[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 19 (Friday, January 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4593-4595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01717]


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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, with revision, 
the Application to Become a Savings and Loan Holding Company or to 
Acquire a Savings Association or Savings and Loan Holding Company (FR 
LL-10(e); OMB No. 7100-0336).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 29, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR LL-10(e), 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.

[[Page 4594]]

    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 
M-4365A, 2001 C St 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 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, 
With Revision, the Following Information Collection:
    Report title: Application to Become a Savings and Loan Holding 
Company or to Acquire a Savings Association or Savings and Loan Holding 
Company.
    Agency form number: FR LL-10(e).
    OMB control number: 7100-0336.
    Frequency: Event generated.
    Respondents: Entities seeking prior approval to become or acquire a 
savings and loan holding company (SLHC).
    Estimated number of respondents: 15.
    Estimated average hours per response: Reporting, 60; Disclosure, 
15.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Reporting, 900; Disclosure, 15.
    General description of report: The form collects information 
concerning certain proposed SLHC formations, acquisitions, and mergers. 
Specifically, the form collects financial and managerial information 
and information about the proposed transaction, the competitive effects 
of the proposal, and the impact of the transaction on the convenience 
and needs of the communities to be served. Applicants that file the FR 
LL-10(e) are also required to publish a notice in a newspaper of 
general circulation in the community(ies) in which the head office(s) 
of the applicant; its largest subsidiary savings association, if any; 
and each savings association to be directly or indirectly acquired are 
located.

Proposed Revisions

Standardized Form
    The Board proposes to revise the FR LL-10(e) by adding a two-page 
standardized application and certification form. The application and 
certification form record identification and contact information for 
the applicant, whether the applicant is requesting confidential 
treatment for materials submitted, and a certification by a 
representative of the applicant that, among other things, the 
information provided in the application is accurate to the best of the 
signatory's knowledge and belief. Adding a certification page would be 
consistent with other similar Board application forms.
Filing Requirements for Informational Filings
    The Board is also revising the FR LL-10(e) to include instructions 
on what information a filer must include in a notice regarding the 
reorganization of a newly-formed holding company pursuant to 12 CFR 
238.12(a)(2). Under the Home Owners' Loan Act (HOLA) and Regulation LL, 
such a reorganization does not require prior approval from the Board. 
However, Regulation LL notes that an informational filing is required, 
and the revised instructions indicate that the filer must provide 
information regarding the Proposed Transaction and Financial and 
Managerial Information in such a situation.
CBLR Framework
    Recent legislative and regulatory changes implemented the Community 
Bank Leverage Ratio (CBLR) framework in 2020, which, if utilized by a 
qualifying depository organizations, eliminates the requirement for the 
organization to track risk-weighted assets and report risk-based 
capital ratios.\1\ In light of this change, the Board proposes to 
revise the FR LL-10(e) instructions to provide that applicants that 
have elected to utilize the CBLR framework would not be required to 
submit information related to risk-weighted assets or risk-based 
capital

[[Page 4595]]

ratios. Similarly, if the savings association subsidiary of an 
applicant has elected to use the CBLR framework, the applicant would no 
longer be required to submit the FR LL-10(e) information related to the 
savings association's risk-weighted assets or risk-based capital 
ratios. The proposed revisions would simplify the reporting requirement 
with regard to those savings associations and SLHCs that have elected 
to utilize the CBLR framework.
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    \1\ See Regulatory Capital Rule: Capital Simplification for 
Qualifying Community Banking Organizations, 84 FR 61776 (Nov. 13, 
2019). See also 12 CFR 217.12.
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Filings Pursuant to Section 238.11(f) of Regulation LL and Other 
Clarifications
    Pursuant to section 238.11(f) of Regulation LL, a director or 
officer of an SLHC, or any individual who owns, controls, or holds the 
power to vote (or holds proxies representing) more than 25 percent of 
the voting shares of such an SLHC, must receive the approval of the 
Board prior to acquiring control of any savings association that is not 
a subsidiary of such SLHC. The Board proposes to modify the FR LL-10(e) 
instructions to explicitly provide that the FR LL-10(e) must be 
submitted for such an application.
    The Board is also proposing a minor change that would correct a 
cross-reference to the Board's rules regarding the availability of 
information and to clarify that the informational requirements of the 
FR LL-10(e) are mandatory for all filers.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR LL-10(e) is 
authorized by section 10(b)(2) of HOLA.\2\ The FR LL-10(e) is required 
to obtain a benefit.
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    \2\ 12 U.S.C. 1467a(b) (requiring SLHCs to register with the 
Board on such forms as it may prescribe and authorizing the Board to 
require reports from SLHCs containing such information concerning 
the operations of SLHCs and their subsidiaries as the Board may 
require).
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    The information contained on the FR LL-10(e) is not considered 
confidential unless an applicant requests confidential treatment in 
accordance with the Board's Rules Regarding Availability of 
Information.\3\ Requests for confidential treatment of information are 
reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Information provided on the FR LL-
10(e) may be nonpublic commercial or financial information, which is 
both customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent, 
which is protected from disclosure pursuant to exemption 4 of the 
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).\4\ Submissions of the FR LL-10(e) 
may also contain personnel and medical files the disclosure of which 
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, 
which are protected under exemption 6 of the FOIA,\5\ or information 
contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports 
prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for 
the regulation or supervision of financial institutions, which are 
protected under exemption 8 of the FOIA.\6\
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    \3\ 12 CFR 261.17.
    \4\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
    \5\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6).
    \6\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, January 24, 
2022.
Ann Misback,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2022-01717 Filed 1-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P