1988.
    By rule issued in 2012 (77 FR 24373), BEA established guidelines 
for collecting data on international trade in services and direct 
investment through notices, rather than through rulemaking. This 
proposed rule would amend the regulations to require a response from 
persons subject to the reporting requirements of the BE-180, whether or 
not they are contacted by BEA, to ensure complete coverage of financial 
services transactions between U.S. financial services providers and 
foreign persons.
    The proposed BE-180 survey is intended to cover financial services 
transactions with foreign persons. In nonbenchmark years, the universe 
estimates covering these transactions are derived from the sample data 
reported on BEA's BE-185, Quarterly Survey of Financial Services 
Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign 
Persons.
    The data are used by BEA to estimate the financial services 
component of the U.S. International Transactions Accounts and other 
economic accounts compiled by BEA. The data are needed to monitor U.S. 
exports and imports of financial services; analyze their impact on the 
U.S. and foreign economies; support U.S. international trade policy on 
financial services; and assess and promote U.S. competitiveness in 
international trade in services. In addition, they will improve the 
ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market 
opportunities.
    The services covered by the BE-180 would include the following 
transactions: (1) Brokerage services related to equity transactions; 
(2) other brokerage services; (3) underwriting and private placement 
services; (4) financial management services; (5) credit-related 
services, except credit card services; (6) credit card services; (7) 
financial advisory and custody services; (8) securities lending 
services; (9) electronic funds transfer services; and (10) other 
financial services.
    This proposed rule would amend 15 CFR part 801 by adding a new 
section 801.9 to set forth the reporting requirements for the BE-180, 
Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions between U.S. 
Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons. As part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the 
Department of Commerce invites the general public and other Federal 
agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information 
collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 
U.S.C. 3501-3520 (PRA).

Description of Changes

    The proposed changes would amend the regulations and the survey 
form for the BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions 
between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons. These 
amendments include changes in the data items collected and 
questionnaire design.
    If the proposed rule is made final, unlike most other BEA surveys 
conducted pursuant to the Act, persons subject to the reporting 
requirements of the BE-180 would be required to respond whether or not 
they are contacted by BEA.
    BEA proposes to add one item to the benchmark survey form based 
upon information obtained from reporting companies that suggests this 
additional information is readily available in existing financial 
records. Specifically, questions would be added to collect equity- and 
debt-related underwriting transactions separately on the 2014 BE-180. A 
number of reporters include language in their financial statements that 
suggests equity- and debt-related underwriting transactions are readily 
obtainable from their accounting records.
    In addition, BEA proposes to redesign the format and wording of the 
survey questionnaires. The new design would incorporate improvements 
made to other BEA surveys. Survey instructions and data item 
descriptions would be changed to improve clarity and to make the 
benchmark survey forms more consistent with those of other BEA surveys.

Executive Order 12866

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

Executive Order 13132

    This proposed rule does not contain policies with Federalism 
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism 
assessment under E.O. 13132.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The requirement will be 
submitted to OMB for approval as a reinstatement, with change, of a 
previously approved collection for which approval has expired under OMB 
control number 0608-0062.
    Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements 
of the PRA unless that collection displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.
    The BE-180 survey, as proposed, is expected to result in the filing 
of reports from approximately 8,750 respondents. Approximately 1,250 
respondents would report mandatory or voluntary data on the survey and 
approximately 7,500 would file exemption claims. The respondent burden 
for this collection of information would vary from one respondent to 
another, but is estimated to average ten hours for the respondents that 
file mandatory or voluntary data--including time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information--and two hours for other responses. Thus the 
total respondent burden for this survey is estimated at 27,500 hours, 
compared to 24,000 hours for the previous BE-180 benchmark survey in 
2009. The increase in burden hours is due to an increase in the size of 
the respondent universe.
    Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the burden estimate; (c) 
Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and (d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in the 
proposed rule should be sent to both BEA and OMB following the 
instructions given in the ADDRESSES section above.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Chief Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, has 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business 
Administration, under the provisions of the Regulatory

[[Page 4230]]

