2018-18550. 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 Supervisory and Regulatory Survey (FR 3052; OMB No. 7100-0322).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before October 29, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 3052, 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. Accordingly, your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper form in Room 3515, 1801 K Street 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, if 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 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 prior to giving final approval.

Proposal to Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, Without Revision, the Following Information Collection

Report title: Supervisory and Regulatory Survey.

Agency form number: FR 3052.

OMB control number: 7100-0322.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondents: Bank holding companies (BHCs), state member banks (SMBs), savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs), intermediate holding companies (IHCs), U.S branches and agencies of foreign banking organizations (FBOs), Edge and agreement corporations, nonbank financial companies that the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has determined should be supervised by the Board, or the combined domestic operations of FBOs.

Estimated number of respondents: 5,000.

Estimated average hours per response: 0.5 hours.

Estimated annual burden hours: 60,000 hours.

General description of report: The FR 3052 collects information from financial institutions specifically tailored to the Federal Reserve's supervisory, regulatory, and operational responsibilities. Examples of past surveys include collected information related to regulatory capital, operational risk loss event history, and transactions by securities dealers. The frequency and content of the questions depend on changing economic, regulatory, supervisory, or legislative developments.

The Board utilizes the survey process, as needed, to collect information on specific issues that affect its decision-making. The principal value of the FR 3052 is the flexibility it provides the Federal Reserve to respond quickly to the need for data due to unanticipated economic, financial, supervisory, or regulatory developments. The Board cannot predict what specific information will be needed, but such needs are generally very time sensitive. Because the relevant questions may change with each survey, there is no fixed reporting form.

Written qualitative questions or questionnaires may include categorical questions, yes-no questions, ordinal questions, and open-ended questions. Written quantitative surveys may include dollar amounts, percentages, numbers of items, interest rates, and other such information. Institutions may also be required to provide copies of existing documents (for example, pertaining to practices and performances for a particular business activity). Before conducting a survey, the Board reviews any information to be collected to determine if the information is available by other means.

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 3052 is authorized pursuant to section 9 of the Federal Reserve Act (FRA) (12 U.S.C. 324) for SMBs; section 5 of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1844(c)(1)(A)) for BHCs and their subsidiaries; section 10 of the Home Owners' Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1467a(b)(1)) for SLHCs and their subsidiaries; section 7(c)(2) of International Banking Act (IBA) (12 U.S.C. 3105(c)(2)) for the U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks; section 8 of the IBA (12 U.S.C. 3106) for foreign banking organizations; sections 25 and 25A of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 602 and 625) for Edge and agreement corporations; and section 161 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5361) for nonbank financial companies designated by FSOC for supervision by the Board.

The surveys would be conducted on a voluntary basis. The questions asked on each survey would vary, so the ability of the Board to maintain the confidentiality of information collected would be determined on a case by case basis. It is possible that the information collected would constitute confidential commercial or financial information, which may be kept confidential under exemption 4 to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)). In circumstances where the Board collects information related to individuals, exemption 6 to FOIA would protect information “the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy” (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6)). To the extent the information collected relates to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared for the use of an agency supervising financial institutions, such information may be kept confidential under exemption 8 to FOIA (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)).

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 23, 2018.

Ann Misback,

Secretary of the Board.