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FDIC Federal Register Citations | |
[Federal Register: August 11, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 154)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 46779-46785]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11au05-26]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
12 CFR Chap. I
[Docket No. 05-15]
BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Chap. II
[Docket No. OP-1232]
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
12 CFR Chap. III
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Thrift Supervision
12 CFR Chap. V
[No. 2005-26]
Request for Burden Reduction Recommendations; Rules Relating to
Banking Operations; Directors, Officers and Employees; and Rules of
Procedure; Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of
1996 Review
AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury;
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); and Office of Thrift Supervision
(OTS), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of regulatory review; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, FDIC, and OTS (``we'' or ``the Agencies'') are
reviewing our regulations to identify outdated, unnecessary, or unduly
burdensome regulatory requirements pursuant to the Economic Growth and
Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA). Today, we request
your comments and suggestions on ways to reduce burden in rules we have
categorized as Banking Operations; Directors, Officers and Employees;
and Rules of Procedure. All comments are welcome. We specifically
invite comment on the following issues: whether statutory changes are
needed; whether the regulations contain requirements that are not
needed to serve the purposes of the statutes they implement; the extent
to which the regulations may adversely affect competition; whether the
cost of compliance associated with reporting, recordkeeping, and
disclosure requirements, particularly on small institutions, is
justified; whether any regulatory requirements are inconsistent or
redundant; and whether any regulations are unclear.
We will analyze the comments received and propose burden-reducing
changes to our regulations where appropriate. Some of your suggestions
for burden reduction might require legislative changes. Where
legislative changes would be required, we will consider your
suggestions in recommending appropriate changes to Congress.
DATES: Written comments must be received no later than November 9,
2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
EGRPRA Web site: http://www.egrpra.gov/.
Comments submitted at the Agencies' joint Web site will
automatically be distributed to all the Agencies. Comments received at
the EGRPRA Web site and by other means will be posted on the Web site
to the extent possible.
[[Page 46780]]
Individual agency addresses: You are also welcome to submit
comments to the Agencies at the following contact points (due to delays
in paper mail delivery in the Washington area, commenters may prefer to
submit their comments by alternative means):
OCC: You may submit comments, identified by [docket
], by any of the following methods:
E-mail: regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. Include [docket
] in the subject line of the message. Please include
your name and address.
Fax: (202) 874-4448.
Mail: Public Information Room, Office of the Comptroller
of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Mailstop 1-5, Washington, DC 20219.
Attention: Docket .
Public Inspection: You may inspect and photocopy comments at the
Public Information Room. You can make an appointment to inspect the
comments by calling (202) 874-5043.
Board: You may submit comments, identified by Docket Number
, by any of the following methods:
Agency Web site: http://www.federalreserve.gov/ Follow the instructions for submitting comments at
http://www.federalreserve.gov/.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov/.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: v. Include docket
number in the subject line of the message.regs.comments@federalreserve.gov
Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, 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 Web site at
http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm, as
submitted, except as necessary 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 in Room MP-500 of the Board's Martin Building (20th and C
Streets, NW.) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
FDIC: You may submit comments, identified as EGRPRA burden
reduction comments, by any of the following methods:
Agency Web site: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/propose.html.
. E-mail: comments@fdic.gov. Include ``EGRPRA burden
reduction comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC
20429.
Hand Delivery: Comments may be hand delivered to the guard
station at the rear of the 550 17th Street Building (located on F
Street) on business days between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Public Inspection: You may inspect comments at the FDIC Public
Information Center, Room 100, 801 17th Street, NW., between 9 a.m. and
4:30 p.m. on business days.
OTS: You may submit comments, identified by ``No.
.'' by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov/.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
E-Mail: regs.comments@ots.treas.gov. Include ``No.
'' in the subject line of the message, and provide
your name and telephone number.
Fax: (202) 906-6518.
Mail: Regulation Comments, Chief Counsel's Office, Office
of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552.
Hand Delivery: Comments may be hand delivered to the
Guard's Desk, East Lobby Entrance, 1700 G Street, NW., from 9 a.m. to 4
p.m. on business days, Attention: Regulation Comments, Chief Counsel's
Office.
Public Inspection: OTS will post comments and the related index on
the OTS Internet Site at mailto:http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catNumber=67&an=.
