6964 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 14 / Monday, January 25, 2021 / Notices 

1Section 358 of the USA PATRIOT Act added 

language expanding the scope of the BSA to 

intelligence or counter-intelligence activities to 

protect against international terrorism. Section 6101 

of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 added 

language further expanding the scope of the BSA 

but did not disturb these longstanding purposes. 

2Treasury Order 180–01 (re-affirmed Jan. 14, 

2020). 3Public Law 91–508 (Oct. 26, 1970), 84 Stat. 

1122. 

specifically designated as CBI will be 

placed in the public docket for this 

matter. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

General: Ms. Kay McIver by telephone 

at 202–366–0113, or by email at 

kay.mciver@dot.gov. 

Technical: Mr. Steve Nanney by 

telephone at 713–272–2855, or by email 

at steve.nanney@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PHMSA 

received a special permit request from 

EPNG seeking a waiver from the 

requirements of 49 CFR 192.611(a) and 

(d): Change in class location: 

Confirmation or revision of maximum 

allowable operating pressure, and 

§ 192.619(a): Maximum allowable 

operating pressure: Steel or plastic 

pipelines. This special permit is being 

requested in lieu of pipe replacement or 

pressure reduction for one (1) special 

permit segment of 650 feet (0.123 miles) 

on the EPNG pipeline system. The 

proposed special permit segment is 

located in Ward County, Texas. The 

EPNG pipeline class location in the 

special permit segment has changed 

from a Class 2 to a Class 3 location. The 

EPNG pipeline special permit segment 

is a 30-inch diameter pipeline with an 

existing maximum allowable operating 

pressure of 944 pounds per square inch 

gauge. The installation of the special 

permit segment occurred in 2003. 

The special permit request, proposed 

special permit with conditions, and 

Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) 

for the EPNG pipeline are available for 

review and public comment in Docket 

No. PHMSA–2020–0008. We invite 

interested persons to review and submit 

comments on the special permit request 

and DEA in the docket. Please include 

any comments on potential safety and 

environmental impacts that may result 

if the special permit is granted. 

Comments may include relevant data. 

Before issuing a decision on the 

special permit request, PHMSA will 

evaluate all comments received on or 

before the comment closing date. 

Comments received after the closing 

date will be evaluated, if it is possible 

to do so without incurring additional 

expense or delay. PHMSA will consider 

each relevant comment it receives in 

making its decision to grant or deny this 

special permit request. 

Issued in Washington, DC, under authority 

delegated in 49 CFR 1.97. 

Alan K. Mayberry, 

Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01522 Filed 1–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Proposed Renewal; 

Comment Request; Renewal Without 

Change of Transactions of Exempt 

Persons Regulations, and FinCEN 

Report 110, Designation of Exempt 

Person Report 

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement 

Network (FinCEN), Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork and respondent 

burden, FinCEN invites comments on 

the proposed renewal, without change, 

of a currently approved information 

collection found in existing Bank 

Secrecy Act regulations. Specifically, 

the regulations permit banks to file a 

FinCEN Report 110, Designation of 

Exempt Person (‘‘DOEP Report’’), to 

designate eligible customers as exempt 

persons, such that a bank is not required 

to file a report with respect to any 

transaction in currency over $10,000 

with such customers. Under the 

regulations, a bank, to exempt a person, 

must also take steps to ensure that a 

person meets the requirements for an 

exemption, document the basis for the 

bank’s initial conclusion that a person is 

exempt, annually review the eligibility 

of certain exempt persons, document 

compliance with the DOEP Report 

requirements, and maintain a 

monitoring system that is reasonably 

designed to detect, for each account of 

a non-listed business or payroll 

customer, transactions in currency 

requiring a bank to file a suspicious 

transaction report. Although no changes 

are proposed to the information 

collection itself, this request for 

comments covers a future expansion of 

the scope of the annual hourly burden 

and cost estimate associated with these 

regulations. This request for comments 

is made pursuant to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments are welcome, 

and must be received on or before 

March 26, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal E-rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Refer to Docket Number FINCEN–2020– 

0018 and the specific Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) control 

number 1506–0012. 

• Mail: Policy Division, Financial 

Crimes Enforcement Network, P.O. Box 

39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket 

Number FINCEN–2020–0018 and OMB 

control number 1506–0012. 

