Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

AGENCY:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY:

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the International Applications and Prior Notifications under Subpart B of Regulation K (FR K-2; OMB No. 7100-0284).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 452-3829.

Office of Management and Budget (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 (202) 395-6974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. The OMB inventory, as well as copies of the PRA Submission, supporting statements, and approved collection of information instrument(s) are available at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. These documents are also available on the Federal Reserve Board's public website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears above.

Final Approval Under OMB Delegated Authority of the Extension for Three Years, Without Revision, of the Following Information Collection

Report title: The International Applications and Prior Notifications under Subpart B of Regulation K.

Agency form number: FR K-2.

OMB control number: 7100-0284.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondents: Foreign banks.

Estimated number of respondents: 13.

Estimated average hours per response: Reporting: 35; Disclosure: 1.

Estimated annual burden hours: Reporting: 455; Disclosure: 13.

General description of report: Under the International Banking Act of 1978 (IBA), foreign banks are required to obtain the prior approval of the Board to establish a branch, agency, or representative office; to establish or acquire ownership or control of a commercial lending company in the United States; or to change the status of an agency or limited branch to a branch in the United States. The Board uses the information from the FR K-2 in connection with these applications and to supervise foreign banks with offices in the United States.

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR K-2 is authorized pursuant to sections 7, 10, and 13 of the International Banking Act. The applications and notifications comprising FR K-2 are required to obtain a benefit.

The Board does not routinely publicly release information collected through the FR K-2. To the extent a respondent submits nonpublic commercial or financial information in connection with the FR K-2, which is both customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent, the respondent may request confidential treatment pursuant to exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). To the extent a respondent submits personal, medical, or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy, the respondent may request confidential treatment pursuant to exemption 6 of the FOIA. If a respondent requests confidential treatment, the Board will determine whether the information is entitled to confidential treatment on a case-by-case basis. The entity should separately designate any such information as “confidential commercial information” or “confidential financial information” and the Board will treat such designated information as confidential to the extent permitted by law, including the FOIA. To the extent a respondent submits information related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of a financial supervisory agency, the information may be confidential pursuant to exemption 8 of the FOIA.

Current actions: On March 8, 2021, the Board published an initial notice in the Federal Register (86 FR 13383) requesting public comment for 60 days on the extension, without revision, of the FR K-2. The comment period for this notice expired on May 7, 2021. The Board did not receive any comments. The Board will adopt the extension, without revision of the FR K-2 as originally proposed.