E9-19911. Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCIES:

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION:

Joint notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (the “agencies”) may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), of which the agencies are members, has approved the agencies' publication for public comment of a proposal to extend, with revision, the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report), which are currently approved collections of information. At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the FFIEC and the agencies should modify the proposed revisions prior to giving final approval. The agencies will then submit the revisions to OMB for review and approval.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before October 19, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to any or all of the agencies. All comments, which should refer to the OMB control number(s), will be shared among the agencies.

OCC: You should direct all written comments to: Communications Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Public Information Room, Mailstop 2-3, Attention: 1557-0081, 250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. In addition, comments may be sent by fax to [phone], or by electronic mail to [e-mail]. You may personally inspect and photocopy comments at the OCC, 250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. For security reasons, the OCC 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.

Board: You may submit comments, which should refer to “Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income, 7100-0036,” by any of the following methods:

• Agency Web site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the http://www.federalreserve.gov/​generalinfo/​foia/​ProposedRegs.cfm.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: [e-mail]. Include the OMB control 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 http://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 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.

FDIC: You may submit comments, which should refer to “Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income, 3064-0052,” by any of the following methods:

• Agency Web site: http://www.fdic.gov/​regulations/​laws/​federal/​propose.html. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the FDIC Web site.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: [e-mail]. Include “Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income, 3064-0052” in the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Herbert J. Messite (202-898-6834), Counsel, Attn: Comments, Room F-1052, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429.
• Hand Delivery: Comments may be hand delivered to the guard station at the rear of the 550 17th Street Building (located on F Street) on business days between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Public Inspection: All comments received will be posted without change to http://www.fdic.gov/​regulations/​laws/​federal/​propose.html including any personal information provided. Comments may be inspected at the FDIC Public Information Center, Room E-1002, 3501 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22226, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on business days.

Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the OMB desk officer for the agencies by mail to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. 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:

For further information about the revisions discussed in this notice, please contact any of the agency clearance officers whose names appear below. In addition, copies of the Call Report forms can be obtained at the FFIEC's Web site (http://www.ffiec.gov/​ffiec_​report_​forms.htm).

OCC: Mary Gottlieb, OCC Clearance Officer, [phone], Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219.

Board: Michelle Shore, Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer, [phone], Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20551. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may call [phone].

FDIC: Herbert J. Messite, Counsel, [phone], Legal Division, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The agencies are proposing to revise and extend for three years the Call Report, which is currently an approved collection of information for each agency.

Report Title: Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report).

Form Number: Call Report: FFIEC 031 (for banks with domestic and foreign offices) and FFIEC 041 (for banks with domestic offices only).

Frequency of Response: Quarterly.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.

OCC

OMB Number: 1557-0081.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,569 national banks.

Estimated Time per Response: 49.33 burden hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 309,595 burden hours.

Board

OMB Number: 7100-0036.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 861 state member banks.

Estimated Time per Response: 55.08 burden hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 189,696 burden hours.

FDIC

OMB Number: 3064-0052.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 5,032 insured state nonmember banks.

Estimated Time per Response: 39.15 burden hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 788,011 burden hours.

The estimated time per response for the Call Report is an average that varies by agency because of differences in the composition of the institutions under each agency's supervision (e.g., size distribution of institutions, types of activities in which they are engaged, and existence of foreign offices). The average reporting burden for the Call Report is estimated to range from 16 to 655 hours per quarter, depending on an individual institution's circumstances.

General Description of Reports

These information collections are mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 161 (for national banks), 12 U.S.C. 324 (for state member banks), and 12 U.S.C. 1817 (for insured state nonmember commercial and savings banks). At present, except for selected data items, these information collections are not given confidential treatment.

Abstract

Institutions submit Call Report data to the agencies each quarter for the agencies' use in monitoring the condition, performance, and risk profile of individual institutions and the industry as a whole. Call Report data provide the most current statistical data available for evaluating institutions' corporate applications, for identifying areas of focus for both on-site and off-site examinations, and for monetary and other public policy purposes. The agencies use Call Report data in evaluating interstate merger and acquisition applications to determine, as required by law, whether the resulting institution would control more than ten percent of the total amount of deposits of insured depository institutions in the United States. Call Report data are also used to calculate institutions' deposit insurance and Financing Corporation assessments and national banks' semiannual assessment fees.

Current Actions

I. Overview

The agencies are proposing to implement certain changes to the Call Report requirements in 2010 that are intended to provide data needed for reasons of safety and soundness or other public purposes. These proposed revisions respond, for example, to a change in accounting standards, a temporary increase in the deposit insurance limit, and credit availability concerns.

The proposed Call Report changes that are the subject of this proposal would take effect as of March 31, 2010, unless otherwise indicated. These revisions, which are discussed in detail in Sections II.A. through J. of this notice, include:

• New items identifying total other-than-temporary impairment losses on debt securities, the portion of the total recognized in other comprehensive income, and the net losses recognized in earnings, consistent with the presentation requirements of a recent accounting standard;
• Clarification of the instructions for reporting unused commitments;
• Breakdowns of the existing items for unused credit card lines and other unused commitments, with the former breakdown required only for certain institutions, and a related breakdown of the existing item for other loans;
• New items pertaining to reverse mortgages that would be collected annually as of December 31;
• A breakdown of the existing item for time deposits of $100,000 or more (in domestic offices);
• Revisions of existing items for brokered deposits;
• New items for the interest expense and quarterly averages for fully insured brokered time deposits and other brokered time deposits;
• A change in the reporting frequency for small business and small farm lending data from annually to quarterly;
• A change in the reporting frequency for the number of certain deposit accounts from annually to quarterly; and
• The elimination of the item for internal allocations of income and expense from the schedule for income from foreign offices.