Please submit comments by one 

method only. Comments will also be 

taken into account in FinCEN’s review 

of existing regulations, consistent with 

Treasury’s 2011 Plan for Retrospective 

Analysis of Existing Rules. All 

comments submitted in response to this 

notice will become a matter of public 

record. Therefore, you should submit 

only information that you wish to make 

publicly available. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

FinCEN Regulatory Support Section at 

1–800–767–2825 or electronically at 

frc@fincen.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions 

The legislative framework generally 

referred to as the Bank Secrecy Act 

(BSA) consists of the Currency and 

Financial Transactions Reporting Act of 

1970, as amended by the Uniting and 

Strengthening America by Providing 

Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept 

and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 

(USA PATRIOT Act) (Pub. L. 107–56) 

and other legislation. The BSA is 

codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 

1951–1959, 31 U.S.C. 5311–5314 and 

5316–5332, and notes thereto, with 

implementing regulations at 31 CFR 

Chapter X. 

The BSA authorizes the Secretary of 

the Treasury, inter alia, to require 

financial institutions to keep records 

and file reports that are determined to 

have a high degree of usefulness in 

criminal, tax, and regulatory matters, or 

in the conduct of intelligence or 

counter-intelligence activities to protect 

against international terrorism, and to 

implement anti-money laundering 

(AML) programs and compliance 

procedures.1 Regulations implementing 

the BSA appear at 31 CFR Chapter X. 

The authority of the Secretary to 

administer the BSA has been delegated 

to the Director of FinCEN.2

The requirement for financial 

institutions to report certain 

transactions in currency has been an 

important component of the BSA from 

its inception.3 Regulations 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 14 / Monday, January 25, 2021 / Notices 6965 

4 31 CFR 1010.311. 

5Public Law 103–325, Title IV, Section 402 (Sep. 

23, 1994), 108 Stat. 2243. These authorities are 

codified at 31 U.S.C. 5313(d) (mandatory 

exemptions) and (e) (discretionary exemptions). 

6 31 CFR 1010.315(a). The exemption does not 

apply when the exempt person is acting as agent for 

another person who is the beneficial owner of the 

funds that are the subject of the transaction. 31 CFR 

1010.315(f). 

7 In certain circumstances, a limited exemption 

from the two month transaction account holding 

requirement may apply to non-listed business and 

payroll customers pursuant to the special rule at 31 

CFR 1010.315(c)(2)(ii). 

8This is referred to in the regulations as ‘‘FinCEN 

Form 110.’’ FinCEN has referred to its forms as 

‘‘reports’’ since moving to electronic filing. 

9 31 CFR 1020.315(c)(1) and (e)(6). 

10 31 CFR 1020.315(c)(2)(A) and (B). 11Public Law 104–13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A). 

implementing this requirement have 

long established a one-person, one-day, 

one-institution aggregate currency 

transaction threshold of $10,000, above 

which every financial institution must 

file a Currency Transaction Report 

(CTR).4 The Money Laundering 

Suppression Act of 1994 amended the 

BSA to create certain mandatory 

exemptions applicable to banks from the 

requirement for financial institutions to 

file CTRs, and to give the Secretary 

authority to create additional such 

exemptions.5 Regulations implementing 

this exemption authority, including by 

requiring the collection of information 

on the DOEP Report, are found at 31 

CFR 1020.315. 

Under 31 CFR 1020.315(a), a bank is 

not required to file a CTR with respect 

to any transaction in currency between 

exempt persons and the bank, or 

between an exempt person and other 

banks that are affiliated with the bank.6

31 CFR 1020.315(b) sets out that an 

exempt person is: (1) A bank, to the 

extent of such bank’s domestic 

operations; (2) a department or agency 

of the United States, of any State, or of 

any political subdivision of any State; 

(3) any entity established under the laws 

of the United States, any State, or any 

political subdivision of any State, or 

under an interstate compact, that 

exercises governmental authority on 

behalf of the United States, any such 

State, or any such political subdivision; 

