[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 19 (Monday, February 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7778-7783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02064]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; 
Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Regulations Requiring 
Additional Records To Be Made and Retained by Dealers in Foreign 
Exchange and Additional Records To Be Made and Retained by Brokers or 
Dealers in Securities

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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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 collections found 
in existing Bank Secrecy Act regulations. Specifically, the regulations 
require dealers in foreign exchange and brokers or dealers in 
securities to secure and maintain a record of the taxpayer 
identification number for individuals for whom a transaction or 
brokerage account is opened, or for whom a line of credit is extended, 
subject to certain exceptions. The regulations also require that the 
dealers in foreign exchange and brokers or dealers in securities retain 
originals or copies of specified documents relating to account and 
transaction records. Although no changes are proposed to the 
information collections

[[Page 7779]]

themselves, 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 
April 2, 2021

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal E-rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number 
FINCEN-2021-0003 and the specific Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
control numbers 1506-0052 and 1506-0053.
    <bullet> Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-
2021-0003 and OMB control numbers 1506-0052 and 1506-0053.
    Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will also be 
taken into account in FinCEN's review of existing regulations, 
consistent with by 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0563776645636c6b66606b2b626a73"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="305642537056595e53555e1e575f46">[email protected]</span></a>.

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\
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    \1\ Section 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 (``the AML Act'') added 
language further expanding the scope of the BSA but did not disturb 
these longstanding purposes. The AML Act is Division F of Public Law 
116-283 (January 1, 2021).
    \2\ Treasury Order 180-01 (re-affirmed Jan. 14, 2020).
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a. 31 CFR 1022.410--Additional Records To Be Made and Retained by 
Dealers in Foreign Exchange

    31 CFR 1022.410(a) requires a dealer in foreign exchange to make 
and maintain a record of the taxpayer identification number of certain 
persons for whom a transaction account is opened or a line of credit is 
extended, within 30 days of opening such an account or extending such a 
line of credit, or longer if the person has applied for a taxpayer 
identification or social security number. A dealer in foreign exchange 
must also maintain a list containing the names, addresses, and account 
or credit line numbers of those persons from whom it has been unable to 
secure such information despite reasonable efforts. A dealer in foreign 
exchange need not attempt to secure such information if the person is 
an agency or instrumentality of a Federal, state, local, or foreign 
government using an account for public funds, one of several categories 
of aliens that are not permanent resident aliens, or an unincorporated 
subordinate unit of a tax exempt organization covered by a group 
exemption letter.
    Under 31 CFR 1022.410(b), a dealer in foreign exchange must also 
retain the original or a copy of nine types of documents: (1) 
Statements of accounts from banks, including documents representing the 
entries reflected on such statements; (2) daily work records, including 
documents needed to identify and reconstruct currency transactions with 
customers and foreign banks; (3) a record of each exchange of currency 
involving transactions in excess of $1,000, including the customer's 
name and address (and passport or tax identification number unless 
received by mail or common carrier), the date and amount of the 
transaction, and the currency name, country, and total amount of each 
foreign currency; (4) signature cards or other documents evidencing 
signature authority over each deposit or security account, containing 
specified items of information about the customer (including a record 
of the actual owner of the account if customer accounts are maintained 
in a code name); (5) each item, including checks, drafts, and transfers 
of credit, of more than $10,000 remitted or transferred to a person, 
account, or place outside the United States; (6) a record of each 
receipt of currency, other monetary instruments, investment securities 
and checks, and of each transfer of funds or credit, of more than 
$10,000 received on any one occasion directly and not through a 
domestic financial institution, from any person, account, or place 
outside the United States; (7) records prepared or received by the 
dealer in foreign exchange in the ordinary course of business that 
would be needed to reconstruct an account and trace a check in excess 
of $100 deposited in such an account through its internal recordkeeping 
system to its depository institution, or to supply a description of 
such a deposited check; (8) a record of the name, address and taxpayer 
identification number of any person presenting a certificate of deposit 
for payment, as well as a description of the instrument and the date of 
the transaction; and (9) a system of books and records that enables the 
dealer in foreign exchange to prepare an accurate balance sheet and 
income statement. To the extent that these records include originals or 
copies of checks, drafts, monetary instruments, investment securities, 
or other similar instruments, copies of front and back of such 
instruments must generally be retained.\3\ The required records must be 
maintained for five years.\4\
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    \3\ 31 CFR 1010.430(a).
    \4\ 31 CFR 1010.430(d).
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b. 31 CFR 1023.410--Additional Records To Be Made and Retained by 
Brokers or Dealers in Securities