The agencies seek to establish reporting thresholds for the collection of Call Report information where practicable to limit the reporting burden imposed on banking institutions. In establishing such thresholds, the agencies weigh the characteristics of the institutions involved in the activity that would be subject to the reporting requirements, the number of institutions affected by the reporting requirements, the type of information being collected, how that information will be used by the agencies, and banks' costs associated with gathering and reporting the requested information. The agencies solicit comments from banking institutions related to the proposals described in this notice. Are there appropriate reporting thresholds for specific proposed changes that will enable the agencies to collect meaningful information without creating undue burden for institutions? Please provide specific feedback regarding the amount of burden created by the proposed amendments as well as suggestions for thresholds that would reduce this burden without compromising the usefulness of the data.

For the March 31 and December 31, 2010 report dates, banks may provide reasonable estimates for any new or revised Call Report item initially required to be reported as of that date for which the requested information is not readily available. The specific wording of the captions for the new or revised Call Report data items discussed in this proposal and the numbering of these data items should be regarded as preliminary.

Type of Review: Revision and extension of currently approved collections.

II. Discussion of Proposed Call Report Revisions

A. Other-Than-Temporary Impairment Losses on Debt Securities

On April 9, 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued FASB Staff Position (FSP) No. 115-2 and 124-2, Recognition and Presentation of Other-Than-Temporary Impairments (FSP FAS 115-2).^[1] This FSP amended the other-than-temporary impairment guidance in other accounting standards that applies to investments in debt securities. Under FSP FAS 115-2, if a bank intends to sell a debt security or it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, an other-than-temporary impairment has occurred and the entire difference between the security's amortized cost basis and its fair value at the balance sheet date must be recognized in earnings. FSP FAS 115-2 also provides that if the present value of cash flows expected to be collected on a debt security is less than its amortized cost basis, a credit loss exists. In this situation, if a bank does not intend to sell the security and it is not more likely than not that the bank will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis less any current-period credit loss, an other-than-temporary impairment has occurred. The amount of the total other-than-temporary impairment related to the credit loss must be recognized in earnings, but the amount of the total impairment related to other factors must be recognized in other comprehensive income, net of applicable taxes.

For other-than-temporary impairment losses on held-to-maturity and available-for-sale debt securities, banks report the amount of the other-than-temporary impairment losses that must be recognized in earnings in items 6.a and 6.b of the Call Report income statement (Schedule RI), respectively. Other-than-temporary impairment losses that are to be recognized in other comprehensive income, net of applicable taxes, are reported in Schedule RI-A, Changes in Bank Equity Capital, item 10, “Other comprehensive income.” However, because items 6.a and 6.b of Schedule RI also include other amounts such as gains (losses) on sales of held-to-maturity and available-for-sale securities, the agencies currently are not able to determine the effect on the net income of banks, individually and in the aggregate, of other-than-temporary impairment losses that must be recognized in earnings. Similarly, because item 10 of Schedule RI-A includes all of the other components of a bank's other comprehensive income, the agencies cannot identify the portion of other comprehensive income attributable to other-than-temporary impairment losses for banks individually and in the aggregate.

According to FSP FAS 115-2, in a period in which a bank determines that a debt security's decline in fair value below its amortized cost basis is other than temporary, the bank must present the total other-than-temporary impairment loss in the income statement with an offset for the amount of the total loss that is recognized in other comprehensive income. This new presentation provides additional information about the amounts that a bank does not expect to collect related to its investments in debt securities held for purposes other than trading. Therefore, to enhance the agencies' ability to evaluate the factors affecting bank earnings, the agencies propose to add three Memorandum items to the Call Report income statement that would mirror the presentation requirements of FSP FAS 115-2. In these new Memorandum items, banks would report total other-than-temporary impairment losses on debt securities for the calendar year-to-date reporting period, the portion of these losses recognized in other comprehensive income, and the net losses recognized in earnings

B. Clarification of the Instructions for Reporting Unused Commitments

Banks report unused commitments in item 1 of Schedule RC-L, Derivatives and Off-Balance Sheet Items. The instructions for this item identify various arrangements that should be reported as unused commitments, including but not limited to commitments for which the bank has charged a commitment fee or other consideration, commitments that are legally binding, loan proceeds that the bank is obligated to advance, commitments to issue a commitment, and revolving underwriting facilities. However, the agencies have found that some banks have not reported commitments that they have entered into until they have signed the loan agreement for the financing that they have committed to provide. Although the agencies consider these arrangements to be commitments to issue a commitment and, therefore, within the scope of the existing instructions for reporting commitments in Schedule RC-L, they believe that these instructions may not be sufficiently clear. Therefore, the agencies originally proposed to revise the instructions for Schedule RC-L, item 1, “Unused commitments,” as one of the proposed Call Report changes for implementation as of March 31, 2009.^[2] More specifically, with respect to commitments to issue a commitment at some point in the future, the agencies proposed to add language to the instructions for this item explicitly stating that such commitments include those that have been entered into even though the related loan agreement has not yet been signed.

