[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7980-7986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02998]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 30 / Friday, February 13, 2015 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 7980]]



DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

12 CFR Chapter I

[Docket ID FFIEC-2014-0001

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Chapter II

[Docket No. R-1510]

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

12 CFR Chapter III


Regulatory Publication and Review Under the Economic Growth and 
Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996

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 regulatory review; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, and FDIC (we or Agencies) are conducting a 
review of the regulations we have issued in order to identify outdated 
or otherwise unnecessary regulatory requirements imposed on insured 
depository institutions, as required by the Economic Growth and 
Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA). In this notice, 
the Agencies are seeking public comment on regulations in the following 
categories: Banking Operations, Capital, and the Community Reinvestment 
Act.

DATES: Written comments must be received by no later than May 14, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: ``Regulations.gov.'' You can reach this portal through the 
Agencies' EGRPRA Web site, http://egrpra.ffiec.gov. On this site, click 
``Submit a Comment'' and follow the instructions. Alternatively, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov, enter ``FFIEC-2014-0001'' in the Search 
Box, click ``Search,'' and click ``Comment Now.'' Those who wish to 
submit their comments by an alternate means may do so as indicated 
below.
OCC:
    We encourage commenters to submit comments through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal, Regulations.gov, in accordance with the previous 
paragraph. Alternatively, comments may be emailed to 
[email protected] or sent by mail to Legislative and 
Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency, Mail Stop 9W-11, 400 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. 
Comments also may be faxed to (571) 465-4326 or hand delivered or sent 
by courier to 400 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. For comments 
submitted by any means other than Regulations.gov, you must include 
``OCC'' as the agency name and ``Docket ID FFIEC-2014-0001'' in your 
comment.
    In general, the OCC will enter all comments received into the 
docket and publish them without change on Regulations.gov. Comments 
received, including attachments and other supporting materials, as well 
as any business or personal information you provide, such as your name 
and address, email address, or phone number, are part of the public 
record and subject to public disclosure. Therefore, please do not 
include any information with your comment or supporting materials that 
you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.
    You may inspect and photocopy in person all comments received by 
the OCC at 400 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. For security 
reasons, the OCC requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect 
or photocopy comments. You may make an appointment by calling (202) 
649-6700. Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present valid 
government-issued photo identification and submit to a security 
screening.
Board
    We encourage commenters to submit comments regarding the Board's 
regulations by any of the following methods:
     Agency Web site: http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on 
the Agency Web site.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal, in accordance with the 
directions above.
     Email: [email protected]. Include 
``EGRPRA'' and Docket No. R-1510 in the subject line of the message.
     FAX: (202) 452-3819.
     Mail: Robert deV. Frierson, Secretary, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20551.
    In general, the Board will enter all comments received into the 
docket and publish them without change on Regulations.gov. Comments 
received, including attachments and other supporting materials, as well 
as any business or personal information you provide, such as your name 
and address, email address, or phone number, are part of the public 
record and subject to public disclosure. Therefore, please do not 
enclose any information with your comment or supporting materials that 
you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.
    You may inspect and photocopy in person all comments received by 
the Board at 20th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20551. 
For security reasons, the Board requires that visitors make an 
appointment to inspect comments. You may make an appointment by calling 
(202) 452-3000. Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present 
valid government-issued photo identification and submit to a security 
screening.
FDIC
    We encourage commenters to submit comments through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal, ``Regulations.gov,'' in accordance with the 
directions above. Alternatively, you may submit comments by any of the 
following methods:
     Agency Web site: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal. Follow instructions for submitting comments on the Agency Web 
site.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``EGRPRA'' in the 
subject line of the message.
     Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary, Attention: 
Comments, Federal

[[Page 7981]]