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), that this proposed rulemaking, if 
adopted, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. The changes proposed in this rule are 
discussed in the preamble and are not repeated here.
    A BE-180 report would be required of any U.S. company that is a 
financial services provider or intermediary that had sales to, or 
purchases from, foreign persons. While the survey would not collect 
data on total sales or other measures of the overall size of the 
businesses that respond to the survey, historically the respondents to 
the existing quarterly survey of financial services transactions and to 
the previous benchmark surveys have been comprised mainly of major U.S. 
corporations. The proposed benchmark survey would be required from U.S. 
financial companies whose sales or purchases of the covered financial 
services with foreign persons exceeded $3 million for fiscal year 2014. 
This exemption level would exclude most small businesses from mandatory 
coverage. Any small businesses that may be required to report would 
likely have engaged in only a few covered transactions, and is 
therefore expected to be below the expected average burden of 10 hours 
per response. Even if the responses for small businesses took the 
expected average burden of 10 hours per response, that would not 
constitute a significant impact on any small business or other entity. 
Because this rule would not have a significant impact on any small 
entities, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required 
and none has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

    International transactions, Economic statistics, Foreign trade, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated January 21, 2015.
Brian C. Moyer,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

    For reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 CFR 
part 801 as follows:

PART 801--SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S. 
AND FOREIGN PERSONS AND SURVEYS OF DIRECT INVESTMENT

0
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 801 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; 
E.O. 11961 (3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86), as amended by E.O. 12318 (3 
CFR, 1981 Comp. p. 173); and E.O. 12518 (3 CFR, 1985 Comp. p. 348).
0
2. Revise Sec.  801.3 to read as follows:


Sec.  801.3  Reporting requirements.

    Except for surveys subject to rulemaking in Sec. Sec.  801.7, 801.8 
and 801.9, reporting requirements for all other surveys conducted by 
the Bureau of Economic Analysis shall be as follows:
    (a) Notice of specific reporting requirements, including who is 
required to report, the information to be reported, the manner of 
reporting, and the time and place of filing reports, will be published 
by the Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the Federal 
Register prior to the implementation of a survey;
    (b) In accordance with section 3104(b)(2) of title 22 of the United 
States Code, persons notified of these surveys and subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States shall furnish, under oath, any report 
containing information which is determined to be necessary to carry out 
the surveys and studies provided for by the Act; and
    (c) Persons not notified in writing of their filing obligation by 
the Bureau of Economic Analysis are not required to complete the 
survey.
0
3. Add Sec.  801.9 to read as follows:


Sec.  801.9  Rules and regulations for the BE-180, Benchmark Survey of 
Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services 
Providers and Foreign Persons--2014.