In response to the agencies' request for comment on Call Report revisions for 2009, three commenters specifically addressed the proposed instructional clarification pertaining to unused commitments. One commenter agreed that clarification is needed, but recommended that commitments to issue a commitment in the future, including those entered into even though the related loan agreement has not yet been signed, should be removed from the list of types of arrangements that the instructions would direct banks to report as unused commitments. A second commenter expressed concern about reporting “commitments that contain a relatively high level of uncertainty until a loan agreement has been signed or the loan has been funded with a first advance” and the reliability of data on such commitments. The third commenter stated that because some banks do not have systems for tracking such arrangements, the instructions should in effect permit banks to exclude commitment letters with an expiration date of 90 days or less. Finally, the first commenter also recommended that the instructions for reporting unused commitments should state that amounts conveyed or participated to others that the conveying or participating bank is not obligated to fund should not be reported as unused commitments by the conveying or participating bank.

After evaluating these comments, the agencies have refined their approach to identifying commitments to issue a commitment in a manner that is intended to address the commenters' concerns by focusing on a point in the commitment process when the agencies believe that banks' systems should be tracking their commitments. Thus, the instructions would state that commitments to issue a commitment at some point in the future are those where the bank has extended terms and the borrower has accepted the offered terms, even though the related loan agreement has not yet been signed. In addition, the agencies agree with the commenter's recommendation concerning commitments that have been conveyed or participated to others and are proposing to modify the instructions accordingly.

The proposed revised instructions for Schedule RC-L, item 1, would read as follows:

Report in the appropriate subitem the unused portions of commitments. Unused commitments are to be reported gross, i.e., include in the appropriate subitem the unused amount of commitments acquired from and conveyed or participated to others. However, exclude commitments conveyed or participated to others that the bank is not legally obligated to fund even if the party to whom the commitment has been conveyed or participated fails to perform in accordance with the terms of the commitment.

For purposes of this item, commitments include:

(1) Commitments to make or purchase extensions of credit in the form of loans or participations in loans, lease financing receivables, or similar transactions.

(2) Commitments for which the bank has charged a commitment fee or other consideration.

(3) Commitments that are legally binding.

(4) Loan proceeds that the bank is obligated to advance, such as:

(a) Loan draws;

(b) Construction progress payments; and

(c) Seasonal or living advances to farmers under prearranged lines of credit.

(5) Rotating, revolving, and open-end credit arrangements, including, but not limited to, retail credit card lines and home equity lines of credit.

(6) Commitments to issue a commitment at some point in the future, where the bank has extended terms and the borrower has accepted the offered terms, even though the related loan agreement has not yet been signed.

(7) Overdraft protection on depositors' accounts offered under a program where the bank advises account holders of the available amount of overdraft protection, for example, when accounts are opened or on depositors' account statements or ATM receipts.

(8) The bank's own takedown in securities underwriting transactions.

(9) Revolving underwriting facilities (RUFs), note issuance facilities (NIFs), and other similar arrangements, which are facilities under which a borrower can issue on a revolving basis short-term paper in its own name, but for which the underwriting banks have a legally binding commitment either to purchase any notes the borrower is unable to sell by the rollover date or to advance funds to the borrower.

Exclude forward contracts and other commitments that meet the definition of a derivative and must be accounted for in accordance with FASB Statement No. 133, which should be reported in Schedule RC-L, item 12. Include the amount (not the fair value) of the unused portions of loan commitments that do not meet the definition of a derivative that the bank has elected to report at fair value under a fair value option. Also include forward contracts that do not meet the definition of a derivative. The unused portions of commitments are to be reported in the appropriate subitem regardless of whether they contain “material adverse change” clauses or other provisions that are intended to relieve the issuer of its funding obligations under certain conditions and regardless of whether they are unconditionally cancelable at any time.

In the case of commitments for syndicated loans, report only the bank's proportional share of the commitment.

For purposes of reporting the unused portions of revolving asset-based lending commitments, the commitment is defined as the amount a bank is obligated to fund—as of the report date—based on the contractually agreed upon terms. In the case of revolving asset-based lending, the unused portions of such commitments should be measured as the difference between (a) the lesser of the contractual borrowing base (i.e., eligible collateral times the advance rate) or the note commitment limit, and (b) the sum of outstanding loans and letters of credit under the commitment. The note commitment limit is the overall maximum loan amount beyond which the bank will not advance funds regardless of the amount of collateral posted. This definition of “commitment” is applicable only to revolving asset-based lending, which is a specialized form of secured lending in which a borrower uses current assets (e.g., accounts receivable and inventory) as collateral for a loan. The loan is structured so that the amount of credit is limited by the value of the collateral.

C. Additional Categories of Unused Commitments and Loans

The extent to which banks are reducing the supply of credit during the current financial crisis has been of great interest to the agencies and to Congress. Also, bank lending plays a central role in any economic recovery and the agencies need data to better determine when credit conditions have eased. One way to measure the supply of credit is to analyze the change in total lending commitments by banks, considering both the amount of loans outstanding and the volume of unused credit lines. These data are also needed for safety and soundness purposes because draws on commitments during periods when banks face significant funding pressures, such as during the fall of 2008, can place significant and unexpected demands on the liquidity and capital positions of banks. Therefore, the agencies propose breaking out in further detail two categories of unused commitments on Schedule RC-L, Derivatives and Off-Balance Sheet Items. The agencies also propose to break out in further detail one new loan category on Schedule RC-C, part I, Loans and Leases. These new data items would improve the agencies' ability to obtain timely and accurate readings on the supply of credit available to households and businesses. These data would also be useful in determining the effectiveness of the government's economic stabilization programs.