    Until October 1, 2003, 31 CFR 1023.410(a) required a broker or 
dealer in securities to make a record of certain information. Until 
October 1, 2008, a broker or dealer in securities was required to 
maintain all such records, as well as a list containing the names, 
addresses, and account or credit line numbers of those persons from 
whom it had been unable to secure the required information despite 
reasonable efforts. The customer identification program requirement for 
brokers or dealers in

[[Page 7780]]

securities has effectively superseded these requirements.\5\
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    \5\ 31 CFR 1023.220. The burden associated with these 
requirement is calculated under OMB control number 1506-0034.
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    Under 31 CFR 1023.410(b), a broker or dealer in securities must 
retain an original or copy of: (1) Each document granting signature or 
trading authority over each customer's account; (2) a record of each 
remittance or transfer of funds, currency, checks, other monetary 
instruments, investment securities, or credit, of more than $10,000 to 
a person, account, or place outside the United States; (3) a record of 
each receipt of currency, other monetary instruments, investment 
securities, or checks, and of each transfer of funds or credit, of more 
than $10,000 on any one occasion, not through a domestic financial 
institution, from any person, account, or place outside the United 
States; and (4) each record described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), 
(6), (7), (8), and (9) of 17 CFR 240.17a-3(a), covering records to be 
made by certain exchange members, brokers and dealers as identified in 
17 CFR 240.17a-3. To the extent that these records include originals or 
copies of checks, drafts, monetary instruments, investment securities, 
or other similar instruments, copies of front and back of such 
instruments must generally be retained.\6\ The required records must be 
maintained for five years.\7\
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    \6\ 31 CFR 1010.430(a).
    \7\ 31 CFR 1010.430(d).
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II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) <SUP>8</SUP>
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    \8\ Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
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    Title: Additional records to be made and retained by dealers in 
foreign exchange and additional records to be made and retained by 
brokers or dealers in securities (31 CFR 1022.410 and 31 CFR 1023.410).
    OMB Control Numbers: 1506-0052 and 1506-0053.
    Report Number: Not applicable.
    Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this notice to renew the OMB control 
numbers for record-keeping requirements for dealers in foreign exchange 
and brokers or dealers in securities.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit institutions, and 
non-profit institutions.
    Type of Review:
    <bullet> Renewal without change of a currently approved information 
collection.
    <bullet> 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'').
    <bullet> Propose for review and comment a future expansion of the 
scope of the PRA burden (the ``future annual PRA burden'').
    Frequency: As required.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,563 financial institutions.\9\
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    \9\ Table 1 below sets forth a breakdown of the types of 
financial institutions covered by this notice.
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    Estimated Recordkeeping Burden: In Part 1 of this notice, FinCEN 
describes the breakdown of the estimated number of financial 
institutions, by type, affected by each of the regulatory requirements. 
In Part 2, FinCEN proposes for review and comment a renewal of the 
estimate of the traditional annual PRA hourly burden, which includes an 
annual hourly burden estimate per financial institution similar to that 
used in the past, with the incorporation of a more robust cost 
estimate. The scope and methodology used in the past assigned a total 
annual hourly burden estimate, per financial institution, to multiple 
recordkeeping requirements within the regulations. In Part 3, FinCEN 
proposes for review and comment a methodology to estimate the hourly 
burden and the cost of a future estimate of an annual PRA burden that 
includes the burden and cost broken down by each unique type of 
recordkeeping requirement covered by the regulations being renewed. The 
methodology also includes identifying estimates for the number of 
transactions conducted annually, per financial institution, which would 
trigger each unique recordkeeping requirement. Finally, in Part 4, 
FinCEN solicits input from the public about: (a) The accuracy of the 
estimate of the traditional annual PRA burden; (b) the method proposed 
to be more granular in the calculation of burden per unique 
recordkeeping requirement, within the regulations, to establish a 
future annual PRA burden; (c) the criteria, metrics, and most 
appropriate questions FinCEN should consider when researching the 
information to estimate the future annual PRA burden, according to the 
methodology proposed; and (d) 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

    The breakdown of financial institutions, by type, covered by this 
notice is reflected in Table 1 below:

 Table 1--Breakdown of Financial Institutions Covered by This Notice, by
                      Type of Financial Institution
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                                                Number of  financial
       Type of financial institution                institutions
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Dealers in foreign exchange...............                        10 923
Brokers or dealers in securities..........                      11 3,640
                                           -----------------------------
  Total number of financial institutions..                         4,563
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Part 2. Traditional Annual PRA Burden and Cost
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    \10\ This number is derived from self-reported information in 
MSB registrations submitted to FinCEN. FinCEN's MSB registration 
database is available at https://www.fincen.gov/msb-state-selector.
    \11\ According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 
there were 3,640 brokers or dealers in securities registered with 
the SEC, as of March 31, 2020.
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OMB Control Number 1506-0052
31 CFR 1022.410(a)
    Each dealer in foreign exchange must make and maintain a record of 
the taxpayer identification number of certain persons for whom a 
transaction account is opened or a line of credit is extended within 30 
days of opening such an account or extending such a line of credit, or 
longer if the person has applied for a taxpayer identification or 
social security number. A dealer in foreign exchange must also maintain 
a list containing the names, addresses, and account or credit line 
numbers of those persons from whom it has been unable to secure such 
information despite reasonable efforts.
31 CFR 1022.410(b)
    Each dealer in foreign exchange must retain the original or a copy 
of nine types of documents as described in

[[Page 7781]]

Section I--Statutory and Regulatory Provisions above.
    Due to the challenges of obtaining the total number of such records 
required to be maintained by dealers in foreign exchange under 31 CFR 
1022.410, in its most recent control number renewal, FinCEN estimated 
that the annual recordkeeping burden per dealer in foreign exchange for 
these requirements was 16 hours.\12\ FinCEN continues to estimate that 
the annual hourly burden of complying with 31 CFR 1022.410 is 16 hours 
per dealer in foreign exchange.
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    \12\ 82 FR 31686, 31687 (July 7, 2017).
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    923 dealers in foreign exchange \13\ multiplied by 16 hours, 
results in a total annual hourly burden estimate of 14,768 hours.
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    \13\ See Table 1, supra.
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OMB Control Number 1506-0053
31 CFR 1023.410(a)
    As noted above, brokers or dealers in securities have no 
recordkeeping responsibilities under this provision; the obligation on 
brokers or dealers in securities to maintain customer identification 
programs pursuant to 31 CFR 1023.220 has effectively replaced these 
responsibilities.
31 CFR 1023.410(b)
    Each broker or dealer in securities must retain an original or copy 
of certain types of documents as described in Section I--Statutory and 
Regulatory Provisions above.
    Due to the challenges of obtaining the total number of such records 
required to be maintained by brokers or dealers in securities, in its 
most recent control number renewal, FinCEN estimated that the annual 
recordkeeping burden per broker or dealer in securities for these 
requirements was 100 hours.\14\ FinCEN continues to estimate that the 
annual hourly burden of complying with 31 CFR 1023.410 is 100 hours per 
broker or dealer in securities.
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    \14\ 82 FR 31686, 31687 (July 7, 2017).
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    3,640 brokers or dealers in securities \15\ multiplied by 100 
hours, results in a total annual hourly burden estimate of 364,000 
hours.
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    \15\ See Table 1, supra.
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Total Annual Traditional PRA Hourly Burden for OMB Control Numbers 
1506-0052 and 1506-0053
    FinCEN's estimate of the traditional annual PRA burden, therefore, 
is 378,768 hours, as detailed in Table 2 below:

  Table 2--Breakdown of Financial Institutions Impacted by Each Regulatory Requirement, and the Estimated Total
                                       Annual Burden Hours per Requirement
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                                                                                    Traditional
                                                                                   annual burden   Total annual
                                            Type of financial        Number of     estimate per    burden hours
        Regulatory requirement          institution  impacted by     financial       financial    per regulatory
                                             the requirement       institutions     institution     requirement
                                                                                      (hours)
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31 CFR 1022.410--OMB Control Number     Dealers in foreign                   923              16          14,768
 1506-0052.                              exchange.
31 CFR 1023.410--OMB Control Number     Brokers or dealers in              3,640             100         364,000
 1506-0053.                              securities.
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total annual hour burden hours....  ........................  ..............  ..............         378,768
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    To calculate the hourly costs of the burden estimate, FinCEN 
identified three roles and corresponding staff positions involved in 
maintaining records as required by 31 CFR 1022.410 and 1023.410: (i) 
General supervision (providing process oversight); (ii) direct 
supervision (reviewing operational-level work and cross-checking all or 
a sample of the work product against supporting documentation); and 
(iii) clerical work (engaging in 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 (BLS),\16\ and computing an additional benefits cost 
as follows:
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    \16\ The 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.

