Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 14, 2007 / Notices 7115 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34986] 

Ashland Railroad, Inc.—Lease and 

Operation Exemption—Rail Line in 

Monmouth County, NJ 

Ashland Railroad, Inc. (ASRR), a 

noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of 

exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to 

lease and operate approximately 1.5 

miles of rail line owned by Grems-Kirk 

Railway, LLC, a noncarrier, in the 

Township of Freehold, in Monmouth 

County, NJ. ASRR will provide common 

carrier rail operations over the line and 

interchange with Consolidated Rail 

Corporation at Freehold on behalf of 

CSX Transportation, Inc. and Norfolk 

Southern Railway Company. 

This transaction is related to the 

concurrently filed notice of exemption 

in STB Finance Docket No. 34987, G. 

David Crane—Continuance in Control 

Exemption—Ashland Railroad, Inc., 

wherein G. David Crane seeks to 

continue in control of ASRR upon its 

becoming a Class III rail carrier. 

ASRR certifies that its projected 

annual revenues as a result of this 

transaction will not exceed those that 

would qualify it as a Class III rail carrier 

and will not exceed $5 million. The 

earliest this transaction may be 

consummated is the March 1, 2007 

effective date of the exemption (30 days 

after the exemption was filed). 

If the notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the 

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 

may be filed at any time. The filing of 

a petition to revoke will not 

automatically stay the effectiveness of 

the exemption. Petitions for stay must 

be filed no later than February 22, 2007 

(at least 7 days before the exemption 

becomes effective). 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to STB Finance 

Docket No. 34986, must be filed with 

the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each 

pleading must be served on John K. 

Fiorilla, Capehart & Scatchard, P.A., 

8000 Midlantic Drive, Suite 300S, Mt. 

Laurel, NJ 08054. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: February 6, 2007. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–2315 Filed 2–13–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34987] 

G. David Crane—Continuance in 

Control Exemption—Ashland Railroad, 

Inc. 

G. David Crane (applicant) has filed a 

verified notice of exemption to continue 

in control of Ashland Railroad, Inc. 

(ASRR), upon ASRR’s becoming a Class 

III rail carrier. 

The earliest this transaction may be 

consummated is the March 1, 2007 

effective date of the exemption (30 days 

after the exemption was filed). 

This transaction is related to the 

concurrently filed notice of exemption 

in STB Finance Docket No. 34986, 

Ashland Railroad, Inc.—Lease and 

Operation Exemption—Rail Line in 

Monmouth County, NJ. In that 

proceeding, ASRR seeks to lease and 

operate approximately 1.5 miles of rail 

line owned by Grems-Kirk Railway, 

LLC, a noncarrier, in the Township of 

Freehold, in Monmouth County, NJ. 

ASRR will provide common carrier rail 

operations over the line and interchange 

with Consolidated Rail Corporation at 

Freehold on behalf of CSX 

Transportation, Inc. and Norfolk 

Southern Railway Company. 

Applicant is a noncarrier and 

currently is the controlling stockholder 

in Ashland Railway, Inc. (ASRY), a 

Class II rail carrier. 

Applicant states that: (1) The rail lines 

being operated by ASRY do not connect 

with the rail line to be leased and 

operated by ASRR; (2) the continuance 

in control is not part of a series of 

anticipated transactions that would 

connect the rail line to be leased and 

operated by ASRR with any railroad in 

applicant’s corporate family; and (3) the 

transaction does not involve a Class I 

railroad. Therefore, the transaction is 

exempt from the prior approval 

requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323. See 49 

CFR 1180.2(d)(2). The purpose of this 

transaction is to allow applicant to 

continue in control of ASRY and to 

control ASRR after it becomes a Class III 

rail carrier. 

Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board 

may not use its exemption authority to 

relieve a rail carrier of its statutory 

obligation to protect the interests of its 

employees. Because the transaction 

involves the control of one Class II and 

a Class III rail carrier, the exemption is 

subject to the labor protection 

requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11326(b). 