Unused commitments associated with credit card lines are reported in Schedule RC-L, item 1.b. This data item is not sufficiently meaningful for monitoring the supply of credit because it mixes consumer credit card lines with credit card lines for businesses and other entities. As a result of this aggregation, it is not possible to fully monitor credit available specifically to households. Furthermore, bank supervisors would benefit from the split, because the usage patterns, profitability, and evolution of credit quality through the business cycle are likely to differ for consumer credit cards and business credit cards. Therefore, the agencies propose to split Schedule RC-L, item 1.b, into unused consumer credit card lines and other unused credit card lines. This breakout would be reported by institutions with either $300 million or more in total assets or $300 million or more in unused credit card commitments. Draws from these credit lines that have not been sold are already reported on Schedule RC-C, part I. For example, banks must report draws on credit cards issued to nonfarm nonfinancial businesses as commercial and industrial (C&I) loans in Schedule RC-C, part I, item 4, and draws on personal credit cards as consumer loans in Schedule RC-C, part I, item 6.a.

Schedule RC-L, item 1.e, aggregates all other unused commitments, and includes unused commitments to fund C&I loans (other than credit card lines to commercial and industrial enterprises, which are reported in item 1.b, and commitments to fund commercial real estate, construction, and land development loans not secured by real estate, which are reported in item 1.c.(2)). Separating these C&I lending commitments from the other commitments included in other unused commitments would considerably improve the agencies' ability to analyze business credit conditions. A very large percentage of banks responding to the Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (FR 2018; OMB No. 7100-0058) reported having tightened lending policies for C&I loans and credit lines during 2008; however, C&I loans on banks' balance sheets expanded through the end of October 2008, reportedly as a result of substantial draws on existing credit lines. In contrast, other unused commitments reported on the Call Report contracted, but without the proposed breakouts of such commitments, it was not possible to know how total business borrowing capacity had changed. The FR 2018 data are qualitative rather than quantitative and are collected only from a sample of institutions up to six times per year. Having the additional unused commitment data reported separately on the Call Report, along with the proposed changes to Schedule RC-C described below, would have indicated more clearly whether there was a widespread restriction in new credit available to businesses.

Therefore, the agencies propose to split Schedule RC-L, item 1.e, into three categories: Unused commitments to fund commercial and industrial loans (which would include only commitments not reported in Schedule RC-L, items 1.b and 1.c.(2), for loans that, when funded, would be reported in Schedule RC-C, item 4), unused commitments to fund loans to financial institutions (defined to include depository institutions and nondepository financial institutions, i.e., real estate investment trusts, mortgage companies, holding companies of other depository institutions, insurance companies, finance companies, mortgage finance companies, factors and other financial intermediaries, short-term business credit institutions, personal finance companies, investment banks, the bank's own trust department, other domestic and foreign financial intermediaries, and Small Business Investment Companies), and all other unused commitments. With respect to Schedule RC-C, part I, the agencies also propose to revise item 9, “Other loans,” by breaking out a new category for loans to nondepository financial institutions (as defined above). Banks already report data on loans to depository institutions in Schedule RC-C, part I, item 2.

Lending by nondepository financial institutions was a key characteristic of the recent credit cycle and many such institutions failed; however, little information existed on the exposure of the banking system to those firms as this information was obscured by the current structure of the Call Report's loan schedule. The proposed addition of separate items for unused commitments to financial institutions and loans to nondepository financial institutions, together with the existing data on loans to depository institutions, will allow supervisors and other interested parties to more closely monitor the exposure of individual banks to financial institutions and to assess the impact that changes in the credit availability to this sector have on the economy.

D. Reverse Mortgage Data

Reverse mortgages are complex loan products that leverage equity in homes to provide lump sum cash payments or lines of credit to borrowers. These products are typically marketed to senior citizens who own homes. The agencies are currently unable to effectively identify and monitor institutions that offer these products due to a lack of reverse mortgage data.

The reverse mortgage market currently consists of two basic types of products: Proprietary products designed and originated by financial institutions and a federally-insured product known as a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM). Some reverse mortgages provide for a lump sum payment to the borrower at closing, with no ability for the borrower to receive additional funds under the mortgage at a later date. Other reverse mortgages are structured like home equity lines of credit in that they provide the borrower with additional funds after closing, either as fixed monthly payments, under a line of credit, or both. There are also reverse mortgages that provide a combination of a lump sum payment to the borrower at closing and additional payments to the borrower after the closing of the loan.

The volume of reverse mortgage activity is expected to dramatically increase in the coming years as the U.S. population ages. A number of consumer protection related risks and safety and soundness related risks are associated with these products and the agencies need to collect information from banks involved in the reverse mortgage activities to monitor and mitigate those risks. For example, proprietary reverse mortgages structured as lines of credit, which are not insured by the federal government, expose borrowers to the risk that the lender will be unwilling or unable to meet its obligation to make payments due to the borrower. Additionally, in those circumstances in which housing prices are declining, there is the risk that the reverse mortgage loan balance may exceed the value of the underlying collateral value of the home.