In addition, you may inspect comments at the Public Reading Room, 1700 G Street, NW.,
by appointment. To make an appointment for access, call (202) 906-5922, send an e-mail to
public.info@ots.treas.gov, or send a fax to (202) 906-7755. (Please
identify the material you would like to inspect to assist us in serving
you.) OTS schedules appointments on business days between 10 a.m. and 4
p.m. In most cases, appointments will be available the next business
day following the date OTS receives a request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OCC
Heidi Thomas, Special Counsel, Legislative and Regulatory
Activities Division, (202) 874-5090.
Lee Walzer, Counsel, Legislative and Regulatory Activities
Division, (202) 874-5090.
Board:
Patricia A. Robinson, Assistant General Counsel, Legal
Division, (202) 452-3005.
Michael J. O'Rourke, Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 452-3288.
John C. Wood, Counsel, Division of Consumer and Community
Affairs, (202) 452-2412.
Kevin H. Wilson, Supervisory Financial Analyst, Division
of Banking Supervision and Regulation, (202) 452-2362.
For users of Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD)
only, contact (202) 263-4869.
FDIC
Claude A. Rollin, Special Assistant to the Vice Chairman,
(202) 898-8741.
Steven D. Fritts, Associate Director, Division of
Supervision and Consumer Protection, (202) 898-3723.
Ruth R. Amberg, Senior Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898-3736.
Susan van den Toorn, Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898-8707.
OTS
Glenn Gimble, Senior Project Manager, Thrift Policy,
Supervision Policy, (202) 906-7158.
Josephine Battle, Program Analyst, Thrift Policy,
Supervision Policy, (202) 906-6870.
Karen Osterloh, Special Counsel, Regulations and
Legislation Division, Chief Counsel's Office, (202) 906-6639.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview of the EGRPRA Review and the Steps Taken So Far
The Agencies \1\ are asking for your comments and suggestions on
ways in which we can reduce regulatory burden consistent with our
statutory obligations. Today, we request your input to help us identify
which regulatory requirements in three categories--Banking Operations;
Directors, Officers and Employees; and Rules of Procedure--are
outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome. We list the rules in these
categories in a chart at the end of this notice. Please send us your
recommendations at our Web site, http://www.EGRPRA.gov, or to one of
the listed addresses.
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\1\ The National Credit Union Administration has participated in
planning the EGRPRA review but has issued, and will issue, requests
for comment separately.
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Today's request for comment is the fifth notice in our multi-year
review of regulations for burden reduction required by section 2222 of
EGRPRA.\2\ We described the EGRPRA review's requirements in our first
EGRPRA notice. In summary, EGRPRA requires us to:
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\2\ Public Law 104-208, Sept. 30, 1996, 12 U.S.C. 3311. We
published our first notice in the Federal Register on June 16, 2003,
at 68 FR 35589; our second notice on January 21, 2004, at 69 FR
2852; our third notice on July 20, 2004, at 69 FR 43347; and our
fourth notice on February 3, 2005, at 70 FR 5571. You may view the
notices at our Web site, http://www.egrpra.gov/.
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[[Page 46781]]
Categorize our regulations by type.
Publish the regulations by category to request comments on
which regulations contain requirements that are: outdated, unnecessary,
or unduly burdensome.
Publish a summary of those comments.
Eliminate unnecessary regulations to the extent
appropriate.
Report to Congress: summarizing the significant issues
raised and their relative merits and analyzing whether legislative
change is required to reduce burden.
The first publication and review cycle must be completed by
September 2006. The regulatory response and report to Congress will
occur after the publication cycle is finished.
We have identified 13 categories of rules to implement our EGRPRA
review. The categories are: Applications and Reporting; Banking
Operations; Capital; Community Reinvestment Act; Consumer Protection:
Lending Related Rules; Consumer Protection: Account/Deposit
Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer Rules; Directors, Officers and
Employees; International Operations; Money Laundering; Powers and
Activities; Rules of Procedure; Safety and Soundness; and Securities.
You may see the categories and the rules placed within them at our Web
site, http://www.EGRPRA.gov.
We previously requested public comment about possible burden
reduction in eight categories of rules. Our June 16, 2003, notice
requested comment on three categories: Applications and Reporting;
Powers and Activities; and International Operations. Our January 21,
2004, notice requested comment on Consumer Protection: Lending Related
Rules. Our July 20, 2004, notice requested comment on Consumer
Protection: Account/Deposit Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer
Rules. Our February 3, 2005, notice requested comment about three
categories: Money Laundering, Safety and Soundness, and Securities.
Today, we request comment on rules related to Banking Operations;
Directors, Officers and Employees; and Rules of Procedure.
