2012-9644. Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY:

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), pursuant to 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 part 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.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before June 22, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 2230 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.
• Email: [e-mail]. Include OMB 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 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 may send a copy of their comments to the 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 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.

Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Cynthia Ayouch—Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551 (202-452-3829) Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202-263-4869), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

The following information collection, which is being handled under this delegated authority, has received initial Board approval and is hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, the proposed information collection, 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;

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 start up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

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

Report title: Suspicious Activity Report by Depository Institutions.

Agency form number: FR 2230.

OMB Control number: 7100-0212.

Frequency: On occasion.^[1]

Reporters: State member banks, bank holding companies and their nonbank subsidiaries, Edge and agreement corporations, and the U.S. branches and agencies, representative offices, and nonbank subsidiaries of foreign banks supervised by the Federal Reserve.

Annual reporting hours: 90,397 hours.

Estimated average hours per response: 1 hour.

Number of respondents: 6,000.

General description of report: The Suspicious Activity Report by Depository Institutions (SAR) is mandatory, pursuant to authority contained in the following statutes: 12 U.S.C. 248(a)(1), 625, 1844(c), 3105(c)(2), 3106(a), and 1818(s). SARs are exempt from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure by 31 U.S.C. 5319 and FIOA exemption 3 which incorporates into the FOIA certain nondisclosure provisions that are contained in other federal statutes, 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(3), by FOIA exemption 7, which generally exempts from public disclosure “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes,” 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(7), and by exemption 8, 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(8), which exempts information “contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports,” prepared for the use of financial institution supervisory agencies. Additionally, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5318(g), officers and employees of the Federal government are generally forbidden from disclosing the contents of a SAR, or even acknowledging that a SAR exists, to a party involved in a transaction that is the subject of a SAR. Finally, information contained in SARs may be exempt from certain disclosure and other requirements of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2).

Abstract: Since 1996, the federal banking agencies (the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration) and the Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network have required certain types of financial institutions to report known or suspected violations of law and suspicious transactions. To fulfill these requirements, supervised banking organizations file SARs. Law enforcement agencies use the information submitted on the reporting form to initiate investigations and the Federal Reserve uses the information in the examination and oversight of supervised institutions.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 17, 2012.

Robert deV. Frierson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

Footnotes

1.  Between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2011, 6,000 state member banks, bank holding companies, Edge and agreement corporations, and U.S. branches and agencies, representative offices, and nonbank subsidiaries of foreign banks filed 90,397 suspicious activity report, generating an annual frequency of 15.0661for each institution.