As stated above, access to data regarding loan volumes, dollar amounts outstanding, and the institutions offering reverse mortgages or participating in reverse mortgage activity is severely limited. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides a monthly report for reverse mortgages endorsed for federal insurance, by fiscal year, for those loans that are part of the federally-sponsored HECM program. While this monthly report provides information such as average expected interest rates, average property values, average age of the borrower, and the number of active insured accounts, there is no aggregate monthly data nor is there institution-specific information that identifies the institutions participating in the program. For proprietary reverse mortgage loans, there is no known data on the volume of reverse mortgages, dollar amounts outstanding, or the institutions offering these products.

The agencies propose that new items be added to the Call Report to collect reverse mortgage data on an annual basis beginning on December 31, 2010. Collecting this information will provide the agencies the necessary information for policy development and the management of risk exposures posed by institutions' involvement with reverse mortgages. First, a new Memorandum item would be added to Schedule RC-C, part I, Loans and Leases, for “Reverse mortgages outstanding that are held for investment.” In this Memorandum item, banks would separately report the amount of HECM reverse mortgages and the amount of proprietary reverse mortgages that are held for investment and included in Schedule RC-C, part I, item 1.c, Loans “Secured by 1-4 family residential properties.” Additionally, new items would be added to Schedule RC-L, Derivatives and Off-Balance Sheet Items, to collect the amounts of “Unused commitments for HECM reverse mortgages outstanding that are held for investment” and “Unused commitments for proprietary reverse mortgages outstanding that are held for investment.” Because these reverse mortgages have been structured in whole or in part like home equity lines of credit, the unused commitments associated with these mortgages are also reportable in existing item 1.a, “Revolving, open-end lines secured by 1-4 family residential properties,” of Schedule RC-L. The proposed new unused commitment items would be subsets of item 1.a.

In many instances, institutions do not underwrite and fund reverse mortgages, but refer borrowers to other reverse mortgage lenders. These institutions receive a fee for referring customers to the reverse mortgage lender and they may be involved in (although their involvement may not be limited to) the following activities: Marketing the reverse mortgage loan product, providing information on or answering questions about the reverse mortgage loan, selling products in conjunction with reverse mortgages, and/or accepting an application for a reverse mortgage from the potential borrower. This model enables consumers to deal first with their local institutions without the institutions having to build an entirely new lending function. It also provides an economy of scale for a specialized lender because they will not necessarily need a large physical branch network when they can partner with existing lenders. The banking agencies propose adding a new Memorandum item to Schedule RC-C, part I, to annually collect the estimated number of fee-paid referrals during the year from each bank making referrals beginning on December 31, 2010. Banks would report separately the estimated number of fee-paid referrals for HECM reverse mortgages and proprietary reverse mortgages.

The agencies request specific feedback from reporting institutions on their ability to provide fee-paid referral information for reverse mortgages. Do banks maintain the data necessary to provide an estimate of the number of fee paid referrals they have made during the year? Would it be less burdensome for banks to report an estimated number of fee-paid referrals for reverse mortgages that falls within specified ranges of numbers? Is there alternative information that the agencies could collect in order to better understand the extent of banks' reverse mortgage referral activities?

Finally, many banks that originate reverse mortgages routinely sell their funded mortgages in the secondary market. As a result, these loans will not remain on the originating banks' balance sheets for long periods of time and, therefore, the proposed items for reverse mortgages outstanding that are held for investment will not capture the extent of banks' reverse mortgage activity when it involves the origination and sale of these loans. Thus, the agencies propose to add Memorandum items to Schedule RC-C, part I, in which banks would report the principal amount of reverse mortgages originated for sale that have been sold during the year. HECM and proprietary reverse mortgages sold would be reported separately. These items are distinct and separate from the items for the estimated number of referrals because the referring bank is not funding the loan, but is merely taking an application or conducting another service in order to refer the borrower to another institution that ultimately funds the reverse mortgage. The information on loans sold during the year also would be collected annually beginning on December 31, 2010.

E. Time Deposits of $100,000 or More

On October 3, 2008, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 temporarily raised the standard maximum deposit insurance amount (SMDIA) from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor. Under this legislation, the SMDIA was to return to $100,000 after December 31, 2009. However, on May 20, 2009, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act extended this temporary increase in the SMDIA to $250,000 per depositor through December 31, 2013, after which the SMDIA is scheduled to return to $100,000.

At present, banks report a two-way breakdown of their time deposits (in domestic offices) in Schedule RC-E, Deposit Liabilities, distinguishing between time deposits of less than $100,000 and time deposits of $100,000 or more. In response to the extension of the temporary increase in the limit on deposit insurance coverage, the agencies understand that time deposits with balances in excess of $100,000, but less than or equal to $250,000, have been growing and can be expected to increase further. However, given the existing Schedule RC-E reporting requirements, the agencies are unable to monitor growth in banks' time deposits with balances within the temporarily increased limit on deposit insurance coverage.

Therefore, the agencies are proposing to replace Schedule RC-E, Memorandum item 2.c, “Total time deposits of $100,000 or more,” with a revised Memorandum item 2.c, “Total time deposits of $100,000 through $250,000,” and a new Memorandum item 2.d, “Total time deposits of more than $250,000.” Existing Memorandum item 2.c.(1), “Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and Keogh Plan accounts included in Memorandum item 2.c, `Total time deposits of $100,000 or more,' above,” would be renumbered and recaptioned as Memorandum item 2.e, “Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and Keogh Plan accounts of $100,000 or more included in Memorandum items 2.c and 2.d above,” but the scope of this Memorandum item would not change.