(4) any entity, other than a bank, whose 

common stock or analogous equity 

interests are listed on the New York 

Stock Exchange, the American 

Exchange, or the NASDAQ Stock Market 

(a ‘‘listed entity’’), provided that, if the 

listed entity is a financial institution 

other than a bank, it is an exempt 

person only to the extent of its domestic 

operations; (5) any subsidiary, other 

than a bank, of a listed entity mentioned 

in the previous item (4) that is organized 

under the laws of the United Sates or of 

any State, provided that the listed entity 

owns at least 51 percent of the equity 

interest of the subsidiary, and subject to 

the qualification that if the subsidiary is 

a financial institution other than a bank, 

it is an exempt person only to the extent 

of its domestic operations; (6) any other 

commercial enterprise, with certain 

exceptions, that maintains a transaction 

account at the bank for at least two 

months, frequently engages in 

transactions with the bank in currency 

in excess of $10,000, and is 

incorporated or organized under the 

laws of, or is registered as and eligible 

to do business within, the United States 

or a State (a ‘‘non-listed business’’), but 

only to the extent of the non-listed 

business customers’ domestic 

operations and only with respect to 

transactions conducted through the nonlisted business customer’s exemptible 

accounts; or (7) any other person, with 

certain exceptions, that maintains a 

transaction account at the bank for at 

least two months, operates a firm that 

frequently withdraws more than 

$10,000 in order to pay its U.S. 

employees in currency, and is 

incorporated or organized under the 

laws of, or is registered as and eligible 

to do business within, the United States 

or a State (a ‘‘payroll customer’’), but 

solely with respect to withdrawals for 

payroll purposes from existing 

exemptible accounts.7

31 CFR 1020.315(c)(1) requires a bank 

to designate an exempt person by filing 

the DOEP Report 8 within 30 calendar 

days after the day of the first reportable 

transaction in currency with that person 

that the bank seeks to exempt from 

reporting. A bank holding company or 

one of its bank subsidiaries may make 

such a designation on behalf of any or 

all of the bank holding company’s bank 

subsidiaries by listing those bank 

subsidiaries in the DOEP Report that it 

files.9 However, a bank is not required 

to file a DOEP Report for transfer of 

currency to or from (1) any of the 12 

Federal Reserve Banks, (2) a bank, to the 

extent of such bank’s domestic 

operations, (3) a department or agency 

of the United States, of any State, or of 

any political subdivision of any State, or 

(4) any entity established under the laws 

of the United States, any State, or any 

political subdivision of any State, or 

under an interstate compact between 

two or more States, that exercises 

governmental authority on behalf of the 

United States or any such State or 

political subdivision.10

31 CFR 1020.315(d) requires a bank to 

review at least once annually the 

continued eligibility of an exempt 

person that is a (1) listed entity, (2) 

subsidiary of a listed entity, (3) nonlisted business customer, or (4) payroll 

customer. As part of the annual review, 

a bank must also review the application 

to each existing account of a non-listed 

business or payroll customer of the 

monitoring system that 31 CFR 

1020.315(h)(2) requires the bank to 

maintain (related to suspicious activity 

monitoring). 

Under 31 CFR 1020.315(e), a bank 

must take steps to assure itself that an 

exempt person meets the definition of 

that term (see 31 CFR 1020.315(b), 

summarized above), document the basis 

for its conclusion, and document its 

compliance with the terms of the 

exemption, including the operating 

rules in 31 CFR 1020.315(e)(2)-(9). A 

bank must also take steps to document 

compliance with its suspicious activity 

monitoring obligations under 31 CFR 

1020.315(h)(2). The steps that the bank 

takes under 31 CFR 1020.315(e) must be 

those that a reasonable and prudent 

bank would take and document to 

protect itself from fraud or loss based on 

misidentification of a person’s status 

and, in the case of the suspicious 

activity monitoring obligations, to 

identify suspicious transactions. 

31 CFR 1020.315(h)(1) states that the 

CTR exemption rules do not relieve a 

bank of its obligation to report any 

suspicious transactions pursuant to 31 

CFR 1020.320, including any suspicious 

transactions or attempted transactions 

in currency associated with the 

accounts of an exempt person, or relieve 

a bank of any other reporting or 

recordkeeping obligation imposed under 

the authority of the BSA. 

Under 31 CFR 1020.315(h)(2), a bank 

must establish and maintain a 

monitoring system that is reasonably 

designed to detect, for each account of 

a non-listed business or payroll 

customer, transactions in currency that 

would require a bank to file a suspicious 

activity report (SAR). 

II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA) 11

Title: Transactions of Exempt Person 

(31 CFR 1020.315), and FinCEN Report 

110—DOEP Report. 

OMB Control Number: 1506–0012. 

Report Number: FinCEN Report 110— 

DOEP Report. 

Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this 

notice to renew the OMB control 

number for the transactions of exempt 

person regulations and the DOEP 

Report. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit institutions, and non-profit 

institutions. 