  Table 3--Fully-Loaded Hourly Wage by Role and BLS Job Position for All Financial Institutions Covered by This
                                                     Notice
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                                                                   Median hourly                   Fully-loaded
             Role                  BLS-code         BLS-name           wage       Benefit factor    hourly wage
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General supervision...........         11-3031  Financial                 $62.45            1.50          $93.68
                                                 Manager.
Direct supervision............         13-1041  Compliance                 33.20            1.50           49.80
                                                 Officer.
Clerical work (research,               43-3099  Financial Clerk.           20.40            1.50           30.60
 review, and recordkeeping).
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    FinCEN estimates that, in general and on average,\17\ each role 
would spend different amounts of time on each portion of the 
traditional annual PRA burden, as follows:
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    \17\ By ``in general,'' FinCEN means without regard to outliers 
(e.g., financial institutions with accounts or transactions that 
require recordkeeping that is uncommonly higher or lower than those 
of the population at large). By ``on average,'' FinCEN means the 
mean of the distribution of each subset of the population.
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    The cost of each hour of burden, broken down by role, to produce 
and maintain records as outlined in 31 CFR

[[Page 7782]]

1022.410 and 31 CFR 1023.410 would be $37.00 as set out in Table 4 
below:

                    Table 4--Weighted Average Hourly Cost of Making and Retaining the Records
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      General supervision             Direct supervision               Clerical work
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Weighted average
                       Hourly                         Hourly                         Hourly       hourly cost
       % Time           cost          % Time           cost          % Time           cost
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              5%     $4.68                    15    $7.47                    80    $24.48               $37.00
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$36.63 rounded to $37.00.

    The total estimated cost of the traditional annual PRA burden is 
$14,014,416, as reflected in Table 5 below:

                              Table 5--Total Cost of Traditional Annual PRA Burden
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                   OMB control No./regulation                      Hourly burden    Hourly cost     Total cost
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1506-0052 (31 CFR 1022.410).....................................          14,768             $37        $546,416
1506-0053 (31 CFR 1023.410).....................................         364,000              37      13,468,000
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total cost..................................................  ..............  ..............      14,014,416
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Part 3. Future Annual PRA Burden

    In the future, FinCEN will include the burden and cost for each 
type of recordkeeping requirement covered by the regulations being 
renewed. The future burden estimate will also include estimates of the 
number of transactions conducted annually per financial institution, 
which trigger each recordkeeping requirement.
31 CFR 1022.410(a)
    Each dealer in foreign exchange must make and maintain a record of 
the taxpayer identification number of certain persons for whom a 
transaction account is opened or a line of credit is extended within 30 
days of opening such an account or extending such a line of credit, or 
longer if the person has applied for a taxpayer identification or 
social security number. A dealer in foreign exchange must also maintain 
a list containing the names, addresses, and account or credit line 
numbers of those persons from whom it has been unable to secure such 
information despite reasonable efforts. In order to more accurately 
estimate the related PRA burden in the future, FinCEN intends to obtain 
a better understanding of the volume of transaction accounts and lines 
of credit opened per year by dealers in foreign exchange.
31 CFR 1022.410(b)
    As described in greater detail in Section I--Statutory and 
Regulatory Provisions above, each dealer in foreign exchange must 
retain the original or a copy of nine types of documents. In order to 
more accurately estimate the related PRA burden in the future, FinCEN 
intends to obtain a better understanding of the volume of transactions 
that trigger such recordkeeping requirements per year by dealers in 
foreign exchange.
31 CFR 1023.410(b)
    Each broker or dealer in securities must retain an original or copy 
of certain types of documents as described in Section I--Statutory and 
Regulatory Provisions above. In order to more accurately estimate the 
related PRA burden in the future, FinCEN intends to obtain a better 
understanding of the volume of transactions that trigger such 
recordkeeping requirements per year by brokers or dealers in exchange.
    FinCEN does not have the information needed to estimate the number 
of annual transactions that trigger each recordkeeping requirement 
being renewed in this notice. For that reason, FinCEN is relying on 
estimates used in prior renewals of these OMB control numbers and the 
applicable regulations. FinCEN further recognizes that after receiving 
public comments as a result of this notice, future annual PRA hourly 
burden and cost estimates may vary significantly. In order to arrive at 
more precise estimates of net BSA hourly burden and cost, FinCEN 
intends to conduct more granular studies in the near future, regarding 
the types and volume of transactions conducted annually, which trigger 
each recordkeeping requirement, and the time it takes to collect and 
record the information required for each recordkeeping requirement.\18\ 
The data obtained in these studies also may result in a significant 
variation of the estimated annual PRA burden.
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    \18\ Net hourly burden and cost are the burden and cost a 
financial institution 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 financial institution. 
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 things a business (or other 
person) does in the ordinary course of its activities if the agency 
demonstrates that the reporting activities needed to comply are 
usual and customary. 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2). For example, depending on 
the nature of the account or transaction, a financial institution 
may be collecting and maintaining some of the same information on an 
account or transaction that is required to be recorded in 31 CFR 
1022.410 and 31 CFR 1023.410 in order to satisfy other obligations. 
Those obligations may include (i) protecting the financial 
institution from fraud against itself or its customers, (ii) 
complying with other non-BSA regulatory requirements such as those 
imposed by the specific Federal functional regulator, or (iii) 
maintaining proper accounting information.
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    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,563 financial institutions, as 
set out in Table 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Recordkeeping Burden: The estimated total 
annual PRA burden is 378,768 hours, as set out in Table 2.
    Estimated Total Annual Recordkeeping Cost: The estimated total 
annual PRA cost is $14,014,416, as set out in Table 5.
    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.

