[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 61 (Friday, March 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12031-12032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06085]
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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
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.
ACTION: ACTION:
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Notice and request for comment.
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 the renewal of an
information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (PRA).
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and respondents are 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.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 28, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if
possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected].
Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency, Attention: 1557-0251, 400 7th Street SW, suite 3E-218,
Washington, DC 20219.
Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, suite 3E-218,
Washington, DC 20219.
Fax: (571) 465-4326.
Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and
``1557-0251'' in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish
comments on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or
personal information provided, such as name and address information,
email addresses, or phone numbers. 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.
You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to
this information collection beginning on the date of publication of the
second notice for this collection\1\ by any of the following methods:
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\1\ Following the close of the 60-day comment period for this
notice, the OCC will publish a notice for 30 days of comment for
this collection.
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Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov.
Click on the ``Information Collection Review'' tab. Underneath the
``Currently under Review'' section heading, from the drop-down menu,
select ``Department of Treasury'' and then click ``submit.'' This
information collection can be located by searching by OMB control
number ``1557-0251'' or ``Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered
Swap Entities.'' Upon finding the appropriate information collection,
click on the related ``ICR Reference Number.'' On the next screen,
select ``View Supporting Statement and Other Documents'' and then click
on the link to any comment listed at the bottom of the screen.
For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please
contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482-7340.
Viewing Comments Personally: You may personally inspect
comments at the OCC, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC. 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 hearing impaired, TTY, (202) 649-5597. Upon arrival,
visitors will be required to present valid government-issued photo
identification and submit to security screening in order to inspect
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, Clearance Officer,
(202) 649-5490 or, for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired, TTY,
(202) 649-5597, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, 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. The OCC requested and received emergency PRA approval for the
interim final rule. The emergency approval will expire in six months
and this notice is the first step in renewing it.
Title: Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap Entities.
OMB Control No.: 1557-0251. Description: On March 19, 2019,\2\ the
OCC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Farm Credit Administration, and the
Federal Housing Finance Agency (agencies) issued an interim final rule
amending the agencies' regulations that require swap dealers and
security based swap dealers (Swap Margin Rule) under the agencies'
respective jurisdictions to exchange margin with their counterparties
for swaps that are not centrally cleared. Swaps entered into before the
effective dates of the Swap Margin Rule are grandfathered by the Swap
Margin Rule until they expire according to their terms. There are
currently financial services firms in the United Kingdom (U.K.) that
conduct swap dealing activities subject to the Swap Margin Rule. If the
U.K. withdraws from the European Union (E.U.) without a negotiated
agreement between the U.K. and E.U., entities located in the U.K. may
not be authorized to provide full-scope financial services to swap
counterparties located in the E.U. The agencies are addressing a
scenario whereby entities located in the U.K. might transfer their
existing swap portfolios that face counterparties located in the E.U.
over to an affiliate or other related establishment located within the
E.U. or the United States (U.S.). These transfers, if carried out in
accordance with the conditions of the interim final rule, will not
trigger the application of the Swap Margin Rule to grandfathered swaps
that were entered into before the Swap Margin Rule's compliance dates.
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\2\ 84 FR 9940.
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The interim final rule distinguishes transfers initiated by the
financial entity standing as the covered swap entity at the completion
of the transaction from a transfers initiated by the covered swap
[[Page 12032]]
entity's counterparty. In the case of transfers initiated by the
covered swap entity's counterparty, the counterparty must make a
representation to the covered swap entity that the counterparty carried
out the swap in accordance with both elements of the purpose test.\3\
Twelve CFR 45.1(h) specifies that transfers of legacy swaps initiated
by a covered swap entity's counterparty require a representation to the
covered swap entity that the counterparty carried out the swap in
accordance with both elements of the purpose test in order to remain
outside the scope of the rule. This requirement constitutes a third
party disclosure under the PRA.
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\3\ The purpose test requires that the financial entity located
in the U.K. arrange to make the amendments to the non-cleared swap
solely for the purpose of transferring the non-cleared swap to an
affiliate or other related establishment that is located in an E.U.
Member State or the United States. This purpose test also contains a
requirement that the transfer be made in connection with the U.K.
entity's planning for the possibility that the U.K. might exit the
E.U. without a negotiated agreement, or the U.K. entity's response
to such an event.
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Estimated Number of Respondents: 10.
Estimated Burden per Response: 1 hour.
Total Estimated Burden: 10 hour.
Type of Review: Regular. Affected Public: Individuals; Businesses
or other for-profit. Frequency of Response: On occasion. Comments
submitted in response to this notice will be summarized, included in
the request for OMB approval, and 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 collection of information; (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 startup costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
Dated: March 25, 2019.
Theodore J. Dowd,
Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2019-06085 Filed 3-28-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P