[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 165 (Tuesday, August 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52350-52351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18369]


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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 
Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated with Regulation R.

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: Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated 
with Regulation R.
    Agency form number: FR R.
    OMB control number: 7100-0316.
    Frequency: As needed.
    Respondents: ``Banks,'' as defined in the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 (Exchange Act), that qualify for the exemptions from the 
Exchange Act definition of ``broker.''
    Estimated number of respondents: Section 701, disclosures to 
customers: 1,500, disclosures to brokers: 1,500; section 723, 
recordkeeping: 75; section 741, disclosures to customers: 750.
    Estimated average hours per response: Section 701, disclosures to 
customers: 0.08333 hours, disclosures to brokers: 0.25 hours; section 
723, recordkeeping: 0.25 hours; section 741, disclosures to customers: 
0.08333 hours.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Section 701, disclosures to 
customers: 12,500 hours, disclosures to brokers: 375 hours; section 
723, recordkeeping: 188 hours; section 741, disclosures to customers: 
62,500 hours.
    General description of report: The Board's Regulation R, 12 CFR 
part 218, implements certain exceptions for banks from the definition 
of ``broker'' under section 3(a)(4) of the Exchange Act. The Exchange 
Act defines ``banks'' to include banking institutions organized in the 
United States, including members of the Federal Reserve System, federal 
savings associations, and other commercial banks, savings associations, 
and non-depository trust companies that are organized under the laws of 
a state or the United States and subject to supervision and examination 
by state or federal authorities having supervision over banks and 
savings associations. Sections 701, 723, and 741 of Regulation R 
contain certain customer and counterparty disclosure requirements and 
certain transactional recordkeeping provisions for banks that utilize 
these exceptions.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR R is authorized 
pursuant to sections 3(a)(4)(F) and 3(b) of the Exchange Act,\1\ which, 
among other things, require the Board and the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (SEC) to jointly adopt rules to implement the bank 
exceptions to the

[[Page 52351]]

definition of ``broker'' under the Exchange Act.\2\ Banks seeking the 
exception from the definition of ``broker'' under the Exchange Act must 
comply with the requirements of FR R. The obligation, therefore, is 
required to obtain a benefit.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(4)(F) and 78c(b).
    \2\ Additionally, the Board has the authority to require reports 
from state member banks (12 U.S.C. 248(a) and 324).
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    Because these records and disclosures would be maintained at each 
banking organization, the Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA'') would 
only be implicated if the Board obtained such records as part of the 
examination or supervision of a banking organization. In the event the 
records are obtained by the Board as part of an examination or 
supervision of a financial institution, this information may be 
considered confidential pursuant to exemption 8 of the FOIA, which 
protects information contained in ``examination, operating, or 
condition reports'' obtained in the bank supervisory process.\3\ In 
addition, the information may also be kept confidential under exemption 
4 of the FOIA, which protects ``commercial or financial information 
obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential.'' \4\
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    \3\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8).
    \4\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
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    Current actions: On December 16, 2019, the Board published a notice 
in the Federal Register (84 FR 68454) requesting public comment for 60 
days on the extension, without revision, of the FR R. The comment 
period for this notice expired on February 14, 2020. No comments were 
received.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 17, 
2020.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2020-18369 Filed 8-24-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P