F. Revisions of Brokered Deposit Items

As mentioned in Section I I.E. above, the SMDIA has been increased temporarily from $100,000 to $250,000 through year-end 2013. However, the data that banks currently report in the Call Report on fully insured brokered deposits in Schedule RC-E, Memorandum items 1.c.(1) and 1.c.(2), is based on the $100,000 insurance limit (except for brokered retirement deposit accounts for which the deposit insurance limit was already $250,000). Therefore, in response to the temporary increase in the SMDIA, the agencies are proposing to revise the reporting of fully insured brokered deposits in Schedule RC-E. Furthermore, given the linkage between the deposit insurance limits and the Memorandum items on fully insured brokered deposits in Schedule RC-E, the scope of these items needs to be changed whenever deposit insurance limits change. To ensure that the scope of these Memorandum items, including the dollar amounts cited in the captions for these items, changes automatically as a function of the deposit insurance limit in effect on the report date, Memorandum item 1.c, “Fully insured brokered deposits,” would be footnoted to state that the specific dollar amounts used as the basis for reporting fully insured brokered deposits in Memorandum items 1.c.(1) and 1.c.(2) reflect the deposit insurance limits in effect on the report date. The instructions for Memorandum item 1.c would be similarly clarified.^[3]

In addition, consistent with the reporting of time deposits in other items of Schedule RC-E, brokered deposits would be reported based on their balances rather than the denominations in which they were issued.

Accordingly, Memorandum items 1.c.(1) and 1.c.(2) of Schedule RC-E and their instructions would be revised as follows:

• Memorandum item 1.c.(1), “Brokered deposits of less than $100,000”: Report in this item brokered deposits with balances of less than $100,000. Also report in this item time deposits issued to deposit brokers in the form of large ($100,000 or more) certificates of deposit that have been participated out by the broker in shares with balances of less than $100,000. For brokered deposits that represent retirement deposit accounts (as defined in Schedule RC-O, Memorandum item 1) eligible for $250,000 in deposit insurance coverage, report such brokered deposits in this item only if their balances are less than $100,000.
• Memorandum item 1.c.(2), “Brokered deposits of $100,000 through $250,000 and certain brokered retirement deposit accounts”: Report in this item brokered deposits (including brokered retirement deposit accounts) with balances of $100,000 through $250,000. Also report in this item brokered deposits that represent retirement deposit accounts (as defined in Schedule RC-O, Memorandum item 1) eligible for $250,000 in deposit insurance coverage that have been issued by the bank in denominations of more than $250,000 that have been participated out by the broker in shares of $100,000 through exactly $250,000.

The proposed revisions to Schedule RC-E, Memorandum items 1.c.(1) and 1.c.(2), that relate to the temporary increase in the SMDIA would remain in effect during this increase, after which the dollar amounts used as the basis for reporting fully insured brokered deposits in these items would revert to the amounts in effect prior to the temporary increase.

The agencies are not proposing to revise the existing requirements for the reporting of maturity data on brokered deposits in Memorandum items 1.d.(1) and 1.d.(2) of Schedule RC-E.

G. Interest Expense on and Quarterly Averages for Brokered Deposits

Under Section 29 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1831f), an insured depository institution that is less than well capitalized generally may not pay a rate of interest that significantly exceeds the prevailing rate in the institution's “normal market area” and/or the prevailing rate in the “market area” from which the deposit is accepted. In the case of an adequately capitalized institution with a waiver to accept brokered deposits, the institution may not pay a rate of interest on brokered deposits accepted from outside the bank's “normal market area” that significantly exceeds the “national rate” as defined by the FDIC. On May 29, 2009, the FDIC's Board of Directors adopted a final rule making certain revisions to the interest rate restrictions under Section 337.6 of the FDIC's regulations. Under the final rule, the “national rate” is a simple average of rates paid by U.S. depository institutions as calculated by the FDIC.^[4] When evaluating compliance with the interest rate restrictions in Section 337.6 by an institution that is less than well capitalized, the FDIC generally will deem the national rate to be the prevailing rate in all market areas. The final rule is effective January 1, 2010.

At present, the agencies are unable to evaluate the level and trend of the cost of brokered time deposits to institutions that have acquired such funds, nor can the agencies compare the cost of such deposits across institutions with brokered time deposits. Data on the cost of brokered deposits would also assist the agencies in evaluating the overall cost of institutions' time deposits, for which data have long been collected in the Call Report. Furthermore, many of the banks that have failed since the beginning of 2008 have relied extensively on brokered deposits to support their asset growth. Therefore, to enhance the agencies' ability to evaluate funding costs and the impact of brokered time deposits on these costs, the agencies are proposing to add two Memorandum items to both Schedule RC-K, Quarterly Averages, and Schedule RI, Income Statement. In these Memorandum items, banks would report the interest expense and quarterly averages for “fully insured brokered time deposits” and “other brokered time deposits.” The definition of “fully insured brokered time deposits” would be based on the definitions of “fully insured brokered deposits” and “time deposits” in Schedule RC-E, Deposit Liabilities. “Other brokered time deposits” would consist of all brokered time deposits that are not “fully insured brokered deposits.”

H. Change in Reporting Frequency for Loans to Small Businesses and Small Farms

Section 122 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act requires the banking agencies to collect from insured institutions annually the information the agencies “may need to assess the availability of credit to small businesses and small farms.” To implement these requirements, the banking agencies added Schedule RC-C, Part II—Loans to Small Businesses and Small Farms to the Call Report effective June 30, 1993. This schedule requests information on the number and amount currently outstanding of “loans to small businesses” and “loans to small farms,” as defined in the Call Report instructions, which all banks must report annually as of June 30.

