[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 163 (Friday, August 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51719-51721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18428]


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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 Consolidated Holding Company Report of Equity Investments in 
Nonfinancial Companies (FR Y-12; OMB No. 7100-0300) and the Annual 
Report of Merchant Banking Investments Held for an Extended Period (FR 
Y-12A; OMB No. 7100-0300).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 20, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR Y-12 or FR Y-12A, 
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: 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, 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

[[Page 51720]]

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.

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.

Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, With 
Revision, the Following Information Collection

    Report Title: Consolidated Bank Holding Company Report of Equity 
Investments in Nonfinancial Companies, and the Annual Report of 
Merchant Banking Investments Held for an Extended Period.
    Agency form number: FR Y-12 and FR Y-12A, respectively.
    OMB control number: 7100-0300.
    Frequency: FR Y-12, quarterly and semiannually; and FR Y-12A, 
annually.
    Respondents: Bank holding companies (BHCs), savings and loan 
holding companies (SLHCs), U.S. intermediate holding companies (IHCs), 
and financial holding companies (FHCs) that hold merchant banking 
investments that are approaching the end of the holding periods 
permissible under Regulation Y.\1\
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    \1\ In 2012, the Board indicated that it would require 
supervised securities holding companies (``SHCs'') to file the FR Y-
12 and FR Y-12A reports. 77 FR 32881, 32883 (June 4, 2012). However, 
no such revisions were ever made to include SHCs as respondents on 
either report. Upon reflection, the Board has determined that it 
would not be appropriate at this time to add supervised SHCs to the 
respondent panel for the FR Y-12 or FR Y-12A reports. A supervised 
SHCs would not be subject to the restrictions on nonbanking 
activities that limit the investments of other holding companies. 
Therefore, any information gathered about SHCs' investments on the 
FR Y-12 would be of limited use, and would not be comparable to data 
gathered from other holding companies. Moreover, adding supervised 
SHCs to the FR Y-12 reporting panel would require significant 
revisions to the FR Y-12 instructions in order to account for the 
differences in legal treatment between supervised SHCs and the other 
respondents. Such revisions could lead to confusion among current FR 
Y-12 reporters. With respect to the FR Y-12A, the Board is not 
proposing to add supervised SHCs to the respondent panel because 
supervised SHCs are not restricted in their ability to make 
investments in nonfinancial companies, and their investments are not 
subject to the merchant bank holding periods that apply to FHC 
investments.
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    Number of respondents: FR Y-12 quarterly, 22; FR Y-12 semiannual, 
7; and FR Y-12A, 91.
    Estimated average hours per response: FR Y-12, 16.5 hours; and FR 
Y-12A, 7.5 hours.
    Estimated annual reporting hours: FR Y-12 quarterly, 1,452 hours; 
FR Y-12 semiannual, 231 hours; and FR Y-12A, 683 hours.
    General description of report: The mandatory FR Y-12 report 
collects information from certain domestic bank holding companies 
(BHCs), savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs), and U.S. 
intermediate holding companies (IHCs) on their equity investments in 
nonfinancial companies. Respondents report the FR Y-12 either quarterly 
or semi-annually based on criteria in the report. The mandatory FR Y-
12A report is filed annually by financial holding companies (FHCs) that 
hold merchant banking investments that are approaching the end of the 
holding periods permissible under the Board's Regulation Y.
    Proposed revisions: The Board proposes to revise the FR Y-12 by (1) 
adding a new column to Schedules A and C to capture unrealized holding 
gains (losses) on equity securities not held for trading recognized as 
income in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (ASU 2016-01, 
``Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial 
Liabilities''); (2) adding guidance to the instructions for the 
reporting of equity securities in accordance with ASU 2016-01; and (3) 
making other minor clarifications and conforming edits to the form and 
instructions. The revisions to the FR Y-12 will be applicable as of the 
December 31, 2020, reporting date.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The Board is authorized to 
collect information on the FR Y-12 and FR Y-12A reports from BHCs 
(including BHCs that are FHCs) pursuant to section 5(c) of the Bank 
Holding Company Act (BHC Act), 12 U.S.C. 1844(c)(1)(A); from SLHCs 
pursuant to section 10(b)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, 12 U.S.C. 
1467a(b)(2), as amended by sections 369(8) and 604(h)(2) of the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act); 
and from IHCs pursuant to section 5(c) of the BHC Act, 12 U.S.C. 
1844(c)(1)(A), as well as pursuant to sections 102(a)(1) and 165 of the 
Dodd-Frank Act, 12 U.S.C. 5311(a)(1) and 5365 \2\ and Regulation YY, 12 
CFR 252.153(b)(2).
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    \2\ Section 165(b)(2) of the Dodd-Frank Act, 12 U.S.C. 
5365(b)(2), refers to ``foreign-based bank holding company.'' 
Section 102(a)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Act, 12 U.S.C. 5311(a)(1), 
defines ``bank holding company'' for purposes of Title I of the 
Dodd-Frank Act to include foreign banking organizations that are 
treated as bank holding companies under section 8(a) of the 
International Banking Act, 12 U.S.C. 3106(a). The Board has 
required, pursuant to section 165(b)(1)(B)(iv) of the Dodd-Frank 
Act, 12 U.S.C. 5365(b)(1)(B)(iv), certain of the foreign banking 
organizations that are subject to section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Act 
to form U.S. intermediate holding companies. Accordingly, the parent 
foreign-based organization of a U.S. IHC is treated as a BHC for 
purposes of the BHC Act and section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Act. 
Because section 5(c) of the BHC Act authorizes the Board to require 
reports from subsidiaries of BHCs, section 5(c) provides additional 
authority to require U.S. IHCs to report the information contained 
in the FR Y-12 and FR Y-12A reports.
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    In addition, with respect to the FR Y-12A report, section 
4(k)(7)(A) of the BHC Act, 12 U.S.C. 1843(k)(7)(A), authorizes the 
Board and the Treasury Department to jointly develop implementing 
regulations governing merchant banking activities for purposes of 
section 4(k)(4)(H) of the BHC Act. Section 4(k)(4)(H) of the BHC Act, 
12 U.S.C. 1843(k)(4)(H), and subpart J of the Board's Regulation Y, 12 
CFR 225.170 et seq., authorize a BHC that has made an effective FHC 
election to acquire merchant banking investments that are not otherwise 
permissible for an FHC. Section 10(c)(2)(H) of HOLA, as amended by 
section 606(b) of the Dodd-Frank Act, 12 U.S.C. 1467a(c)(2)(H), and 
section 8(a) of the International Bank Act, 12 U.S.C. 3106(a), extend 
certain authorities and requirements of the BHC Act to SLHCs and to 
foreign banks, respectively.
    The obligation to respond to the FR Y-12 and FR Y-12A reports is 
mandatory. The Board does not consider information collected on the FR 
Y-12

