[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7902-7904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03874]



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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, 
the Uniform Application for Municipal Securities Principal or Municipal 
Securities Representative Associated with a Bank Municipal Securities 
Dealer (Form MSD-4; OMB No. 7100-0100) and the Uniform Termination 
Notice for Municipal Securities Principal or Municipal Securities 
Representative Associated with a Bank Municipal Securities Dealer (Form 
MSD-5; OMB No. 7100-0101). The Board proposes to revise Form MSD-4 and 
Form MSD-5 to (1) remove the date of birth and place of birth items 
from the `Personal History of Applicant' section on Form MSD-4 and 
instructions; (2) make minor revisions to the Privacy Act statements on 
Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5; and (3) remove the Privacy Act notice from 
the respective instructions for Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5 (but leave 
the Privacy Act notice on the forms). The proposed revisions would be 
effective June 1, 2019.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 6, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by MSD-4 or MSD-5, by 
any of the following methods:
     Agency website: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
     Email: [email protected]. Include OMB 
number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available on the Board's website 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 in Room 146, 
1709 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006, between 9:00 a.m. and 
5:00 p.m. on weekdays. For security reasons, the Board requires that 
visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. You may do so by 
calling (202) 452-3684. 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.
    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, if approved. These documents will also be made available 
on the Board's public website 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: On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collection of information requests and requirements conducted or 
sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the 
Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In 
determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board 
will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposals

    The Board invites public comment on the following information 
collections, which are being reviewed under authority delegated by the 
OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Board'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.
    At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations 
received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board 
should modify the proposal.

Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, With 
Revision, the Following Information Collections

    Report title: The Uniform Application for Municipal Securities 
Principal or Municipal Securities Representative Associated with a Bank 
Municipal Securities Dealer.
    Agency form number: Form MSD-4.
    OMB control number: 7100-0100.
    Frequency: On occasion; a municipal securities dealer (MSD) that is 
regulated by the Board is required to file Form MSD-4 within ten days 
of a municipal securities principal's or representative's association 
with that MSD.
    Respondents: MSDs regulated by the Board that are, or are the 
subsidiary of, a state member bank (SMB), a bank holding company (BHC), 
a savings and loan holding company (SLHC) or a foreign dealer bank.
    Estimated number of respondents: 18.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 18.
    General description of report: The Municipal Securities Rulemaking 
Board (MSRB) rule G-7, Information Concerning Associated Persons, 
requires persons who are or seek to be associated with an MSD as a 
municipal securities principal (a person performing supervisory 
functions) or representative (a person engaged in underwriting, 
trading, or sales of municipal securities or furnishing financial 
advice to issuers in connection with the issuance of municipal 
securities) to provide certain background information to the MSD. The 
rule also requires MSDs to obtain and report this information to the

