[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65047-65049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22684]


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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, without 
revision, the Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated with 
Securities Transactions pursuant to the Board's Regulation H. OMB No. 
7100-0196.

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

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR H-3, 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.

[[Page 65048]]

     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.

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.
    A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) OMB submission, 
including the reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, 
and other documentation will be available at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, 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 above.

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, 
Without Revision, the Following Information Collection

    Report title: Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated 
with Securities Transactions Pursuant to Sections 208.34(c), (d), and 
(g) of Regulation H.
    Agency form number: FR H-3.
    OMB control number: 7100-0196.
    Frequency: Event-generated, quarterly.
    Respondents: State member banks (SMBs), SMB officers/employees.
    Estimated number of respondents: SMBs (de novo): 1; SMBs with trust 
departments: 209; SMBs without trust departments: 545; SMB officers/
employees: 2,389.
    Estimated average hours per response: SMBs (de novo): 
Recordkeeping, 40 hours. SMBs with trust departments: Recordkeeping, 2 
hours; disclosure, 16 hours. SMBs without trust departments: 
Recordkeeping, 15 minutes; disclosure, 5 hours. SMB officers/employees: 
Reporting, 2 hours.
    Estimated annual burden hours: SMBs (de novo): Recordkeeping, 40 
hours. SMBs with trust departments: Recordkeeping, 10,032 hours; 
disclosure, 40,128 hours. SMBs without trust departments: 
Recordkeeping, 3,815 hours; disclosure, 32,700 hours. SMB officers/
employees: Reporting, 19,112 hours.
    General description of report: Section 15C of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (the Act), establishes federal regulation of 
brokers and dealers of government securities, including banks and other 
financial institutions, and directs those brokers and dealers to keep 
certain records.\1\ These requirements are implemented for SMBs by 
sections 208.34(c), (d), and (g) of the Board's Regulation H, which 
require that non-exempt state member banks \2\ effecting securities 
transactions for customers establish and maintain a system of records 
of these transactions, furnish confirmations of transactions to 
customers that disclose certain information, and establish written 
policies and procedures relating to securities trading.
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    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 78o-5(a), (d).
    \2\ The requirements of section 208.34 of Regulation H apply to 
all SMBs that effect more than 500 government securities brokerage 
transactions per year, unless the institution has filed a written 
notice, or is required to file notice, with the Board that it acts 
as a government securities broker or a government securities dealer. 
These requirements also do not apply to activities of foreign 
branches of SMBs; activities of nonmember, non-insured trust company 
subsidiaries of bank holding companies; or activities that are 
subject to regulations promulgated by the Municipal Securities 
Rulemaking Board. In addition, SMBs with an annual average of less 
than 200 securities transactions for customers over the prior three 
calendar years (exclusive of transactions in U.S. government and 
agency obligations) are exempt from these Regulation H recordkeeping 
and disclosure requirements. See 12 CFR 208.34(a)(1)(i)-(iv).
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    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR H-3 is authorized 
pursuant to Section 23 of the Act,\3\ which empowers the Board to make 
rules and regulations implementing those portions of the Act for which 
it is responsible. 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.

[[Page 65049]]

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.\4\ In 
addition, the information may also be kept confidential under exemption 
4 for the FOIA, which protects commercial or financial information 
obtained from a person that is privileged or confidential.\5\
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    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78w. The Board also has the authority to require 
reports from SMBs (12 U.S.C. 248(a) and 324).
    \4\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8).
    \5\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 7, 
2020.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2020-22684 Filed 10-13-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P