[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 48 (Monday, March 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15504-15505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05080]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Submission for OMB Review; Retail Foreign Exchange 
Transactions

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden, invites comment on the renewal of an information 
collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). An 
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 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 OCC is 
soliciting comment concerning renewal of an information collection 
titled ``Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions.'' The OCC also is giving 
notice that it has sent the collection to OMB for review.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 12, 2023.

ADDRESSES:  Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if 
possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment 
Processing, 1557-0250, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 
7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, 
Washington, DC 20219.
     Fax: (571) 293-4835.
    Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and 
``1557-0250'' in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish 
comments on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or 
personal information provided, such as name and address information, 
email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including 
attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public 
record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information 
in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential 
or inappropriate for public disclosure.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should also be sent within 30 days of publication of this 
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. You can find this 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to 
this information collection following the close of the 30-day comment 
period for this notice by the method set forth in the next bullet.
     Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. 
Hover over the ``Information Collection Review'' tab and click on 
``Information Collection Review'' from the drop-down menu. From the 
``Currently under Review'' drop-down menu, select ``Department of 
Treasury'' and then click ``submit.'' This information collection can 
be located by searching by OMB control number ``1557-0250'' or ``Retail 
Foreign Exchange Transactions''. Upon finding the appropriate 
information collection, click on the related ``ICR Reference Number.'' 
On the next screen, select ``View Supporting Statement and Other 
Documents'' and then click on the link to any comment listed at the 
bottom of the screen.
     For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please 
contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482-7340.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance 
Officer, (202) 649-5490, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. 
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please 
dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 
Federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of 
information that they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' 
is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency 
requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, 
keep records, or provide information to a third party. The OCC asks the 
OMB to extend its approval of the collection in this notice.
    Title: Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0250.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 15.
    Total Annual Burden: 22,418 hours.
    Abstract:

Background

    The OCC's rule pertaining to retail foreign exchange transactions 
(``retail forex'') (12 CFR part 48) allows national banks and Federal 
savings associations to offer or enter into retail foreign exchange 
transactions. In order to engage in these transactions, institutions 
must comply with various reporting, disclosure, and recordkeeping 
requirements included in that rule.

Reporting Requirements

    The reporting requirements in 12 CFR 48.4 state that, prior to 
initiating a retail forex business, a national bank or Federal savings 
association must provide the OCC with prior notice and obtain a written 
supervisory no-objection letter. In order to obtain a supervisory no-
objection letter, a national bank or Federal savings association must 
have written policies,

[[Page 15505]]

procedures, and risk measurement and management systems and controls in 
place to ensure that retail forex transactions are conducted in a safe 
and sound manner. The national bank or Federal savings association also 
must provide other information required by the OCC, such as 
documentation of customer due diligence, new product approvals, and 
haircuts applied to noncash margins.

Disclosure Requirements

    Under 12 CFR 48.5, a national bank or Federal savings association 
must promptly provide the customer with a statement reflecting the 
financial result of the transactions and the name of any introducing 
broker to the account. The institution must follow the customer's 
specific instructions on how the offsetting transaction should be 
applied.
    Twelve CFR 48.6 requires that a national bank or Federal savings 
association furnish a retail forex customer with a written disclosure 
before opening an account through which the customer will engage in 
retail forex transactions. It further requires a national bank or 
Federal savings association to secure an acknowledgment from the 
customer that the disclosure was received and understood. Finally, the 
section requires a national bank or Federal savings association to 
disclose its profitable accounts ratio and its fees and other charges.
    Twelve CFR 48.10 requires a national bank or Federal savings 
association to issue monthly statements to each retail forex customer 
and send confirmation statements following transactions.
    Twelve CFR 48.13(c) prohibits a national bank or Federal savings 
association engaging in retail forex transactions from knowingly 
handling the account of any related person of another retail forex 
counterparty unless it receives proper written authorization, promptly 
prepares a written record of the order, and transmits to the 
counterparty copies of all statements and written records. Twelve CFR 
48.13(d) prohibits a related person of a national bank or Federal 
savings association engaging in retail forex transactions from having 
an account with another retail forex counterparty unless it receives 
proper written authorization and copies of all statements and written 
records for such accounts are transmitted to the counterparty.
    Twelve CFR 48.15 requires a national bank or Federal savings 
association to provide a retail forex customer with 30 days prior 
notice of any assignment of any position or transfer of any account of 
the retail forex customer. It also requires a national bank or Federal 
savings association to which retail forex accounts or positions are 
assigned or transferred to provide the affected customers with risk 
disclosure statements and forms of acknowledgment and obtain the signed 
acknowledgments within 60 days.
    The customer dispute resolution provisions in 12 CFR 48.16 require 
certain endorsements, acknowledgments, and signatures. The section also 
requires that a national bank or Federal savings association, within 10 
days after receipt of notice from the retail forex customer that the 
customer intends to submit a claim to arbitration, provide the customer 
with a list of persons qualified in the dispute resolution.

Policies and Procedures; Recordkeeping

    Twelve CFR 48.7 and 48.13 require that a national bank or Federal 
savings association engaging in retail forex transactions keep full, 
complete, and systematic records and to establish and implement 
internal rules, procedures, and controls. Section 48.7 also requires 
that a national bank or Federal savings association keep account, 
financial ledger, transaction, and daily records, as well as memorandum 
orders, post-execution allocation of bunched orders, records regarding 
its ratio of profitable accounts, possible violations of law, records 
for noncash margin, and monthly statements and confirmations. Twelve 
CFR 48.9 requires policies and procedures for haircuts for noncash 
margin collected under the rule's margin requirements and annual 
evaluation and, if appropriate, modification of the haircuts.
    On October 25, 2022, the OCC published a notice for 60 days of 
comment concerning the collection, 87 FR 64543. No comments were 
received. Comments continue to be solicited on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the OCC, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimate of the burden of the 
information collection;
    (c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (d) Ways to minimize the burden of the 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.

Theodore J. Dowd,
Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2023-05080 Filed 3-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P