2018-10268. 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 Survey (FR 2023; OMB No. 7100-0223).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before July 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 2023, 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 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 http://www.federalreserve.gov/​apps/​foia/​proposedregs.aspx as submitted, unless modified for technical reasons or to remove sensitive PII (personally identifiable information) at the commenter's request. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper form in Room 3515, 1801 K Street NW, (between 18th and 19th Streets 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 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 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, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve of 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 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 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 Federal Reserve should modify the proposal prior to giving final approval.

Proposal To Approve Under OMB Delegated Authority the Extension for Three Years, Without Revision, of the Following Report

Report title: Senior Financial Officer Survey.

Agency form number: FR 2023.

OMB control number: 7100-0223.

Frequency: Up to four times a year.

Respondents: Domestically chartered large commercial banks.

Estimated number of respondents: 80.

Estimated average hours per response: 3 hours.

Estimated annual burden hours: 960 hours.

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 a voluntary survey. Section 2A of the Federal Reserve Act (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 (12 U.S.C. 225a). In addition, under section 12A of the FRA, the FOMC is required to implement regulations relating to the open market operations conducted by Federal Reserve Banks. Those transactions must be governed with a view to accommodating commerce and business and with regard to their bearing upon the general credit situation of the country (12 U.S.C. 263). The Board and the FOMC use the information obtained from the FR 2023 to help fulfill these obligations.

The questions asked on each survey will vary, so the ability of the Board to maintain the confidentiality of information collected must be determined on a case by case basis. It is likely that much of the information collected would constitute confidential financial information obtained from a person and would thus be protected from disclosure under exemption 4 to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)). Exemption 8 to FOIA, which protects information related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared for the use of an agency supervising financial institutions, may also occasionally apply (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)).

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 9, 2018.

Michele Taylor Fennell,

Assistant Secretary of the Board.