Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 2004 / Notices 5987

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Strategic 

Plan 2003—2008. Consideration of a 

strategic plan for the agency covering 

the period from 2003 through 2008. 

Legal Authority to Require 

Registration of Federal Home Loan Bank 

Securities Under the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934. Consideration of 

a resolution directing the Chairman to 

request that the Office of Legal Counsel 

of the Department of Justice determine 

whether the agency has the authority 

under the Federal Home Loan Bank Act 

to require each Federal Home Loan 

Bank to register a class of its equity 

securities with the Securities and 

Exchange Commission under the 

provisions of section 12(g) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Mary Gottlieb, Paralegal Specialist, 

Office of General Counsel, by telephone 

at 202/408–2826 or by electronic mail at 

gottliebm@fhfb.gov.

Dated: February 4, 2004.

By the Federal Housing Finance Board.

John Harry Jorgenson, 

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 04–2888 Filed 2–5–04; 3:12 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6725–01–U

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

Sunshine Act Notice; Announcing the 

Continuation of a Public Hearing on 

Corporate Governance of the Federal 

Home Loan Banks

TIME AND DATE: The continuation of the 

public hearing held on January 23, 2004, 

is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on 

Tuesday, February 10, 2004.

PLACE: Board Room, Second Floor, 

Federal Housing Finance Board, 1777 F 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006.

STATUS: The entire hearing will be open 

to the public.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Corporate 

Governance of the Federal Home Loan 

Banks: 

The purpose of the hearing is to 

solicit proposals for both statutory and 

regulatory reform aimed at enhancing 

Federal Home Loan Bank governance.

CONTACT PERSONS: For general 

information contact Mary H. Gottlieb, 

Paralegal Specialist, Office of General 

Counsel, by telephone at 202/408–2826 

or by electronic mail at 

gottliebm@fhfb.gov. Submit requests to 

testify and copies of testimony to 

Thomas D. Casey, Chief Counsel to the 

Chairman, by telephone at 202/408–

2957 or by electronic mail at 

caseyt@fhfb.gov.

Dated: February 4, 2004.

By the Federal Housing Finance Board.

John Harry Jorgenson, 

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 04–2887 Filed 2–5–04; 3:12 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6725–01–U

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY: On June 15, 1984, the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

delegated to the Board of Governors of 

the Federal Reserve System (Board) its 

approval authority under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, as per 5 CFR 1320.16, to 

approve of and assign OMB control 

numbers to collection of information 

requests and requirements conducted or 

sponsored by the Board under 

conditions set forth in 5 CFR 1320 

Appendix A.1. Board–approved 

collections of information are 

incorporated into the official OMB 

inventory of currently approved 

collections of information. Copies of the 

OMB 83–Is and supporting statements 

and approved collection of information 

instruments are placed into OMB’s 

public docket files. The Federal Reserve 

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 OMB control 

number. 

Request for comment on information 

collection proposal. 

The following information 

collections, which are being handled 

under this delegated authority, have 

received initial Board approval and are 

hereby published for comment. At the 

end of the comment period, the 

proposed information collections, along 

with an analysis of comments and 

recommendations received, will be 

submitted to the Board for final 

approval under OMB delegated 

authority. Comments are invited on the 

following: 

a. whether the proposed collections of 

information are necessary for the proper 

performance of the Federal Reserve’s 

functions; including whether the 

information has practical utility; 

b. the accuracy of the Federal 

Reserve’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed information collections, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

c. ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

d. ways to minimize the burden of 

information collections on respondents, 

including through the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before April 9, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

mailed to Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, 

Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System, 20th Street and 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20551. Please consider submitting 

your comments through the Board’s web 

site at www.federalreserve.gov/

generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm; by 

e-mail to 

regs.comments@federalreserve.gov; or 

by fax to the Office of the Secretary at 

202/452–3819 or 202/452–3102. Rules 

proposed by the Board and other federal 

agencies may also be viewed and 

commented on at www.regulations.gov.

All public comments are available from 

the Board’s web site at 

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 (C 

and 20th Streets, NW.) between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m. on weekdays. 

A copy of the comments may also be 

submitted to the OMB desk officer for 

the Board: Joseph Lackey, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, Room 3208, 

Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A 

copy of the proposed forms and 

instructions, the Paperwork Reduction 

Act Submission (OMB 83–I), supporting 

statements, and other documents that 

will be placed into OMB’s public docket 

files once approved may be requested 

from the agency clearance officer, whose 

name appears below. 

Cindy Ayouch, Federal Reserve Board 

Clearance Officer (202–452–3829), 

Division of Research and Statistics, 

Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551. 

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf 

(TDD) users may contact (202–263–

4869), Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

5988 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 2004 / Notices 

Proposal to approve under OMB 

delegated authority the extension for 

three years, without revision, of the 

following reports:

1. Report title: Survey to Obtain 

Information on the Relevant Market in 

Individual Merger Cases

Agency form number: FR 2060

OMB control number: 7100–0232

Frequency: On occasion

Reporters: Small businesses and 

consumers

Annual reporting hours: 18

Estimated average hours per response:

10 minutes for small businesses, 6 

minutes for consumers

Number of respondents: 25 small 

businesses and 50 consumers per survey

General description of report: This 

information collection is voluntary (12 

U.S.C. § 1817(j), 1828(c), and 1841 et 

seq.) and is given confidential treatment 

(5 U.S.C. §§ 552 (b)(4) and (b)(6)).

