E8-11446. Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request-Interagency Bank Merger Act Application

AGENCY:

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507. The Office of Thrift Supervision within the Department of the Treasury will submit the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. Today, OTS is soliciting public comments on its proposal to extend this information collection.

DATES:

Submit written comments on or before July 21, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments, referring to the collection by title of the proposal or by OMB approval number, to Information Collection Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552; send a facsimile transmission to [phone]; or send an e-mail to [e-mail]. OTS will post comments and the related index on the OTS Internet Site at http://www.ots.treas.gov. In addition, interested persons may inspect comments at the Public Reading Room, 1700 G Street, NW., by appointment. To make an appointment, call [phone], send an e-mail to [e-mail], or send a facsimile transmission to [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

You can request additional information about this proposed information collection from Patricia D. Goings, [phone], Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OTS may not conduct or sponsor an information collection, and respondents are not required to respond to an information collection, unless the information collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. As part of the approval process, we invite comments on the following information collection.

Comments should address one or more of the following points:

a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of OTS;

b. The accuracy of OTS's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection;

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

d. Ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of information technology.

We will summarize the comments that we receive and include them in the OTS request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. In this notice, OTS is soliciting comments concerning the following information collection.

Title of Proposal: Interagency Bank Merger Act Application.

OMB Number: 1550-0016.

Form Numbers: N/A.

Regulation requirement: 12 CFR Parts 546, 552 and 563.

Description: The Office of Thrift Supervision, Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System each use the Interagency Bank Merger Act Application form to collect information for bank merger proposals that require prior approval under the Bank Merger Act. Prior approval is required for every merger transaction involving affiliated or nonaffiliated institutions and must be sought from the regulatory agency of the depository institution that would survive the proposed transaction. A merger transaction may include a merger, consolidation, assumption of deposit liabilities, or certain asset transfers between or among two or more institutions. The information collected by the remaining notifications and forms assist the regulatory agency in fulfilling their statutory responsibilities as supervisors. The regulatory agency uses the information to evaluate the controlling owners, senior officers, and directors of the insured depository institutions subject to their oversight.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 17.

Estimated Number of Responses: 17.

Estimated Time per Respondent: 30 hours.

Estimated Frequency of Response: Other: As requested.

Estimated Total Burden: 510 hours.

Clearance Officer: Ira L. Mills, [phone], Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.

Dated: April 4, 2008.

Deborah Dakin,

Senior Deputy Chief Counsel, Regulations and Legislation Division.