[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8015-8016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02199]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice, request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without 
revision, the Senior Financial Officer Surveys (FR 2023; OMB No. 7100-
0223).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 5, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 2023, 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.

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: Senior Financial Officer Surveys.
    Agency form number: FR 2023.
    OMB control number: 7100-0223.
    Frequency: Up to four times a year.
    Respondents: Domestically chartered large depository institutions 
and foreign banking organizations.
    Estimated number of respondents: 80.
    Estimated average hours per response: 3.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 960.
    General description of report: The Board uses the surveys in this 
collection to gather qualitative and limited quantitative information 
about liability management, the provision of financial services, and 
the functioning of key financial markets. Responses are obtained from a 
senior officer at each participating institution, usually through an 
electronic submission. Although a survey may not be collected in a 
given year, the Board may conduct up to four surveys per year when 
informational needs arise and cannot be met from existing data sources. 
The survey does not have a fixed set of questions; each survey consists 
of a limited number of questions directed at topics of timely interest.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 2023 is authorized 
by sections 2A, 12A, and 11 of the Federal Reserve Act (``FRA'').\1\ 
Section 2A of the FRA requires that the Board and the Federal Open 
Market Committee (``FOMC'') maintain long run growth of the monetary 
and credit aggregates commensurate with the economy's long run 
potential to increase production, so as to promote effectively

[[Page 8016]]

the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term 
interest rates.\2\ Section 12A of the FRA further requires the FOMC to 
implement regulations relating to the open market operations conducted 
by Federal Reserve Banks ``with a view to accommodating commerce and 
business and with regard to their bearing upon the general credit 
situation of the country.'' \3\ Section 11 of the FRA authorizes the 
Board to require reports from each member bank as it may deem necessary 
and authorizes the Board to prescribe reports of liabilities and assets 
from insured depository institutions to enable the Board to discharge 
its responsibility to monitor and control monetary and credit 
aggregates.\4\ The Board and FOMC use the information obtained through 
the FR 2023 to discharge these responsibilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 31 U.S.C. 5364(a).
    \2\ 12 U.S.C. 225a.
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 263.
    \4\ 12 U.S.C. 248(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Survey submissions under the FR 2023 are voluntary.
    The questions asked on each survey will vary. The Board's ability 
to keep confidential responses to the FR 2023 must therefore be 
determined on a case-by-case basis. Much of the information collected 
is likely to constitute nonpublic commercial or financial information, 
which is both customarily and actually treated as private by the 
respondent, so may be kept confidential by the Board pursuant to 
exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA'').\5\ Some 
survey responses may also contain information contained in or related 
to an examination of a financial institution, which may be kept 
confidential under exemption 8 of the FOIA.\6\ Responses to the FR 2023 
are tabulated and summarized at the Board and the Federal Reserve Bank 
of New York. This aggregate information is not considered confidential, 
and a report containing summary data is published on the Board's public 
website.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
    \6\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8).
    \7\ Survey reports are available at www.federalreserve.gov/data/sfos/sfos.htm.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, January 28, 
2021.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2021-02199 Filed 2-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P