2021-23803. Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION:

Notice, request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, FR 2248-Domestic Finance Company Report of Consolidated Assets and Liabilities.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before January 3, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 2248, 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: [e-mail]. Include the OMB number 7100-0005 or FR-2248 in the subject line of the message.

• FAX: [phone] or [phone].

• Mail: Ann E. Misback, 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 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 146, 1709 New York Avenue 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 [phone]. 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 [phone].

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, [phone].

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

Report title: Domestic Finance Company Report of Consolidated Assets and Liabilities.

Agency form number: FR 2248.

OMB control number: 7100-0005.

Frequency: Monthly, quarterly, as needed.

Respondents: Finance companies.^[1]

Estimated number of respondents: Monthly, 150; Quarterly, 150; Addendum; 150.

Estimated average minutes per response: Monthly, 20; Quarterly, 30; Addendum, 10.

Estimated annual burden hours: Monthly, 400; Quarterly, 300; Addendum; 50.

General description of report: The FR 2248 is collected monthly as of the last calendar day of the month from a stratified sample ^[2] of finance companies. Each monthly report collects balance sheet data on major categories of consumer and business credit receivables and on major short-term liabilities. For quarter-end months (March, June, September, and December), additional asset and liability items are collected to provide a full balance sheet. A supplemental section collects data on securitized assets. Board staff may ask either quantitative or qualitative questions through the use of a special addendum section no more than twice per year. The data are used to construct universe estimates of finance company holdings, which are published in the monthly statistical releases Finance Companies (G.20) and Consumer Credit (G.19) and in the quarterly statistical release Financial Accounts of the United States (Z.1).^[3]

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 2248 is authorized by sections 2A and 12A of the Federal Reserve Act (FRA). Section 2A of the FRA requires that the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintain long-run growth of the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate with the economy's long run potential to increase production, so as to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.^[4] Section 12A of the FRA further requires the FOMC to implement regulations relating to the open market operations conducted by Federal Reserve Banks with a view to accommodating commerce and business and with regard to their bearing upon the general credit situation of the country.^[5] The Board and FOMC use the information obtained through the FR 2248 to discharge these responsibilities. The FR 2248 is voluntary.

Although the Board releases aggregate data derived from the FR 2248 in the monthly G.20 and G.19 statistical releases, and in the quarterly Z.1 statistical release, individual finance company information provided by each respondent is generally treated as confidential. Information collected on the FR 2248 is likely to constitute nonpublic commercial or financial information, which is both customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent. Accordingly, such information may be kept confidential by the Board pursuant to exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act.^[6] If it should be determined that any information collected on the FR 2248 must be released, respondents would be notified.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 27, 2021.

Michele Taylor Fennell,

Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.

Footnotes

1. Finance companies include companies in which 50 percent or more of assets are held in any of the following types of loan or lease assets: (1) Liens on real estate, defined as outstanding balances on loans or leases, for any purpose, secured by liens on real estate; (2) loans and leases not secured by real estate, such as business loans and leases, defined as outstanding balances on loans and on leases for commercial and industrial purposes to sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other business enterprises; or consumer loans and leases defined as outstanding balances on loans and on leases for household, family, and other personal expenditures.

2. Potential universe of respondents is identified by the quinquennial Census of Finance Companies (FR 3033p) and Survey of Finance Companies (FR 3033s) (OMB No. 7100-0277). More details can be found in the OMB supporting statement.

3. See https://www.federalreserve.gov/​econresdata/​statisticsdata.htm.

4. 12 U.S.C. 225a.

5. 12 U.S.C. 263.

6. 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).