E6-17337. Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

SUMMARY:

Background

On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) its approval authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act, as per 5 CFR 1320.16, to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board under conditions set forth in 5 CFR 1320 Appendix A.1. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of the OMB 83-Is and supporting statements and approved collection of information instruments are placed into OMB's public docket files. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Request for comment on information collection proposals

The following information collections, which are being handled under this delegated authority, have received initial Board approval and are hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, the proposed information collections, along with an analysis of comments and recommendations received, will be submitted to the Board for final approval under OMB delegated authority. Comments are invited on the following:

a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Federal Reserve's functions; including whether the information has practical utility;

b. The accuracy of the Federal Reserve'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; and

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.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before December 18, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Reg G (7100-0299), Reg H-7 (7100-0298), by any of the following methods:

• Agency Web Site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/​generalinfo/​foia/​ProposedRegs.cfm.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: [e-mail]. Include the OMB control number in the subject line of the message.
• FAX: [phone] or 202-452-3102.
• Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, 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 web site at www.federalreserve.gov/​generalinfo/​foia/​ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper in Room MP-500 of the Board's Martin Building (20th and C Streets, N.W.) between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

A copy of the proposed form and instructions, the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission (OMB 83-I), supporting statement, and other documents that will be placed into OMB's public docket files once approved may be requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.

Michelle Long, Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer (202-452-3829), Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202-263-4869), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

Proposal to approve under OMB delegated authority the extension for three years, without revision, of the following information collections:

1. Report title: Disclosure and Reporting Requirements of CRA-Related Agreements

Agency form number: Reg G

OMB control number: 7100-0299

Frequency: On occasion, annual

Reporters: Insured depository institutions (IDIs) and nongovernmental entities or persons (NGEPs)

Annual reporting hours: 78 hours

Number of respondents: 3 IDI; 6 NGEPs

Estimated average hours per response: 1 hour (7 disclosure requirements); 4 hours (2 annual reports)

General description of report: This information collection is required pursuant the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act), 12 U.S.C. 1831y(b) and (c). The FDI Act authorizes the Federal Reserve to require the disclosure and reporting requirements of Regulation G (12 CFR 207). In general, the Federal Reserve does not consider individual respondent commercial and financial information collected by the Federal Reserve pursuant to Regulation G as confidential. However, a respondent may request confidential treatment pursuant to section (b)(4) of Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C 552(b)(4).

Abstract: Section 48 of the FDI Act imposes disclosure and reporting requirements on IDIs, their affiliates and NGEPs that enter into written agreements that meet certain criteria. The written agreements must (1) be made in fulfillment of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA) and (2) involve funds or other resources of an IDI or affiliate with an aggregate value of more than $10,000 in a year, or loans with an aggregate principal value of more than $50,000 in a year. Section 48 excludes from the disclosure and reporting requirements any agreement between an IDI or its affiliate and an NGEP if the NGEP has not contacted the IDI or its affiliate, or a banking agency, concerning the CRA performance of the IDI.

Regulation G contains four disclosure requirements and two reporting requirements for IDIs and affiliates and three disclosure requirements and one reporting requirement for NGEPs. Please see the agency's OMB supporting statement for a summary of the disclosure and reporting requirements of Regulation G, http://www.federalreserve.gov/​boarddocs/​reportforms/​review.cfm.

The disclosure and reporting requirements in connection with Regulation G are mandatory and apply to state member banks and their subsidiaries; bank holding companies; affiliates of bank holding companies, other than banks, savings associations, and subsidiaries of banks and savings associations; and NGEPs that enter into covered agreements with any of the aforementioned companies.

2. Report title: Disclosure Requirements in Connection With Regulation H (Consumer Protections in Sales of Insurance)

Agency form number: Reg H-7

OMB control number: 7100-0298

Frequency: On occasion

Reporters: State member banks

Annual reporting hours: 14,159 hours

Number of respondents: 899

Estimated average hours per response: 1.5 minutes

General description of report: This information collection is mandatory pursuant the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. 1831x. Since the Federal Reserve does not collect any information, no issue of confidentiality normally arises.

Abstract: Section 305 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires financial institutions to provide written and oral disclosures to consumers in connection with the initial sale of an insurance product or annuity concerning its uninsured nature and the existence of the investment risk, if appropriate, and the fact that insurance sales and credit may not be tied.

Covered persons must make insurance disclosures before the completion of the initial sale of an insurance product or annuity to a consumer. The disclosure must be made orally and in writing to the consumer that: (1) the insurance product or annuity is not a deposit or other obligation of, or guaranteed by, the financial institution or an affiliate of the financial institution; (2) the insurance product or annuity is not insured by the FDIC or any other agency of the United States, the financial institution, or (if applicable) an affiliate of the financial institution; and (3) in the case of an insurance product or annuity that involves an investment risk, there is investment risk associated with the product, including the possible loss of value.

Covered persons must make a credit disclosure at the time a consumer applies for an extension of credit in connection with which an insurance product or annuity is solicited, offered, or sold. The disclosure must be made orally and in writing that the financial institution may not condition an extension of credit on either: (1) the consumer's purchase of an insurance product or annuity from the financial institution or any of its affiliates; or (2) the consumer's agreement not to obtain, or a prohibition on the consumer from obtaining, an insurance product or annuity from an unaffiliated entity.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 13, 2006.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Secretary of the Board.