01-30043. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board).

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (the “agencies”) may not conduct or sponsor, and the 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 agencies, under the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), propose to extend, without revision, the following currently approved information collections: Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 002) and Report of Assets and Liabilities of Non-U.S. Branches that are Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch or Agency of a Foreign Bank (FFIEC 002s). The Board, which collects and processes these reports for the three agencies, is publishing this notice on behalf of the agencies. At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine whether the FFIEC should modify the reports. The Board will then submit the reports to OMB for review and approval.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before February 4, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to the agency listed below. All comments, which should refer to the OMB control number, will be shared among the agencies.Written comments should be addressed to Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551, submitted by electronic mail to regs.comments&federalreserve.gov, or delivered to the Board's mailroom between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., and to the security control room outside of those hours. Both the mailroom and the security control room are accessible from the courtyard entrance on 20th Street between Constitution Avenue and C Street, N.W. Comments received may be inspected in room M-P-500 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., except as provided in section 261.12 of the Board's Rules Regarding Availability of Information, 12 CFR 261.12(a).

A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk officer for the Board: Alexander T. Hunt, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 3208, Washington, D.C. 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

A copy of the FFIEC 002 and FFIEC 002s reporting forms may be obtained at the FFIEC's web site (www.ffiec.gov). Additional information or a copy of the reporting forms may also be requested from Mary M. West, Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer, [phone], Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact Capria Mitchell [phone], Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal to extend, without revision, the following currently approved collections of information:

1. Report Title: Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks.

Form Number: FFIEC 002.

OMB Number: 7100-0032.

Frequency of Response: Quarterly.

Affected Public: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 354.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 1,416.

Estimated Time per Response: 22.50 burden hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 31,860 burden hours.

General Description of Report

This information collection is mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 3105(b)(2), 1817(a)(1) and (3), and 3102(b). Except for select sensitive items, this information collection is not given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)). Small businesses (that is, small U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks) are affected.

Abstract

On a quarterly basis, all U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks (U.S. branches) are required to file a detailed schedule on their assets and liabilities in the form of a condition report and a variety of supporting schedules. This information is used to fulfill the supervisory and regulatory requirements of the International Banking Act of 1978. The data are also used to augment the bank credit, loan, and deposit information needed for monetary policy and other public policy purposes. The Federal Reserve System collects and processes this report on behalf of all three agencies.

2. Report Title: Report of Assets and Liabilities of a Non-U.S. Branch that is Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch or Agency of a Foreign (Non-U.S.) Bank.

Form Number: FFIEC 002s.

OMB Number: 7100-0273.

Frequency of Response: Quarterly.

Affected Public: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 114.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 456.

Estimated Time per Response: 6 burden hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2,736 burden hours.

General Description of Report

This information collection is mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 3105(b)(2), 1817(a)(1) and (3), and 3102(b) and is given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)). Small businesses (that is, small U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks) are affected.

Abstract

On a quarterly basis, all U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks are required to file detailed schedules on their assets and liabilities in the form FFIEC 002. The FFIEC 002s is a separate supplement to the FFIEC 002 that collects information on assets and liabilities of any non-U.S. branch that is “managed or controlled” by a U.S. branch or agency of the foreign bank. Managed or controlled means that a majority of the responsibility for business decisions, including but not limited to decisions with regard to lending or asset management or funding or liability management, or the responsibility for recordkeeping in respect of assets or liabilities for that foreign branch resides at the U.S. branch or agency. A separate FFIEC 002s must be completed for each managed or controlled non-U.S. branch. The FFIEC 002s must be filed quarterly along with the U.S. branch's or agency's FFIEC 002.

The data are used: (1) to monitor deposit and credit transactions of U.S. residents; (2) for monitoring the impact of policy changes; (3) for analyzing structural issues concerning foreign bank activity in U.S. markets; (4) for understanding flows of banking funds and indebtedness of developing countries in connection with data collected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) that are used in economic analysis; and (5) to provide information to assist in the supervision of U.S. offices of foreign banks, which often are managed jointly with these branches.

Request for Comment

Comments submitted in response to this Notice will be shared among the agencies and will be summarized or included in the Board's request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. Written comments should address the accuracy of the burden estimates and ways to minimize burden as well as other relevant aspects of the information collection requests. Comments are invited on:

(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the agencies' functions, including whether the information has practical utility;

(b) The accuracy of the agencies' estimate of the burden of the 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 the information 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.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, November 29, 2001.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Secretary of the Board.