[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23082-23083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08936]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Comment Request; Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered 
Swap Entities: Exemptions

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal 
agencies to comment on a continuing information collection, as required 
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
    In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC 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.
    The OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its 
information collection titled, ``Margin and Capital Requirements for 
Covered Swap Entities: Exemptions.''

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 20, 2016.

ADDRESSES: 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: 1557-0335, 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 or, for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, 
TTY, (202) 649-5597. 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 include any information in your comment or 
supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate 
for public disclosure.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance 
Officer, (202) 649-5490 or, for persons who are deaf or hard of 
hearing, TTY, (202) 649-5597, Legislative and Regulatory Activities 
Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street 
SW., Suite 3E-218, Mail Stop 9W-11, Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
agencies must obtain approval from the OMB for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' is 
defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency 
requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, 
keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires Federal 
agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning 
each proposed collection of information, including each proposed 
extension of an existing collection of information, before submitting 
the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, 
the OCC is publishing notice of the proposed collection of information 
set forth in this document.
    In connection with issuance of the interim final rule entitled 
``Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap Entities,'' \1\ OMB 
provided a six-month approval for this information collection. The OCC 
is proposing to extend OMB approval of the collection for the standard 
three years.
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    \1\ 80 FR 74915 (November 30, 2015).
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    Title: Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap Entities: 
Exemptions.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0335.
    Description: The OCC issued an interim final rule required by the 
Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 
(TRIPRA).\2\ Title III of TRIPRA, the ``Business Risk Mitigation and 
Price Stabilization Act of 2015,'' amends the statutory provisions 
added by the Dodd-Frank Act relating to margin requirements for non-
cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps. Section 302 of 
TRIPRA amends sections 731 and 764 of the Dodd-Frank Act to provide 
that the initial and variation margin requirements do not apply to 
certain transactions with specified counterparties that qualify for an 
exemption or exception from clearing. Non-cleared swaps and non-cleared 
security-based swaps that are exempt under section 302 of TRIPRA will 
not be subject to the Agencies' \3\ rules implementing margin 
requirements.\4\ The effect of the interim final rule is to augment 
provisions of the final rule published by the Agencies in November 2015 
\5\ that allow swap entities to collect no initial or variation margin 
from certain ``other counterparties'' like commercial end-users with a 
provision that grants an exception from the margin requirements for 
certain swaps with these and certain additional counterparties.
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    \2\ Public Law 114-1, 129 Stat. 3 (2015).
    \3\ The Agencies are the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Farm Credit 
Administration, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
    \4\ The interim final rule is a companion rule to a final rule 
adopted to implement section 731 and 764 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
    \5\ The final rule was issued on November 30, 2015 (80 FR 
74840).
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    The reporting requirements in the interim final rule are found in 
12 CFR 45.1(d), which refers to other statutory provisions that set 
forth conditions for an exemption from clearing. Section 45.1(d)(1) 
provides an exemption for non-cleared swaps if one of the 
counterparties to the swap is not a financial entity, is using swaps to 
hedge or mitigate commercial risk, and notifies the Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission of how it generally meets its financial obligations 
associated with entering into non-cleared swaps. Section 45.1(d)(2) 
provides an exemption for security-based swaps if the counterparty 
notifies the Securities and Exchange Commission of how it generally 
meets its financial obligations associated with entering into non-
cleared security-based swaps.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals; Businesses or other for-profit.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 20.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 20,000.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized, 
included in the request for OMB approval, and will become a matter of 
public record. Comments are invited on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the OCC, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimate of the information 
collection burden;

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    (c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection 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.

    Dated: April 13, 2016.
Mary Hoyle Gottlieb,
Regulatory Specialist, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division.
[FR Doc. 2016-08936 Filed 4-18-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P