2024-05104. Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Renewal; Comment Request; Investment Securities

AGENCY:

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC 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 OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled, “Investment Securities.”

DATES:

Comments must be received by May 10, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• Email: [e-mail].

• Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557–0205, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E–218, Washington, DC 20219.

• Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E–218, Washington, DC 20219.

• Fax: [phone].

Instructions: You must include “OCC” as the agency name and “1557–0205” in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish comments on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or personal information provided, such as name and address information, email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.

Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, the OCC will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period. You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to this information collection beginning on the date of publication of the second notice for this collection by the method set forth in the next bullet.

• Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. Hover over the “Information Collection Review” tab and click on “Information Collection Review” from the drop-down menu. From the “Currently under Review” drop-down menu, select “Department of Treasury” and then click “submit.” This information collection can be located by searching OMB control number “1557–0205” or “Investment Securities.” Upon finding the appropriate information collection, click on the related “ICR Reference Number.” On the next screen, select “View Supporting Statement and Other Documents” and then click on the link to any comment listed at the bottom of the screen.

• For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482–7340.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shaquita Merritt, Clearance Officer, (202) 649–5490, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7–1–1 to access telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the OMB for each collection of information that they conduct or sponsor. “Collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 generally requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the OCC is publishing notice of the renewal of this collection.

Title: Investment Securities.

OMB Control No.: 1557–0205.

Type of Review: Regular.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.

Description: Under 12 CFR 1.3(h)(2), a national bank may request an OCC determination that it may invest in an entity that is exempt from registration under section 3(c)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 ^[1] if the portfolio of the entity consists exclusively of assets that a national bank may purchase and sell for its own account. The OCC uses the information contained in the request as a basis for ensuring that the bank's investment is consistent with its investment authority under applicable law and does not pose unacceptable risk. Under 12 CFR 1.7(b), a national bank may request OCC approval to extend the five-year holding period for securities held in satisfaction of debts previously contracted for up to an additional five years. In its request, the bank must provide a clearly convincing demonstration of why the additional holding period is needed. The OCC uses the information in the request to ensure, on a case-by-case basis, that the bank's purpose in retaining the securities is not speculative and that the bank's reasons for requesting the extension are adequate. The OCC also uses the information to evaluate the risks to the bank in extending the holding period, including potential effects on the bank's safety and soundness.

Estimated Burden:

Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 25.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 460 hours.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. Comments are invited on:

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

(b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimate of the burden of the collection of information;

(c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

(d) Ways to minimize the burden of the 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.

Patrick T. Tierney,

Assistant Director, Bank Advisory, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Footnotes

1.  15 U.S.C. 80a–3(c)(1).