FDIC Federal Register Citations

[Federal Register: June 30, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 125)]

[Notices]

[Page 35175-35177]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr30jn97-71]

=======================================================================

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB

Review; Comment Request

AGENCIES: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); and

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice of information collection to be submitted to OMB for

review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On December 30, 1996, the Board and the FDIC (the

``agencies'') requested public comment for 60 days on proposed

revisions to the Foreign Branch Report of Condition (Foreign Branch

Report), which is currently an approved collection of information (61

FR 68814-68817). After reviewing the comments received, the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), of which the

agencies are members, decided to study further the agencies' needs for

information on the foreign branches of U.S. banks for supervisory and

other public policy purposes. Thus, the FFIEC and the agencies are not

proceeding with most of the proposed changes to the Foreign Branch

Report. The only change that will be implemented at this time is a

revision to conform the reporting instructions with generally accepted

accounting principles (GAAP).

In accordance with requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), 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 Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) control number. Comments are invited on: a.

whether the following proposed revised collection of information is

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

collection as it is proposed to be revised, 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 operations, maintenance, and purchase of services to

provide information.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 30, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments, which should refer to the OMB control number,

should be addressed 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. Comments may also be addressed to either of the

agencies. All comments, which should refer to the OMB control

number(s), will be shared among the agencies.

Board: Written comments should be addressed to Mr. William W.

Wiles, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,

20th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551, or 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, N.W. 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 261.8 of the Board's Rules

Regarding Availability of Information, 12 CFR 261.8(a).

[[Page 35176]]

FDIC: Written comments should be addressed to the Office of the

Executive Secretary, Attention: Comments/OES, Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation, 550 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20429. 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 7:00

a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Fax number: (202) 898-3838; Internet address:

comments@fdic.gov). Comments may be inspected and photocopied in the

FDIC Public Information Center, room 100, 801 17th Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20429, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on business

days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act

Submission (OMB 83-I), supporting statement, and other documents that

have been submitted to OMB for review and approval may be requested

from the agency clearance officers, whose names appear below.

Board: Mary M. McLaughlin, Chief, Financial Reports (202-452-3829),

Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal

Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551. For

the hearing impaired only, Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

(TDD), Diane Jenkins (202-452-3544), Board of Governors of the Federal

Reserve System, Washington, D.C. 20551.

FDIC: Steven F. Hanft, FDIC Clearance Officer, (202) 898-3907,

Office of the Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation, 550 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20429.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Request for OMB approval to extend for three

years, with revision, the following currently approved collection of

information:

Title: Foreign Branch Report of Condition.

Form Number: FFIEC 030.

Frequency of Response: Annually, and quarterly for significant

branches.

Affected Public: Business or other for profit.

For Board

OMB Number: 7100-0071.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 100 annual respondents; 33

quarterly respondents.

Estimated Time per Response: 3 burden hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 696 burden hours.

For FDIC

OMB Number: 3064-0011.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 41 annual respondents; 1 quarterly

respondent.

Estimated Time per Response: 3.25 burden hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 146.25 burden hours.

General Description of Report: This information collection is

mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 321, 324, and 602 (Board); and 12 U.S.C. 1828

(FDIC). This information collection is given confidential treatment (5

U.S.C. 552 (b)(8)). Small businesses (that is, small banks) are not

affected.

Abstract: This report contains information on assets, liabilities,

and off-balance-sheet items for foreign branches of insured U.S.

commercial banks and is required for regulatory and supervisory

purposes. The information is used to analyze the foreign operations of

U.S. commercial banks. All foreign branches of U.S. banks, regardless

of charter type, file this report with the appropriate Federal Reserve

District Bank. The Federal Reserve collects this information on behalf

of the U.S. bank's primary federal bank regulatory agency.

