Title 12—Banks and Banking--Volume 1
PART 208—MEMBERSHIP OF STATE BANKING INSTITUTIONS IN THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (REGULATION H)
§ 208.82   Definitions for purposes of this subpart.
As used in this subpart:
(a) Affiliate means a company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another company.
(b) Bank means a state member bank.
(c) Company means any corporation, partnership, business trust, association or similar organization, or any other trust (unless by its terms the trust must terminate within twenty-five years or not later than twenty-one years and ten months after the death of individuals living on the effective date of the trust). It does not include any corporation the majority of the shares of which are owned by the United States or by any State, or a qualified family partnership, as defined in section 2(o)(10) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1841(o)(10)).
(d) Consumer means an individual who purchases, applies to purchase, or is solicited to purchase from you insurance products or annuities primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.
(e) Control of a company has the same meaning as in section 3(w)(5) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(w)(5)).
(f) Domestic violence means the occurrence of one or more of the following acts by a current or former family member, household member, intimate partner, or caretaker:
(1) Attempting to cause or causing or threatening another person physical harm, severe emotional distress, psychological trauma, rape, or sexual assault;
(2) Engaging in a course of conduct or repeatedly committing acts toward another person, including following the person without proper authority, under circumstances that place the person in reasonable fear of bodily injury or physical harm;
(3) Subjecting another person to false imprisonment; or
(4) Attempting to cause or causing damage to property so as to intimidate or attempt to control the behavior of another person.
(g) Electronic media includes any means for transmitting messages electronically between you and a consumer in a format that allows visual text to be displayed on equipment, for example, a personal computer monitor.
(h) Office means the premises of a bank where retail deposits are accepted from the public.
(i) Subsidiary has the same meaning as in section 3(w)(4) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(w)(4)).
(j)(1) You means:
(i) A bank; or
(ii) Any other person only when the person sells, solicits, advertises, or offers an insurance product or annuity to a consumer at an office of the bank or on behalf of a bank.
(2) For purposes of this definition, activities on behalf of a bank include activities where a person, whether at an office of the bank or at another location sells, solicits, advertises, or offers an insurance product or annuity and at least one of the following applies:
(i) The person represents to a consumer that the sale, solicitation, advertisement, or offer of any insurance product or annuity is by or on behalf of the bank;
(ii) If the bank refers a consumer to a seller of insurance products or annuities and the bank has a contractual arrangement to receive commissions or fees derived from the sale of an insurance product or annuity resulting from that referral; or
(iii) Documents evidencing the sale, solicitation, advertising, or offer of an insurance product or annuity identify or refer to the bank.
§ 208.83   Prohibited practices.
(a) Anticoercion and antitying rules. You may not engage in any practice that would lead a consumer to believe that an extension of credit, in violation of section 106(b) of the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 (12 U.S.C. 1972), is conditional upon either:
(1) The purchase of an insurance product or annuity from the bank or any of its affiliates; or
(2) An agreement by the consumer not to obtain, or a prohibition on the consumer from obtaining, an insurance product or annuity from an unaffiliated entity.
(b) Prohibition on misrepresentations generally. You may not engage in any practice or use any advertisement at any office of, or on behalf of, the bank or a subsidiary of the bank that could mislead any person or otherwise cause a reasonable person to reach an erroneous belief with respect to:
(1) The fact that an insurance product or annuity sold or offered for sale by you or any subsidiary of the bank is not backed by the Federal government or the bank or the fact that the insurance product or annuity is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
(2) In the case of an insurance product or annuity that involves investment risk, the fact that there is an investment risk, including the potential that principal may be lost and that the product may decline in value; or
(3) In the case of a bank or subsidiary of the bank at which insurance products or annuities are sold or offered for sale, the fact that:
(i) The approval of an extension of credit to a consumer by the bank or subsidiary may not be conditioned on the purchase of an insurance product or annuity by the consumer from the bank or a subsidiary of the bank; and
(ii) The consumer is free to purchase the insurance product or annuity from another source.
(c) Prohibition on domestic violence discrimination. You may not sell or offer for sale, as principal, agent, or broker, any life or health insurance product if the status of the applicant or insured as a victim of domestic violence or as a provider of services to victims of domestic violence is considered as a criterion in any decision with regard to insurance underwriting, pricing, renewal, or scope of coverage of such product, or with regard to the payment of insurance claims on such product, except as required or expressly permitted under State law.
