[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39845-39847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17185]
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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 and Disclosure Requirements Related to Securities of
State Member Banks as Required by Regulation H (FR H-1; OMB No. 7100-
0091).
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 11, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR H-1, by any of the
following methods:
Agency Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments at https://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 on the Board's website at https://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 form 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
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.
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 https://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.
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, 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.
[[Page 39846]]
Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, With
Revision, the Following Information Collection
Report title: Reporting and Disclosure Requirements Related to
Securities of State Member Banks as Required by Regulation H.
Agency form number: FR H-1.
OMB control number: 7100-0091.
Frequency: Annually, Quarterly, and on occasion.
Respondents: State member banks (SMBs).
Estimated number of respondents: 2.
Estimated average hours per response: Reporting requirements: Form
8-A, 3.0 hours; Form 10, 218 hours; Regulation 12B, 1 hour; Rule 13e-1,
13.0 hours; Regulation 14C and Schedule 14C, 98.2 hours; Regulation 14D
and Schedule 14D, 65.14 hours; Rule 14f-l, 2.0 hours; Form 10-K,
2395.73 hours; Form 10-Q, 190.42 hours; and Form 8-K, 7.71 hours;
Disclosure requirements: Form 3, 0.16 hours; Form 4, 0.16 hours; and
Form 5, 0.16 hours; Reporting and Disclosure requirements: Regulation
14A and Schedule 14A, 12.75 hours; Rule 12b-25 and Form 12b-25, 2.50
hours; Rule 13e-3 and Schedule 13E-3, 34.36 hours; and Form 15, 1.50
hours.
Estimated annual burden hours: Reporting requirements: Form 8-A, 6
hours; Form 10, 436 hours; Regulation 12B, 2 hours; Rule 13e-1, 26
hours; Regulation 14C and Schedule 14C, 196 hours; Regulation 14D and
Schedule 14D, 130 hours; Rule 14f-l, 4 hours; Form 10-K, 4,791 hours;
Form 10-Q, 1,143 hours; and Form 8-K, 15 hours; Disclosure
requirements: Form 3, 0.32 hours; Form 4, 11 hours; and Form 5, 3
hours; Reporting and Disclosure requirements: Regulation 14A and
Schedule 14A, 26 hours; Rule 12b-25 and Form 12b-25, 5 hours; Rule 13e-
3 and Schedule 13E-3, 69 hours; and Form 15, 3 hours.
General description of report: The Board's Regulation H requires
SMBs whose securities are subject to registration pursuant to the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) \1\ to disclose certain
information to shareholders and securities exchanges and to report
information relating to their securities to the Board using forms
adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in
compliance with certain rules and regulations adopted by the SEC.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.
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Proposed revisions: The Board proposes to revise the FR H-1 to
account for certain collections of information in SEC regulations that
apply to SMBs with registered securities (that have not previously been
accounted for) and the following relevant revisions to disclosure and
reporting requirements associated with the FR H-1:
In August 2015, the SEC adopted amendments to Item 402 of
Regulation S-K and Form 8-K under the Exchange Act to implement Section
953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Act by requiring disclosure of the median of
the annual total compensation of all employees of a registrant
(excluding the chief executive officer), the annual total compensation
of that registrant's chief executive officer, and the ratio of the
median of the annual total compensation of all employees to the annual
total compensation of the chief executive officer.\2\ These revisions
affect the collections associated with Regulation S-K, Regulation 14A
and Schedule 14A, Regulation 14C and Schedule 14C, Form 8-K, and Form
10-K.
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\2\ See 80 FR 50103 (August 8, 2015).
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In March 2017, the SEC adopted rule and form amendments
that require registrants to include a hyperlink to the exhibits in
their filings.\3\ These revisions affect the collections associated
with Regulation S-K, Regulation S-T, Form 10, Form 8-K, Form 10-Q, and
Form 10-K.
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\3\ See 82 FR 14130 (March 3, 2017).
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In June 2018, the SEC adopted amendments to the definition
of ``smaller reporting company'' to expand the number of registrants
that qualify as smaller reporting companies and thereby are eligible to
rely on the scaled disclosure requirements.\4\ These revisions affect
the collections associated with Regulation S-K, Regulation 12B,
Regulation 14A and Schedule 14A, Regulation 14C and Schedule 14C, Form
10, Form 10-Q, and Form 10-K.
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\4\ See 83 FR 31992 (July 10, 2018).
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In October 2018, the SEC adopted rule and form amendments
to address disclosure requirements that have become redundant,
duplicative, overlapping, outdated, or superseded as a result of other
SEC disclosure requirements, U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles, International Financial Reporting Standards, or changes in
the information environment.\5\ These revisions affect the collections
associated with Regulation S-X, Form 10-Q, Form 10-K, and Form 10.
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\5\ See 83 FR 50148 (October 4, 2018).
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In December 2018, the SEC adopted amendments to implement
Section 955 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which require a company to describe
any practices or policies it has adopted regarding the ability of its
employees (including officers) or directors to purchase financial
instruments, or otherwise engage in transactions, that hedge or offset,
or are designed to hedge or offset, any decrease in the market value of
equity securities granted as compensation, or held directly or
indirectly by the employee or director.\6\ These revisions affect the
collections associated with Regulation S-K, Regulation 14A and Schedule
14A, and Regulation 14C and Schedule 14C.
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\6\ See 84 FR 2402 (February 6, 2019).
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In December 2018, the SEC adopted rule and form revisions
that would modernize the property disclosure requirements for mining
registrants.\7\ These revisions affect the collections associated with
Regulation S-K, Form 10, and Form 10-K.
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\7\ See 83 FR 66344 (December 26, 2018).
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In March 2019, the SEC adopted rule amendments based on
the recommendations made in the staff's Report on Modernization and
Simplification of Regulation S-K, as required by Section 72003 of the
Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act.\8\ These amendments were
designed to modernize and simplify disclosure requirements for public
companies, investment advisers, and investment companies. These
revisions affect the collections associated with Regulation S-K,
Regulation S-T, Regulation 12B, Form 10, Form 8-K, Form 10-Q, and Form
10-K.
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\8\ See 84 FR 12674 (April 2, 2019).
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Legal authorization and confidentiality: Various provisions of the
Exchange Act require issuers to file reports with the SEC and make
certain disclosures, and sections 12(i) and 23(a)(1) of the Exchange
Act authorize the Board to adopt rules and regulations requiring
qualifying SMBs to file those reports with the Board (15 U.S.C. 78l(i)
and 78w(a)(1)). The FR H-1 is mandatory. Reports filed with the Board
pursuant to this collection are not considered confidential and must be
disclosed publically under Regulation H (12 CFR 208.36(c)(3)). However,
a SMB may request that a report or document not be disclosed to the
public (12 CFR 208.36(d)). Should a SMB request confidential treatment
of such information, the question of whether the information is
entitled to confidential treatment would be determined on a case-by-
case basis. Information may be kept confidential under exemption 4 of
the Freedom of Information Act, which protects privileged or
confidential commercial or financial information (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
[[Page 39847]]
Consultation outside the agency: The reporting and disclosure
requirements discussed in this supporting statement were promulgated by
the SEC. The Board has not consulted with the SEC or any other parties
with regard to the proposed extension for three years, with revision,
of the FR H-1.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 7,
2019.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2019-17185 Filed 8-9-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P