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 Recordkeeping Requirements of Regulation H and Regulation K Associated with the Procedures for Monitoring Bank Secrecy Act Compliance (FR K; OMB No. 7100-0310). The internal Agency Tracking Number previously assigned by the Board to this information collection was “Reg K.” The Board is changing the internal Agency Tracking Number to “FR K” for the purpose of consistency.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before April 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR K, by any of the following methods:

• Agency Website: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
• Email: regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. Include OMB number in the subject line of the message.
• FAX: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
• 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 https://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 (202) 452-3684. 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 (202) 395-6974.

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, (202) 452-3829. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202) 263-4869, 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 To Approve Under OMB Delegated Authority the Extension for Three Years, Without Revision, of the Following Report

Report title: Recordkeeping Requirements of Regulation H and Regulation K Associated with the Procedures for Monitoring Bank Secrecy Act Compliance.

Agency form number: FR K.

OMB control number: 7100-0310.

Frequency: Annually.

Respondents: State member banks; Edge and agreement corporations; and certain U.S. branches, agencies, and representative offices of foreign banks supervised by the Board.

Estimated number of respondents: Establish compliance program—1; maintenance of compliance program—957.

Estimated average hours per response: Establish compliance program—16; maintenance of compliance program—4.

Estimated annual burden hours: Establish compliance program—16; maintenance of compliance program—3,828.

General description of report: The Board's Regulation K and Regulation H require state member banks, Edge and agreement corporations and, except for a federal branch or a federal agency or a state branch that is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. branches, agencies, and representative offices of foreign banks supervised by the Board to establish a written Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance program that includes the following components: (1) A system of internal controls to assure ongoing compliance, (2) independent testing of compliance by the institution's personnel or by an outside party, (3) the designation of an individual or individuals for coordinating and monitoring day-to-day compliance, and (4) training for appropriate personnel. The compliance program must be approved by the board of directors of the state member bank, Edge corporation, or agreement corporation and must be noted in the institution's minutes. In the case of a branch, agency, or representative office of a foreign bank, the compliance program may be approved by the foreign bank's board of directors and noted in the minutes or approved by a delegee acting under the express authority of the foreign bank's board of directors.

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR K is authorized pursuant to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1818(s)), which requires the federal banking agencies, including the Board, to (1) prescribe regulations requiring the institutions they regulate to establish and maintain procedures reasonably designed to assure and monitor compliance with the BSA and (2) to review such procedures during the course of their examinations. The FR K is mandatory.

Because the Federal Reserve will not collect this information, confidentiality issues would normally not arise. Because the records will be retained at banking organizations, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) will only be implicated if the Board's examiners retain a copy of the record as part of an examination or supervision of a banking institution. In that case, the records would be exempt from disclosure under exemption 8 to FOIA, which protects examination materials from disclosure (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)). Exemption 4 to FOIA, which protects confidential financial information, may also be applicable (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).