§ 208.84   What you must disclose.
(a) Insurance disclosures. In connection with the initial purchase of an insurance product or annuity by a consumer from you, you must disclose to the consumer, except to the extent the disclosure would not be accurate, that:
(1) The insurance product or annuity is not a deposit or other obligation of, or guaranteed by, the bank or an affiliate of the bank;
(2) The insurance product or annuity is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other agency of the United States, the bank, or (if applicable) an affiliate of the bank; and
(3) In the case of an insurance product or annuity that involves an investment risk, there is investment risk associated with the product, including the possible loss of value.
(b) Credit disclosure. In the case of an application for credit in connection with which an insurance product or annuity is solicited, offered, or sold, you must disclose that the bank may not condition an extension of credit on either:
(1) The consumer's purchase of an insurance product or annuity from the bank or any of its affiliates; or
(2) The consumer's agreement not to obtain, or a prohibition on the consumer from obtaining, an insurance product or annuity from an unaffiliated entity.
(c) Timing and method of disclosures —(1) In general. The disclosures required by paragraph (a) of this section must be provided orally and in writing before the completion of the initial sale of an insurance product or annuity to a consumer. The disclosure required by paragraph (b) of this section must be made orally and in writing at the time the consumer applies for an extension of credit in connection with which insurance is solicited, offered, or sold.
(2) Exceptions for transactions by mail. If a sale of an insurance product or annuity is conducted by mail, you are not required to make the oral disclosures required by paragraph (a) of this section. If you take an application for credit by mail, you are not required to make the oral disclosure required by paragraph (b) of this section.
(3) Exception for transactions by telephone. If a sale of an insurance product or annuity is conducted by telephone, you may provide the written disclosures required by paragraph (a) of this section by mail within 3 business days beginning on the first business day after the sale, excluding Sundays and the legal public holidays specified in 5 U.S.C 6103(a). If you take an application for such credit by telephone, you may provide the written disclosure required by paragraph (b) of this section by mail, provided you mail it to the consumer within three days beginning the first business day after the application is taken, excluding Sundays and the legal public holidays specified in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a).
(4) Electronic form of disclosures. (i) Subject to the requirements of section 101(c) of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (12 U.S.C. 7001(c)), you may provide the written disclosures required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section through electronic media instead of on paper, if the consumer affirmatively consents to receiving the disclosures electronically and if the disclosures are provided in a format that the consumer may retain or obtain later, for example, by printing or storing electronically (such as by downloading).
(ii) Any disclosures required by paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section that are provided by electronic media are not required to be provided orally.
(5) Disclosures must be readily understandable. The disclosures provided shall be conspicuous, simple, direct, readily understandable, and designed to call attention to the nature and significance of the information provided. For instance, you may use the following disclosures, in visual media, such as television broadcasting, ATM screens, billboards, signs, posters and written advertisements and promotional materials, as appropriate and consistent with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section:
(6) Disclosures must be meaningful. (i) You must provide the disclosures required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section in a meaningful form. Examples of the types of methods that could call attention to the nature and significance of the information provided include:
(A) A plain-language heading to call attention to the disclosures;
(B) A typeface and type size that are easy to read;
(C) Wide margins and ample line spacing;
(D) Boldface or italics for key words; and
(E) Distinctive type size, style, and graphic devices, such as shading or sidebars, when the disclosures are combined with other information.
(ii) You have not provided the disclosures in a meaningful form if you merely state to the consumer that the required disclosures are available in printed material, but you do not provide the printed material when required and do not orally disclose the information to the consumer when required.
(iii) With respect to those disclosures made through electronic media for which paper or oral disclosures are not required, the disclosures are not meaningfully provided if the consumer may bypass the visual text of the disclosures before purchasing an insurance product or annuity.
(7) Consumer acknowledgment. You must obtain from the consumer, at the time a consumer receives the disclosures required under paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section, or at the time of the initial purchase by the consumer of an insurance product or annuity, a written acknowledgment by the consumer that the consumer received the disclosures. You may permit a consumer to acknowledge receipt of the disclosures electronically or in paper form. If the disclosures required under paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section are provided in connection with a transaction that is conducted by telephone, you must:
(i) Obtain an oral acknowledgment of receipt of the disclosures and maintain sufficient documentation to show that the acknowledgment was given; and
(ii) Make reasonable efforts to obtain a written acknowledgment from the consumer.
