Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collections; 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 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) Interagency Charter and Federal Deposit Insurance Application, and (2) Notice of Branch Closure.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before December 6, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to Steven F. Hanft (202-898-3907), Paperwork Clearance Officer, Room MB-3064, 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. [FAX number (202) 898-3838].

A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk officer for the FDIC: Mark Menchik, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven F. Hanft, at the address identified above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal to renew the following currently approved collections of information:

1. Title: Interagency Charter and Federal Deposit Insurance Application.

OMB Number: 3064-0001.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Affected Public: Banks or savings associations wishing to become FDIC-insured depository institutions.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 200.

Estimated Time per Response: 125 hours.

Total Annual Burden: 25,000 hours.

General Description of Collection: The Interagency Charter and Federal Deposit Insurance Application is used by the FDIC as a deposit insurance application, and by the OCC and OTS as a charter application. Applications for deposit insurance must provide sufficient information to permit the FDIC to consider certain factors which are listsed in Section 6 of the FDI Act. These factors include: the financial history and condition of the depository institution, the adequacy of its capital structure, its future earnings prospects, the general character and fitness of its management, the risk it presents to the relevant insurance fund, the convenience and needs of the community to be served, and the consistency of its corporate powers. All depository institutions seeking insurance must follow the same procedures.

2. Title: Notice of Branch Closure.

OMB Number: 3064-0109.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Affected Public: Insured depository institutions.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,364.

Estimated Time per Response: 2.4 hours.

Total Annual Burden: 3,028 hours.

General Description of Collection: An institution proposing to close a branch must notify its primary regulator no later than 90 days prior to the closing. Each FDIC-insured institution must adopt policies for branch closings. This collection covers the requirements for notice, and for policy adoption.

Request for Comment

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether these two collections of information are 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 collections, including the validity of the methodologies 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 collections 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 collections 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.