Current Actions: Revisions initially proposed for the Foreign

Branch Report of Condition consisted of: the addition of a small number

of new items to enhance the agencies' ability to monitor asset quality

and the use of off-balance-sheet instruments, revisions to conform the

reporting instructions to GAAP, revisions to conform the reporting of

securities to three GAAP reporting categories, and revisions to the

criteria used to determine whether a respondent files this report on a

quarterly basis. After reviewing the comments received, the FFIEC has

decided not to implement most of the proposed changes to the Foreign

Branch report and, instead, to study further the agencies' needs for

information on the foreign branches of U.S. banks for supervisory and

other public policy purposes. The only change that will be implemented

at this time is a revision to conform the reporting instructions with

GAAP for consistency with the March 31, 1997, changes to the Reports of

Condition and Income (FFIEC 031-034, Call Report, OMB No. 7100-0036 for

Board, and 3064-0052 for FDIC).

Type of Review: Revision.

On December 30, 1996, the agencies jointly published a notice in

the Federal Register (61 FR 68814-68817) soliciting comments for 60

days on proposed revisions to the currently approved information

collection. The notice described the specific changes that the

agencies, with the approval of the FFIEC, were proposing to implement

as of June 30, 1997.

In response to this notice, the agencies collectively received two

comment letters: one from an accounting organization and one from a

large commercial bank. Both the accounting organization and the large

commercial bank generally supported the agencies' efforts to produce

greater consistency between the information collected in regulatory

reports and general-purpose financial statements. The accounting

organization supported the proposal to adopt generally accepted

accounting principles, which included conforming the reporting of

securities with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Statement of

Financial Accounting Standards No. 115, Accounting for Certain

Investments in Debt and Equity Securities (FASB 115).

Also, the bank indicated that specific references to the line items

in the Call Report would be helpful in clarifying reporting

requirements. As of March 1997, the Call Report instructions were

revised to eliminate instructions that differed from GAAP. Thus the

Foreign Branch Report's instructions will conform to GAAP, including

FASB 115, by reference to the FFIEC 031 instructions. Several other

Call Report references will be incorporated into the FFIEC 030

instructions.

The bank expressed concerns over the proposed addition of new items

to enhance the agencies' ability to monitor asset quality and the use

of off-balance-sheet instruments at the branch level. The bank stated

that it is more practical to monitor potential asset quality problems

and off-balance-sheet risk exposures at the consolidated bank level

since risks are managed in this manner by most major institutions. The

agencies have decided to study further the most appropriate method for

monitoring asset quality and off-balance-sheet risk exposure at the

foreign branch level. Thus, the agencies are not adding these proposed

new items at this time.

In the proposal, the agencies' estimate reflected an average of 3.9

burden hours for each branch or group of branches required to complete

the Foreign Branch Report of Condition. The bank mentioned that it

considers the estimated 3.9 burden hours for the proposed revised

Foreign Branch Report to be significantly understated and recommended

that the reporting burden should be measured by the number of foreign

branches a respondent has. However, since the agencies' only revision

to the Foreign Branch Report of Condition will be to conform the

instructions to GAAP for consistency with the Call Report, each

agency's

[[Page 35177]]

burden estimate will remain at its current level.

The bank also mentioned the possibility of extending the due date

to 60 days after quarter-end, obtaining a menu driven software package,

and transmitting the data electronically. The agencies have decided to

retain the current due date of 45 days after quarter-end, but will

consider whether to offer electronic reporting in the future.

After considering the comments received on the proposal and further

banking agency staff discussions about the content of the Foreign

Branch Report of Condition, the FFIEC and the agencies decided not to

proceed with the addition of the new items, the revision of other

items, and the revised criteria for quarterly reporting, as had been

proposed. Instead, the agencies will study further their needs for

information on the foreign branches of U.S. banks for supervisory and

other public policy purposes. Should this study lead to recommended

changes to the information that the agencies collect in the Foreign

Branch Report of Condition, including some or all of those that the

agencies proposed on December 30, 1996, the agencies will request

public comment for 60 days on such proposed revisions in accordance

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The only change to the

Foreign Branch Report of Condition that the agencies are implementing

at this time is a revision to conform the reporting instructions with

GAAP.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 24, 1997.

William W. Wiles,

Secretary of the Board.

Dated at Washington, D.C., this 23rd day of June, 1997.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Robert E. Feldman,

Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-16981 Filed 6-27-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210-01-P, 6714-01-P