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6966 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 14 / Monday, January 25, 2021 / Notices 

12According to the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation ((FDIC) there were 5,103 FDIC-insured 

banks as of March 31, 2020. According to the 

Federal Reserve Board (FRB), there were 203 other 

entities supervised by the FRB, as of June 16, 2020, 

that fall within the definition of bank (20 Edge Act 

institutions, 15 agreement corporations (as defined 

in 12 CFR 28.2), and 168 foreign banking 

organizations). According to the National Credit 

Union Administration there were 5,236 federally 

regulated credit unions as of December 31, 2019). 

Approximately 297 state-chartered non-depository 

trust companies, 228 non-federally insured credit 

unions, 12 non-federally insured state-chartered 

banks and savings and loan or building and loan 

associations, 1 private bank, 29 international 

banking entities, and 52 international financial 

entities, all of which are required to implement 

written AML programs as a result of a final rule 

issued on September 15, 2020 (85 FR 57129), are 

also required to keep the records described in this 

notice. 

13Based on 2019 filings, FinCEN received 18,141 

DOEP Reports. 

14The burden associated with the CTR 

obligations is calculated under OMB control 

number 1506–0064. The burden associated with the 

SAR obligations is calculated under OMB Control 

Number 1506–0065. 

15See supra note 10. 

16 In the past PRA burden analysis, FinCEN 

estimated that the traditional burden to complete 

and file the DOEP Report for banks was 1 hour (45 

minutes for completion of the form and 15 minutes 

for recordkeeping). (18,141 × .75 minutes = 

13,605.75 burden hours for completion of the 

report) + (18,141 × .25 minutes = 4,535.25 burden 

hours for maintenance). The total hourly burden is 

18,141 hours (13,605.75 + 4,535.25). Going forward 

this estimate will be different because it will 

account for the initial eligibility determination, 

filling out and filing the report, annual review, 

maintenance of records, maintenance of the 

monitoring system, and monitoring accounts to 

report suspicious transactions. 

Type of Review: 

• Renewal without change of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

• Propose for review and comment a 

renewal of the portion of the PRA 

burden that has been subject to notice 

and comment in the past (the 

‘‘traditional annual PRA burden’’). 

• Propose for review and comment a 

future expansion of the scope of the 

PRA burden (the ‘‘supplemental annual 

PRA burden’’). 

Frequency: As required. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

11,161 banks.12

Estimated Number of Responses: 

18,141.13

Estimated Recordkeeping Burden: 

In Part 1 of this notice, FinCEN 

describes the breakdown of the 

estimated number of financial 

institutions, by type. In Part 2, FinCEN 

proposes for review and comment a 

renewal of the estimate of the traditional 

annual PRA hourly burden, which 

includes a scope and methodology 

similar to that used in the past, with the 

incorporation of a more robust cost 

estimate. The scope and methodology 

used in the past was limited to filling 

out, filing, and maintaining a copy of 

the DOEP Report filed. In Part 3, 

FinCEN proposes for review and 

comment a methodology to estimate a 

future estimate of a supplemental 

annual PRA burden that includes the 

burden and cost to a bank related to the 

regulatory requirements to: (1) 

Determine the initial eligibility of 

exempt persons, document the bank’s 

basis for its conclusion, and document 

compliance with, inter alia, the 

operating rules set out in 1020.315(e); 

(2) conduct an annual review to 

determine whether certain exempt 

persons remain eligible for the CTR 

exemption, and consistent with that 

review, to maintain a monitoring system 

to identify suspicious transactions 

associated with the accounts of nonlisted business and payroll customers; 

and (3) establish and maintain a 

monitoring system reasonably designed 

to monitor currency transactions and 

report suspicious transactions pursuant 

to the bank’s general obligation to report 

any suspicious transactions.14 Finally, 

in Part 4, FinCEN solicits input from the 

public about: (1) The accuracy of the 

estimate of the traditional annual PRA 

burden; (2) the method proposed for the 

calculation of the future supplemental 

annual PRA burden; (3) the criteria, 

metrics, and most appropriate questions 

FinCEN should consider when 

researching the information to estimate 

the future traditional and supplemental 

annual PRA burden, according to the 

methodology proposed; and (4) any 

other comments about the regulations 

and the current and proposed future 

hourly burden and cost estimates of 

these requirements. 

Part 1—Breakdown of the Financial 

Institutions Covered by This Notice 

Banks are the only financial 

institutions covered by this notice. 

FinCEN estimates there are 11,161 

banks.15

Part 2—Traditional Annual PRA Burden 

And Cost 

The scope of the traditional annual 

PRA burden was limited to the annual 

burden of filling out, filing, and 

maintaining a record of the initial filed 

DOEP Report. 