(d) Advertisements and other promotional material for insurance products or annuities. The disclosures described in paragraph (a) of this section are required in advertisements and promotional material for insurance products or annuities unless the advertisements and promotional materials are of a general nature describing or listing the services or products offered by the bank.
§ 208.85   Where insurance activities may take place.
(a) General rule. A bank must, to the extent practicable, keep the area where the bank conducts transactions involving insurance products or annuities physically segregated from areas where retail deposits are routinely accepted from the general public, identify the areas where insurance product or annuity sales activities occur, and clearly delineate and distinguish those areas from the areas where the bank's retail deposit-taking activities occur.
(b) Referrals. Any person who accepts deposits from the public in an area where such transactions are routinely conducted in the bank may refer a consumer who seeks to purchase an insurance product or annuity to a qualified person who sells that product only if the person making the referral receives no more than a one-time, nominal fee of a fixed dollar amount for each referral that does not depend on whether the referral results in a transaction.
§ 208.86   Qualification and licensing requirements for insurance sales personnel.
A bank may not permit any person to sell or offer for sale any insurance product or annuity in any part of its office or on its behalf, unless the person is at all times appropriately qualified and licensed under applicable State insurance licensing standards with regard to the specific products being sold or recommended.
§ 208.110   Sale of bank's money orders off premises as establishment of branch office.
(a) The Board of Governors has been asked to consider whether the appointment by a member bank of an agent to sell the bank's money orders, at a location other than the premises of the bank, constitutes the establishment of a branch office.
(b) Section 5155 of the Revised Statutes (12 U.S.C. 36), which is also applicable to member banks, defines the term branch as including “any branch bank, branch office, branch agency, additional office, or any branch place of business * * * at which deposits are received, or checks paid, or money lent.” The basic question is whether the sale of a bank's money orders by an agent amounts to the receipt of deposits at a branch place of business within the meaning of this statute.
(c) Money orders are classified as deposits for certain purposes. However, they bear a strong resemblance to traveler's checks that are issued by banks and sold off premises. In both cases, the purchaser does not intend to establish a deposit account in the bank, although a liability on the bank's part is created. Even though they result in a deposit liability, the Board is of the opinion that the issuance of a bank's money orders by an authorized agent does not involve the receipt of deposits at a “branch place of business” and accordingly does not require the Board's permission to establish a branch.
§ 208.111   Obligations concerning institutional customers.
(a) As a result of broadened authority provided by the Government Securities Act Amendments of 1993 (15 U.S.C. 78o-3 and 78o-5), the Board is adopting sales practice rules for the government securities market, a market with a particularly broad institutional component. Accordingly, the Board believes it is appropriate to provide further guidance to banks on their suitability obligations when making recommendations to institutional customers.
(b) The Board's Suitability Rule, § 208.37(d), is fundamental to fair dealing and is intended to promote ethical sales practices and high standards of professional conduct. Banks' responsibilities include having a reasonable basis for recommending a particular security or strategy, as well as having reasonable grounds for believing the recommendation is suitable for the customer to whom it is made. Banks are expected to meet the same high standards of competence, professionalism, and good faith regardless of the financial circumstances of the customer.
(c) In recommending to a customer the purchase, sale, or exchange of any government security, the bank shall have reasonable grounds for believing that the recommendation is suitable for the customer upon the basis of the facts, if any, disclosed by the customer as to the customer's other security holdings and financial situation and needs.
(d) The interpretation in this section concerns only the manner in which a bank determines that a recommendation is suitable for a particular institutional customer. The manner in which a bank fulfills this suitability obligation will vary, depending on the nature of the customer and the specific transaction. Accordingly, the interpretation in this section deals only with guidance regarding how a bank may fulfill customer-specific suitability obligations under § 208.37(d). 8
8 The interpretation in this section does not address the obligation related to suitability that requires that a bank have”* * * a ‘reasonable basis’ to believe that the recommendation could be suitable for at least some customers.” In the Matter of the Application of F.J. Kaufman and Company of Virginia and Frederick J. Kaufman, Jr., 50 SEC 164 (1989).
