Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Thrift Supervision

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request Concerning the Interagency Bank Merger Act
Application

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury;
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

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System (Board); Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); and
Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of information collections to be submitted to OMB for
review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the OCC, Board, FDIC, and OTS
(Agencies) hereby give notice that they plan to submit to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) a request for OMB review and approval of
the information collection systems described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 18, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments to any or
all of the Agencies. All comments, which should refer to the OMB
control number, will be shared among the Agencies:
OCC: Comments should be sent to Communications Division, Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency, Public Information Room, Mailstop 1-5,
Attention: 1557-0014, 250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. In
addition, comments may be sent by fax to (202) 874-4448, or by
electronic mail to regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. You can inspect and
photocopy the comments at the OCC's Public Information Room, 250 E
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. You can make an appointment to
inspect the comments by calling (202) 874-5043.
Board: You may submit comments, identified by FR 2070; OMB No.
7100-0171, by any of the following methods:
Agency Web Site: http://www.federalreserve.gov Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

Follow the instructions for submitting comments. E-mail:
regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. Include docket number in the subject
line of the message.
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: All comments should refer to ``Bank Merger Application, 3064-
0015.'' Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/laws/federal/propose.html.. E-mail: comments@fdic.gov. Include ``Bank Merger

Application, 3064-0015.'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Gary A. Kuiper (202.942.3824), Counsel, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, PA1730-3000, 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.
OTS: You may submit comments to Information Collection Comments,
Chief Counsel's Office, Office of Thrift Supervision, ATTN: 1550-0016,
1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552; send a facsimile transmission
to (202) 906-6518; or send an e-mail to
infocollection.comments@ots.treas.gov. OTS will post comments and the

related index on the OTS Internet Site at http://www.ots.treas.gov. In

addition, interested persons may inspect comments at the Public Reading
Room, 1700 G Street, NW., by appointment. To make an appointment, call
(202) 906-5922, send an e-mail to publicinfo@ots.treas.gov, or send a
facsimile transmission to (202) 906-7755.
A copy of the comments should also be submitted to the OMB desk
officer for the agencies: Mark Menchik, Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive
Office Building, Room 3208, Washington, DC 20503, or by electronic mail
to mmenchik@omb.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may request additional information
from:
OCC: Mary Gottlieb, OCC Clearance Officer, (202) 874-4824, or
Camille Dixon, (202) 874-5090, Legislative and Regulatory Activities
Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20219. For subject matter information, you may contact
Cheryl Martin at (202) 874-4614, Licensing Activities Division, Office
of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC
20219.
Board: Michelle Long, Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer,
(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
Capria Mitchell, (202) 872-4984, Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20551.
FDIC: Gary A. Kuiper, Counsel, (202) 942-3824, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation, PA1730-3000, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington,
DC 20429.
OTS: Marilyn K. Burton, OTS Clearance Officer, (202) 906-6467;
Frances C. Augello, Senior Counsel, Business Transactions Division,
(202) 906-6151; or Patricia D. Goings, Regulatory Analyst, Examination
Policy, (202) 906-5668, Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20552.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposal to extend for three years, with
clarifications, the following currently approved collection of
information:
FRB, FDIC, and OTS Report Title: Interagency Bank Merger Act
Application.
OCC Title: Comptroller's Licensing Manual (Manual). The specific
portions of the Manual covered by this notice are those that pertain to
clarifying changes to the instructions.
OMB Numbers:

OCC: 1557-0014.
Board: 7100-0171.
FDIC: 3064-0015.
OTS: 1550-0016.
Form Numbers:

OCC: None.
Board: FR 2070.
FDIC: None.
OTS: 1639.

Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other
for-profit.
Type of Review: Review of a currently approved collection.
Estimated Number of Respondents:

OCC: Nonaffiliate--90; Affiliate--106.
Board: Nonaffiliate--62; Affiliate--18.
FDIC: Nonaffiliate--190; Affiliate--172.
OTS: Nonaffiliate--16; Affiliate--0.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours per Response:

OCC: Nonaffiliate--30; Affiliate--18.
Board: Nonaffiliate--30; Affiliate--18.
FDIC: Nonaffiliate--30; Affiliate--18.

