2019-08716. 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, with revision, the Notice Claiming Status as an Exempt Transfer Agent (FR 4013; OMB No. 7100-0137).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before July 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 4013, by any of the following methods:

• Agency website: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/​apps/​foia/​proposedregs.aspx.
• Email: [e-mail]. Include the Office and Management and Budget (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 on the Board's website at http://www.federalreserve.gov/​apps/​foia/​proposedregs.aspx 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 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 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:

A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) OMB submission, including the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public docket files, if approved. These documents will also be made available on the Board's public website at http://www.federalreserve.gov/​apps/​reportforms/​review.aspx or may be requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.

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]. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact [phone], Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC, 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements 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.

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, With Revision, the Following Information Collection:

Report title: Notice Claiming Status as an Exempt Transfer Agent.

Agency form number: FR 4013.

OMB control number: 7100-0137.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondents: Banks, bank holding companies (BHCs), savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs), and certain trust companies.

Estimated number of respondents: 2.

Estimated average hours per response: 2 hours.

Estimated annual burden hours: 4 hours.

General description of report: Transfer agents, which are institutions that provide securities transfer, registration, monitoring, and other specified services on behalf of securities issuers,^[1] are generally subject to certain Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. A transfer agent is Board-regulated if it is a state member bank or a subsidiary thereof, a BHC, or an SLHC. Certain transfer agent subsidiaries of BHCs are also Board-regulated.^[2] A Board-regulated transfer agent that transfers and processes a low volume of securities (a “low-volume transfer agent”) may request an exemption from those regulations by filing with the Board a notice (an “exemption notice”) certifying that it qualifies as a low-volume transfer agent.

Proposed revisions: The Board proposes to revise the FR 4013 to account for the notice that a Board-regulated transfer agent that has previously filed an exemption notice must file with the Board if it no longer qualifies as a low-volume transfer agent.

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 4013 is authorized pursuant to sections 2, 17(a)(3), 17A(c), and 23(a) of the Exchange Act ^[3] , which, among other things, authorize the Board to promulgate regulations and establish recordkeeping and reporting requirements with respect to Board-registered transfer agents.^[4] The exemption notice is mandatory for Board-registered transfer agents seeking the low-volume exemption. The obligation to respond for the exemption notice, therefore, is required to obtain a benefit. The exemption disqualification notice is mandatory for a transfer agent that no longer qualifies for the exemption. The information collected in the FR 4013 regarding a Board-registered transfer agent's volume of transactions is public information through the filing and publication of the transfer agents' Form TA-2 with the SEC. Therefore, individual respondent data collected by the FR 4013 are not confidential.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 25, 2019.

Michele Taylor Fennell,

Assistant Secretary of the Board.

Footnotes

1.  See 15 U.S.C. 78c(25) (defining “transfer agent”).

2.  A transfer agent subsidiary of a BHC is Board-regulated if the subsidiary is, or is a subsidiary of, a bank, as defined by 15 U.S.C. 78c(6), that is not a national bank, Federal savings association, a bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or a state savings association.

3.  15 U.S.C. 78b, 78q(a)(3), 78q-1(c), and 78w(a).

4.  Additionally, the Board also has the authority to require reports from bank holding companies (12 U.S.C. 1844(c)), savings and loan holding companies (12 U.S.C. 1467a(b) and (g)), and state member banks (12 U.S.C. 248(a) and 324).