(e) While it is difficult to define in advance the scope of a bank's suitability obligation with respect to a specific institutional customer transaction recommended by a bank, the Board has identified certain factors that may be relevant when considering compliance with § 208.37(d). These factors are not intended to be requirements or the only factors to be considered but are offered merely as guidance in determining the scope of a bank's suitability obligations.
(f) The two most important considerations in determining the scope of a bank's suitability obligations in making recommendations to an institutional customer are the customer's capability to evaluate investment risk independently and the extent to which the customer is exercising independent judgement in evaluating a bank's recommendation. A bank must determine, based on the information available to it, the customer's capability to evaluate investment risk. In some cases, the bank may conclude that the customer is not capable of making independent investment decisions in general. In other cases, the institutional customer may have general capability, but may not be able to understand a particular type of instrument or its risk. This is more likely to arise with relatively new types of instruments, or those with significantly different risk or volatility characteristics than other investments generally made by the institution. If a customer is either generally not capable of evaluating investment risk or lacks sufficient capability to evaluate the particular product, the scope of a bank's customer-specific obligations under § 208.37(d) would not be diminished by the fact that the bank was dealing with an institutional customer. On the other hand, the fact that a customer initially needed help understanding a potential investment need not necessarily imply that the customer did not ultimately develop an understanding and make an independent investment decision.
(g) A bank may conclude that a customer is exercising independent judgement if the customer's investment decision will be based on its own independent assessment of the opportunities and risks presented by a potential investment, market factors and other investment considerations. Where the bank has reasonable grounds for concluding that the institutional customer is making independent investment decisions and is capable of independently evaluating investment risk, then a bank's obligations under § 208.25(d) for a particular customer are fulfilled. 9 Where a customer has delegated decision-making authority to an agent, such as an investment advisor or a bank trust department, the interpretation in this section shall be applied to the agent.
9 See footnote 8 in paragraph (d) of this section.
(h) A determination of capability to evaluate investment risk independently will depend on an examination of the customer's capability to make its own investment decisions, including the resources available to the customer to make informed decisions. Relevant considerations could include:
(1) The use of one or more consultants, investment advisers, or bank trust departments;
(2) The general level of experience of the institutional customer in financial markets and specific experience with the type of instruments under consideration;
(3) The customer's ability to understand the economic features of the security involved;
(4) The customer's ability to independently evaluate how market developments would affect the security; and
(5) The complexity of the security or securities involved.
(i) A determination that a customer is making independent investment decisions will depend on the nature of the relationship that exists between the bank and the customer. Relevant considerations could include:
(1) Any written or oral understanding that exists between the bank and the customer regarding the nature of the relationship between the bank and the customer and the services to be rendered by the bank;
(2) The presence or absence of a pattern of acceptance of the bank's recommendations;
(3) The use by the customer of ideas, suggestions, market views and information obtained from other government securities brokers or dealers or market professionals, particularly those relating to the same type of securities; and
(4) The extent to which the bank has received from the customer current comprehensive portfolio information in connection with discussing recommended transactions or has not been provided important information regarding its portfolio or investment objectives.
(j) Banks are reminded that these factors are merely guidelines that will be utilized to determine whether a bank has fulfilled its suitability obligation with respect to a specific institutional customer transaction and that the inclusion or absence of any of these factors is not dispositive of the determination of suitability. Such a determination can only be made on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances of a particular bank/customer relationship, assessed in the context of a particular transaction.
(k) For purposes of the interpretation in this section, an institutional customer shall be any entity other than a natural person. In determining the applicability of the interpretation in this section to an institutional customer, the Board will consider the dollar value of the securities that the institutional customer has in its portfolio and/or under management. While the interpretation in this section is potentially applicable to any institutional customer, the guidance contained in this section is more appropriately applied to an institutional customer with at least $10 million invested in securities in the aggregate in its portfolio and/or under management.
§ 208.112   Policy statement on section 9(13) of the Federal Reserve Act.
(a) Under section 9(13) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 330), a state member bank may “exercise all corporate powers granted it by the State in which it was created . . . except that the [Board] may limit the activities of State member banks and subsidiaries of State member banks in a manner consistent with section 24 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.” The Board interprets this provision as vesting the Board with the authority to prohibit or otherwise restrict state member banks and their subsidiaries from engaging as principal in any activity (including acquiring or retaining any investment) that is not permissible for a national bank, unless the activity is permissible for state banks by federal statute or under part 362 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) regulations, 12 CFR part 362. The Board reminds state member banks of the fundamental canon of federal banking law that activities are permissible for a national bank only if authority is provided under federal law, including the National Bank Act.