Abstract: The Federal Reserve uses 

this information to define relevant 

banking markets for specific merger and 

acquisition applications and to evaluate 

changes in competition that would 

result from proposed transactions.

2. Report title: Written Security 

Program for State Member Banks

Agency form number: FR 4004

OMB control number: 7100–0112

Frequency: On occasion

Reporters: State member banks

Annual reporting hours: 27

Estimated average hours per response:

30 minutes

Number of respondents: 54

General description of report: This 

recordkeeping requirement is 

mandatory [12 U.S.C. § 1882], 12 U.S.C. 

§ 248(a)(1) and 325, and Regulation H 

[12 C.F.R., part 208.61] authorize the 

Board to require the recordkeeping of 

this information. Because written 

security programs are maintained at 

state member banks, no issue of 

confidentiality under the Freedom of 

Information Act normally arises. 

However, copies of such documents 

included in examination work papers 

would, in such form, be confidential 

pursuant to exemption 8 of the Freedom 

of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(8)).

Abstract: This mandatory information 

collection is a recordkeeping 

requirement contained in the Federal 

Reserve’s Regulation H, Section 208.61. 

Each state member bank must develop 

and implement a written security 

program and maintain it in the bank’s 

records. There is no formal reporting 

form and the information is not 

submitted to the Federal Reserve.

3. Report title: Transfer Agent 

Registration and Amendment Form

Agency form number: FR TA–1

OMB control number: 7100–0099

Frequency: On occasion

Reporters: State member banks and 

their subsidiaries, bank holding 

companies, and certain nondeposit trust 

company subsidiaries of bank holding 

companies.

Annual reporting hours: 8

Estimated average hours per response:

1 hour and 15 minutes for registrations; 

10 minutes for amendments

Number of respondents: 5 

registrations and 11 amendments

General description of report: This 

information collection is mandatory 

(Sections 17A(c), 17(a), and 23(a) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as 

amended (15 USC 78q–1(c)(1) and (2), 

78q(a)(3), and 78w(a)(1))) and is not 

given confidential treatment.

Abstract: The Securities Exchange Act 

of 1934 (the ‘‘Act’’) requires any person 

acting as a transfer agent to register as 

such and to amend registration 

information when it changes. State 

member banks and their subsidiaries, 

bank holding companies, and certain 

nondeposit trust company subsidiaries 

of bank holding companies register with 

the Federal Reserve System by 

submitting Form TA–1. The information 

collected includes the company name, 

all business addresses, and several 

questions about the registrant’s 

proposed activities as a transfer agent. 

The Federal Reserve uses the 

information to act upon registration 

applications and to aid in performing its 

supervisory duties.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, February 3, 2004.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 04–2660 Filed 2–6–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–S

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Change in Bank Control Notices; 

Acquisition of Shares of Bank or Bank 

Holding Companies

The notificants listed below have 

applied under the Change in Bank 

Control Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)) and 

§ 225.41 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12 

CFR 225.41) to acquire a bank or bank 

holding company. The factors that are 

considered in acting on the notices are 

set forth in paragraph 7 of the Act (12 

U.S.C. 1817(j)(7)).

The notices are available for 

immediate inspection at the Federal 

Reserve Bank indicated. The notices 

also will be available for inspection at 

the office of the Board of Governors. 

Interested persons may express their 

views in writing to the Reserve Bank 

indicated for that notice or to the offices 

of the Board of Governors. Comments 

must be received not later than February 

23, 2004.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of 

Minneapolis (Jacqueline G. Nicholas, 

Community Affairs Officer) 90 

Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, 

Minnesota 55480–0291:

1. Claire L. Erickson, Hudson, 

Wisconsin, and Marilyn J. Kron, 

Hudson, Wisconsin; to acquire voting 

shares of Waseca Bancshares, Inc., 

Waseca, Minnesota, and thereby 

indirectly acquire voting shares of 

Roundbank, Waseca, Minnesota, and 

American Savings, Inc., Farmington, 

Minnesota.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, February 3, 2004.

Robert deV. Frierson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 04–2663 Filed 2–6–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–S

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Formations of, Acquisitions by, and 

Mergers of Bank Holding Companies

The companies listed in this notice 

have applied to the Board for approval, 

pursuant to the Bank Holding Company 

Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.) 

(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR Part 

225), and all other applicable statutes 

and regulations to become a bank 

holding company and/or to acquire the 

assets or the ownership of, control of, or 

the power to vote shares of a bank or 

bank holding company and all of the 

banks and nonbanking companies 

owned by the bank holding company, 

including the companies listed below.

The applications listed below, as well 

as other related filings required by the 

Board, are available for immediate 

inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank 

indicated. The application also will be 

available for inspection at the offices of 

the Board of Governors. Interested 

persons may express their views in 

writing on the standards enumerated in 

the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the 

proposal also involves the acquisition of 

a nonbanking company, the review also 

includes whether the acquisition of the 

nonbanking company complies with the 

standards in section 4 of the BHC Act 

(12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise 

noted, nonbanking activities will be 

conducted throughout the United States. 

Additional information on all bank 

holding companies may be obtained 

from the National Information Center 

website at www.ffiec.gov/nic/.

Unless otherwise noted, comments 

regarding each of these applications