[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 203 (Thursday, October 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72672-72673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25391]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Comment Request; Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions

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 take this opportunity 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 on the renewal of its information 
collection titled ``Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions.''

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 19, 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: 1557-0250, 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 submit to a 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., Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of 
information that 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 title 44 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.
    Title: Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0250.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 15.
    Total Annual Burden: 22,418 hours.
    Description:

Background

    The OCC's retail forex rule (12 CFR part 48) allows national banks 
and Federal savings associations to offer retail foreign exchange 
transactions to its customers. In order to engage in these 
transactions, institutions must comply with various reporting, 
disclosure, and recordkeeping requirements included in that rule.

Reporting Requirements

    The reporting requirements in Sec.  48.4 state that, prior to 
initiating a retail forex business, a national bank or Federal savings 
association must provide the OCC with prior notice and obtain a written 
supervisory no-objection letter. In order to obtain a supervisory no-
objection letter, a national bank or Federal savings association must 
have written policies, procedures, and risk measurement and management 
systems and controls in place to ensure that retail forex transactions 
are conducted in a safe and sound manner. The national bank or Federal 
savings association also must provide other information required by the 
OCC, such as documentation of customer due diligence, new product 
approvals, and haircuts applied to noncash margins.

Disclosure Requirements

    Under Sec.  48.5, a national bank or Federal savings association 
must promptly provide the customer with a statement reflecting the 
financial result of the transactions and the name of the introducing 
broker to the account. The customer must provide specific written 
instructions on how the offsetting transaction should be applied.
    Section 48.6 requires that a national bank or Federal savings 
association furnish a retail forex customer with a written disclosure 
before opening an account through which the customer will engage in 
retail forex transactions. It further requires a national bank or 
Federal savings association to secure an acknowledgment from the 
customer that the disclosure was received and understood. Finally, the 
section requires the disclosure by a national bank or Federal savings 
association of its fees and other charges and its profitable accounts 
ratio.
    Section 48.10 requires a national bank or Federal savings 
association to issue monthly statements to each retail forex customer 
and to send confirmation statements following transactions.
    Section 48.13(c) prohibits a national bank or Federal savings 
association engaging in retail forex transactions from knowingly 
handling the account of any related person of another retail forex 
counterparty unless it receives proper written authorization, promptly 
prepares a written record of the order, and transmits to the 
counterparty copies all statements and written records. Section 
48.13(d) prohibits a related person of a national bank or Federal 
savings association engaging in forex transactions from having an 
account with another retail forex counterparty unless it receives 
proper written authorization and copies of all statements and written 
records for such accounts are transmitted to the counterparty.

[[Page 72673]]

    Section 48.15 requires a national bank or Federal savings 
association to provide a retail forex customer with 30 days prior 
notice of any assignment of any position or transfer of any account of 
the retail forex customer. It also requires a national bank or Federal 
savings association to which retail forex accounts or positions are 
assigned or transferred to provide the affected customers with risk 
disclosure statements and forms of acknowledgment and obtain the signed 
acknowledgments within 60 days.
    The customer dispute resolution provisions in Sec.  48.16 require 
certain endorsements, acknowledgments, and signatures. The section also 
requires that a national bank or Federal savings association, within 10 
days after receipt of notice from the retail forex customer that the 
customer intends to submit a claim to arbitration, provide the customer 
with a list of persons qualified in the dispute resolution.

Policies and Procedures; Recordkeeping

    Sections 48.7 and 48.13 require that a national bank or Federal 
savings association engaging in retail forex transactions keep full, 
complete, and systematic records and to establish and implement 
internal rules, procedures, and controls. Section 48.7 also requires 
that a national bank or Federal savings association keep account, 
financial ledger, transaction, and daily records, as well as memorandum 
orders, post-execution allocation of bunched orders, records regarding 
its ratio of profitable accounts, possible violations of law, records 
for noncash margin, and monthly statements and confirmations. Section 
48.9 requires policies and procedures for haircuts for noncash margin 
collected under the rule's margin requirements and annual evaluations 
and modifications of the haircuts.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments 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 burden of the 
information collection;
    (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: October 13, 2016.
Karen Solomon,
Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2016-25391 Filed 10-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-33-P