E9-17846. Suspicious Activity Report

AGENCY:

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The proposed information collection request (ICR) described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. OTS is soliciting public comments on the proposal.

DATES:

Submit written comments on or before August 27, 2009. A copy of this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, can be obtained from RegInfo.gov at http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments, referring to the collection by title of the proposal or by OMB approval number, to OMB and OTS at these addresses: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for OTS, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to [phone]; and Information Collection Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552, by fax to [phone], or by 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:

For further information or to obtain a copy of the submission to OMB, please contact Ira L. Mills at, [e-mail] [phone], or facsimile number [phone], Regulations and Legislation Division, Chief Counsel's Office, 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.

Title of Proposal: Suspicious Activity Report.

OMB Number: 1550-0003.

Form Number: 1601.

Description: OTS and the bank regulators, including the Board, adopted the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) in 1996 to simplify the process through which depository institutions (“banks”) inform their regulators and law enforcement about suspected criminal activity. The SAR was updated in 1999 and again in 2003.

In 1992, the Treasury Department was granted broad authority to require suspicious transaction reporting under the Bank Secrecy Act. See 31 U.S.C. 5318(g). The Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which has been delegated authority to administer the Bank Secrecy Act, joined with the bank regulators in 1996 in requiring, on a consolidated form (the SAR form), reports of suspicious transactions. See 31 CFR 103.18(a).

The filing of SARs is necessary to prevent and detect the laundering of money and other funds at banks.

Banks are required to retain a copy of any SAR filed and supporting documentation for the filing of the SAR for five years. See 31 CFR 103.18(d), 31 CFR 103.38 and 12 CFR 563.180(d)(6).

These documents are necessary for criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 804.

Estimated Number of Responses: 58,821.

Estimated Burden Hours per Response: 1 hour for the report; 1.8 hours for retention.

Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Burden: 164,698 hours.

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

Dated: July 21, 2009.

Deborah Dakin,

Acting Chief Counsel, Office of Thrift Supervision.