[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46252-46253]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17739]


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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. On May 7, 2021, the Board, under the auspices of 
the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), of 
which the agencies are members, requested public comment for 60 days on 
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 comment period for the 
proposal ended on July 6, 2021. As described in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section, the agencies will revise the FFIEC 019 as 
proposed. In addition, the agencies will make clarifying revisions to 
the instructions in response to a comment received. The Board hereby 
gives notice of its plan to submit to OMB a request to approve the 
revision and extension of this information collection, and again 
invites comment on the proposal.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 17, 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, 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

[[Page 46253]]

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

    On May 7, 2021, the Board requested comment for 60 days on a 
proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the FFIEC 019. The 
agencies proposed 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.
    The comment period for the proposal ended on July 6, 2021, and the 
agencies received one comment.
    The commenter, a banking trade association, asked the agencies to 
clarify the definitions and treatment of certain terms in the FFIEC 019 
to be consistent with the Country Exposure Report (FFIEC 009). The 
commenter stated that consistency between these terms in the FFIEC 019 
and FFIEC 009 will reduce burden on firms that use FFIEC 009 
definitions to report cross-jurisdictional data via the Systemic Risk 
Report (FR Y-15). Specifically, the commenter asked the agencies to 
clarify the FFIEC 019 instructions as follows: Add sections on 
accounting and differences from U.S. GAAP; add clarifying information 
to the Claims section regarding the definition of ``claims''; add 
instructions related to Indirect Claims, including instructions related 
to required risk transfers (e.g., guarantees, insurance policies, and 
head offices), collateralized claims, debt and equity securities, 
netting and offsetting, reporting credit derivatives, and treatment of 
multi-name credit derivatives; and add specific instructions for 
allocating claims to the rows. The agencies agree with the commenter's 
suggestions and will revise the FFIEC 019 instructions accordingly. The 
comment did not object to the agencies' proposed revisions to the FFIEC 
019, and therefore the agencies will adopt those revisions as proposed.

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.
    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.
Ann Misback,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2021-17739 Filed 8-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P