2019-12680. 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 Notice of Proposed Stock Redemption (FR 4008; OMB No. 7100-0131).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before August 16, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 4008, 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 (between 18th and 19th Streets 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 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.

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

Report title: Notice of Proposed Stock Redemption.

Agency form number: FR 4008.

OMB control number: 7100-0131.

Frequency: Event-generated.

Respondents: Bank holding companies.

Estimated number of respondents: 8.

Estimated average hours per response: 15.5 hours.

Estimated annual burden hours: 124 hours.

General description of report: The Bank Holding Company Act (BHC Act) and Board's Regulation Y require a bank holding company (BHC) to seek the prior approval of the Board before purchasing or redeeming its equity securities in certain circumstances. Due to the limited information that a BHC must provide in connection with any such request, there is no required reporting form (the FR 4008 designation is for internal purposes only), and each request for prior approval must be filed as a notification with the Reserve Bank that has direct supervisory responsibility for the requesting BHC. The Federal Reserve uses the information provided in the redemption notice to supervise BHCs.

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 4008 is authorized pursuant to sections 5(b) and (c) of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1844(b) and (c)). Section 5(b) of the BHC Act, as amended by section 616 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act),^[1] generally authorizes the Board to, among other things, issue capital regulations that are necessary to administer and carry out the purposes of the BHC Act and prevent evasions thereof. Section 5(c) of the BHC Act generally authorizes the Board to, among other things, require reports from BHCs on a range of issues. The FR 4008 is required for some BHCs to obtain the benefit of being able to purchase or redeem their equity securities.

Individual respondents may request that data submitted be kept confidential on a case-by-case basis. If a respondent requests confidential treatment, the Board will determine whether the information is entitled to confidential treatment on an ad hoc basis. Requests may include information related to the BHC's business operations, such as terms and sources of the funding for the redemption and pro forma balance sheets. This information may be kept confidential under exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, which protects privileged or confidential commercial or financial information.^[2]

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 11, 2019.

Michele Taylor Fennell,

Assistant Secretary of the Board.

Footnotes

1.  Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010).

2.  5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).