[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13791-13793]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05808]


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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), 
to approve of and assign OMB numbers to collection of information 
requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-
approved collections of information are incorporated into the official 
OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies 
of the PRA 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 number.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 16, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 4198 or FR 4203 by 
any of the following methods:
     Agency Web site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
     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: Robert deV. Frierson, Secretary, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20551.

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    All public comments are available from the Board's Web site at 
http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx 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 
3515, 1801 K Street (between 18th and 19th Streets NW.) Washington, DC 
20006 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 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/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested 
from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.
    Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of 
the Chief Data Officer, 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
    e. Estimates of capital or startup 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 Reports

    1. Report title: Funding and Liquidity Risk Management Guidance.
    Agency form number: FR 4198.
    OMB control number: 7100-0326.
    Frequency: On occasion and monthly.
    Reporters: Bank holding companies, savings and loan holding 
companies, state member banks, state-licensed branches and agencies of 
foreign banks (other than insured branches), and corporations organized 
or operating under sections 25 or 25A of the Federal Reserve Act 
(agreement corporations and Edge corporations).
    Estimated annual burden hours: Section 14 strategic planning and 
budgeting process: Large institutions: 20,160 hours; mid-sized 
institutions: 17,520 hours; small institutions: 428,080 hours. Section 
20 liquidity risk reporters: 261,696 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: Section 14 strategic planning 
and budgeting process: Large institutions: 720 hours; mid-sized 
institutions: 240 hours; small institutions: 80 hours. Section 20 
liquidity risk reporters: 4 hours.
    Number of respondents: Section 14 strategic planning and budgeting 
process: Large institutions: 28; mid-sized institutions: 73; small 
institutions: 5,351. Section 20 liquidity risk reporters: 5,452.
    General description of report: The Board's Legal Division has 
determined that this information collection is mandatory based on the 
following relevant statutory provisions.
     Section 9(6) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 324) 
requires state member banks to make reports of condition to their 
supervising Reserve Bank in such form and containing such information 
as the Board may require.
     Section 5(c) of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 
1844(c)) authorizes the Board to require a BHC and any subsidiary to 
submit reports to keep the Board informed as to its financial 
condition, [and] systems for monitoring and controlling financial and 
operating risk.
     Section 7(c)(2) of the International Banking Act of 1978 
(12 U.S.C. 3105(c)(2) requires branches and agencies of foreign banking 
organizations to file reports of condition with the Federal Reserve to 
the same extent and in the same manner as if the branch or agency were 
a state member bank.
     Section 25A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 625) 
requires Edge and agreement corporations to make reports to the Board 
at such time and in such form as it may require.
     Section 10(b) of the Home Owners' Loan Act requires an 
SLHC to file reports on the operation of the SLHC and any subsidiary as 
the Board may require and in such form and for such periods as the 
Board may require.
    Because the records required by the Guidance are maintained at the 
institution, issues of confidentiality are not expected to arise. 
Should the documents be obtained by the Federal Reserve System during 
the course of an examination, they would be exempt from disclosure 
under exemption 8 of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8). In addition, some or all 
of the information may be ``commercial or financial'' information 
protected from disclosure under exemption 4 of FOIA, under the 
standards set forth in National Parks & Conservation Ass'n v. Morton, 
498 F.2d 765 (D.C. Cir. 1974).
    Abstract: On March 22, 2010, the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency (OCC), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the Federal 
Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the 
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) (the agencies) published a 
joint final notice in the Federal Register implementing guidance titled 
``Interagency Policy Statement on Funding and Liquidity Risk 
Management'' (the ``Guidance''), effective May 21, 2010.\1\
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    \1\ 75 FR 13656 (March 22, 2010).
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    The Guidance summarizes the principles of sound liquidity risk 
management that the agencies have issued in the past and, where 
appropriate, brings them into conformance with the ``Principles for 
Sound Liquidity Risk Management and Supervision'' issued by the Basel 
Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in September 2008. While the 
BCBS liquidity principles primarily focuses on large internationally 
active financial institutions, the Guidance emphasizes supervisory 
expectations for

