[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 248 (Friday, December 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67487-67488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28286]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Agency Information Collection Activities; Emergency Submission 
for OMB Review; Comment Request; Quarterly Dealer Agenda Survey

AGENCY: Departmental Offices, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury has submitted the following 
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and clearance utilizing emergency review procedures in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Emergency review 
and approval of this collection has been requested from OMB by January 
10, 2019. The public is invited to submit comments on this request.

DATES: Comments should be received on or before January 10, 2019 to be 
assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the burden estimate, or any other 
aspect of the information collection, including suggestions for 
reducing the burden, to (1) Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for 
Treasury, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 
20503, or email at [email protected] and (2) Treasury PRA 
Clearance Officer, 1750 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 8100, Washington, 
DC 20220, or email at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the submissions may be 
obtained from Jennifer Quintana by emailing [email protected], calling 
(202) 622-0489, or viewing the entire information collection request at 
www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Treasury Departmental Offices (DO)

    Title: Quarterly Dealer Agenda Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 1505-NEW.
    Type of Review: Request for a New OMB Control Number.
    Description: The Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Office of 
Debt

[[Page 67488]]

Management (ODM) conducts the Primary Dealer Meeting Agenda (Agenda), 
which is a quarterly survey sent to all primary dealers, of which there 
are currently 23 financial institutions. Primary dealers are trading 
counter parties of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) in its 
implementation of monetary policy. Primary dealers are also expected to 
have a substantial presence as a market maker for Treasury securities 
and bid on a pro-rata basis in all Treasury auctions. The information 
in the Agenda is a critical factor to inform ODM's decision to set the 
securities' issuance sizes for the upcoming quarter. In effect, the 
information provides a market view of borrowing needs for the U.S. 
government. In addition, aggregate statistics are made public through 
Treasury's Quarterly Refunding materials.
    Treasury is requesting emergency processing for this collection of 
information as provided under 5 CFR 1320.13. The Agenda has been used 
for many years to gather information from primary dealers, however 
Treasury only recently realized that the survey had not been cleared 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Though the FRBNY sends and 
receives the survey to the primary dealers, it does so on Treasury's 
behalf. As such, Treasury now recognizes that it should be considered 
the ``sponsor'' of the information collection for purposes of the PRA. 
Given the next anticipated Agenda release date of January 11 (two weeks 
prior to the regularly scheduled meeting with primary dealers to 
discuss feedback before the Quarterly Refunding), the agency cannot 
reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures under the PRA. 
The Treasury's mission to manage the U.S government's finances and 
resources effectively includes financing the government's borrowing 
needs at the lowest cost over time. Treasury meets this objective by 
issuing debt in a regular and predictable pattern, providing 
transparency in its decision-making process, and seeking continuous 
improvements in the Treasury auction process. The risks to regular and 
predictable debt issuance result from unexpected changes in our 
borrowing requirements, changes in the demand for Treasury securities, 
and anything that inhibits timely sales of securities. To reduce these 
risks, Treasury closely monitors economic conditions, market activity, 
and, if necessary, responds with appropriate changes in debt issuance 
based on analysis and consultation with market participants, including 
the primary dealers. Changes in debt management policy are generally 
developed through the quarterly refunding (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/quarterly-refunding/Pages/default.aspx) process near the middle of each calendar quarter. 
Treasury begins this process by soliciting advice and views from the 
private sector through questions to primary dealers (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/quarterly-refunding/Pages/agenda-index.aspx) in the Agenda. If this information were not 
collected, Treasury would not have insight into market expectations for 
debt issuance or other fiscal policy initiatives, nor would the public 
have the aggregate statistics published after the collection of that 
information. When making policy decisions, Treasury takes into account 
market expectations to better understand market demand for Treasury 
securities, capacity to absorb additional issuance when applicable, and 
the magnitude of risk from announcing policies in contrast to 
expectations. Without this information, Treasury's goal of financing 
the government at the lowest cost to the taxpayer would be at risk.
    Form: None.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 23.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 92.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 184.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

    Dated: December 21, 2018.
Spencer W. Clark,
Treasury PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-28286 Filed 12-27-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-25-P