[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