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appropriate regulatory agency (ARA). Board-regulated MSDs must report 
to the Board information required by MSRB rule G-7 using Form MSD-4. 
Generally, the information required by Form MSD-4 relates to employment 
history and professional background, including any disciplinary 
sanctions, as well as any claimed basis for exemption from MSRB 
examination requirements.
    MSDs must retain copies of Form MSD-4 for each associated principal 
or representative during the entire term of employment and three years 
from the date of termination of employment. Completed reporting forms 
are sent as a Portable Document Format (PDF) directly to the Board via 
email.
    Report title: The Uniform Termination Notice for Municipal 
Securities Principal or Municipal Securities Representative Associated 
with a Bank Municipal Securities Dealer.
    Agency form number: Form MSD-5.
    OMB control number: 7100-0101.
    Frequency: On occasion; an MSD that is regulated by the Board is 
required to file Form MSD-5 within 30 calendar days after a principal 
or representative terminates association with that MSD.
    Respondents: MSDs regulated by the Board that are, or are the 
subsidiary of, a state member bank (SMB), a bank holding company (BHC), 
a savings and loan holding company (SLHC) or a foreign dealer bank.
    Estimated number of respondents: 19.
    Estimated average hours per response: 0.25.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 5.
    General description of report: Form MSD-5 is filed by a Board-
regulated MSD when any employee previously registered as a municipal 
securities principal or representative is terminated for any reason. 
Form MSD-5 requires information such as the reason for termination and 
whether any investigations or actions by agencies or self-regulatory 
organizations (SROs) involving the associated person occurred during 
the period of employment.
    Any SMB, BHC, SLHC, or foreign dealer bank registered as a MSD will 
continue to be required to file this event-generated report form for 
any employees that are terminated. MSDs must retain copies of the Form 
MSD-5 reports for three years from the date of termination of 
employment. Completed reporting forms are sent as a PDF directly to the 
Board via email.
    Proposed revisions: The Board proposes to revise Form MSD-4 and 
Form MSD-5 to (1) remove the date of birth and place of birth items 
from the `Personal History of Applicant' section on Form MSD-4 and 
instructions; (2) make minor revisions to the Privacy Act statements on 
Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5; and (3) remove the Privacy Act notice from 
the respective instructions for Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5 (but leave 
the Privacy Act notice on the forms). The proposed revisions would be 
effective June 1, 2019.
    The date of birth and place of birth data fields on Form MSD-4 
report are considered personally identifiable information (PII), and 
the Board generally does not need these fields in order to perform its 
supervisory responsibilities regarding applications to become municipal 
securities principals or representatives but could obtain this 
information on a case-by-case basis when needed. The Board is making an 
effort to remove PII from its supervisory reports if that PII is not 
critical to fulfilling its supervisory responsibilities.
    The Board also proposes to update the Privacy Act notices that 
appear on Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5, respectively. The Privacy Act 
governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of 
information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records 
by federal agencies. A system of records is a group of records under 
the control of the agency from which information about individuals is 
retrieved by name of the individual or some identifier assigned to the 
individual. Under the Privacy Act, an agency that maintains a system of 
records must provide notice to individuals, at the point of collection 
of information maintained in the system of records, of: (1) The 
authority which authorizes the collection and whether the collection is 
mandatory or voluntary; (2) the purpose of the collection; (3) the 
routine uses which may be made of the information; and (4) the effects 
of not disclosing the information.
    The proposed revisions to the Privacy Act notice would include an 
updated website URL for the relevant system of records. The revisions 
to the notice also would reflect that Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5 are 
interagency and would add the applicable Privacy Act notices from the 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Finally, the Board would remove the 
Privacy Act notice from the instructions to Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5, 
respectively, as a Privacy Act notice on the form collecting the 
information is sufficient and the Privacy Act notice on the 
instructions is duplicative.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: Sections 15B(a)-(b) and 17 
of the Securities Exchange Act (the Act) authorize the SEC and MSRB to 
promulgate rules requiring MSDs to file reports about associated 
persons with the SEC and the ARA (15 U.S.C. 78o-4(a)-(b) and (q)). In 
addition, section 15B(c) of the Act provides that ARAs may enforce 
compliance with the SEC's and MSRB's rules (15 U.S.C. 78o-4(c)). 
Section 23(a) of the Act also authorizes the SEC, the Board, and the 
other ARAs to make rules and regulations in order to implement the 
provisions of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78w(a)). Under the Act, the Board is 
the ARA for a MSD that is, or is the subsidiary of, a SLHC, SMB 
(including its divisions or departments), or BHC (including a 
subsidiary bank of the bank holding company, if the subsidiary does not 
already report to another ARA or to the SEC, and any divisions, 
departments or subsidiaries of that subsidiary) (15 U.S.C. 
78c(a)(34)(A)(ii)). Although the Act does not specify the ARA for MSD 
activities of foreign banks, uninsured state branches or state agencies 
of foreign banks, commercial lending companies owned or controlled by a 
foreign bank, or Edge Act corporations (collectively referred to as 
``foreign dealer banks''), the Division of Market Regulation of the SEC 
has agreed that the Federal Reserve should examine the MSD activities 
of foreign dealer banks.\1\ Accordingly, the Board's collection of Form 
MSD-4 and Form MSD-5 for these institutions is authorized pursuant to 
the Act.\2\
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    \1\ See Letter from Catherine McGuire, Chief Counsel, SEC's 
Division of Market Regulation, to Laura M. Homer, Assistant Director 
of Board S&R, June 14, 1994.
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-4, 78q, and 78w.
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    In addition, the Board is authorized to require that SMBs and their 
departments file reports with the Board pursuant to section 11(a)(1) of 
the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 248(a)(1)). Branches and agencies of 
foreign banks are subject to the reporting requirements of section 
11(a)(1) of the Federal Reserve Act pursuant to Section 7(c)(2) of the 
International Banking Act (12 U.S.C. 3105(c)(2)). BHCs and their 
subsidiaries are required to submit reports to the Board to ensure 
compliance with ``federal laws that the Board has specific jurisdiction 
to enforce'' (12 U.S.C. 1844(c)(1)(ii)(II)). Section 10(b)(2) of the 
Home Owners Loan Act authorizes the Board to require SLHCs to file 
``such reports as may be required by the Board'' and instructs that 
such reports ``shall contain such information concerning the operations 
of such savings and loan holding company and its subsidiaries as the 
Board may require'' (12 U.S.C. 1467a(b)(2)).

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    The obligation to file the forms with the Board is mandatory for 
those financial institutions for which the Board serves as the ARA, and 
the filing of both forms is event generated.
    Generally, information provided on Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5 will 
be kept confidential from the public under exemption 6 of the Freedom 
of Information Act (``FOIA''), which protects information in 
``personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which 
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy'' 
(5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6)). In addition, other information on Form MSD-4 and 
Form MSD-5, such as the name of the MSD that filed the form, may be 
withheld under exemption 4 of the FOIA, if disclosure is reasonably 
likely to result in substantial competitive harm to the MSD (e.g., if a 
MSD recently hired or terminated a number of municipal securities 
employees, disclosing these forms could reveal competitively sensitive 
commercial information about that dealer) (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
    The information collected on Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5 is 
maintained in a ``system of records'' within the meaning of the Privacy 
Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(5)). As required under the Privacy Act, the Board 
formally designated a system of records notice (``SORN'') for this 
information collection, which is the ``BGFRS-17, FRB--Municipal or 
Government Securities Principals and Representatives,'' located here: 
https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/BGFRS-17-municipal-or-government-securities-principals-and-representatives.pdf. Pursuant to the Privacy 
Act, disclosure of information that must be released under the FOIA 
does not violate the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(2)). However, 
disclosure of any confidential information that is considered exempt 
under the FOIA must be made in accordance with the Privacy Act (5 
U.S.C. 552a(b)). Thus, the Board may make disclosures of information 
collected on Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5 in accordance with the Privacy 
Act's ``routine use'' disclosure provision, which permits the 
disclosure of a record for a purpose that is compatible with the 
purpose for which the record was collected (5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(7) and 
(b)(3)). The routine uses that apply to this information collection are 
listed in the SORN, which is available on the Board's website at the 
above hyperlink. Both Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5 are being revised to 
include updated Privacy Act notices.
    Consultation outside the agency: The Board has coordinated and 
consulted with the FDIC, OCC, and SEC in proposing these revisions.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 27, 
2019.

Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2019-03874 Filed 3-4-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P