[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66561-66563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25503]


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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 Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Disclosure Requirements 
Associated with Regulation NN (FR NN; OMB No. 7100-0353).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 24, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR NN, 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 or FR 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 confidential 
business information, identifying information, 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 for the Federal 
Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory

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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 Paperwork Reduction Act (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.
    During the comment period for this proposal, a copy of the proposed 
PRA OMB submission, including the draft reporting form and 
instructions, supporting statement, and other documentation, will 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. Final 
versions of these documents will be made available at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, if approved.

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: Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Disclosure Requirements 
Associated with Regulation NN.
    Agency form number: FR NN.
    OMB control number: 7100-0353.
    Frequency: As needed.
    Respondents: State member banks, uninsured state-licensed branches 
of foreign banks, financial holding companies, bank holding companies, 
savings and loan holding companies, agreement corporations, and Edge 
Act corporations that engage in retail foreign exchange transactions 
(collectively, banking institutions).
    Estimated number of respondents: Reporting, section 240.4: 1; 
recordkeeping, sections 240.7, 240.9(b)(2), and 240.13(a): 2; 
disclosure, sections 240.5(a), 240.6, 240.10, 240.13(c)-(d), 240.15, 
and 240.16(a) and (b): 2.
    Estimated average hours per response: Reporting, section 240.4: 16; 
recordkeeping, sections 240.7, 240.9(b)(2), and 240.13(a): 183; 
disclosure, sections 240.5(a), 240.6, 240.10, 240.13(c)-(d), 240.15, 
and 240.16(a) and (b): 787.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Reporting, section 240.4: 16; 
recordkeeping, sections 240.7, 240.9(b)(2), and 240.13(a): 366; 
disclosure, sections 240.5(a), 240.6, 240.10, 240.13(c)-(d), 240.15, 
and 240.16(a) and (b): 1,574.
    General description of report: Section 742(c)(2) of the Dodd-Frank 
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act amended section 2(c)(2) 
of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to prohibit persons supervised by 
certain Federal regulatory agencies, including the Board, from entering 
into, or offering to enter into, certain types of foreign exchange 
transactions, except pursuant to a rule or regulation promulgated by 
the relevant supervising agency. The Board's Regulation NN (12 CFR part 
240) authorizes banking institutions supervised by the Board to conduct 
retail foreign exchange transactions and establishes certain reporting, 
recordkeeping, and disclosure requirements for banking institutions 
that choose to conduct such transactions.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The reporting, 
recordkeeping, and disclosure requirements in Regulation NN are 
authorized pursuant to section 2(c)(2)(E) of the CEA,\1\ which 
prohibits a United States financial institution and its related persons 
under the supervision of a Federal regulatory agency, such as the 
Board, from offering or entering into certain types of foreign exchange 
transactions with retail customers except pursuant to a rule or 
regulation prescribed by the appropriate Federal regulatory agency 
allowing the transaction under such terms and conditions as the Federal 
regulatory agency shall prescribe.\2\ Regulation NN's reporting, 
recordkeeping, and disclosure requirements are mandatory for banking 
institutions that engage in retail foreign exchange transactions.
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    \1\ 7 U.S.C. 2(c)(2)(E).
    \2\ Additionally, the Board also has the authority to require 
reports from state member banks under section 11 of the Federal 
Reserve Act (FRA), 12 U.S.C. 248; from branches of foreign banks 
under sections 9 and 13 of the International Banking Act of 1978, 12 
U.S.C. 3106a and 3108; from bank holding companies under section 
5(b) and (c) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. 
1844(b) and (c); from savings and loan holding companies under 
section 10 of the Home Owners' Loan Act, 12 U.S.C. 1467a(b) and (g); 
from Edge Act corporations under section 25A(17) of the FRA, 12 
U.S.C. 625; and from agreement corporations under section 25 of the 
FRA, 12 U.S.C. 601-604a.
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    The reporting requirement under section 240.4 of Regulation NN 
requires a banking institution to provide a prior written notice to the 
Board that includes information concerning customer due diligence; the 
policies and procedures for haircuts to be applied to noncash margin; 
information concerning new product approvals; and information on 
addressing conflicts of interest. This information is likely to 
constitute nonpublic commercial or financial information, which is both 
customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent, and thus 
may be kept confidential by the Board pursuant to exemption 4 of the 
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).\3\ In addition, the prior written 
notice must also include a resolution of the banking institution's 
board of directors certifying that the institution has written 
policies, procedures, and risk measurement and management systems and 
controls in place to ensure retail foreign exchange transactions are 
conducted in a safe and sound manner and in compliance with Regulation 
NN. Generally, this resolution by the board of directors would not be 
accorded confidential

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treatment. If confidential treatment is requested by a banking 
institution, the Board will review the request to determine if 
confidential treatment is appropriate.
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    \3\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
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    The records and disclosures required by Regulation NN generally are 
not submitted to the Federal Reserve. Accordingly, confidentiality 
issues generally do not arise under the FOIA. In the event such records 
or disclosures are obtained by the Federal Reserve through the 
examination or enforcement process, such information may be kept 
confidential under exemption 8 of the FOIA,\4\ which protects 
information contained in or related to an examination of a financial 
institution.
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    \4\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, November 17, 
2021.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2021-25503 Filed 11-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P