Deposit Insurance Corporation, 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. (EST).
    We will post all comments received to http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal without change, including any personal 
information provided. Comments may be inspected and photocopied in the 
FDIC Public Information Center, 3501 North Fairfax Drive, Room E-1002, 
Arlington, VA 22226, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (EST) on business days. 
Paper copies of public comments may be ordered from the Public 
Information Center by calling (877) 275-3342.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    OCC: Karen McSweeney, Counsel (202) 649-6295; Heidi Thomas, Special 
Counsel (202) 649-6286; for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, 
TTY (202) 649-5597.
    Board: Walter McEwen, Senior Counsel (202) 452-3321; Claudia Von 
Pervieux, Counsel (202) 452-2552; Matthew Bornfreund, Attorney (202) 
452-3818; for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, TDD (202) 263-
4869.
    FDIC: Ruth R. Amberg, Assistant General Counsel (202) 898-3736; Ann 
Taylor, Supervisory Counsel (202) 898-3573; for persons who are deaf or 
hard of hearing, TTY (800) 925-4618.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    Section 2222 of EGRPRA \1\ requires that not less frequently than 
once every 10 years, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination 
Council (FFIEC),\2\ along with the Agencies,\3\ conduct a review of 
their regulations to identify outdated or otherwise unnecessary 
requirements imposed on insured depository institutions.\4\ The EGRPRA 
regulatory review provides an opportunity for the public and the 
Agencies to look at groups of related regulations and to identify 
opportunities for burden reduction. For example, the EGRPRA review may 
facilitate the identification of statutes and regulations that share 
similar goals or complementary methods where one or more Agencies could 
eliminate overlapping requirements. Alternatively, commenters may 
identify regulations or statutes that impose requirements that are no 
longer consistent with the way that business is conducted and that, 
therefore, the Agencies might eliminate.
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    \1\ Public Law 104-208 (1996), codified at 12 U.S.C. 3311.
    \2\ The FFIEC is an interagency body empowered to prescribe 
uniform principles, standards, and report forms for the Federal 
examination of financial institutions and to make recommendations to 
promote uniformity in the supervision of financial institutions. The 
FFIEC does not issue regulations that impose burden on financial 
institutions and, therefore, we have not separately captioned the 
FFIEC in this notice.
    \3\ The FFIEC is comprised of the OCC, Board, FDIC, National 
Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau (CFPB), and State Liaison Committee. Of these, only the OCC, 
Board, and FDIC are statutorily required to undertake the EGRPRA 
review. The NCUA elected to participate in the first EGRPRA review 
ten years ago, and the NCUA Board again has elected to participate 
in this review process. Consistent with its approach during the 
first EGRPRA review, NCUA will separately issue notices and requests 
for comment on its rules. The CFPB is required to review its 
significant rules and publish a report of its review no later than 
five years after they take effect. See 12 U.S.C. 5512(d). This 
process is separate from the EGRPRA process.
    \4\ Insured depository institutions also are subject to 
regulations that are not required to be reviewed under the EGRPRA 
process. Examples include rules for which rulemaking authority has 
transferred to the CFPB and anti-money laundering regulations issued 
by the Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, among others.
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    The EGRPRA review also provides the Agencies and the public with an 
opportunity to consider how to reduce burden in general, but especially 
on community banks and other small, insured depository institutions or 
holding companies. We are keenly aware of the role that these 
institutions play in providing consumers and businesses across the 
nation with essential financial services and access to credit, and we 
are concerned about the impact of regulatory burden on these smaller 
institutions. We understand that when an Agency issues a new regulation 
or amends a current regulation, smaller institutions may have to devote 
considerable resources to determine if and how the regulation will 
affect them. Through the public comment process, the EGRPRA review can 
help the Agencies identify and target regulatory changes to reduce 
unnecessary burden on these smaller institutions.
    Burden reduction must be consistent with the Agencies' statutory 
mandates, many of which require the issuance of regulations. This 
includes ensuring the safety and soundness of insured depository 
institutions, their affiliates, and the financial system as a whole. 
EGRPRA recognizes that effective burden reduction may require 
legislative change. Accordingly, as part of this review, we 
specifically ask the public to comment on the relationships among 
burden reduction, regulatory requirements, and statutory mandates.
    In addition, we note that the Agencies also consider the burden 
imposed each time we propose, adopt, or amend a rule. For example, 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, the Agencies assess each rulemaking with respect to 
the burdens the rule might impose. Furthermore, we invite the public to 
comment on every rule we propose, as required by the Administrative 
Procedure Act (APA).

