[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 95 (Friday, May 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29447-29449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10467]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


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

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

[[Page 29448]]


ACTION: Temporary approval of information collection, request for 
comment.

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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
has temporarily revised the Reporting Requirements Associated with 
Emergency Lending Under Section 13(3) (FR A; OMB No. 7100-0373), 
pursuant to the authority delegated to the Board by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 14, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR A, 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 the 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 
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as 
submitted, unless modified for technical reasons or to remove 
personally identifiable information at the commenter's request. 
Accordingly, 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 
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: 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. 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. 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. Pursuant to its 
delegated authority, the Board may temporarily approve a revision to a 
collection of information, without providing opportunity for public 
comment, if the Board determines that a change in an existing 
collection must be instituted quickly and that public participation in 
the approval process would defeat the purpose of the collection or 
substantially interfere with the Board's ability to perform its 
statutory obligation.
    As discussed below, the Board has made certain temporary revisions 
to the FR A information collection. The Board's delegated authority 
requires that the Board, after temporarily approving a collection, 
publish a notice soliciting public comment. Therefore, the Board is 
also inviting comment on a proposal to extend the FR A information 
collection for three years, with these revisions. The Federal Register 
notice related to the FR A that was published March 2, 2020, is 
superseded by this notice.

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.
    Approval Under OMB Delegated Authority of the Temporary Revision of 
the Following Information Collection:
    Report title: Reporting Requirements Associated with Emergency 
Lending Under Section 13(3).
    Agency form number: FR A.
    OMB control number: 7100-0373.
    Frequency: Event-generated.
    Respondents: Entities or persons borrowing under an emergency 
lending program or facility established pursuant to section 13(3) of 
the Federal Reserve Act.
    Estimated number of respondents: FR A-1: 11,281; FR A-2: 6,449; FR 
A-3: 13,526.
    Estimated average hours per response: FR A-1: 8 hours; FR A-2: 40 
hours; FR A-3, Lender certifications: 151 hours; Borrower 
certifications: 8 hours.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 1,032,134.
    General description of report: The Board's Regulation A (12 CFR 
part 201) establishes policies and procedures with respect to emergency 
lending under section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act, as required by 
sections 1101 and 1103 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 
Consumer Protection Act. These policies and procedures include (1) a 
certification that a participant in a lending facility is not 
insolvent;\1\ and (2) a certification that a participant in a lending 
facility is unable to secure adequate credit accommodations from other 
banking institutions.\2\ Currently,

[[Page 29449]]

the Board's information collection for Regulation A, the FR A, includes 
only the former certification; the latter was unintentionally omitted. 
In addition to the two certifications in Regulation A that apply to all 
emergency lending authorized under section 13(3), the Board may 
establish additional certification requirements for an individual 
emergency lending facility. Depending on the requirements of a 
particular lending facility, there may be a need to vary the 
certifications, depending on the facts and circumstances.
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    \1\ See 12 CFR 201.4(d)(5)(iv)(A).
    \2\ See 12 CFR 201.4(d)(8)(ii).
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    The FR A information collection is being revised to contain three 
parts. The first part of the FR A, the FR A-1, pertains to reporting 
requirements included in Regulation A, described above. The second part 
of the FR A, the FR A-2, pertains to reporting requirements associated 
with individual facilities that are related to requirements of the 
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The 
third part of the FR A, the FR A-3, pertains to reporting requirements 
specific to the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility, the Main Street New 
Loan Facility, and the Main Street Priority Loan Facility 
(collectively, the ``Main Street Lending Program'').
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR A is authorized 
pursuant to section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act, which sets out 
requirements for emergency lending. The obligation to respond is 
required to obtain a benefit.
    The information collected under FR A may be kept confidential under 
exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, which protects 
commercial or financial information obtained from a person that is 
privileged or confidential.
    Current actions: The Board has revised the FR A to reflect 
reporting requirements under facilities created under section 13(3). 
The newly-created facilities include the Commercial Paper Funding 
Facility (CPFF), Main Street Lending Program, Money Market Mutual Fund 
Liquidity Facility (MMLF), Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF), Paycheck 
Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF), Primary Dealer Credit 
Facility (PDCF), Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (PMCCF), 
Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF), and Term Asset-
Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF).
    The FR A-1 is being revised to include a second certification, 
which was inadvertently omitted previously and serves as evidence that 
a person or entity is unable to secure adequate credit accommodations 
from other banking institutions. The FR A-2 is a new reporting 
requirement within the FR A collection established through the adoption 
of the term sheets for the Main Street Lending Program, PMCCF, SMCCF, 
and TALF. Participants in the facilities must certify that they are 
eligible to engage in a transaction under the facility, including that 
the entity is not a covered entity under section 4019 of the CARES Act. 
The FR A-3 is a new reporting requirement within the FR A collection 
established through the adoption of the term sheets for the Main Street 
Lending Program. An eligible lender under MSELF must certify that the 
methodology used for calculating the eligible borrower's adjusted 2019 
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization 
(EBITDA), in order to determine the maximum loan size, is the 
methodology the eligible lender previously used for adjusting EBITDA 
when originating or amending the eligible loan on or before April 24, 
2020. An eligible lender under MSNLF or MSPLF must certify that the 
methodology used for calculating the eligible borrower's adjusted 2019 
EBITDA in order to determine maximum loan size is the methodology it 
has previously used for adjusting EBITDA when extending credit to the 
eligible borrower or similarly situated borrowers on or before April 
24, 2020. An eligible borrower must certify that it has a reasonable 
basis to believe that, as of the date of entering into the relevant 
transaction and after entering into that transaction, it has the 
ability to meet its financial obligations for at least the next 90 days 
and does not expect to file for bankruptcy during that time period. All 
eligible lenders in the Main Street Lending Program facilities must 
collect certifications from borrowers.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 12, 2020.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2020-10467 Filed 5-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P