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OTS: Nonaffiliate--30; Affiliate--18.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours:

OCC: Nonaffiliate--2,700; Affiliate--1,908. Total: 4,608 burden hours.
Board: Nonaffiliate--1,860; Affiliate--324. Total: 2,184 burden hours.
FDIC: Nonaffiliate--5,700; Affiliate--3,096. Total: 8,796 burden
hours.
OTS: Nonaffiliate--480; Affiliate--0. Total: 480 burden hours.

General Description of Report: This information collection is
mandatory. 12 U.S.C. 1828(c) (OCC, FDIC, and OTS), and 12 U.S.C. 321,
1828(c), and 4804 (Board). Except for select sensitive items, this
information collection is not given confidential treatment. Small
businesses, that is, small institutions, are affected.
Abstract: This submission covers a renewal of the Agencies' merger
application form, which may include clarified instructions for both
affiliated and nonaffiliated institutions. The Agencies need the
information to ensure that the proposed transactions are permissible
under law and regulation and are consistent with safe and sound banking
practices. The Agencies are required, under the Bank Merger Act, to
consider financial and managerial resources, future prospects,
convenience and needs of the community, community reinvestment,
competition, bank secrecy, and anti-money laundering efforts.
Some agencies collect limited supplemental information in certain
cases. For example, the OCC and OTS collect information regarding CRA
commitments; the Federal Reserve collects information on debt servicing
from certain institutions; and the FDIC requires additional information
on the competitive impact of proposed mergers.
Current Actions: On March 30, 2005, the Agencies published in the
Federal Register (70 FR 16331) a notice on the proposed clarifications
to this information collection. The comment period expired on May 31,
2005. The Agencies received no public comments, and each Agency is now
submitting its request to OMB for approval of this information
collection, as proposed.
The General Information and Instructions section of the merger
application form would be modified to clarify the first subsection
(Preparation and Use), which explains more clearly the range of merger
transactions that may require use of the application. The remaining
clarifications include a new paragraph in the Preparation and Use
subsection noting that applications must be submitted to the
appropriate regulatory agency. Also, a new Compliance subsection would
inform applicants of compliance expectations and of the potential that
some very large transactions may be subject to the Hart-Scott-Rodino
Antitrust Improvement Act. These additional paragraphs, which would
provide further practical advice that is generally included in the
other recently approved interagency forms, are intended to highlight
certain elements of the applications process to prevent confusion or
delay, and add no additional burden.
The Federal Reserve approved extending for three years, with minor
revisions, its current supplemental form. The two revisions are
intended to facilitate the applications review process and provide
further practical guidance to the applicant. The first revision
recognizes the possible need of biographical or financial information
from any individual that, as a consequence of the proposed transaction,
becomes a new principal, shareholder, director, or senior executive
officer of a state member bank. While all of the Agencies agree that a
significant change in management or ownership must be evaluated under
the statutory factors of the Bank Merger Act, they have elected to deal
with this information need on a case-by-case basis. The second revision
eliminates the need for any formal certification from a target
institution. This certification is unique to the bank merger
application, and is not specifically required by the Bank Merger Act.
As the FRB generally waives this requirement if objected to by the
target institution and as the applicant is the party to which bank
merger authority is granted, the FRB believes that only the applicant
need provide the requested certification. The other agencies believe
that the target institution should certify to the accuracy of the
information and that the institutions will notify the agency if any
material changes occur prior to a decision. Also, the target
institution certifies that any communications with the agency do not
constitute a contract.
Comments: No comments were received in response to the first
notice. Comments submitted in response to this second notice will be
analyzed to determine the extent to which the instructions for the
collection should be modified. All comments will become a matter of
public record.
Written comments are invited on:
a. Whether the information collection is necessary for the proper
performance of the Agencies' functions, and how the instructions can be
clarified so that information gathered has more practical utility;
b. The accuracy of the Agencies' estimates of the burden of the
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 the information collection 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.

Dated: June 13, 2005.
Stuart Feldstein,
Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division,
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Dated: June 8, 2005.

By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System,
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.

Dated at Washington, DC, this 13th day of June, 2005.
Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Dated: June 10, 2005.

By the Office of Thrift Supervision.
Richard M. Riccobono,
Acting Director.
[FR Doc. 05-11925 Filed 6-15-05; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810-33-P