[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 83 (Tuesday, April 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18285-18286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08716]


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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 Notice Claiming Status as an Exempt Transfer Agent (FR 4013; OMB 
No. 7100-0137).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 4013, 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 the 
Office and Management and Budget (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 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, 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,

[[Page 18286]]

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: Notice Claiming Status as an Exempt Transfer Agent.
    Agency form number: FR 4013.
    OMB control number: 7100-0137.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondents: Banks, bank holding companies (BHCs), savings and loan 
holding companies (SLHCs), and certain trust companies.
    Estimated number of respondents: 2.
    Estimated average hours per response: 2 hours.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 4 hours.
    General description of report: Transfer agents, which are 
institutions that provide securities transfer, registration, 
monitoring, and other specified services on behalf of securities 
issuers,\1\ are generally subject to certain Securities and Exchange 
Commission (SEC) regulations. A transfer agent is Board-regulated if it 
is a state member bank or a subsidiary thereof, a BHC, or an SLHC. 
Certain transfer agent subsidiaries of BHCs are also Board-
regulated.\2\ A Board-regulated transfer agent that transfers and 
processes a low volume of securities (a ``low-volume transfer agent'') 
may request an exemption from those regulations by filing with the 
Board a notice (an ``exemption notice'') certifying that it qualifies 
as a low-volume transfer agent.
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    \1\ See 15 U.S.C. 78c(25) (defining ``transfer agent'').
    \2\ A transfer agent subsidiary of a BHC is Board-regulated if 
the subsidiary is, or is a subsidiary of, a bank, as defined by 15 
U.S.C. 78c(6), that is not a national bank, Federal savings 
association, a bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, or a state savings association.
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    Proposed revisions: The Board proposes to revise the FR 4013 to 
account for the notice that a Board-regulated transfer agent that has 
previously filed an exemption notice must file with the Board if it no 
longer qualifies as a low-volume transfer agent.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 4013 is authorized 
pursuant to sections 2, 17(a)(3), 17A(c), and 23(a) of the Exchange Act 
\3\, which, among other things, authorize the Board to promulgate 
regulations and establish recordkeeping and reporting requirements with 
respect to Board-registered transfer agents.\4\ The exemption notice is 
mandatory for Board-registered transfer agents seeking the low-volume 
exemption. The obligation to respond for the exemption notice, 
therefore, is required to obtain a benefit. The exemption 
disqualification notice is mandatory for a transfer agent that no 
longer qualifies for the exemption. The information collected in the FR 
4013 regarding a Board-registered transfer agent's volume of 
transactions is public information through the filing and publication 
of the transfer agents' Form TA-2 with the SEC. Therefore, individual 
respondent data collected by the FR 4013 are not confidential.
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    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78b, 78q(a)(3), 78q-1(c), and 78w(a).
    \4\ Additionally, 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).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 25, 
2019.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2019-08716 Filed 4-29-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P