[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 211 (Tuesday, November 2, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59119-59121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28576]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Economic Analysis
15 CFR Part 801
[Docket No. 9906111599276-02]
RIN 0691-AA35
International Services Surveys: BE-80, Benchmark Survey of
Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services
Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons
AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: These final rules revise regulations for the BE-80, Benchmark
Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial
Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
The BE-80 survey is mandatory and is conducted once every 5 years
by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce,
under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act,
and under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. The
benchmark survey will be conducted for 1999. BEA will send the survey
to potential respondents in January of the year 2000; responses will be
due by March 31, 2000. The last benchmark survey was conducted for
1994. The benchmark survey will obtain universe data on trade in
financial services, by type and by country, between U.S. financial
services providers and unaffiliated foreign persons. Data from the BE-
80 survey (and the follow-on annual survey, the BE-82) are needed to
monitor trade in financial services, analyze its impact on the U.S. and
foreign economies, compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts,
support U.S. commercial policy on financial services, conduct trade
promotion, improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and
evaluate market opportunities, and for other Government uses.
The revised rules raise the exemption level for the 1999 survey to
$3 million in covered sales or purchases transactions, from $1 million
on the previous (1994) survey. Raising the exemption level will reduce
respondent burden, particularly for small companies. The revised rules
also combine private placement services with underwriting services,
combine foreign exchange brokerage services with other brokerage
services, and create a separate category for electronic funds
transfers. Finally, the revised
[[Page 59120]]
rules restate the definition of ``financial services provider'' using
the nomenclature of the new North American Industry Classification
System that has replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification
System.
The changes in the types of services to be reported separately
reflect BEA's experience in collecting data on financial services
transactions over the past 5 years. Data collected for both private
placement and foreign exchange brokerage services have been very small
and do not justify the continuation of separate reporting. Electronic
funds transfer services, in contrast appear to account for a large
fraction of both total receipts and total payments for ``other
financial services,'' in which electronic funds transfers were
previously included.
EFFECTIVE DATE: These final rules are effective December 2, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R. David Belli, Chief, International
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9800.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the July 9, 1999 Federal Register, volume
64, No. 131, 64 FR 37049-37051, BEA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking setting forth revised reporting requirements for the BE-80,
Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S.
Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. No
comments on the proposed rules were received. Thus, these final rules
are the same as the proposed rules.
These final rules amend 15 CFR part 801 to set forth revised
reporting requirements for the BE-80, Benchmark Survey of Financial
Services Transactions Between Financial Services Providers and
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA),
U.S. Department of Commerce, will conduct the survey under the
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C.
3101-3108), hereinafter ``the Act'', and under Section 5408 of the
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4908). Section
4(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 3103(a)) provides that the President shall,
to the extent he deems necessary and feasible, conduct a regular data
collection program to secure current information related to
international investment and trade in services, and publish for the use
of the general public and United States Government agencies periodic,
regular, and comprehensive statistical information collected pursuant
to this subsection. In Section 3 of Executive Order 11961, the
President delegated authority granted under the Act as concerns
international trade in services to the Secretary of Commerce, who has
redelegated it to BEA.
The major purposes of the survey are to monitor trade in financial
services, analyze its impact on the U.S. and foreign economics, compile
and improve the U.S. economic accounts, support U.S. commercial policy
on financial services, conduct trade promotion, and improve the ability
of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities.
BEA will conduct the BE-80 survey once every 5 years. They last
survey was conducted for 1994. The survey is intended to cover the
universe of financial services transactions between U.S. financial
services providers and unaffiliated foreign persons. Reporting is
required from U.S. financial services providers who have sales to or
purchases from unaffiliated foreign persons in all covered financial
services combined in excess of $3 million during the reporting year.
Financial services providers meeting these criteria must apply data on
the amount of their sales or purchases for each covered type of
service, disaggregate by country. U.S. financial services providers
that have covered transactions of less than $3 million during the
reporting year are asked to provide voluntary estimates of their total
sales or purchases of each type of financial service.
The information from the benchmark survey is updated in
nonbenchmark years by an annual follow on survey, the BE-82. Currently,
the annual survey covers only those U.S. financial services providers
that have covered transaction in excess of $5 million during the
reporting year.
Executive Order 12612
These final rules do not contain policies with Federalism
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism
assessment under E.O. 12612.
Executive Order 12866
These final rules have been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The collection of information required in these final rules has
been approved by OMB (OMB No. 0608-0062) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with, a collection-of-information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection
displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget Control
Number.
The survey is expected to result in the filing of reports,
containing mandatory or voluntary data, from about 500 respondents. The
average burden for completing the BE-80--both the mandatory and
voluntary sections--is estimated to be 7 hours. Thus, the total
respondent burden of the survey is estimated at 3,500 hours (500
respondents times 7 hours average burden). The actual burden will vary
from reporter to reporter, depending upon the number and variety of
their financial services transactions and the ease of assembling the
data. Thus, it may range from 4 hours for a reporter that has a small
number and variety of transactions and easily accessible data, or that
reports only in the voluntary section of the form, to 150 hours for a
very large reporter that engages in a large number and variety of
financial services transactions and has difficulty in locating and
assembling the required data. This estimate includes time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information.
Comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information should be addressed to: Director, Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BE-1), U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC
20230, and to the Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A., Paperwork
Reduction Project 0608-0062, Washington, DC 20503 (Attention PRA Desk
Officer for BEA).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Chief Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, has
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business
Administration, under provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 605(b)), that these final rules will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The
information collection excludes most small businesses from mandatory
reporting. Companies that engage in international financial services
transactions tend to be quite large. In addition, the reporting
threshold for this survey is set at a level that will exempt most small
businesses from reporting. The BE-80 benchmark survey will be
[[Page 59121]]
required only from U.S. persons with sales to, or purchases from,
unaffiliated foreign persons in excess of $3,000,000 during the
reporting year, in all covered financial services transactions
combined; the exemption level for the previous benchmark survey,
covering 1994, was $1,000,000. Thus, the exemption level will exclude
most small businesses from mandatory coverage. Of those smaller
businesses that must report, most will tend to have specialized
operations and activities, so they will likely report only one type of
transaction; therefore, the burden on them should be small.
List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 806
Balance of payments, Economic statistics, Foreign trade, Penalties,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: October 8, 1999.
J. Steven Landefeld,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA amends 15 CFR Part
801, as follows:
PART 801--SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S.
AND FOREIGN PERSONS
1. The authority citation for part 801 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 15 U.S.C. 4908, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108;
E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86 as amended by E.O. 12013, 3
CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 147; E.O. 12318, 3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173; and
E.O. 12518, 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 348.
2. Section 801.11 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 801.11 Rules and regulations for the BE-80, Benchmark Survey of
Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services
Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
A BE-80, Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions
Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign
Persons, will be conducted covering 1999 and every fifth year
thereafter. All legal authorities, provisions, definitions, and
requirements contained in Secs. 801.1 through 801.9 are applicable to
this survey. Additional rules and regulations for the BE-80 survey are
given in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section. More detailed
instructions are given on the report forms and instructions.
(a) Who must report--(1) Mandatory reporting. Reports are required
from each U.S. person who is a financial services provider or
intermediary, or whose consolidated U.S. enterprise includes a
separately organized subsidiary, or part, that is a financial services
provider or intermediary, and who had transactions (either sales or
purchases) directly with unaffiliated foreign persons in all financial
services combined in excess of $3,000,000 during its fiscal year
covered by the survey. The $3,000,000 threshold should be applied to
financial services transactions with unaffiliated foreign persons by
all part of the consolidated U.S. enterprise combined that are
financial services providers or intermediaries. Because the $3,000,000
threshold applies separately to sales and purchases, the mandatory
reporting requirement may apply only to sales, only to purchases, or to
both.
(i) The determination of whether a U.S. financial services provider
or intermediary is subject to this mandatory reporting requirement may
be based on the judgment of knowledgeable persons in a company who can
identify reportable transactions on a recall basis, with a reasonable
degree of certainty, without conducting a detailed manual records
search.
(ii) Reporters who file pursuant to this mandatory reporting
requirement must provide data on total sales and/or purchases of each
of the covered types of financial services transactions and must
disaggregate the totals by country.
(2) Voluntary reporting. If during the fiscal year covered, sales
or purchases of financial services by a firm that is a financial
services provider or intermediary, or by a firm's subsidiaries, or
parts, combined that are financial services providers or
intermediaries, are $3,000,000 or less, the U.S. person is requested to
provide an estimate of the total for each type of service. Provision of
this information is voluntary. Because the $3,000,000 threshold applies
separately to sales and purchases, this voluntary reporting option may
apply only to sales, only to purchases, or to both.
(b) BE-80 definition of financial services provider. Except for
Monetary Authorities (i.e. Central Banks), the definition of financial
services provider used for this survey is identical in coverage to
Sector 52--Finance and Insurance--of the North American Industry
Classification System, United States, 1997. For example, companies and/
or subsidiaries and other separable parts of companies in the following
industries are defined as financial services providers: Depository
credit intermediation and related activities (including commercial
banking, holding companies, savings institutions, check cashing, and
debit card issuing); nondepository credit intermediation (including
credit card issuing, sales financing, and consumer lending);
securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and
related activities (including security and commodity futures brokers,
dealers, exchanges, traders, underwriters, investment bankers, and
providers of securities custody services); insurance carriers and
related activities (including agents, brokers, and services providers);
investment advisors and managers and funds, trusts, and other financial
vehicles (including mutual funds, pension funds, real estate investment
trusts, investors, stock quotation services, etc.).
(c) Covered types of services. The BE-80 survey covers the
following types of financial services transactions (purchases and/or
sales) between U.S. financial services providers and unaffiliated
foreign persons: Brokerage, including foreign exchange brokerage
services; underwriting and private placement services; financial
management services; credit-related services, except credit care
services; credit card services; financial advisory and custody
services; securities lending services; electronic funds transfer
services; and other financial services.
(d) What to file. (1) The BE-80 survey consists of Forms BE-80 (A)
and BE-80(B). Before completing a form BE-80 (B), a consolidated U.S.
enterprise (including the top U.S. parent and all of its subsidiaries
and parts combined) must complete Form BE-80(A) to determine its
reporting status. If the enterprise is subject to the mandatory
reporting requirement, or if it is exempt from the mandatory reporting
requirement but chooses to report data voluntarily, it should either:
(i) File a separate Form BE-80(B) for each separately organized
financial services subsidiary or part of a consolidated U.S.
enterprise; or
(ii) File a single BE-80(B) representing the sum of all covered
transactions by all financial services subsidiaries or parts of the
enterprise combined.
(2) Reporters who receive the BE-80 survey from BEA but are not
subject to the mandatory reporting requirements and choose not to
report data voluntarily must complete and return to BEA the Exemption
Claim.
[FR Doc. 99-28576 Filed 11-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-M
