03-9693. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The FDIC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). Currently, the FDIC is soliciting comments concerning the following collections of information titled: (1) Notices Required of Government Securities Dealers or Brokers (Insured State Nonmember Banks), (2) Foreign Banks, (3) Notification of Changes in Insured Status, and (4) Applicant Background Questionnaire.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before June 20, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to Tamara R. Manly, Management Analyst (Consumer and Compliance Unit), [phone], Legal Division, Room MB-3109, Attention: Comments/Legal, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20429. All comments should refer to the OMB control number. Comments may be hand-delivered to the guard station at the rear of the 17th Street Building (located on F Street), on business days between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. [Internet address: [e-mail]].

A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk officer for the FDIC: Joseph F. Lackey, Jr., Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10236, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tamara R. Manly, at the address identified above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal to renew the following currently approved collections of information:

1. Title: Notices Required of Government Securities Dealers or Brokers (Insured State Nonmember Banks).

OMB Number: 3064-0093.

Form Number: G-FIN, G-FINW, G-FIN-4, G-FIN-5.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Affected Public: All financial institutions acting as government securities brokers and dealers.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 180.

Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour.

Total Annual Burden: 180 hours.

General Description of Collection: The Government Securities Act of 1986 requires all financial institutions acting as government securities brokers and dealers to notify their federal regulatory agencies of their broker-dealer activities, unless exempted from the notice requirement by Treasury Department regulation.

2. Title: Foreign Banks.

OMB Number: 3064-0114.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Affected Public: Insured branches of foreign banks in the United States.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 418.

Estimated Time per Response: ranges from 1/4 hour to 120 hours.

Total Annual Burden: 4,398 hours.

General Description of Collection: The collection of information consists of (a) applications to operate as a noninsured state-licensed branch of a foreign bank; (b) applications from an insured state licensed branch of a foreign bank to conduct activities which are not permissible for a federally-licensed branch; (c) internal recordkeeping by insured branches of foreign banks; and (d) reporting requirements relating to an insured branch's pledge of assets to the FDIC.

3. Title: Notification of Changes in Insured Status.

OMB Number: 3064-0124.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Affected Public: Insured depository institutions.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 943.

Estimated Time per Response: 1/4 hour.

Total Annual Burden: 236 hours.

General Description of Collection: 12 U.S.C. 1818(q) requires an insured depository institution to provide the FDIC with a certification when it partially or completely assumes deposit liabilities from another insured depository institution.

4. Title: Applicant Background Questionnaire.

OMB Number: 3064-0138.

Form Number: 2100/14.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Affected Public: Potential FDIC employment applicants.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,000.

Estimated Time per Response: 3 minutes.

Total Annual Burden: 500 hours.

General Description of Collection: The FDIC Applicant Background Questionnaire is completed voluntarily by FDIC job applicants who are not current FDIC employees. Responses to questions on the survey provide information on gender, age, disability, race/national origin, and the applicant's source of vacancy announcement information. Data is used by the Office of Diversity and Economic Opportunity and the Personnel Services Branch to evaluate the effectiveness of various recruitment methods used by the FDIC to ensure that the agency meets workforce diversity objectives.

Request for Comment

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the FDIC's functions, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the estimates of the burden of the 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; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the collection should be modified prior to submission to OMB for review and approval. Comments submitted in response to this notice also will be summarized or included in the FDIC's requests to OMB for renewal of these collections. All comments will become a matter of public record.

Dated at Washington, DC, this 16th day of April, 2003.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Valerie Best,

Assistant Executive Secretary.