In addition to soliciting written comments, we held banker outreach
meetings in Orlando, St. Louis, Denver, San Francisco, New York City,
Nashville, Seattle, Chicago, Phoenix, and New Orleans to hear directly
from the industry about ways the Agencies could reduce regulatory
burden. More than 450 representatives from the industry have attended
the outreach meetings. The Agencies also have held three outreach
meetings with over 100 participants for representatives of consumer and
community groups to obtain their input on regulatory burden reduction.
The consumer meetings were held in Arlington, Virginia, San Francisco,
and Chicago. Another consumer meeting is scheduled for September, 2005
in Boston. These meetings have helped focus our regulatory burden
reduction efforts. We anticipate holding additional outreach events
this year. You may learn more about the meetings and related
recommendations at our EGRPRA Web site, http://www.EGRPRA.gov.
We received 19 comments in response to the first notice, about 560
to the second notice, over 100 to the third notice, and 123 to the
fourth notice. The Agencies appreciate the response to our notices and
outreach meetings. The written comments and remarks at the meetings
came from individuals, banks, savings associations, holding companies,
industry trade groups, and consumer and community groups. You may view
the comments at our EGRPRA Web site, http://www.EGRPRA.gov. We are
actively reviewing the feedback received about specific ways to reduce
regulatory burden, as well as conducting our own analyses.
In addition, Congress has considered various legislative proposals
to reduce burden on the financial services industry. In 2004 and 2005,
representatives of the Agencies and industry leaders testified before
congressional committees about these legislative reform proposals and
other ideas for reducing burden on the financial services industry. We
will continue to post information about legislative and regulatory
reform efforts on our Web site.
II. Request for Comment on Rules Related to: Banking Operations;
Directors, Officers and Employees; and Rules of Procedure
Today, we are asking the public to identify ways in which the rules
related to Banking Operations; Directors, Officers and Employees; and
Rules of Procedure may be outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome.
As shown on the chart at the end of this notice, there are 28
regulations in these categories.
Specific issues to consider. While all comments are welcome, we
specifically invite comment on the following issues:
A. Need for statutory change. (1) Do any statutory requirements
underlying the rules impose unnecessary, redundant, conflicting or
unduly burdensome requirements? (2) Are there less burdensome
alternatives?
B. Need and purpose of the regulations. (1) Are the regulations
consistent with the purposes of the statutes that they implement? (2)
Have circumstances changed so that a rule is no longer necessary or
needs revision? (3) Do changes in the financial products and services
offered to consumers and businesses suggest a need to revise certain
regulations (or statutes)? (4) Do any of the regulations impose
compliance burdens not required by the statutes they implement?
C. General approach/flexibility. (1) Would a different general
approach to regulating achieve statutory goals with less burden? (2) Do
any of these rules impose unnecessarily inflexible requirements?
D. Effect of the regulations on competition. Do any of the
regulations or statutes create competitive disadvantages for insured
depository institutions compared to the rest of the financial services
industry or competitive disadvantages for one type of insured
depository institution over another?
E. Reporting, recordkeeping, and disclosure requirements. (1) Which
reporting, recordkeeping, or disclosure requirements impose the most
compliance burdens? (2) Are any of the reporting or recordkeeping
requirements unnecessary to demonstrate compliance with the law?
F. Consistency and redundancy. (1) Are any of the requirements
under one regulation inconsistent with or duplicative of requirements
under another regulation? (2) If so, are the inconsistencies not
warranted by the purposes of the regulations?
G. Clarity. Are any of the regulations drafted unclearly?
H. Burden on small insured institutions. We have particular
interest in minimizing burden on small insured institutions (those with
assets of $150 million or less). Are there appropriate ways to amend
these rules to minimize adverse economic impact on small insured
institutions?
The Agencies appreciate the efforts of all interested parties to
help us eliminate outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome
regulatory requirements.
BILLING CODE 4810-33; 6210-01; 6714-01; 6720-01-P
Dated: July 18, 2005. Julie L. Williams, Acting Comptroller of the Currency. By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on August 1, 2005. Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary of the Board. By order of the Board of Directors. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Dated at Washington, DC, this 19th day of July, 2005. Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary. Dated: July 19, 2005. Richard M. Riccobono, Acting Director, Office of Thrift Supervision. [FR Doc. 05-15923 Filed 8-10-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4810-33; 6210-01; 6714-01; 6720-01-C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