    A BE-180, Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions 
Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons will be 
conducted covering 2014. All legal authorities, provisions, 
definitions, and requirements contained in Sec. Sec.  801.1 through 
801.2 and Sec. Sec.  801.4 through 801.6 are applicable to this survey. 
Specific additional rules and regulations for the BE-180 survey are 
given in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section. More detailed 
instructions are given on the report forms and in instructions 
accompanying the report forms.
    (a) Response required. A response is required from persons subject 
to the reporting requirements of the BE-180, Benchmark Survey of 
Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services 
Providers and Foreign Persons--2014, contained herein, whether or not 
they are contacted by BEA. Also, a person, or its agent, that is 
contacted by BEA about reporting in this survey, either by sending a 
report form or by written inquiry, must respond in writing pursuant 
this section. This may be accomplished by:
    (1) Completing and returning the BE-180 by the due date of the 
survey; or,
    (2) If exempt, by completing pages one through five of the BE-180 
survey and returning them to BEA.
    (b) Who must report. (1) A BE-180 report is required of each U.S. 
person that is a financial services provider or intermediary, or whose 
consolidated U.S. enterprise includes a separately organized 
subsidiary, or part, that is a financial services provider or 
intermediary, and that had transactions (either sales or purchases) 
directly with foreign persons in all financial services combined in 
excess of $3,000,000 during its fiscal year covered by the survey on an 
accrual basis. The $3,000,000 threshold should be applied to financial 
services transactions with foreign persons by all parts of the 
consolidated U.S. enterprise combined that are financial services 
providers or intermediaries. Because the $3,000,000 threshold applies 
separately to sales and purchases, the mandatory reporting requirement 
may apply only to sales, only to purchases, or to both.
    (i) The determination of whether a U.S. financial services provider 
or intermediary is subject to this mandatory reporting requirement may 
be based on the judgment of knowledgeable persons in a company who can 
identify reportable transactions on a recall basis, with a reasonable 
degree of certainty, without conducting a detailed manual records 
search.
    (ii) Reporters that file pursuant to this mandatory reporting 
requirement must provide data on total sales and/or purchases of each 
of the covered types of financial services transactions and must 
disaggregate the totals by country and by relationship to the foreign 
transactor (foreign affiliate, foreign parent group, or unaffiliated).
    (2) Voluntary reporting. If, during the fiscal year covered, sales 
or purchases of financial services by a firm that is a financial 
services provider or intermediary, or by a firm's subsidiaries, or 
parts, combined that are financial services providers or 
intermediaries, are $3,000,000 or less, the U.S. person is requested to 
provide an estimate of the total for each type of service. Provision of 
this information is voluntary. The estimates may be judgmental, that 
is, based on recall, without conducting a detailed records search. 
Because the $3,000,000 threshold applies separately to sales and 
purchases, this voluntary reporting option may apply only to sales, 
only to purchases, or to both.
    (3) Exemption claims. Any U.S. person that receives the BE-180 
survey form from BEA, but is not subject to the mandatory reporting 
requirements and chooses not to report voluntarily, must file an 
exemption claim by completing

[[Page 4231]]

pages one through five of the BE-180 survey and returning it to BEA. 
This requirement is necessary to ensure compliance with reporting 
requirements and efficient administration of the Act by eliminating 
unnecessary follow-up contact.
    (c) BE-180 definition of financial services provider. The 
definition of financial services provider used for this survey is 
identical to the definition of the term as used in the North American 
Industry Classification System, United States, 2012, Sector 52-Finance 
and Insurance, and holding companies that own or influence, and are 
principally engaged in making management decisions for these firms 
(part of Sector 55-Management of Companies and Enterprises). For 
example, companies and/or subsidiaries and other separable parts of 
companies in the following industries are defined as financial services 
providers: Depository credit intermediation and related activities 
(including commercial banking, savings institutions, credit unions, and 
other depository credit intermediation); non-depository credit 
intermediation (including credit card issuing, sales financing, and 
other non-depository credit intermediation); activities related to 
credit intermediation (including mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers, 
financial transactions processing, reserve, and clearinghouse 
activities, and other activities related to credit intermediation); 
securities and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage 
(including investment banking and securities dealing, securities 
brokerage, commodity contracts and dealing, and commodity contracts 
brokerage); securities and commodity exchanges; other financial 
investment activities (including miscellaneous intermediation, 
portfolio management, investment advice, and all other financial 
investment activities); insurance carriers; insurance agencies, 
brokerages, and other insurance related activities; insurance and 
employee benefit funds (including pension funds, health and welfare 
funds, and other insurance funds); other investment pools and funds 
(including open-end investment funds, trusts, estates, and agency 
accounts, real estate investment trusts, and other financial vehicles); 
and holding companies that own, or influence the management decisions 
of, firms principally engaged in the aforementioned activities.
    (d) Covered types of services. The BE-180 survey covers the 
following types of financial services transactions (sales or purchases) 
between U.S. financial companies and foreign persons: Brokerage 
services related to equity transactions; other brokerage services; 
underwriting and private placement services; financial management 
services; credit-related services, except credit card services; credit 
card services; financial advisory and custody services; securities 
lending services; electronic funds transfer services; and other 
financial services.
    (e) Due date. A fully completed and certified BE-180 report, or 
qualifying exemption claim with pages one through five completed, is 
due to be filed with BEA not later than October 1, 2015.

[FR Doc. 2015-01491 Filed 1-26-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P