With the United States now more than a year into a recession, the current administration “firmly believes that economic recovery will be driven in large part by America's small businesses,” but “small business owners are finding it harder to get the credit necessary to stay in business.” ^[5] Because “[c]redit is essential to economic recovery,” Treasury Secretary Geithner stated on March 16, 2009, that “we need our nation's banks to go the extra mile in keeping credit lines in place on reasonable terms for viable businesses.” ^[6] Accordingly, Secretary Geithner asked the banking agencies “to call for quarterly, as opposed to annual reporting of small business loans, so that we can carefully monitor the degree that credit is flowing to our nation's entrepreneurs and small business owners.” ^[7] In response to Secretary Geithner's request and to improve the agencies' own ability to assess the availability of credit to small businesses and small farms, the agencies propose to change the frequency with which banks must submit Call Report Schedule RC-C, Part II, from annually to quarterly beginning March 31, 2010. The agencies are not proposing to make any revisions to the information that banks are required to report on this schedule.

I. Change in Reporting Frequency for the Number of Certain Deposit Accounts

In Call Report Schedule RC-O—Other Data for Deposit Insurance and FICO Assessments, banks report the number of deposit accounts based on whether the amount of the account is within the deposit insurance limit or is in excess of this limit. Information is reported separately for retirement deposit accounts and all other deposit accounts. At present, for deposit accounts for which the amount of the account exceeds the deposit insurance limit, the number of accounts is reported quarterly (Schedule RC-O, Memorandum items 1.b.(2) and 1.d.(2)). However, for deposit accounts for which the amount of the account is within this limit, the number of accounts is reported annually as of June 30 (Schedule RC-O, Memorandum items 1.a.(2) and 1.c.(2)).

Data on the number of deposit accounts are used to estimate average deposit account balances and changes therein as well as insured and uninsured deposits. These data also assist the FDIC in its planning efforts as it seeks to resolve potential failures of insured institutions. As a consequence, the difference in reporting frequency for deposit accounts with balances within and in excess of the deposit insurance limit hinders the effectiveness of these analyses. Therefore, the agencies are proposing to require all of the existing Call Report items on the number of deposit accounts to be reported quarterly beginning March 31, 2010. The agencies note that savings associations already report the number of all deposit accounts quarterly in the Thrift Financial Report (OMB No. 1550-0023). Thus, this proposed change in reporting frequency in the Call Report would conform the reporting requirements in this area for banks and savings associations.

J. Internal Income and Expense Allocations Applicable to Foreign Offices

In Schedule RI-D, Income from Foreign Offices, banks are to report in item 11 their best estimate of all appropriate internal allocations of income and expense applicable to foreign offices, whether or not “booked” that way in the bank's formal accounting records. This estimate includes, for example, allocations of income and expense in domestic offices applicable to foreign offices and allocations of income and expense in foreign offices applicable to domestic offices. A review of Schedule RI-D data indicates that few banks report any amount for these internal allocations and the usefulness of the amounts that are reported appears to be limited. Accordingly, the agencies propose to eliminate item 11, “Internal allocations of income and expense applicable to foreign offices,” from Schedule RI-D.

III. Other Matters

A. Effect of New Accounting Standards on Schedule RC-S, Servicing, Securitization, and Asset Sale Activities

On June 12, 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statements of Financial Accounting Standards Nos. 166 and 167, which revise the existing standards governing the accounting for financial asset transfers and the consolidation of variable interest entities.^[8] Statement No. 166 eliminates the concept of a “qualifying special-purpose entity,” changes the requirements for derecognizing financial assets, and requires additional disclosures. Statement No. 167 changes how a company determines when an entity that is insufficiently capitalized or is not controlled through voting (or similar rights) should be consolidated. This consolidation determination is based on, among other things, an entity's purpose and design and a company's ability to direct the activities of the entity that most significantly impact the entity's economic performance.^[9] In general, the revised standards take effect January 1, 2010. The standards are expected to cause a substantial volume of assets in bank-sponsored entities associated with securitization and structured finance activities to be brought onto bank balance sheets.

The agencies currently collect data on banks' securitization and structured finance activities in Schedule RC-S, Servicing, Securitization, and Asset Sale Activities. The agencies will continue to collect Schedule RC-S after the effective date of Statements Nos. 166 and 167 and banks should continue to complete this schedule in accordance with its existing instructions, taking into account the changes in accounting brought about by these two FASB statements. In this regard, items 1 through 8 of Schedule RC-S involve the reporting of information for securitizations that the reporting bank has accounted for as sales. Therefore, after the effective date of Statements Nos. 166 and 167, a bank should report information in items 1 through 8 only for those securitizations for which the transferred assets qualify for sale accounting or are otherwise not carried as assets on the bank's consolidated balance sheet. Thus, if a securitization transaction that qualified for sale accounting prior to the effective date of Statements Nos. 166 and 167 must be brought back onto the reporting bank's consolidated balance sheet upon adoption of these statements, the bank would no longer report information about the securitization in items 1 through 8 of Schedule RC-S.