FinCEN continues to estimate the 

annual hourly burden of the designation 

of exempt persons as one hour per form. 

This estimate covers the burden of: (1) 

45 minutes to fill out and file the report; 

and (2) 15 minutes to save the report 

electronically and print out a copy to 

keep in hard-copy files. FinCEN 

believes that the information required to 

be included on the DOEP Report is basic 

information that banks need to maintain 

to conduct business. The e-filing system 

prompts banks to save the report after 

submission. 

FinCEN’s estimate of the traditional 

annual PRA burden, therefore, is 18,141 

hours, as detailed in Table 1 below: 

TABLE 1—BURDEN ASSOCIATED WITH COMPLETION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE REPORT

Type of financial institution 

Number of 

DOEP reports 

filed in 2019 

Time per form Total burden hours per step 

Grand total 

burden hours 

Completion 

(filling out and 

filing) 

(minutes) 

Maintenance 

(minutes) 

Completion 

(filling out and 

filing) 

Maintenance 

Banks 18,141 45 15 13,605.75 4,535.25 18,141 16

To calculate the hourly costs of the 

burden estimate, FinCEN identified 

three roles and corresponding staff 

positions involved in filling out, 

reviewing, filing, and maintaining a 

copy of the report: (1) General 

supervision (providing process 

oversight); (2) direct supervision 

(reviewing operational-level work, and 

cross-checking all or a sample of the 

work product against supporting 

documentation); and (3) clerical work 

(engaging in research and administrative 

review, completing the DOEP Report, 

and recordkeeping). 

FinCEN calculated the fully-loaded 

hourly wage for each of these three roles 

by using the median wage estimated by 

the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 14 / Monday, January 25, 2021 / Notices 6967 

17The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

Occupational Employment Statistics-National, May 

2019, available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/ 

tables.htm. The most recent data from the BLS 

corresponds to May 2019. For the benefits 

component of total compensation, see U.S. Bureau 

of Labor Statistics, Employer’s Cost per Employee 

Compensation as of December 2019, available at 

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm. The 

ratio between benefits and wages for financial 

activities is $15.95 (hourly benefits)/$32.05 (hourly 

wages) = 0.50. The benefit factor is 1 plus the 

benefit/wages ratio, or 1.50. Multiplying each 

hourly wage by the benefit factor produces the 

fully-loaded hourly wage per position. 

18By ‘‘in general,’’ FinCEN means without regard 

to outliers). By ‘‘on average,’’ FinCEN means the 

mean of the distribution of each subset of the 

population. 

19Table 1. 

20Table 3. 

(BLS),17 and computing an additional 

benefits cost as follows: 

TABLE 2—FULLY-LOADED HOURLY WAGE BY ROLE AND BLS JOB POSITION FOR ALL BANKS COVERED BY THIS NOTICE

Role BLS-code BLS-name Median hourly 

wage Benefit factor Fully-loaded hourly wage 

General supervision ................................................... 11–3031 Financial Manager ........... $62.45 1.50 $93.68 

Direct supervision ....................................................... 13–1041 Compliance Officer .......... 33.20 1.50 49.80 

Clerical work (research, review, and recordkeeping) 43–3099 Financial Clerk ................ 20.40 1.50 30.60 

FinCEN estimates that, in general and 

on average,18 each role would spend 

different amounts of time on each 

portion of the traditional annual PRA 

burden, as follows: 

For initial filing, the cost of each hour 

of burden would be one burden hour at 

$48.00 representing the actual 

completion and filing of the report 

broken down by each role as shown in 

Table 3 below: 

TABLE 3—WEIGHTED AVERAGE HOURLY COST OF COMPLETION OF THE DOEP REPORT

General supervision Direct supervision Clerical work Weighted 

average 

% Time Hourly cost % Time Hourly cost % Time Hourly cost hourly cost 

10 $9.37 30 $14.94 60 $18.36 $43.00 

$42.67 rounded to $43.00. 

The total estimated cost of the 

traditional annual PRA burden is 

$780,063, as reflected in Table 4 below: 

TABLE 4—TOTAL COST OF TRADITIONAL ANNUAL PRA BURDEN

Steps Hourly Burden Hourly Cost Total Cost 

Report completion (divided between the 

roles listed in Table 3).

