2021-02199. 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, the Senior Financial Officer Surveys (FR 2023; OMB No. 7100-0223).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before April 5, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 2023, 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 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 identifying 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—Shagufta Ahmed—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 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.

A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) OMB submission, including the reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, and other documentation will be available at https://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain,, if approved. These documents will also 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.

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: Senior Financial Officer Surveys.

Agency form number: FR 2023.

OMB control number: 7100-0223.

Frequency: Up to four times a year.

Respondents: Domestically chartered large depository institutions and foreign banking organizations.

Estimated number of respondents: 80.

Estimated average hours per response: 3.

Estimated annual burden hours: 960.

General description of report: The Board uses the surveys in this collection to gather qualitative and limited quantitative information about liability management, the provision of financial services, and the functioning of key financial markets. Responses are obtained from a senior officer at each participating institution, usually through an electronic submission. Although a survey may not be collected in a given year, the Board may conduct up to four surveys per year when 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.

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 2023 is authorized by sections 2A, 12A, and 11 of the Federal Reserve Act (“FRA”).^[1] 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.^[2] 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.” ^[3] Section 11 of the FRA authorizes the Board to require reports from each member bank as it may deem necessary and authorizes the Board to prescribe reports of liabilities and assets from insured depository institutions to enable the Board to discharge its responsibility to monitor and control monetary and credit aggregates.^[4] The Board and FOMC use the information obtained through the FR 2023 to discharge these responsibilities.

Survey submissions under the FR 2023 are voluntary.

The questions asked on each survey will vary. The Board's ability to keep confidential responses to the FR 2023 must therefore be determined on a case-by-case basis. Much of the information collected is likely to constitute nonpublic commercial or financial information, which is both customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent, so may be kept confidential by the Board pursuant to exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).^[5] Some survey responses may also contain information contained in or related to an examination of a financial institution, which may be kept confidential under exemption 8 of the FOIA.^[6] Responses to the FR 2023 are tabulated and summarized at the Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This aggregate information is not considered confidential, and a report containing summary data is published on the Board's public website.^[7]

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, January 28, 2021.

Michele Taylor Fennell,

Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.

Footnotes

1.  31 U.S.C. 5364(a).

2.  12 U.S.C. 225a.

3.  12 U.S.C. 263.

4.  12 U.S.C. 248(a).

5.  5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).

6.  5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8).

7.  Survey reports are available at www.federalreserve.gov/​data/​sfos/​sfos.htm.