[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39850-39851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17184]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the 
Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Disclosure Requirements Associated with 
Regulation NN (FR NN; OMB No. 7100-0353).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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.
    Office of Management and Budget (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.
    A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) OMB submission, 
including the reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, 
and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public docket files. 
These documents also are available on the Federal Reserve Board's 
public website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested from the agency clearance officer, 
whose name appears above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board 
authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-
approved collections of information are incorporated into the official 
OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies 
of the PRA Submission, supporting statements, and approved collection 
of information instrument(s) are placed into OMB's public docket files.

Final Approval Under OMB Delegated Authority of the Extension for Three 
Years, Without Revision, of the Following Information Collection

    Report title: Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Disclosure Requirements 
Associated with Regulation NN.
    Agency form number: FR NN.
    OMB control number: 7100-0353.
    Frequency: Event generated.
    Respondents: Banking institutions.
    Estimated number of respondents: Reporting: 1; recordkeeping: 2; 
disclosure: 2.
    Estimated average hours per response: Reporting: 16; recordkeeping: 
183; disclosure: 787.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Reporting: 16; recordkeeping: 366; 
disclosure, 1,574; total: 1,956.
    General description of report: Regulation NN includes certain 
reporting, recordkeeping, and disclosure requirements for banking 
institutions that elect to provide foreign currency exchange services 
to retail consumers. The regulation applies to state member banks, 
uninsured state-licensed branches of foreign banks, financial holding 
companies, bank holding companies, savings and loan holding companies, 
agreement corporations, and Edge Act corporations (collectively, 
``banking institutions'') that engage in retail foreign exchange 
transactions.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The reporting, 
recordkeeping, and disclosure requirements in Regulation NN are 
authorized pursuant to section 2(c)(2)(E) of the Commodity Exchange Act 
(CEA) (7 U.S.C. 2(c)(2)(E)). Section 2(c)(2)(E) of the CEA prohibits a 
United States financial institution and its related persons under the 
supervision of a Federal regulatory agency, such as the Board, from 
offering or entering into certain types of foreign exchange 
transactions with retail customers except pursuant to a rule or 
regulation prescribed by the appropriate Federal regulatory agency 
allowing the transaction under such terms and conditions as the Federal 
regulatory agency shall prescribe.
    Regulation NN's reporting requirement (12 CFR 240.4), recordkeeping 
requirements (12 CFR 240.7, 240.9(b)(2), and 240.13(a)) and disclosure 
requirements (240.5(a), 240.6, 240.7, 240.9(b)(2), 240.10, 240.13(a) & 
(c)-(d), 240.15, and 240.16(a) and (b)) are mandatory for banking 
institutions that engage in retail foreign exchange transactions.
    The reporting requirement under section 240.4 of Regulation NN 
requires a banking institution to provide a prior written notice to the 
Board that includes information concerning customer due diligence; the 
policies and procedures for haircuts to be applied to noncash margin; 
information concerning new product approvals; and information on 
addressing conflicts of interest. The disclosure of this information is 
reasonably likely to result in substantial competitive harm to the 
banking institution, and therefore, may be kept confidential under 
exemption (b)(4) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which 
protects ``trade secrets and commercial or financial information 
obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential'' (5 U.S.C. 
552(b)(4)). In addition, the prior written notice must also include a 
resolution of the banking institution's board of directors certifying 
that the institution has written policies, procedures, and risk 
measurement and management systems and controls in place to ensure 
retail foreign exchange transactions are conducted in a safe and sound 
manner and in compliance with Regulation NN. Generally, this resolution 
by the board of directors would not be accorded

[[Page 39851]]

confidential treatment. If confidential treatment is requested by a 
banking institution, the Board will review the request to determine if 
confidential treatment is appropriate.
    The recordkeeping and disclosures required under sections 240.5(a), 
240.6, 240.7, 240.9(b)(2), 240.10, 240.13(a) & (c)-(d), 240.15, and 
240.16(a) and (b) of Regulation NN generally are not submitted to the 
Board. Accordingly, no confidentiality issues will normally arise under 
the FOIA. In the event such records or disclosures are obtained by the 
Federal Reserve through the examination or enforcement process, such 
information may be kept confidential under exemption 8 of the FOIA, 
which protects information contained in or related to an examination of 
a financial institution (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)).
    Current actions: On May 17, 2019, the Board published a notice in 
the Federal Register (84 FR 22494) requesting public comment for 60 
days on the extension, without revision, of the Reporting, 
Recordkeeping, and Disclosure Requirements Associated with Regulation 
NN. The comment period for this notice expired on July 16, 2019. The 
Board did not receive any comments.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 7, 
2019.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2019-17184 Filed 8-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P