[[Page 13793]]

all domestic financial institutions including banks, thrifts and credit 
unions.
    The agencies \2\ have identified two sections of the Guidance that 
fall under the definition of an information collection. Section 14 
states that institutions should consider liquidity costs, benefits, and 
risks in strategic planning and budgeting processes. Section 20 
requires that liquidity risk reports provide aggregate information with 
sufficient supporting detail to enable management to assess the 
sensitivity of the institution to changes in market conditions, its own 
financial performance, and other important risk factors.
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    \2\ As part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act, the OTS was abolished and its functions and powers 
were transferred to the OCC, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve.
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    Current Actions: The Federal Reserve proposes to extend, without 
revision, the FR 4198 information collection.
    2. Report title: Recordkeeping Provisions Associated with Guidance 
on Leveraged Lending.
    Agency form number: FR 4203.
    OMB control number: 7100-0354.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Reporters: All institutions that originate or participate in 
leverage lending.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 29,422 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 754.4 hours.
    Number of respondents: 39.
    General description of report: The Board's Legal Division has 
determined that all financial institutions supervised by the Board and 
substantively engaged in leveraged lending activities are subject to 
the FR 4203:
     Regarding state member banks, the information collection 
is authorized by Section 11(a)(2) of the Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. 
248(a)(2), which authorizes the Board to require any depository 
institution to make such reports of its assets and liabilities as the 
Board may determine to be necessary or desirable to enable the Board to 
discharge its responsibilities to monitor and control monetary and 
credit aggregates.
     With respect to bank holding companies, Section 5(c) of 
the Bank Holding Company Act, 12 U.S.C. 1844(c), authorizes the Board 
to require a bank holding company and any subsidiary ``to keep the 
Board informed as to--(i) its financial condition, [and] systems for 
monitoring and controlling financial and operating risks. . . .''
     With respect to savings and loan holding companies, 12 
U.S.C. 1467a(b)(3), authorizes the Board to ``maintain such books and 
records as may be prescribed by the Board.''
     Regarding branches and agencies of foreign banking 
organizations, Section 7(c)(2) of the International Banking Act of 
1978, 12 U.S.C. 3105(c)(2), subjects such entities to the requirements 
of section 11(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 248(a)) ``to the 
same extent and in the same manner as if the branch or agency were a 
state member bank.''
     Under Section 25 of the Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. 
602, member banks are required to furnish to the Board ``information 
concerning the condition of'' Edge and Agreement Corporations in which 
they invest. More generally with respect to Edge and Agreement 
Corporations, under Section 25A of the Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. 
611a, the Federal Reserve may ``issue rules and regulations'' governing 
such entities ``consistent with and in furtherance of the purposes'' of 
that subchapter.
    Because the information collection is called for in guidance and 
not in a statute or regulation, it is considered voluntary.
    Because the information collected by the Proposed Guidance is 
maintained at the institutions, issues of confidentiality would not 
normally arise. Should the information be obtained by the Board in the 
course of an examination, it would be exempt from disclosure under 
exemption 8 of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8). 
In addition, some or all of the information may be confidential 
commercial or financial information protected from disclosure under 
exemption 4 of FOIA, under the standards set forth in National Parks & 
Conservation Ass'n v. Morton, 498 F.2d 765 (D.C. Cir. 1974).
    Abstract: The interagency guidance outlines high-level principles 
related to safe and sound leveraged lending activities, including 
underwriting considerations, assessing and documenting enterprise 
value, risk management expectations for credits awaiting distribution, 
stress testing expectations and portfolio management, and risk 
management expectations. This guidance applies to all financial 
institutions substantively engaged in leveraged lending activities 
supervised by the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC (the Agencies).
    The Agencies identified certain aspects of the proposed guidance 
that may constitute a collection of information. In particular, these 
aspects are the provisions that state a banking organization should (a) 
have underwriting policies for leveraged lending, including stress 
testing procedures for leveraged credits; (b) have risk management 
policies, including stress testing procedures for pipeline exposures; 
and (c) have policies and procedures for incorporating the results of 
leveraged credit and pipeline stress tests into the firm's overall 
stress testing framework.
    Although the guidance is applicable to all institutions that 
originate or participate in leverage lending, due to the large 
exposures created by these types of loans, these credits are most 
likely originated primarily by larger institutions.
    Current Actions: The Federal Reserve proposes to extend, without 
revision, the FR 4203 information collection.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, March 10, 
2016.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2016-05808 Filed 3-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P