13,605.75 19 ............................................. $43.00 20 $585,047.25 

Maintenance/recordkeeping .................... 4,535.25 ................................................... $43.00 $195,015.75 

Total cost .......................................... .................................................................. ........................ $780,063 

Part 3—Supplemental Annual PRA 

Burden 

In the future, FinCEN intends to add 

a supplemental annual PRA burden 

calculation that will include the 

estimated hourly burden and cost to: (1) 

Determine the initial eligibility of 

exempt persons, document the basis for 

the consideration, and document 

compliance with the DOEP reporting 

requirements; (2) conduct an annual 

review to determine whether certain 

exempt persons remain eligible for the 

CTR exemption, and, consistent with 

that review, to maintain a monitoring 

system to identify suspicious 

transactions associated with the 

accounts of non-listed business and 

payroll customers; and (3) identify 

suspicious transactions associated with 

accounts of non-listed business and 

payroll customers. 

(a) Amended and Revoked Filings 

FinCEN assesses that the information 

required to be included on the DOEP 

Report is basic information banks need 

to maintain to conduct business. In 

addition, FinCEN’s electronic filing (efiling) system allows banks to open a 

filed electronic DOEP Report that is prepopulated with the information from the 

prior filing. Banks can amend the status 

of an exempt person (including de facto 

revoking that status) by selecting Item 

1.b (Amend) of the DOEP Report, and 

submitting the revised report 

electronically. The e-filing system 

prompts banks to save the report after 

submission. 

(b) Annual Review 

As noted in Section I above, for all 

identified and reported designation of 

exempt persons, banks are required to 

establish and maintain a monitoring 

system designed to annually review the 

eligibility of a listed entity, a subsidiary 

of a listed entity, a non-listed business 

customer, or a payroll customer to 

determine whether they remain eligible 

for the exemption from the banks’ 

requirement to report transactions in 

currency of over $10,000. As part of the 

annual review, banks must also review 

the application of the monitoring 

system, required to be maintained under 

31 CFR 1020.315(h)(2), to each existing 

account of a non-listed business or 

payroll customer. 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
6968 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 14 / Monday, January 25, 2021 / Notices 

21Net hourly burden and cost are the burden and 

cost a person (in the case of the DOEP Report, a 

bank) incurs to comply with requirements that are 

unique to the BSA, and that do not support any 

other business purpose or regulatory obligation of 

the person. Burden for purposes of the PRA does 

not include the time and financial resources needed 

to comply with an information collection, if the 

time and resources are for activities a business (or 

other person) ordinarily undertakes if the 

government agency calculating the burden 

demonstrates that the reporting activities needed to 

comply are usual and customary. 5 CFR 

1320.3(b)(2). 

22Although 11,109 banks were eligible to file 

DOEP Reports, only 2,133 banks filed DOEP Reports 

in 2019 and FinCEN received a total of 18,141 

DOEP Reports. Of the 18,141 DOEP Reports 

received in 2019, FinCEN received 9,464 initial 

reports, 4,444 amended reports, 4,223 DOEP 

revoked reports, and 10 reports not classified as 

initial, amended, or revoked. 

FinCEN does not have the necessary 

information to provide an estimate in 

this notice of the supplemental PRA 

hourly burden and cost associated with 

the annual review of eligibility of 

exempt persons, the operating rules set 

out in 31 CFR 1020.315(e), and the 

monitoring system required under 31 

CFR 1020.315(h)(2). In addition, 

FinCEN does not have all the necessary 

information to more accurately estimate 

the traditional annual PRA burden. For 

that reason, FinCEN is relying on 

estimates used in prior renewals of this 

OMB control number and the applicable 

regulations. FinCEN further recognizes 

that after receiving public comments as 

a result of this notice, future traditional 

annual PRA hourly burden and cost 

estimates may vary significantly. 

FinCEN intends to conduct more 

granular studies of the actions included 

in the proposed scope of the 

supplemental annual PRA burden in the 

near future, to arrive at more accurate 

estimates of net BSA hourly burden and 

cost.21 The data obtained in these 

studies also may result in a significant 

variation of the estimated traditional 

annual PRA burden. 

Estimated Recordkeeping Burden: The 

average estimated annual PRA burden, 

measured in hours per respondent, is 1 

hour (45 minutes to annually fill out 

and file the report, and fifteen minutes 

to maintain a record of the report). 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

11,161,22 as set out above. 

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 

18,141, as set out above. 

Estimated Total Annual 

Recordkeeping Burden: The estimated 

total annual PRA burden is 18,141 

hours, as set out in Table 1. 

Estimated Total Annual 

Recordkeeping Cost: The estimated total 

annual PRA cost is $780,063, as set out 

in Table 4. 

An Agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a valid OMB control number. 

