[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]
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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.
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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
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