[[Page 51721]]

report to be confidential, and the completed version of this report 
generally is made available to the public upon request. However, in 
certain instances, specific information collected on an individual 
institution's FR Y-12 report may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to 
exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which protects 
from public disclosure ``trade secrets and commercial or financial 
information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or 
confidential'' (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)). A reporting holding company may 
request confidential treatment for the specific data items the company 
believes should be withheld pursuant to exemption 4 of the FOIA, as 
provided in the Board's Rules Regarding Availability of Information (12 
CFR part 261.15). A request for confidential treatment should be 
submitted in writing concurrently with the submission of the FR Y-12 
report. This written request must identify the specific data for which 
confidential treatment is sought and must provide the legal 
justification for which confidentiality is requested. The Federal 
Reserve will review any such request on a case-by-case basis to 
determine if confidential treatment is appropriate. The Federal Reserve 
may subsequently release information for which confidential treatment 
is requested, if (1) disclosure of such information is required by law 
(other than 5 U.S.C. 552); (2) the reporting holding company requested 
confidential treatment pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and more than 10 
years have passed since the date of the submission unless the reporting 
company has requested and provided justification for a longer 
designation period; or (3) less than 10 years have passed since the 
request, but the Board believes that the information cannot be withheld 
from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), and the reporting holding 
company is provided with written notice of the Board's views and with 
an opportunity to object to the Board's disclosure.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 18, 
2020.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2020-18428 Filed 8-20-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P