(b) The Board generally believes that the same bank activity, presenting the same risks, should be subject to the same regulatory framework, regardless of which agency supervises the bank. This principle of equal treatment helps to level the competitive playing field among banks with different charters and different federal supervisors and to mitigate the risks of regulatory arbitrage.
(c) In alignment with this principle, the Board generally presumes that it will exercise its discretion under section 9(13) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 330) to limit state member banks and their subsidiaries to engaging as principal in only those activities that are permissible for national banks—in each case, subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations placed on national banks with respect to the activity—unless those activities are permissible for state banks by federal statute or under 12 CFR part 362. For example, if the OCC conditions permissibility on a national bank demonstrating, to the satisfaction of its supervisory office, that the bank has controls in place to conduct the activity in a safe and sound manner, and receiving a written nonobjection from OCC supervisory staff before engaging in a particular activity, then the activity would not be permissible for a state member bank unless the bank makes the same demonstration and receives a written nonobjection from Federal Reserve supervisory staff before commencing such activity.
(d) If a state member bank or its subsidiary proposes to engage in an activity as principal that is not permissible for a national bank or for an insured state member bank under federal statute or part 362 of this title, the state member bank or subsidiary may not engage in the activity unless the bank has received the prior permission of the Board under § 208.3(d)(2). Under that provision, a state member bank may not, without the permission of the Board, change the general character of its business or the scope of the corporate powers it exercises at the time of its admission. In determining whether to grant permission to engage in an activity under § 208.3(d)(2), the Board will rebuttably presume that a state member bank and its subsidiaries are prohibited from engaging as principal in any activity that is impermissible for national banks, unless the activity is permissible for state banks under federal statute or part 362 of this title. This presumption may be rebutted if there is a clear and compelling rationale for the Board to allow the proposed deviation in regulatory treatment among federally supervised banks, and the state member bank has robust plans for managing the risks of the proposed activity in accordance with principles of safe and sound banking. Depending on the applicant and the activity, an application to the FDIC may also be required under section 24 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1831a).
(e) This statement does not impact the legal obligation of insured state member banks to seek approval from the FDIC when required under section 24 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and part 362 of this title. As established under those provisions, insured state banks may not engage as principal in any type of activity that is not permissible for a national bank unless—(1) the FDIC has determined that the activity would pose no significant risk to the Deposit Insurance Fund; and (2) the state bank is, and continues to be, in compliance with applicable capital standards.
(f) The Board also reiterates to state member banks that legal permissibility is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to establish that a state member bank may engage in a particular activity. Under § 208.3(d)(1), a state member bank must at all times conduct its business and exercise its powers with due regard to safety and soundness. Under appendix D-1 of this part, at a minimum, a state member bank should have in place and implement internal controls and information systems that are appropriate for the nature, scope, and risks of its activities. Further, under § 208.3(d)(3), a state member bank must comply at all times with this part and conditions of membership prescribed by the Board; in addition, a state member bank must comply with other applicable laws and regulations, including those related to consumer compliance and anti-money laundering. With respect to any novel and unprecedented activities, appropriate systems to monitor and control risks, including liquidity, credit, market, operational, and compliance risks, are particularly important; Federal Reserve supervisors will expect banks to be able to explain and demonstrate an effective control environment related to such activities.
§ 208.120   Authority, purpose, and scope.
(a) Authority. This subpart is issued by the Board under section 7 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. 1817(a)(3) and (12), and section 9 of the Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. 324.
(b) Purpose and scope. This subpart informs a state member bank where it may obtain forms and instructions for reports of conditions and implements 12 U.S.C. 1817(a)(12) to allow reduced reporting for a covered depository institution when such institution makes its reports of condition for the first and third calendar quarters of a year.
§ 208.121   Definitions.