II. The EGRPRA Review Process

    Taken together for purposes of EGRPRA, the Agencies' regulations 
covering insured depository institutions encompass more than 100 
subjects.\5\ Consistent with the EGRPRA statute, the Agencies have 
grouped these regulations into the following 12 regulatory categories:
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    \5\ Consistent with EGRPRA's focus on reducing burden on insured 
depository institutions, the Agencies have not included their 
internal, organizational, or operational regulations in this review. 
These regulations impose minimal, if any, burden on insured 
depository institutions. Furthermore, we have not included in this 
review those rules that will go into effect during the EGRPRA 
review, new regulations that have only recently gone into effect, or 
rules that we have yet to fully implement. As previously noted, the 
Agencies were required to take burden into account in adopting these 
regulations.
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    Applications and Reporting; Banking Operations; Capital; Community 
Reinvestment Act; Consumer Protection;\6\ Directors, Officers and 
Employees; International Operations; Money Laundering; Powers and 
Activities; Rules of Procedure; Safety and Soundness; and Securities. 
To determine these categories, we divided the regulations by type and 
sought to have no category be too large or broad.
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    \6\ The Agencies are seeking comment only on those consumer 
protection regulations for which they retain rulemaking authority 
for insured depository institutions, and regulated holding companies 
following passage of section 1061 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street 
Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203 (2010) (Dodd-
Frank Act), codified at 12 U.S.C. 5581(b).
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    To carry out the EGRPRA review, the Agencies plan to publish four 
Federal Register notices, each addressing one or more categories of 
rules. Each Federal Register notice will have a 90-day comment period. 
On June 4, 2014, the Agencies published the first such notice, seeking 
comment on three categories of rules: Applications and Reporting, 
Powers and Activities, and International Operations.\7\ Today, we are 
publishing the second notice, addressing the Banking Operations, 
Capital, and the Community Reinvestment Act categories of regulations. 
We invite the public to identify outdated, otherwise unnecessary, or 
unduly burdensome regulatory requirements imposed on insured depository 
institutions and their

[[Page 7982]]

holding companies in these three categories.
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    \7\ 79 FR 32172 (First Notice).
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    To assist the public's understanding of how we have organized the 
EGRPRA review, the Agencies have included a table in Section IV that 
lists the three categories of regulations for which we are requesting 
comments. On the table, the left column divides the categories into 
specific subject-matter areas. The headings at the top of the table 
identify the types of institutions affected by the regulations.
    After comments have been received, the Agencies will review the 
comments and decide whether further action is appropriate with respect 
to the regulations. The Agencies will make this decision jointly in the 
case of rules that we have issued on an interagency basis. Similarly, 
we will undertake any rulemaking to amend or repeal those rules on an 
interagency basis. For rules issued by a single agency, the issuing 
agency will review the comments received and independently determine 
whether amendments to or repeal of its rules are appropriate. If so, 
that Agency will initiate a rulemaking to effect such change. In all 
cases, the Agencies will provide the public with an opportunity to 
comment on any proposed amendment to or repeal of a regulation, as 
required by the APA.
    Further, as part of the EGRPRA review, the Agencies are holding a 
series of outreach meetings to provide an opportunity for bankers, 
consumer and community groups, and other interested persons to present 
their views directly to senior management and staff of the Agencies on 
any of the categories of regulations in the EGRPRA review.\8\ More 
information about the outreach meetings can be found on the Agencies' 
EGRPRA Web site, http://egrpra.ffiec.gov.
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    \8\ See 79 FR 70474 (Nov. 26, 2014).
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    Finally, EGRPRA also requires the FFIEC or the Agencies to publish 
in the Federal Register a summary of the comments received, identifying 
significant issues raised and commenting on these issues. It also 
directs the Agencies to eliminate unnecessary regulations to the extent 
that such action is appropriate. The statute additionally requires the 
FFIEC to submit to Congress a report that summarizes any significant 
issues raised in the public comments and the relative merits of such 
issues. The report also must include an analysis of whether the 
Agencies are able to address the regulatory burdens associated with 
such issues or whether these burdens must be addressed by legislative 
action.

