Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board).

ACTION:

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 Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the “agencies”), hereby give notice that they plan to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests for review of the information collection system described below. The Agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Agencies, under the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), propose to extend without revision the following currently approved information collection: the Country Exposure Report for U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 019). However, minor clarifications are proposed to the instructions. The Board is publishing the request for extension on behalf of the agencies. At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine whether the FFIEC and the agencies should modify the information collections. The Board will then submit the reports to OMB for review and approval.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before July 21, 2000.

ADDRESSES:

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

Board: Written comments on the FFIEC 019 should be addressed to Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20551, or mailed electronically to regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. Comments addressed to Ms. Johnson also may be delivered to the Board's mail room between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., and to the security control room outside of those hours. Both the mail room and the security control room are accessible from the courtyard entrance on 20th Street between Constitution Avenue and C Street, NW. Comments received may be inspected in room M-P-500 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., except as provided in section 261.12 of the Board's Rules Regarding Availability of Information, 12 CFR 261.12(a). A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk officer for the agencies: Alexander T. Hunt, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 3208, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Additional information or a copy of the collection may be requested from: Board: Mary M. West, Chief, Financial Reports Section, (202) 452-3829, 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 contact Diane Jenkins, (202) 452-3544, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal to extend for three years with minor instructional clarification the following currently approved collection of information:

Report title: Country Exposure Report for U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks.

Form number: FFIEC 019.OMB number: 7100-0213.

Frequency of response: Quarterly.

Affected Public: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.

Number of respondents: 230.

Estimated average hours per response: 10 hours.

Estimated Annual reporting hours: 9,200 hours.

General Description of Report

This information collection is mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 3105 and 3108 for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; sections 7 and 10 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1817, 1820) for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and the National Bank Act (12 U.S.C. 161) for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency). This information collection is given confidential treatment. (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)). Small businesses (that is, small U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks) are affected.

Abstract

All individual U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks that have more than $30 million in direct claims on residents of foreign countries must file the FFIEC 019 report quarterly. Currently, all respondents report adjusted exposure amounts to the five largest countries having at least $20 million in total adjusted exposure. The Agencies collect this data to monitor the extent to which such branches and agencies are pursuing prudent country risk diversification policies and limiting potential liquidity pressures. No changes are proposed to the FFIEC 019 reporting form, however, minor clarifications are proposed to the instructions.

Current Actions

The instructional clarifications to the FFIEC 019 report that are the subject of this notice have been approved by the Agencies for implementation as of the September 30, 2000, report date. The proposed clarifications involve the treatment of credit derivatives as guarantees.

Request for Comment

Comments are invited on:

a. Whether the information collections 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, 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 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. Written comments should address the accuracy of the burden estimates and ways to minimize burden including the use of automated collection techniques or the use of other forms of information technology as well as other relevant aspects of the information collection request.