Covered depository institution means a state member bank that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Has less than $5 billion in total consolidated assets as reported in its report of condition for the second calendar quarter of the preceding year, except that, during the calendar year 2021, a state member bank shall determine whether it meets the requirement in paragraph (1) of this section by using the lesser of its total consolidated assets as reported in its report of condition as of December 31, 2019, and its total consolidated assets as reported in its report of condition for the second calendar quarter of 2020. The relief provided under this paragraph (1) of this section does not apply to a state member bank if the Board determines that permitting the state member bank to determine its assets in accordance with that paragraph would not be commensurate with the risk profile of the state member bank. When making this determination, the Board will consider all relevant factors, including the extent of asset growth of the state member bank since December 31, 2019; the causes of such growth, including whether growth occurred as a result of mergers or acquisitions; whether such growth is likely to be temporary or permanent; whether the state member bank has become involved in any additional activities since December 31, 2019; the asset size of any parent companies; and the type of assets held by the state member bank. In making a determination pursuant to this paragraph (1), the Board will apply notice and response procedures in the same manner and to the same extent as the notice and response procedures in 12 CFR 263.202.
(2) Has no foreign offices, as defined in this section;
(3) Is not required to or has not elected to use 12 CFR part 217, subpart E, to calculate its risk-based capital requirements; and
(4) Is not a large institution or highly complex institution, as such terms are defined in 12 CFR 327.8, or treated as a large institution, as requested under 12 CFR 327.16(f).
Foreign country refers to one or more foreign nations, and includes the overseas territories, dependencies, and insular possessions of those nations and of the United States.
Foreign office means:
(1) A branch or consolidated subsidiary in a foreign country, unless the branch is located on a U.S. military facility;
(2) An international banking facility as such term is defined in 12 CFR 204.8;
(3) A majority-owned Edge Act or Agreement subsidiary including both its U.S. and its foreign offices; and
(4) For an institution chartered or headquartered in any U.S. state or the District of Columbia, a branch or consolidated subsidiary located in a U.S. territory or possession.
Report of condition means the FFIEC 031, FFIEC 041, or FFIEC 051 versions of the Consolidated Report of Condition and Income (Call Report) or the FFIEC 002 (Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks), as applicable, and as they may be amended or superseded from time to time in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35.
Total consolidated assets means total assets as reported in a state member bank's report of condition.
§ 208.122   Reporting.
(a) A state member bank is required to file the report of condition (Call Report) in accordance with the instructions for these reports. All assets and liabilities, including contingent assets and liabilities, must be reported in, or otherwise taken into account in the preparation of, the Call Report. The Board uses Call Report data to monitor the condition, performance, and risk profile of individual state member banks and the banking industry. Reporting state member banks must also submit annually such information on small business and small farm lending as the Board may need to assess the availability of credit to these sectors of the economy. The report forms and instructions can be obtained from Federal Reserve District Banks or through the website of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, http://www.ffiec.gov/.
(b) Every insured U.S. branch of a foreign bank is required to file the FFIEC 002 version of the report of condition (Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks) in accordance with the instructions for the report. All assets and liabilities, including contingent assets and liabilities, must be reported in, or otherwise taken into account in the preparation of the report. The Board uses the reported data to monitor the condition, performance, and risk profile of individual insured branches and the banking industry. Insured branches must also submit annually such information on small business and small farm lending as the Board may need to assess the availability of credit to these sectors of the economy. The report forms and instructions can be obtained from Federal Reserve District Banks or through the website of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, http://www.ffiec.gov/.
§ 208.123   Reduced reporting.
A covered depository institution may file the FFIEC 051 version of the report of condition, or any successor thereto, which shall provide for reduced reporting for the reports of condition for the first and third calendar quarters for a year.
§ 208.124   Reservation of authority.
(a) Notwithstanding § 208.123, the Board in consultation with the applicable state chartering authority may require an otherwise eligible covered depository institution to file the FFIEC 041 version of the report of condition, or any successor thereto, based on an institution-specific determination. In making this determination, the Board may consider criteria including, but not limited to, whether the institution is significantly engaged in one or more complex, specialized, or other higher risk activities, such as those for which limited information is reported in the FFIEC 051 version of the report of condition compared to the FFIEC 041 version of the report of condition. Nothing in this part shall be construed to limit the Board's authority to obtain information from a state member bank.
(b) Nothing in this subpart limits the authority of the Board under any other provision of law or regulation to take supervisory or enforcement action, including action to address unsafe or unsound practices or conditions or violations of law.