[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1373-1374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00232]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Comment Request; Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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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 a respondent is 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 renewal of an information 
collection titled, ``Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions,'' which is 
currently an approved collection.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 10, 2020.

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, Attention: Comment 
Processing, 1557-0250, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 
7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, 
Washington, DC 20219.
     Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name 
and ``1557-0250'' 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 this notice's 60-day comment period, 
the OCC will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period.
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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 ``1557-0250'' or ``Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions.'' 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, OCC 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, Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 
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. To comply with this

[[Page 1374]]

requirement, the OCC is publishing notice of the renewal of the 
collection of information set forth in this document.
    Title: Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0250.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 15.
    Total Annual Burden: 22,418 hours.
    Description:

Background

    The OCC's retail forex rule (12 CFR part 48) allows national banks 
and Federal savings associations to offer or enter into retail foreign 
exchange transactions. In order to engage in these transactions, 
institutions must comply with various reporting, disclosure, and 
recordkeeping requirements included in that rule.

Reporting Requirements

    The reporting requirements in 12 CFR 48.4 state that, prior to 
initiating a retail forex business, a national bank or Federal savings 
association must provide the OCC with prior notice and obtain a written 
supervisory no-objection letter. In order to obtain a supervisory no-
objection letter, a national bank or Federal savings association must 
have written policies, procedures, and risk measurement and management 
systems and controls in place to ensure that retail forex transactions 
are conducted in a safe and sound manner. The national bank or Federal 
savings association also must provide other information required by the 
OCC, such as documentation of customer due diligence, new product 
approvals, and haircuts applied to noncash margins.

Disclosure Requirements

    Under 12 CFR 48.5, a national bank or Federal savings association 
must promptly provide the customer with a statement reflecting the 
financial result of the transactions and the name of any introducing 
broker to the account. The institution must follow the customer's 
specific instructions on how the offsetting transaction should be 
applied.
    Twelve CFR 48.6 requires that a national bank or Federal savings 
association furnish a retail forex customer with a written disclosure 
before opening an account through which the customer will engage in 
retail forex transactions. It further requires a national bank or 
Federal savings association to secure an acknowledgment from the 
customer that the disclosure was received and understood. Finally, the 
section requires the disclosure by a national bank or Federal savings 
association of its profitable accounts ratio and its fees and other 
charges.
    Twelve CFR 48.10 requires a national bank or Federal savings 
association to issue monthly statements to each retail forex customer 
and send confirmation statements following transactions.
    Twelve CFR 48.13(c) prohibits a national bank or Federal savings 
association engaging in retail forex transactions from knowingly 
handling the account of any related person of another retail forex 
counterparty unless it receives proper written authorization, promptly 
prepares a written record of the order, and transmits to the 
counterparty copies of all statements and written records. Twelve CFR 
48.13(d) prohibits a related person of a national bank or Federal 
savings association engaging in retail forex transactions from having 
an account with another retail forex counterparty unless it receives 
proper written authorization and copies of all statements and written 
records for such accounts are transmitted to the counterparty.
    Twelve CFR 48.15 requires a national bank or Federal savings 
association to provide a retail forex customer with 30 days prior 
notice of any assignment of any position or transfer of any account of 
the retail forex customer. It also requires a national bank or Federal 
savings association to which retail forex accounts or positions are 
assigned or transferred to provide the affected customers with risk 
disclosure statements and forms of acknowledgment and obtain the signed 
acknowledgments within 60 days.
    The customer dispute resolution provisions in 12 CFR 48.16 require 
certain endorsements, acknowledgments, and signatures. The section also 
requires that a national bank or Federal savings association, within 10 
days after receipt of notice from the retail forex customer that the 
customer intends to submit a claim to arbitration, provide the customer 
with a list of persons qualified in the dispute resolution.

Policies and Procedures; Recordkeeping

    Twelve CFR 48.7 and 48.13 require that a national bank or Federal 
savings association engaging in retail forex transactions keep full, 
complete, and systematic records and to establish and implement 
internal rules, procedures, and controls. Section 48.7 also requires 
that a national bank or Federal savings association keep account, 
financial ledger, transaction, and daily records, as well as memorandum 
orders, post-execution allocation of bunched orders, records regarding 
its ratio of profitable accounts, possible violations of law, records 
for noncash margin, and monthly statements and confirmations. Twelve 
CFR 48.9 requires policies and procedures for haircuts for noncash 
margin collected under the rule's margin requirements and annual 
evaluations and modifications of the haircuts.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will 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 
information collection;
    (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 start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

    Dated: January 6, 2020.
Theodore J. Dowd,
Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2020-00232 Filed 1-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P