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[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 99 (Monday, May 22, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32098-32099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12706]

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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Board, the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency (OCC) (collectively, the ``agencies''), hereby give notice 
that they plan to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
requests for review of the information collection system described 
below. The Agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is 
not required to respond to, an information collection that has been 
extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless 
it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Agencies, under 
the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 
(FFIEC), propose to extend without revision the following currently 
approved information collection: the Country Exposure Report for U.S. 
Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 019). However, minor 
clarifications are proposed to the instructions. The Board is 
publishing the request for extension on behalf of the agencies. At the 
end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received 
will be analyzed to determine whether the FFIEC and the agencies should 
modify the information collections. The Board will then submit the 
reports to OMB for review and approval.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 21, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to 
any or all of the agencies. All comments should refer to the OMB 
control number and will be shared among the agencies.
    Board: Written comments on the FFIEC 019 should be addressed to 
Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20551, or mailed 
electronically to [email protected]. Comments addressed 
to Ms. Johnson also may be delivered to the Board's mail room between 
8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., and to the security control room outside of 
those hours. Both the mail room and the security control room are 
accessible from the courtyard entrance on 20th Street between 
Constitution Avenue and C Street, NW. Comments received may be 
inspected in room M-P-500 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., except as 
provided in section 261.12 of the Board's Rules Regarding Availability 
of Information, 12 CFR 261.12(a). A copy of the comments may also be 
submitted to the OMB desk officer for the agencies: Alexander T. Hunt, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 3208, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information or a copy of 
the collection may be requested from: Board: Mary M. West, Chief, 
Financial Reports Section, (202) 452-3829, Division of Research and 
Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and 
C Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20551. Telecommunications Device for the 
Deaf (TDD) users may contact Diane Jenkins, (202) 452-3544, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposal to extend for three years with 
minor instructional clarification the following currently approved 
collection of information:
    Report title: Country Exposure Report for U.S. Branches and 
Agencies of Foreign Banks.
    Form number: FFIEC 019.OMB number: 7100-0213.
    Frequency of response: Quarterly.
    Affected Public: U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.
    Number of respondents: 230.
    Estimated average hours per response: 10 hours.
    Estimated Annual reporting hours: 9,200 hours.

General Description of Report

    This information collection is mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 3105 and 3108 
for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; sections 7 
and 10 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1817, 1820) for 
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and the National Bank Act 
(12 U.S.C. 161) for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency). 
This information collection is given confidential treatment. (5 U.S.C. 
552(b)(8)). Small businesses (that is, small U.S. branches and agencies 
of foreign banks) are affected.

Abstract

    All individual U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks that 
have more than $30 million in direct claims on residents of foreign 
countries must file the FFIEC 019 report quarterly. Currently, all 
respondents report adjusted exposure amounts to the five largest 
countries having at least $20 million in total adjusted exposure. The 
Agencies collect this data to monitor the extent to which such branches 
and agencies are pursuing prudent country risk diversification policies 
and limiting potential liquidity pressures. No changes are proposed to 
the FFIEC 019 reporting form, however, minor clarifications are 
proposed to the instructions.

Current Actions

    The instructional clarifications to the FFIEC 019 report that are 
the subject of this notice have been approved by the Agencies for 
implementation as of the September 30, 2000, report date. The proposed 
clarifications involve the treatment of credit derivatives as 
guarantees.

Request for Comment

    Comments are invited on:
    a. Whether the information collections are necessary for the proper 
performance of the agencies' functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the agencies' estimates of the burden of the 
information 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;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collections on 
respondents,

[[Page 32099]]

including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or start up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be shared among 
the agencies and will be summarized or included in the agencies' 
requests for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public 
record. Written comments should address the accuracy of the burden 
estimates and ways to minimize burden including the use of automated 
collection techniques or the use of other forms of information 
technology as well as other relevant aspects of the information 
collection request.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 16, 2000.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 00-12706 Filed 5-19-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P
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