Items 11 and 12 of Schedule RC-S are applicable to assets that the reporting bank has sold with recourse or other seller-provided credit enhancements, but has not securitized. In Memorandum item 1 of Schedule RC-S, a bank reports certain transfers of small business obligations with recourse that qualify for sale accounting. The scope of these items will continue to be limited to such sold financial assets after the effective date of Statements Nos. 166 and 167. In Memorandum item 2 of Schedule RC-S, a bank currently reports the outstanding principal balance of loans and other financial assets that it services for others when the servicing has been purchased or when the assets have been originated or purchased and subsequently sold with servicing retained. Thus, after the effective date of Statements Nos. 166 and 167, a bank should report retained servicing for those assets or portions of assets reported as sold as well as purchased servicing in Memorandum item 2. Finally, Memorandum item 3 of Schedule RC-S collects data on asset-backed commercial paper conduits regardless of whether the reporting bank must consolidate the conduit in accordance with FASB Interpretation No. 46(R). This will continue to be the case after the effective date of Statement No. 167, which amended this FASB interpretation.

The agencies plan to evaluate the disclosure requirements in Statements Nos. 166 and 167 and the disclosure practices that develop in response to these requirements. This evaluation will assist the agencies in determining the need for revisions to Schedule RC-S that will improve their ability to assess the nature and scope of banks' involvement with securitization and structured finance activities, including those accounted for as sales and those accounted for as secured borrowings. Such revisions, which would not be implemented before March 2011, would be incorporated into a formal proposal that the agencies would publish with a request for comment in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

In addition, should new Call Report data items pertaining to securitization and structured finance transactions be necessary for regulatory capital calculation purposes after the effective date of Statements No. 166 and 167, a proposal to collect these data items would be incorporated into any notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the agencies regulatory capital standards that the agencies would publish for comment in the Federal Register.

B. Trading Assets That Are Past Due or in Nonaccrual Status

In the proposed Call Report revisions for 2009, which were issued for comment on September 23, 2008,^[10] the agencies proposed to replace Schedule RC-N, Past Due and Nonaccrual Loans, Leases, and Other Assets, item 9, for “Debt securities and other assets” that are past due 30 days or more or in nonaccrual status with two separate items: item 9.a, “Trading assets,” and item 9.b, “All other assets (including available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities).” The agencies also proposed to expand the scope of Schedule RC-D, Trading Assets and Liabilities, Memorandum item 3, “Loans measured at fair value that are past due 90 days or more,” to include loans held for trading and measured at fair value that are in nonaccrual status. The agencies proposed to collect this information to improve their ability to assess the quality of assets held for trading purposes and generally enhance surveillance and examination planning efforts. One commenter on these proposed reporting changes questioned the meaningfulness of delinquency and nonaccrual data for trading assets because they are accounted for at fair value through earnings. After fully considering this commenter's views, the agencies have decided not to implement the proposed revisions to Schedule RC-N, item 9, and Schedule RC-D, Memorandum item 3. These items will remain in their current form.

C. Unpaid Premiums on Certain Credit Derivatives

The agencies' proposed Call Report revisions for 2009 also included the addition of new Memorandum items 3.a and 3.b to Schedule RC-R, Regulatory Capital, to collect the present value of unpaid premiums on credit derivatives for which the bank is the protection seller that are defined as covered positions under the agencies' market risk capital guidelines. This present value information was to be reported by remaining maturity and with a breakdown between investment grade and subinvestment grade for the rating of the underlying reference asset. One commenter on this proposed credit derivative data requested clarification of the impact of the reporting requirement on a bank's risk-based capital calculations. The agencies have reconsidered this proposed reporting change and have decided not to add these new Memorandum items to Schedule RC-R.

IV. Request for Comment

Public comment is requested on all aspects of this joint notice. Comments are invited specifically on:

(a) Whether the proposed revisions to the Call Report collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of the agencies' functions, including whether the information has practical utility;

(b) The accuracy of the agencies' estimates of the burden of the information collections as they are proposed to be revised, 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 collections 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.

Comments submitted in response to this joint notice will be shared among the agencies and will be summarized or included in the agencies' requests for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record.

Dated: August 12, 2009.

Michele Meyer,

Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 13, 2009.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Secretary of the Board.

Dated at Washington, DC, this 11th day of August 2009.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Robert E. Feldman,

Executive Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Under the FASB Accounting Standards Codification ^TM, see Topic 320, Investments—Debt and Equity Securities.

2.  73 FR 54811, September 23, 2008.

3.  The proposed linkage of the scope of the Memorandum items on fully insured brokered deposits in Schedule RC-E to the deposit insurance limits in effect on the report date is consistent with an existing linkage between the deposit insurance limits in effect on the report date and the Memorandum items in Schedule RC-O, Other Data for Deposit Insurance and FICO Assessments, on the amount and number of deposit accounts within the insurance limit and in excess of the insurance limit.

4.  The FDIC publishes a weekly schedule of national rates and national interest-rate caps by maturity, which can be accessed at http://www.fdic.gov/​regulations/​resources/​rates/​.

5.  http://www.financialstability.gov/​roadtostability/​smallbusinesscommunity.html.

6.  http://www.financialstability.gov/​latest/​tg58-remarks.html.

7.  Ibid.

8.  Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 166, Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets, amends Statement No. 140, Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R), amends FASB Interpretation No. 46(R), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities. In general, under the FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM. , see Topics 860, Transfers and Servicing, and 810, Consolidation.

9.  FASB News Release, June 12, 2009, http://www.fasb.org/​cs/​ContentServer?​c=​FASBContent_​C&​pagename=​FASB/​FASBContent_​C/​NewsPage&​cid=​1176156240834&​pf=​true.

10.  73 FR 54807.