Records required to be retained under 

the BSA must be retained for five years. 

Part 4—Request for Comments 

(a) Specific Request for Comments on 

the Traditional Annual PRA Hourly 

Burden and Cost 

FinCEN invites comments on any 

aspect of the traditional annual PRA 

burden, as set out in Part 2 of this 

notice. In particular, FinCEN seeks 

comments on the adequacy of: (1) 

FinCEN’s assumptions underlying its 

burden estimate; (2) the estimated 

number of hours required by each 

portion of the burden; and (3) the 

organizational roles of the bank engaged 

in each portion of the burden, the roles’ 

estimated hourly remuneration, and the 

estimated proportion of time spent by 

each role on the requirements. FinCEN 

encourages commenters to include any 

publicly available sources for alternative 

estimates or methodologies. 

(b) Specific Request for Comments on 

the Proposed Criteria for Determining 

the Scope of a Supplemental Annual 

PRA Hourly Burden and Cost Estimate 

FinCEN invites comments on any 

aspect of the criteria for a future 

estimate of the supplemental annual 

PRA burden, as set out in Part 3 of this 

notice. 

(c) Specific Request for Comments on 

the Appropriate Criteria, Methodology, 

and Questionnaire Required To Obtain 

Information To More Accurately 

Estimate the Supplemental Annual PRA 

Hourly Burden and Cost 

FinCEN invites comments on the most 

appropriate and comprehensive means 

to question banks about the annual 

hourly burden and cost attributable 

solely to comply with the DOEP 

reporting requirements (i.e., the hourly 

burden and cost of complying with the 

requirements imposed exclusively by 

the BSA, which are not used to satisfy 

other regulatory requirements or 

business purposes of a bank). 

The supplemental annual PRA hourly 

burden and cost estimate of the 

recordkeeping and reporting necessary 

to comply with the transactions of 

exempt persons regulations 

(determination of eligibility, 

maintenance of records, annual review, 

maintenance of monitoring system, and 

reporting of suspicious transactions) 

must take into consideration only the 

effort involved in obtaining those data 

elements that are used exclusively for 

complying with requirements under 31 

CFR 1020.315. Given the complexity in 

determining that effort and how to 

incorporate it into the estimate, FinCEN 

seeks comments from the public 

regarding any questions we should 

consider posing in future notices, in 

addition to the specific questions for 

comment outlined directly below. While 

FinCEN has information on the number 

and type of DOEP Reports, FinCEN is 

unable to more accurately allocate the 

estimates among the number of banks. 

FinCEN welcomes any suggestions as to 

how to derive these estimates by using 

publicly available financial information. 

(d) Specific Questions for Comment 

Associated With the Transactions of 

Exempt Persons Regulations and the 

DOEP Report: 

(1) Determination of Exempt Person 

• On average, how many accounts 

does your bank maintain for which the 

account holder meets the definition of 

exempt person? 

• On average, how many accounts 

does your bank maintain that require a 

determination as to whether the 

accountholder meets the definition of 

exempt person? 

• On average, how many accounts 

does your bank maintain for which the 

account holder meets the definition of a 

listed business or is a subsidiary of a 

listed business? 

• On average, how many accounts 

does your bank maintain for which the 

account holders are non-listed 

businesses or payroll customers? 

• On average, how long does the 

review process take to determine if an 

accountholder is eligible for a 

designation of exempt person status? 

• On average, how long does the 

completion and filing of a DOEP Report 

take? 

• On average, how many employees, 

officers, or managers are responsible for 

determining the eligibility of exempt 

persons? 

• Which roles are typically more 

involved and how long does each role 

spend on determining the eligibility of 

exempt persons? 

• How many approvals are necessary 

to determine the eligibility of exempt 

persons? To finalize and submit the 

DOEP Report? 

(2) Initial and Amended DOEP Reports 

• On average, how many initial DOEP 

Reports does your bank file on an 

annual basis? 

• On average, how long does it take 

your bank to complete an initial filing? 

• On average, how frequently does 

your bank amend a report? 

• On average, how long does it take 

your bank to amend a report, including 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 14 / Monday, January 25, 2021 / Notices 6969 

as a de facto method of revoking an 

exemption? 

• On average, how many employees 

are involved and how many approvals 

are necessary to complete an initial or 

amended filing? 

• Does your bank have a review and 

approval process involving senior 

management to evaluate the conclusions 

reached in the determination for 

eligibility of an exempt person? 

