2021-26739. 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, without revision, the Reporting Provisions Associated with Regulation TT (FR TT; OMB No. 7100-0369).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before February 8, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR TT, 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 or FR number 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: Reporting Provisions Associated with Regulation TT.

Agency form number: FR TT.

OMB control number: 7100-0369.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondents: Bank holding companies (BHCs) and savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs) and all nonbank financial companies designated for Board supervision by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).

Estimated number of respondents: 3.

Estimated average hours per response: 40.

Estimated annual burden hours: 120.

General description of report: The Board's Regulation TT—Supervision and Regulation Assessments of Fees (12 CFR part 246) implements the second section 11(s) of the Federal Reserve Act (FRA),^[1] which directs the Board to collect assessments, fees, or other charges (collectively, assessments) from BHCs and SLHCs that meet a size threshold and from all nonbank financial companies designated for Board supervision by the FSOC (collectively, assessed companies) in an amount equal to the total expenses the Board estimates are necessary or appropriate to carry out its supervisory and regulatory responsibilities with respect to such companies. Pursuant to Regulation TT, the Board issues an annual notice of assessment to each assessed company. Assessed companies may file a written appeal with the Board regarding the assessment.^[2]

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR TT is authorized pursuant to the second section 11(s) of the FRA, which requires the Board to collect the assessments, as described above, and section 11(i) of the FRA,^[3] which provides that the Board shall make all rules and regulations necessary to enable the Board to effectively perform the duties, functions, or services specified in the FRA. The FR TT reporting provisions are required to obtain a benefit.

An assessed company may request confidential treatment of information contained in its appeal pursuant to exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which protects nonpublic commercial or financial information, which is both customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent.^[4] Determinations of confidentiality based on FOIA exemption 4 would be made on a case-by-case basis.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, December 6, 2021.

Michele Taylor Fennell,

Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.

Footnotes

1.  12 U.S.C. 248(s). The second section 11(s) of the Federal Reserve Act was added by section 318 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. There are two subsections of section 11 of the Federal Reserve Act designated as (s). The provision relating to assessments is described as the “second” subsection (s) as it was enacted later in time.

2.  12 CFR 246.5(b).

3.  12 U.S.C. 248(i).

4.  5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).