[[Page 7783]]

    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: (i) FinCEN's assumptions underlying 
its estimate of the burden; (ii) the estimated number of hours required 
by each portion of the burden; and (iii) the organizational levels of 
the financial institution engaged in each portion of the burden, their 
estimated hourly remuneration, and the estimated proportion of 
participation by each role. 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 future annual PRA hourly burden and cost 
estimate.
    FinCEN invites comments on any aspect of the criteria for a future 
estimate of the 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 
precisely estimate the future annual PRA hourly burden and cost.
    FinCEN invites comments on the most appropriate and comprehensive 
means to question financial institutions about the annual hourly burden 
and cost attributable solely to the regulations covered by this notice 
(i.e., the hourly burden and cost of complying with the recordkeeping 
requirements imposed exclusively by the BSA, which are not used to 
satisfy contractual obligations, other regulatory requirements, or 
business purposes of the financial institution). The future annual PRA 
hourly burden and cost estimate must take into consideration only the 
information collected and recorded that is used exclusively to comply 
with requirements under 31 CFR 1022.410 and 31 CFR 1023.410.
    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. Also, due to the 
difficulty involved in estimating the number of transaction accounts, 
lines of credit, and transactions that trigger recordkeeping 
requirements, as described in this notice, FinCEN welcomes any 
suggestions as to how to derive these estimates by using publicly 
available financial information.
    (d) Specific questions for comment associated with making and 
retaining records required by the regulations described in this notice:
(1) Complying With 31 CFR 1022.410(a)
    <bullet> On average, how many transaction accounts or lines of 
credit does your dealer in foreign exchange open/extend annually, which 
trigger the recordkeeping requirement in 31 CFR 1022.410(a)?
    <bullet> On average, how long does it take your dealer in foreign 
exchange to collect and retain the records required to be maintained 
when you open a transaction account or extend a line of credit?
(2) Complying With 31 CFR 1022.410(b)
    <bullet> On average, how often does your dealer in foreign exchange 
conduct each of the transactions described in 31 CFR 1022.410(b), as 
explained in further detail in Section I--Statutory and Regulatory 
Provisions?
    <bullet> On average, how long does it take your dealer in foreign 
exchange to collect and retain the records required to be maintained 
when you conduct one of the transactions described in 31 CFR 
1022.410(b)?
(3) Complying With 31 CFR 1023.410(b)
    <bullet> On average, how often does your broker or dealer in 
securities conduct each of the transactions described in 31 CFR 
1023.410(b), as explained in further detail in Section I--Statutory and 
Regulatory Provisions?
    <bullet> On average, how long does it take your broker or dealer in 
securities to collect and retain the records required to be maintained 
when you conduct one of the transactions described in 31 CFR 
1023.410(b)?
    (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: (i) 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; (ii) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the collection of information; (iii) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (iv) 
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 (v) 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. 2021-02064 Filed 1-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-02-P


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