III. Public Response to the First Notice

    In response to the First Notice, the Agencies received 
approximately 40 comments from financial institutions, industry trade 
groups, consumer advocacy groups, and other members of the public. The 
Agencies will carefully consider those comments, including the issues 
raised and the suggestions made, and discuss them in the EGRPRA report 
to Congress and as part of any rulemaking to which they relate.
    In addition to comments regarding the regulations contained in the 
First Notice, the Agencies also received comments about the EGRPRA 
Review Process. First, we received comments concerning which of the 
Agencies' rules are included in the review. As explained above, we have 
not included in this review those rules that will go into effect during 
the EGRPRA review, new regulations that have only recently gone into 
effect, or rules that we have yet to implement fully. The Agencies 
consider burden when adopting regulations. In addition, the Agencies, 
financial institutions, and the public need the benefit of experience 
with these regulations in order to assess their effect on insured 
depository institutions.
    We also received comments on which agencies participate in the 
EGRPRA review. As explained above, only the OCC, Board, and FDIC are 
statutorily required to undertake this review. Although other agencies 
may undertake regulatory reviews, those reviews are separate and 
distinct from this review. Finally, we received comments about whether 
the consumer regulations transferred to the CFPB by the Dodd-Frank Act 
are included in the EGRPRA review. The Agencies will seek comment only 
on those consumer regulations for which they retain rulemaking 
authority following passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, such as the fair 
housing advertising and recordkeeping, flood insurance, safeguarding 
customer information, and identity theft rules.\9\
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    \9\ If, during the EGRPRA review, the Agencies receive a comment 
about a regulation that is not subject to the EGRPRA review, we will 
forward that comment to the appropriate agency.
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IV. Request for Burden Reduction Comments on Regulations in the Banking 
Operations, Capital, and the Community Reinvestment Act Categories

    As noted previously, the Agencies are asking the public to comment 
on regulations in the Banking Operations, Capital, and the Community 
Reinvestment Act categories to identify outdated or otherwise 
unnecessary regulatory requirements imposed on insured depository 
institutions and their regulated holding companies. Where possible, we 
ask commenters to cite to specific regulatory language or provisions. 
We also welcome suggested alternative provisions or language in support 
of a comment, where appropriate. Where implementation of a suggestion 
would require modification of a statute, we ask the commenter to 
identify the statute and the needed change, where possible.
    The Agencies note that recently promulgated rules \10\ amended, 
directly or by reference, several rules listed in the Capital category 
of the table published with the First Notice. The changes either went 
into effect in 2014 or will go into effect during 2015. Consistent with 
the above-described EGRPRA Review Process,\11\ the Capital category in 
the table clarifies the specific regulations on which we are requesting 
comment. Where the table in the First Notice listed general subject-
matter areas in the Capital category, the table in this notice provides 
citations to the specific sections that the Agencies are including in 
this review.
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    \10\ 78 FR 62017 (Oct. 11, 2013) (Agencies jointly); 79 FR 71630 
(Dec. 3, 2014) (OCC); 79 FR 69365 (Nov. 21, 2014) (FDIC); 79 FR 
64026 (Oct. 27, 2014) (Board). These regulations include capital 
adequacy, prompt corrective action, implementation of Basel III, 
standardized and risk-based approaches, market risk, and stress 
testing.
    \11\ See supra note 5, at 8.
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    Specific issues for commenters to consider. The Agencies 
specifically invite comment on the following issues as they pertain to 
the Agencies' Banking Operations, Capital, and Community Reinvestment 
Act rules addressed in this notice.
     Need for statutory change. (1) Do any statutory 
requirements underlying the rules in these categories impose outdated 
or otherwise unnecessary regulatory requirements? (2) If so, please 
identify the statutes and indicate how they should be amended.
     Need and purpose of the regulations. (1) Have there been 
changes in the financial services industry, consumer behavior, or other 
circumstances that cause any regulations in these categories to be 
outdated or otherwise unnecessary? (2) If so, please identify and 
indicate how they should be amended. (3) Do any of these regulations 
impose burdens not required by their underlying statutes? (4) If so, 
please identify the regulations and indicate how they should be 
amended.
     Overarching approaches/flexibility. (1) With respect to 
the regulations in these categories, could an Agency use a