• Does your bank have a review and 

approval process involving senior 

management for amending or revoking 

the eligibility of an exempt person? On 

average, how long does the review 

process take and how many approvals 

are necessary? 

(3) Annual Review 

• On average, how often does your 

bank review the eligibility of an exempt 

person? 

• On average, how many accounts 

where the accountholder is an exempt 

person does your bank review at least 

annually? 

• Does your bank maintain a 

monitoring system to comply with the 

DOEP reporting requirements? 

• Does your bank review the 

monitoring system at least once a year? 

• On average, how long does it take 

to review the monitoring system and 

how many approvals are necessary? 

• Does your bank maintain records of 

the annual review? 

• On average, how long does it take 

to prepare and maintain records of the 

review? 

• Does your bank have a review and 

approval process involving senior 

management to evaluate the conclusions 

reached in the annual review of 

eligibility? 

• On average, how long does the 

annual review process take and how 

many approvals are necessary? 

(4) Monitoring System 

• Does your bank maintain a separate 

monitoring system to track designation 

of exempt persons for reasons other than 

to comply with the reporting 

requirements under 31 CFR 1020.315? 

• Does your bank maintain a separate 

monitoring system to identify 

suspicious activity associated with the 

accounts of designated exempt persons? 

• Does your bank have a review and 

approval process involving senior 

management to evaluate the conclusions 

reached in the determination of whether 

a SAR must be filed for an exempt 

account? On average, how long does the 

review process take and how many 

approvals are necessary? 

(e) General Request for Comments 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval. All comments will become a 

matter of public record. Comments are 

invited on: (1) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the collection of 

information; (3) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; (4) ways to 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

information on respondents, including 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology; and 5) estimates of capital 

or start-up costs and costs of operation, 

maintenance, and purchase of services 

to provide information. 

Kenneth A. Blanco, 

Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement 

Network. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01451 Filed 1–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

Notice of OFAC Sanctions Action 

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets 

Control, Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets 

Control (OFAC) is publishing the names 

of one or more persons that have been 

placed on OFAC’s Specially Designated 

Nationals and Blocked Persons List 

based on OFAC’s determination that one 

or more applicable legal criteria were 

satisfied. All property and interests in 

property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of 

these persons are blocked, and U.S. 

persons are generally prohibited from 

engaging in transactions with them. 

DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section for effective date(s). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

OFAC: Associate Director for Global 

Targeting, tel.: 202–622–2420; Assistant 

Director for Sanctions Compliance & 

Evaluation, tel.: 202–622–2490; 

Assistant Director for Licensing, tel.: 

202–622–2480; or Assistant Director for 

Regulatory Affairs, tel.: 202–622–4855. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Availability 

The Specially Designated Nationals 

and Blocked Persons List and additional 

information concerning OFAC sanctions 

programs are available on OFAC’s 

website (https://www.treasury.gov/ofac). 

Notice of OFAC Action(s) 

On January 15, 2021, OFAC 

determined that the property and 

interests in property subject to U.S. 

jurisdiction of the following persons are 

blocked under the relevant sanctions 

authority listed below. 

Individual 

1. ALVAREZ CASAS, Lazaro Alberto, 

Cuba; DOB 1963; Gender Male (individual) 

[GLOMAG]. 

Designated pursuant to section 

1(a)(ii)(C)(1) of Executive Order 13818 of 

December 20, 2017, ‘‘Blocking the Property of 

Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights 

Abuse or Corruption,’’ 82 FR 60839, 3 CFR, 

2018 Comp., p. 399, (E.O. 13818) for being a 

foreign person who is or has been a leader 

or official of an entity, including any 

government entity, that has engaged in, or 

whose members have engaged in, serious 

human rights abuse relating to the leader’s or 

official’s tenure. 

Entity 

1. MINISTRY OF INTERIOR (a.k.a. 

MINISTERIO DEL INTERIOR; a.k.a. 

‘‘MININT’’), Aranguren and Carlos Manuel 

de Cespedes, Havana, Cuba; Organization 

Established Date Jun 1961 [GLOMAG]. 

Designated pursuant to section 1(a)(ii)(A) 

of E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who 

is responsible for or complicit in, or has 

directly or indirectly engaged in, serious 

human rights abuse. 

Dated: January 15, 2021. 

Andrea M. Gacki, 

Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control, 

U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01521 Filed 1–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AL–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request for Limitations on Credit or 

Refund 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Internal Revenue Service, 

as part of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 

invites the general public and other 

Federal agencies to take this 

opportunity to comment on continuing 

information collections, as required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES