E9-4115. 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 (PRA), 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 Paperwork Reduction Act Submission, 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 April 27, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 2018, FR 2023, FR 2835, or FR 2835a 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 docket 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 http://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 form in Room MP-500 of the Board's Martin Building (20th and C Streets, NW.) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Additionally, commenters should send a copy of their comments to the OMB Desk Officer by mail to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to 202-395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

A copy of the PRA OMB submission including, the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public docket files, once approved. These documents will also be made available on the Federal Reserve Board's public Web site at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/​boarddocs/​reportforms/​review.cfm or may be requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.

Michelle Shore, 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.

Proposals to approve under OMB delegated authority the extension for three years, without revision, of the following reports:

1. Report title: The Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices.

Agency form number: FR 2018.

OMB control number: 7100-0058.

Frequency: Up to six times a year.

Reporters: Large U.S. commercial banks and large U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.

Annual reporting hours: 1,008 hours.

Estimated average hours per response: 2 hours.

Number of respondents: 84.

Small businesses are not affected.

General description of report: This information collection is voluntary (12 U.S.C. 225a, 248(a)(2), and 3105(c)(2)) and is given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).

Abstract: The FR 2018 is conducted with a senior loan officer at each respondent bank, generally through a telephone interview, up to six times a year. The purpose of the survey is to provide qualitative and limited quantitative information on credit availability and demand, as well as evolving developments and lending practices in the U.S. loan markets. Consequently, a portion of the questions in each survey typically covers special topics of timely interest. There is the option to survey other types of respondents (such as other depository institutions, bank holding companies, or other financial entities) should the need arise. The FR 2018 survey provides crucial information for monitoring and understanding the evolution of lending practices at banks and developments in credit markets.

2. Report title: Senior Financial Officer Survey.

Agency form number: FR 2023.

OMB control number: 7100-0223.

Frequency: Up to four times per year.

Reporters: Large commercial banks.

Annual reporting hours: 240 hours.

Estimated average hours per response: 1 hour.

Number of respondents: 60.

Small businesses are not affected.

General description of report: This information collection is voluntary (12 U.S.C. 225a, 248(a), and 263). It has been anticipated that most, if not all, of the information to be collected on the FR 2023 would be exempt from disclosure under subsection (b)(4) of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)). However, the confidentiality status of the survey would be determined on a case-by-case basis, when the specific questions to be asked on each particular survey are formulated but before respondents are contacted. Respondents will be informed of the confidentiality status of that particular survey, each time the survey would be conducted.

Abstract: The FR 2023 collects qualitative and limited quantitative information about liability management, the provision of financial services, and the functioning of key financial markets from a selection of sixty large commercial banks (or, if appropriate, from other depository institutions or major financial market participants). Responses are obtained from a senior officer at each participating institution through a telephone interview. The survey is conducted when major informational needs arise and cannot be met from existing data sources. The survey does not have a fixed set of questions; each survey consists of a limited number of questions directed at topics of timely interest. The survey helps pinpoint developing trends in bank funding practices, enabling the Federal Reserve to distinguish these trends from transitory phenomena.

3. Report titles: Quarterly Report of Interest Rates on Selected Direct Consumer Installment Loans and Quarterly Report of Credit Card Plans.

Agency form numbers: FR 2835 and FR 2835a.

OMB control number: 7100-0085.

Frequency: Quarterly.

Reporters: Commercial banks.

Annual reporting hours: FR 2835, 132 hours; and FR 2835a, 100 hours.

Estimated average hours per response: FR 2835, 13.2 minutes; and FR 2835a, 30 minutes.

Number of respondents: FR 2835, 150; and FR 2835a, 50.

Small businesses are not affected.

General description of report: These information collections are voluntary (12 U.S.C. 248(a)(2)). The FR 2835a individual respondent data are given confidential treatment (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)), the FR 2835 data however, is not given confidential treatment.

Abstract: The FR 2835 collects the most common interest rate charged at a sample of 150 commercial banks on two types of consumer loans made in a given week each quarter: new auto loans and other loans for consumer goods and personal expenditures.

The FR 2835a collects information on two measures of credit card interest rates from a sample of 50 commercial banks (authorized panel size), selected to include banks with $1 billion or more in credit card receivables, and a representative group of smaller issuers. The data are representative of interest rates paid by consumers on bank credit cards because the panel includes virtually all large issuers and an appropriate sample of other issuers.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 23, 2009.

Robert deV. Frierson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.