[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 87 (Friday, May 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24619-24621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09654]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board)

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), the Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
(FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) 
(collectively, the ``agencies'') may not conduct or sponsor, and the 
respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection 
unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) control number. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination 
Council (FFIEC), of which the agencies are members, has approved the 
Board's publication, on behalf of the agencies, for public comment of a 
proposal to revise and extend the Country Exposure Report for U.S. 
Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 019), which is currently 
an approved collection of information. The agencies are proposing 
revisions to the FFIEC 019 that would take effect March 31, 2022, as 
discussed in the Section II, Current Actions, below. In determining 
whether to modify the proposed collection of information, the agencies 
will consider all comments received. As required by the PRA, the Board 
would then publish a second Federal Register notice for a 30-day 
comment period and submit the final FFIEC 019 clearance package to OMB 
for review and approval.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 6, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments, 
identified by ``FFIEC 019,'' 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 
reporting form 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 
OMB desk officer for the agencies by mail to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, New 
Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, 
DC 20503; by fax to (202) 395-6974; or by email to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the 
proposed extension with revision of the FFIEC 019 discussed in this 
notice, please contact the agency staff member whose name appears 
below. In addition, a copy of the FFIEC 019 form can be obtained at the 
FFIEC's website (https://www.ffiec.gov/ffiec_report_forms.htm).
    Nuha Elmaghrabi, Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer, (202) 
452-3884, Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets NW,

[[Page 24620]]

Washington, DC 20551. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf users may 
call (202) 263-4869.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board is proposing to extend for three 
years, with revision, the FFIEC 019.
    Report Title: Country Exposure Report for U.S. Branches and 
Agencies of Foreign Banks.
    Form Number: FFIEC 019.
    OMB control number: 7100-0213.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Respondents: All branches and agencies of foreign banks domiciled 
in the United States with total direct claims on foreign residents in 
excess of $30 million.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Ongoing: 147; one-time: 20.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: Ongoing: 10 hours; one-time: 
4 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: Ongoing: 5,880 hours; one-time: 320 
hours.

I. General Description of Report

    This information collection is required pursuant to sections 7 and 
13 of the International Banking Act (12 U.S.C. 3105 and 3108) for the 
Board, sections 7 and 10 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 
U.S.C. 1817 and 1820) for the FDIC, and the National Bank Act (12 
U.S.C. 161) as applied through section 4 of the International Banking 
Act (12 U.S.C. 3102) for the OCC. The FFIEC 019 is given confidential 
treatment consistent with 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and (b)(8).
    The FFIEC 019 report must be filed by each U.S. branch or agency of 
a foreign bank that has total direct claims on foreign residents in 
excess of $30 million. The branch or agency reports its total exposure 
(1) to residents of its home country, and (2) to the other five foreign 
nations to which its exposure is largest and is at least $20 million. 
The home country exposure must be reported regardless of the size of 
the total claims for that nation.
    Each respondent must report by country, as appropriate, the 
information on its direct claims (assets such as deposit balances with 
banks, loans, or securities), indirect claims (which include 
guarantees), and total adjusted claims on foreign residents, as well as 
information on commitments. The respondent also must report information 
on claims on related non-U.S. offices that are included in total 
adjusted claims on the home country, as well as a breakdown for the 
home country and each other reported country of adjusted claims on 
unrelated foreign residents by the sector of borrower or guarantor, and 
by maturity (in two categories: One year or less, and over one year). 
The Board collects and processes this report on behalf of all three 
agencies.

II. Current Actions

    The FFIEC has approved the Board's publication for public comment 
of a proposal to revise and extend for three years the FFIEC 019. The 
agencies propose to revise the FFIEC 019 by removing the five-country 
limit on the reporting of gross claims on foreign nations to which the 
U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank has its largest total exposures 
of at least $20 million.
    Removal of the five-country reporting limit would allow supervisors 
to collect information on all foreign countries for which the U.S. 
branch or agency of a foreign bank has exposure of $20 million or 
above. The existing five-country limit was implemented at a time when 
U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks had a smaller presence in 
the U.S. and their exposures to foreign nations were limited to their 
home country and one or two other nations where the U.S. branch or 
agency conducted transactions primarily for financing trade. Currently, 
there are larger U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks that 
conduct a wider range of transactions as part of the parent bank's 
global strategy. For example, some U.S. branches are now an integral 
part of the parent bank's capital market operations engaging in funding 
transactions between off-shore countries and other branches of the 
parent bank in other regions, such as Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
    According to the most recent FFIEC 019 data, a number of U.S. 
branches and agencies of foreign banks had a fifth-country reported 
exposure above $50 million, and seven respondents had a fifth-country 
exposure above $1 billion. This data provides evidence that the five-
country limit could be excluding sizeable foreign exposures. The 
proposed revision would facilitate consistency of reporting across 
institutions for key components of foreign country exposure. The 
additional reported data would allow supervisors to compare the amount 
of one institution's exposures to those of its peers for a country or 
set of countries, to analyze the aggregate exposure of U.S. banks to 
foreign creditors, and to monitor trends in exposures.
    The existing FFIEC 019 report form and instructions would be 
revised to reflect removal of the five-country reporting limit. 
Specifically, references to ``other five foreign nations to which its 
exposure is largest and is at least $20 million'' would be revised to 
read ``other foreign nations to which its exposure is at least $20 
million.'' The existing report form would be revised to permit more 
than five line items to report foreign countries for which the total 
adjusted claims is largest and is greater than or equal to $20 million. 
For consistency with other FFIEC reports, the FFIEC 019 report form 
would be revised to add the list of countries and codes that are 
currently reflected on the Country Exposure Report (FFIEC 009). The 
instructions would be updated to direct respondents to leave columns 
blank for countries below the disclosure threshold of $20 million.
    The agencies estimate that, for the approximately 20 financial 
institutions expected to have more than five foreign country exposures 
of at least $20 million to report, the proposed revision would impose, 
on average, a 4-hour implementation burden to update each firm's 
reporting systems and practices. The estimated number of institutions 
with additional exposures to report is based on the number of 
respondents that reported five foreign exposures of at least $20 
million as of year-end 2020. Once reporting systems are updated, the 
agencies believe that ongoing burden will not substantially change 
because any increase in the total number of foreign exposures reported 
would be approximately offset by the simplified assessment to determine 
which foreign exposures to report. The estimated total number of 
respondents is based on year-end FFIEC 019 reporting for 2020.

III. Request for Comment

    Public comment is requested on all aspects of this notice. Comment 
is also specifically invited on:
    a. Whether the information collection is necessary for the proper 
performance of the agencies' functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the agencies' estimate of the burden of the 
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 the information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or start up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

[[Page 24621]]

    Comments submitted to the Board in response to this notice will be 
shared with the other agencies. All comments will become a matter of 
public record.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 3, 2021.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2021-09654 Filed 5-6-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P