[[Page 7983]]

different approach to lessen the burden imposed by the regulations and 
achieve statutory intent? (2) Do any of these rules impose 
unnecessarily inflexible requirements? (3) If so, please identify the 
regulations and indicate how they should be amended.
     Effect on competition. (1) Do any of the regulations or 
underlying statutes create competitive disadvantages for one part of 
the financial services industry compared to another or for one type of 
insured depository institution compared to another? (2) If so, please 
identify the regulations and indicate how they should be amended.
     Reporting, recordkeeping and disclosure requirements. (1) 
Do any of the regulations or underlying statutes in these categories 
impose outdated or otherwise unnecessary reporting, recordkeeping, or 
disclosure requirements on insured depository institutions or their 
holding companies? (2) Could a financial institution fulfill any of 
these requirements electronically (if they are not already permitted to 
do so) and experience burden reduction? (3) If so, please identify the 
regulations and indicate how they should be amended.
     Unique characteristics of a type of institution. (1) Do 
any of the regulations or underlying statutes in these categories 
impose requirements that are unwarranted by the unique characteristics 
of a particular type of insured depository institution or holding 
company? (2) If so, please identify the regulations and indicate how 
they should be amended.
     Clarity. (1) Are the regulations in these categories clear 
and easy to understand? (2) Are there specific regulations for which 
clarification is needed? (3) If so, please identify the regulations and 
indicate how they should be amended.
     Burden on community banks and other smaller, insured 
depository institutions. (1) Are there regulations or underlying 
statutes in these categories that impose outdated or otherwise 
unnecessary requirements on a substantial number of community banks or 
other smaller, insured depository institutions or holding companies? 
(2) Have the Agencies issued regulations pursuant to a common statute 
that, as applied by the Agencies, create redundancies or impose 
inconsistent requirements? (3) Should any of these regulations be 
amended or repealed in order to minimize this impact? (4) If so, please 
identify the regulations and indicate how they should be amended.
     Scope of rules. (1) Is the scope of each rule in these 
categories consistent with the intent of the underlying statute(s)? (2) 
Could we amend the scope of a rule to clarify its applicability or 
reduce burden, while remaining faithful to statutory intent? (3) If so, 
please identify the regulations and indicate how they should be 
amended.
BILLING CODE 6510-01-P

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    \12\ On Dec. 18, 2014, the OCC issued an interim final rule with 
request for comment (IFR) amending 12 CFR 5.47. 79 FR 75417. The 
effective date of the IFR was Jan. 1, 2015. In an effort to provide 
the fullest opportunity for public comment, the OCC invites comment 
on the IFR through both the process outlined in the IFR and the 
EGRPRA Review Process outlined above.

    Dated: January 20, 2015.
Thomas J. Curry,
Comptroller of the Currency.
    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, February 6, 2015.
Robert DeV. Frierson,
Secretary of the Board.
    Dated: January 21, 2015.

    By order of the Board of Directors.

    Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-02998 Filed 2-12-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P; 6510-01-P; 6714-01-C