[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 32 (Thursday, February 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6850-6851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03148]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the 
Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated with Securities 
Transactions Pursuant to Regulation H (Reg H-3; OMB No. 7100-0196).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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.

[[Page 6851]]

    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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) to approve of and assign OMB control 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 Paperwork Reduction Act 
Submission, supporting statements and approved collection of 
information instrument(s) 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 control number.
    Final approval under OMB delegated authority of the extension for 
three years, without revision, of the following report:
    Report title: Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated 
with Securities Transactions Pursuant to Regulation H.
    Agency form number: Reg H-3.
    OMB control number: 7100-0196.
    Frequency: Event-generated.
    Respondents: State member banks.
    Estimated number of respondents: State member banks (de novo): 1; 
state member banks with trust departments: 228; state member banks 
without trust departments: 601.
    Estimated average hours per response: State member banks (de novo): 
Recordkeeping, 40 hours. State member banks with trust departments: 
Recordkeeping, 2 hours; disclosure, 16 hours. State member banks 
without trust departments: Recordkeeping, 15 minutes; disclosure, 5 
hours.
    Estimated annual burden hours: State member banks (de novo): 
Recordkeeping, 40 hours. State member banks with trust departments: 
Recordkeeping, 12,768 hours; disclosure, 43,776 hours. State member 
banks without trust departments: Recordkeeping, 4,207 hours; 
disclosure, 36,060 hours.
    General description of report: These recordkeeping and disclosure 
requirements are pursuant to Sections 208.34(c), (d), and (g) of the 
Board's Regulation H, which require that state member banks effecting 
securities transactions for customers establish and maintain a system 
of records of these transactions, furnish confirmations of transactions 
to customers that disclose certain information, and establish written 
policies and procedures relating to securities trading. State member 
banks are required to maintain records created per these requirements 
for three years following a securities transaction. These requirements 
are necessary to protect the customer, to avoid or settle customer 
disputes, and to protect the institution against potential liability 
arising under the anti-fraud and insider trading provisions of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Securities Exchange Act'').
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The Board has determined 
that the Regulation H requirements are authorized by Section 23 of the 
Securities Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. 78w, which empowers the Board to 
make rules and regulations implementing those portions of the 
Securities Exchange Act for which it is responsible. The requirements 
of 12 CFR 208.34(c), (d), and (g) also are impliedly authorized by 
Section 9 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 321-328a), which 
establishes the Board's supervisory authority with respect to the 
safety and soundness of state member banks. Accordingly, the Board is 
authorized to impose these recordkeeping, disclosure, and policy 
establishment requirements. The obligation of a state member bank to 
comply with the Regulation H requirements is mandatory, save for the 
limited exceptions set forth in 12 CFR 208.34(a).
    Inasmuch as the Board does not collect or receive any information 
concerning securities transactions pursuant to these requirements, no 
issues of confidentiality normally will arise. If, however, these 
records were to come into the possession of the Board, they may be 
protected from disclosure pursuant to exemption 4 of the Freedom of 
Information Act (``FOIA''), 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), under the standards set 
forth in National Parks & Conservation Ass'n v. Morton, 498 F.2d 765 
(DC Cir. 1974), to the extent an institution can establish the 
potential for substantial competitive harm. They also may be subject to 
withholding under FOIA exemption 6, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6), should 
disclosure constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. 
Additionally, if such information were included in the work papers of 
System examiners or abstracted in System reports of examination, the 
information also may be protected under exemption 8 of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 
552(b)(8). Any withholding determination would be made on a case-by-
case basis in response to a specific request for disclosure of the 
information.
    Current actions: On November 27, 2017, the Board published a notice 
in the Federal Register (82 FR 56022) requesting public comment for 60 
days on the extension, without revision, of the Recordkeeping and 
Disclosure Requirements Associated with Securities Transactions 
Pursuant to Regulation H (Reg H-3). The comment period for this notice 
expired on January 26, 2018. The Board did not receive any comments.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 12, 
2018.
Ann E. Misback,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2018-03148 Filed 2-14-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P