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[Federal Register: July 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 138)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 43347-43351]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20jy04-16] ========================================================================
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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[[Page 43347]]
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
12 CFR Chap. I
[Docket No. 04-18]
BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Chap. II
[Docket No. R-1206]
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
12 CFR Chap. III
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Thrift Supervision
12 CFR Chap. V
[No. 2004-35]
Request for Burden Reduction Recommendations; Consumer
Protection: Account/Deposit Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer
Rules; 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reviewing our regulations to identify outdated, unnecessary, or unduly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 Consumer Protection: Account/Deposit Relationships and
Miscellaneous Consumer Rules, consistent with our statutory
obligations. 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; the cost of compliance
associated with reporting, recordkeeping, and disclosure requirements,
particularly on small institutions; 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 October 18,
2004.
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 upon receipt. Comments
received at the EGRPRA Web site and by other means will be posted on
the Web site to the extent possible.
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 0418], by any
of the following methods:
E-mail: regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. Include [docket 0418]
in the subject line of the message.
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 R-1206,
by any of the following methods:
Agency Web site: http://www.federalreserve.gov Follow the instructions for
submitting comments at 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: You may submit comments, identified as EGRPRA burden
reduction comments, by any of the following methods:
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
[[Page 43348]]
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. 2004-35.'' by any
of the following methods:
E-Mail: regs.comments@ots.treas.gov. Include ``No. 2004-
35'' 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 http://www.ots.treas.gov. 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.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OCC:
Stuart Feldstein, Assistant Director, Legislative and
Regulatory Activities Division, (202) 874-5090.
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, Managing Senior 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.
Arleen Lustig, Supervisory Financial Analyst, Division of
Banking Supervision and Regulation, (202) 452-5259.
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.
Thomas Nixon, Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898-8766.
OTS:
Robyn Dennis, Manager, Thrift Policy, Supervision Policy,
(202) 906-5751.
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 burdens consistent with our
statutory obligations. Today, we request your input to help us identify
which regulatory requirements in the category ``Consumer Protection:
Account/Deposit Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer Rules' are
outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome. We list the rules in this
category 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 third 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. We published our second notice on January 21, 2004,
at 69 FR 2852. You may view the notices at our Web site: http://www.EGRPRA.gov
.
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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
Analyzing whether legislative change is required to reduce
burden.
The first publication cycle must be complete by September 2006.
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 four 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. Today, we request comment on Consumer Protection: Account/
Deposit Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer Rules.
We plan to publish one or more categories of rules approximately
every six months between 2003 and 2006 and provide a 90-day comment
period for each publication. As noted earlier, we must publish all our
covered categories of rules for comment and review them by the end of
September 2006.
In addition to soliciting written comments, we held banker outreach
meetings in Orlando, St. Louis, Denver, San Francisco, New York City,
Nashville and Seattle to hear directly from the industry about ways the
Agencies could reduce regulatory burden. More than 300 representatives
from the industry have attended the outreach meetings. On February 20,
2004, the Agencies also held a conference in the Washington, DC area
for consumer groups to obtain their input on regulatory burden
reduction. Another consumer group meeting was held in San Francisco on
June 24, 2004. 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 and over
590 to the second notice. The Agencies appreciate the response to our
notices and the outreach meetings. The written comments and remarks at
the meetings came from individuals, banks, savings
[[Page 43349]]
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.
On May 12, 2004, FDIC Vice Chairman John M. Reich testified about
burden reduction before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and
Consumer Credit of the House Committee on Financial Services. On June
22, 2004, Agency and industry leaders testified about regulatory reform
before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
Agency leaders included Federal Reserve Board Governor Donald Kohn,
FDIC Vice Chairman John M. Reich, NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson, OCC
First Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel Julie L. Williams,
and OTS Chief Counsel John Bowman. We will continue to post information
about our burden reduction efforts at our Web site.
II. Request for Comment on Consumer Protection: Account/Deposit
Relationships and Miscellaneous Consumer Rules
Today, we are asking the public to identify the ways in which the
Consumer Protection: Account/Deposit Relationships and Miscellaneous
Consumer Rules may be outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome. We
chose this category for publication relatively early in the series of
requests for comment based on earlier comments from some industry
representatives that the requirements imposed by the consumer
protection regulations are among the most burdensome. As shown on the
chart at the end of this notice, there are 11 regulations in this
category.
We encourage comments that address not only individual rules or
requirements but also pertain to certain product lines. For example, in
the case of a particular deposit product, are any disclosure
requirements under one regulation inconsistent with or duplicative of
requirements under another regulation? Do the rules require that you
keep unnecessary records? A product line approach is consistent with
EGRPRA's focus on how rules interact, and may be especially helpful in
exposing redundant or potentially inconsistent regulatory requirements.
We recognize that commenters using a product line approach may want to
make recommendations about rules that are not in our current request
for comment. They should do so since we designed the EGRPRA categories
to stimulate creative approaches rather than limiting them.
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? (3)
Do changes in the financial products and services offered to consumers
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). How could we 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-P; 6210-01-P; 6714-01-P; 6720-01-P
[[Page 43350]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP20JY04.000
[[Page 43351]]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-C; 6210-01-C; 6714-01-C; 6720-01-C
Dated: July 14, 2004.
John D. Hawke, Jr.,
Comptroller of the Currency.
By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
on July 6, 2004.
Robert deV. Frierson,
DeputySecretary of the Board.
Dated in Washington, DC, this 28 day of June, 2004.
By order of the Board of Directors.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Valerie J. Best,
Assistant Executive Secretary.
Dated: June 24, 2004.
James E. Gilleran,
Director, Office of Thrift Supervision.
[FR Doc. 04-16401 Filed 7-19-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P
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