[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 76 (Friday, April 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16490-16492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07873]


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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 Reporting

[[Page 16491]]

Requirements Associated with Regulation Y (Extension of Time to Conform 
to the Volcker Rule) (FR Y-1; OMB No. 7100-0333).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 18, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR Y-1, 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 from 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 Paperwork Reduction Act 
(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 OMB delegated to the 
Board authority under the 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 Proposal

    The Board invites public comment on the following information 
collection, which is 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 Collection

    Report title: Reporting Requirements Associated with Regulation Y 
(Extension of Time to Conform to the Volcker Rule).
    Agency form number: FR Y-1.
    OMB control number: 7100-0333.
    Frequency: Event-generated.
    Respondents: Insured depository institutions (other than certain 
limited-purpose trust institutions), any company that controls an 
insured depository institution, any company that is treated as a bank 
holding company for purposes of section 8 of the International Banking 
Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3106), and any affiliate or subsidiary of any of 
the foregoing (collectively, banking entities), and nonbank financial 
companies designated by the Financial Stability Oversight Council that 
engage in proprietary trading activities or make investments in covered 
funds.
    Estimated number of respondents: 1.
    Estimated average hours per response: 3.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 3.
    General description of report: The information collection in 
section 225.181(c) of the Board's Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.181(c)) is 
used by newly formed banking entities and existing companies that 
become a banking entity (collectively, new banking entities) to seek an 
extension of time to bring their activities and investments into 
compliance with section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act (the Volcker 
Rule) or to divest their interest in an illiquid fund. The information 
collection in section 225.182(c) of the Board's Regulation Y (12 CFR 
225.182(c)) is used by nonbank financial companies supervised by the 
Board to seek an extension of time to bring their activities and 
investments into compliance with the Volcker Rule, including any 
capital requirements and quantitative limits adopted thereunder. A 
request by a banking entity or nonbank financial company supervised by 
the Board also must address the relevant factors set out in sections 
225.181(d) and 225.182(d) of Regulation Y.

Conformance Period for Banking Entities Engaged in Prohibited 
Proprietary Trading or Private Fund Activities--Approval Required To 
Hold Interests in Excess of Time Limit (Section 225.181(c))

    Section 225.181(c) requires an application for an extension by or 
with respect to a new banking entity or an extension of the transition 
period for illiquid funds to (1) be submitted in writing to the Board 
at least 180 days prior to the expiration of the applicable time 
period, (2) provide the reasons why the banking entity believes the 
extension should be granted, and (3) provide a detailed explanation of 
the

[[Page 16492]]

banking entity's plan for divesting or conforming the activity or 
investment(s). A request by a banking entity also must address the 
relevant factors governing Board determinations set out in sections 
225.181(d).
    Additionally, Supervision and Regulation Letter 16-18 (SR Letter 
16-18),\1\ states that the following additional information that should 
be included in a request for an extended transition period for illiquid 
funds:
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    \1\ Procedures for a Banking Entity to Request an Extended 
Transition Period for Illiquid Funds, SR Letter 16-18 (December 9, 
2016), available at https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/srletters/sr1618.pdf.
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     A list or simple chart of illiquid funds for which an 
extension is sought,
     A short description of each fund, including the investment 
strategy and types of investments made by each fund, which entity 
within the firm holds the investment, the size of each fund, the total 
exposure of the banking entity to each fund, the date by which each 
remaining illiquid fund is expected to mature by its terms or be 
conformed to section 13 of the BHC Act, and the banking entity's 
relationship with the fund (for example, general partner, sponsor, 
investment adviser, investor),
     A description of the banking entity's specific efforts to 
divest or conform its illiquid funds, including a description of the 
overall covered funds (both liquid and illiquid) that have been 
divested or conformed to date, the progress that has been made towards 
divesting or conforming the investments for which an extension is being 
sought (for example, the number of funds sold, the number of funds that 
continue to be held, and the amount of investments remaining in each 
fund and in aggregate),
     A certification by the General Counsel or Chief Compliance 
Officer of the entity that sponsors or invests in the illiquid funds 
that each fund meets the definition of illiquid funds in section 13 of 
the BHC Act and sections 225.180-.181 of Regulation Y, including that 
the extension is necessary to fulfill a contractual obligation of the 
banking entity that was in effect on May 1, 2010, and
     The length of the requested extension of the conformance 
period and a description of the banking entity's plan for divesting or 
conforming each illiquid fund prior to the end of the requested 
extension period.
    SR Letter 16-18 further provides that such a request should be 
submitted in writing to the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank and that 
the banking entity should provide the name, phone number, and email 
address of the banking entity's point of contact for the request. 
Additionally, SR Letter 16-18 provides that, in the case where the 
banking entity that sponsors or invests in the illiquid fund is 
supervised primarily by another federal banking agency, the Securities 
and Exchange Commission, or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 
the top-tier banking entity should also provide a copy of the extension 
request to the relevant agency for the subsidiary banking entity.

Conformance Period for Nonbank Financial Companies Supervised by the 
Federal Reserve Engaged in Proprietary Trading or Private Fund 
Activities--Approval Required To Hold Interests in Excess of Time Limit 
(Section 225.182(c))

    Section 225.182(c) requires an application for an extension by a 
nonbank financial company supervised by the Board to (1) be submitted 
in writing to the Board at least 180 days prior to the expiration of 
the applicable time period, (2) provide the reasons why the nonbank 
financial company supervised by the Board believes the extension should 
be granted, and (3) provide a detailed explanation of the company's 
plan for coming into compliance with the requirements of the Volcker 
Rule. A request by nonbank financial company supervised by the Board 
also must address the relevant factors governing Board determinations 
set out in section 225.182(d).
    Proposed revisions: The Board is proposing to revise the FR Y-1 to 
account for the provisions of SR Letter 16-18 that relate to the 
contents of a request for an extended transition period for illiquid 
funds and the procedures for filing such a request.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: Section 13 of the BHC Act 
authorizes the Board to issue rules to permit entities covered by the 
Volcker Rule to seek extensions of time of the conformance period (12 
U.S.C. 1851(c)(6)). The Board also has the authority to require reports 
from bank holding companies (12 U.S.C. 1844(c)), savings and loan 
holding companies (12 U.S.C. 1467a(b) and (g)), and state member banks 
(12 U.S.C. 248(a) and 324). The information collections associated with 
requests for extensions of time to conform to the Volcker Rule are 
required for covered entities that decide to seek an extension of time 
to conform their activities to the Volcker Rule or divest their 
interest in an illiquid hedge fund or private equity fund. These 
collections of information, therefore, are required to obtain a 
benefit.
    Information required to be submitted in order to obtain an 
extension of time to conform activities to the Volcker Rule may 
include:
     The terms of private contractual obligations,
     The liquid or illiquid nature of assets proposed to be 
divested by the regulated entity,
     The total exposure of the covered entity to the activity 
or investment, and its materiality to the institution,
     The risks and costs of disposing of, or maintaining, the 
activity or investment, or
     The impact of divestiture or conformance of the activity 
or investment on any duty owed by the institution to a client, 
customer, or counterparty.
    This information is the type of confidential commercial and 
financial information that may be withheld under exemption 4 of the 
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)). As required 
information, it may be withheld under exemption 4 only if public 
disclosure could result in substantial competitive harm to the 
submitting institution.\2\
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    \2\ See National Parks and Conservation Association v. Morton, 
498 F.2d 765 (D.C. Cir. 1974).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 16, 
2019.
Yao-Chin Chao,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2019-07873 Filed 4-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P