[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 197 (Thursday, October 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62098-62100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22240]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

[[Page 62099]]


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 Selected Balance Sheet Items for Discount Window 
Borrowers (OMB No. 7100-0289).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 12, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 2046, 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: Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Attn: Ann E. 
Misback, Secretary of the Board, Mailstop M-4775, 2001 C St 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 
M-4365A, 2001 C St NW, Washington, DC 20551, 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, [email protected], (202) 
452-3884.

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

    Collection title: Selected Balance Sheet Items for Discount Window 
Borrowers.
    Collection identifier: FR 2046.
    OMB control number: 7100-0289.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondents: Depository institutions.
    Estimated number of respondents: Primary and Secondary Credit, 1; 
Seasonal Credit, 32; Seasonal Credit, borrower in questionable 
financial condition, 1.
    Estimated average hours per response: Primary and Secondary Credit, 
0.75; Seasonal Credit, 0.25; Seasonal Credit, borrower in questionable 
financial condition, 0.75.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Primary and Secondary Credit, 1; 
Seasonal Credit, 88; Seasonal Credit, borrower in questionable 
financial condition, 1.
    General description of collection: The Board's Regulation A--
Extensions of Credit by Federal Reserve Banks (12 CFR part 201) 
requires that Reserve Banks review balance sheet data in determining 
whether to extend credit and to help ascertain whether undue use is 
made of such credit. Balance sheet data are collected on the FR 2046 
report from certain institutions that borrow from the discount window 
in order to monitor discount window borrowing.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 2046 report is 
authorized pursuant to sections 4(8),\1\ 10B,\2\ and 19(b)(7) \3\ of 
the Federal Reserve Act (FRA), which authorize Federal Reserve Banks to 
provide discounts or advances to a member bank or other depository 
institution and to demand notes secured to the satisfaction of each 
Reserve Bank, and authorize the Board to establish rules and 
regulations under which a Reserve Bank may extend such credit.\4\ 
Specifically, section 4(8) of the FRA requires each Reserve Bank to 
keep itself informed of the general character and amount of the loans 
and investments of a depository

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institution ``with a view to ascertaining whether undue use is being 
made of bank credit,'' and instructs that, ``in determining whether to 
grant or refuse advances, rediscounts, or other credit accommodations, 
the Federal [R]eserve [B]ank shall give consideration to such 
information.'' Section 10B of the FRA permits Federal Reserve Banks to 
make advances to member banks ``under rules and regulations prescribed 
by the Board.'' Section 19(b)(7) of the FRA provides that any 
depository institution that holds reservable deposits is entitled to 
the same discount and borrowing privileges as member banks.
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    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 301.
    \2\ 12 U.S.C. 347b.
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 461(b)(7).
    \4\ Section 142 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
Improvement Act of 1991 (Pub. L. 102-242, Title I, Subtitle E, 142 
(Dec. 19, 1991)), amended section 10B of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 347b(b)) 
to discourage Reserve Banks from making advances to undercapitalized 
and critically undercapitalized depository institutions by imposing 
liability on the Board for certain losses incurred by the funds 
administered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. See 58 FR 
45851 (Aug. 31, 1993).
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    In addition, section 9(6) \5\ of the FRA, which requires state 
member banks to file reports of condition and of the payment of 
dividends with the Federal Reserve, provides authority to collect 
balance sheet information from state member banks. Sections 2A \6\ and 
11 \7\ of the FRA, respectively, as well as section 7(c)(2) of the 
International Banking Act,\8\ authorize the Board to collect balance 
sheet data from domestically chartered commercial banks and U.S. 
branches and agencies of foreign banks.
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    \5\ 12 U.S.C. 324.
    \6\ 12 U.S.C. 225a.
    \7\ 12 U.S.C. and 248(a)(2) and (i).
    \8\ 12 U.S.C. 3105(c)(2)).
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    If requested by the lending Reserve Bank, a depository institution 
that borrowed from the discount window must submit the FR 2046 report. 
Accordingly, the obligation to respond is mandatory.
    The Federal Reserve publishes aggregate data on discount window 
lending, which does not identify individual borrowers. In addition, the 
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires the 
Board to publish certain information on individual discount window 
borrowers and transactions (i.e., the identity of the borrower, the 
amount that was borrowed, the interest rate, and the types and amounts 
of collateral or assets pledged) after an approximately two year 
lag.\9\ The FR 2046 report is considered confidential until the fact 
that the institution borrowed from the discount window is disclosed. 
Until this point, the fact that this report was filed would constitute 
nonpublic commercial or financial information, which is both 
customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent, because 
it would reveal the fact of discount window borrowing, as only 
borrowers are required to file this form. Thus, this information is 
kept confidential under exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA), which protects from disclosure trade secrets and privileged or 
confidential commercial or financial information.\10\ Once the fact 
that an institution borrowed from the discount window is disclosed, the 
FR 2046 report is no longer considered confidential in the event a FOIA 
request is received.
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    \9\ 12 U.S.C. 248(s).
    \10\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 7, 
2022.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2022-22240 Filed 10-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P