If the notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the 

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 

may be filed at any time. The filing of 

a petition to revoke will not 

automatically stay the effectiveness of 

the exemption. Petitions for stay must 

be filed no later than February 22, 2007 

(at least 7 days before the exemption 

becomes effective). 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to STB Finance 

Docket No. 34987, must be filed with 

the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, one copy of each 

pleading must be served on John K. 

Fiorilla, Capehart & Scatchard, P.A., 

8000 Midlantic Drive, Suite 300S, Mt. 

Laurel, NJ 08054. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: February 6, 2007. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–2322 Filed 2–13–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Thrift Supervision 

Proposed Agency Information 

Collection Activities; Comment 

Request 

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of 

the Currency (OCC), Treasury; Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System (Board); Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation (FDIC); and 

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Joint notice and request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with PRELIMS
7116 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 14, 2007 / Notices 

chapter 35), the OCC, the Board, the 

FDIC, and the OTS (the ‘‘agencies’’) may 

not conduct or sponsor, and the 

respondent is not required to respond 

to, an information collection unless it 

displays a currently valid Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) control 

number. The Federal Financial 

Institutions Examination Council 

(FFIEC), of which the agencies are 

members, has approved the agencies’

publication for public comment of a 

proposal to revise the reporting of riskbased capital information in the 

Consolidated Reports of Condition and 

Income (Call Report) for banks and the 

Thrift Financial Report (TFR) for 

savings associations, which are 

currently approved collections of 

information for the agencies. These 

proposed reporting revisions are based 

on the agencies’ joint notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPR) on proposed revisions 

to their existing risk-based capital 

framework, an approach known as Basel 

IA (71 FR 77445, December 26, 2006), 

the comment period for which ends on 

March 26, 2007. At the end of the 

comment periods for the Basel IA NPR 

and this reporting proposal, the agencies 

will review all comments and 

recommendations they receive on both 

proposals, which may result in 

modifications of the proposed Basel IA 

risk-based capital rules and these 

related proposed reporting revisions. 

Before any proposed Basel IA reporting 

revisions are implemented, the agencies 

will submit them to OMB for review and 

approval. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before April 16, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments to 

any or all of the agencies. All comments, 

which should refer to the OMB control 

number(s), will be shared among the 

agencies. 

OCC: Communications Division, 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency, Public Information Room, 

Mailstop 1–5, Attention: 1557–0081, 

250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20219. In addition, comments may be 

sent by fax to (202) 874–4448, or by 

electronic mail to 

regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. You can 

inspect and photocopy comments at the 

OCC’s Public Information Room, 250 E 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. You 

can make an appointment to inspect 

comments by calling (202) 874–5043. 

Board: You may submit comments, 

which should refer to ‘‘Consolidated 

Reports of Condition and Income, 7100–

0036,’’ by any of the following methods: 

• Agency Web Site: http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the http://www.federalreserve.gov/ 

generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: 

regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. 

Include the OMB control number for 

this information collection in the 

subject line of the message. 

• FAX: 202–452–3819 or 202–452–

3102. 

• Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, 

Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System, 20th Street and 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20551. 

All public comments are available from 

the Board’s Web site at http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/ 

foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, 

unless modified 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 (20th and C Streets, 

NW.) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on 

weekdays. 

FDIC: You may submit comments, 

which should refer to ‘‘Consolidated 

Reports of Condition and Income, 3064–

0052,’’ by any of the following methods: 

• http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/ 

laws/federal/notices.html. 

• E-mail: comments@FDIC.gov. 

Include ‘‘Consolidated Reports of 

Condition and Income, 3064–0052’’ in 

the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Steven F. Hanft (202–898–

3907), Clearance Officer, Attn: 

Comments, Room MB–2088, Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429. 

• Hand Delivery: Comments may be 

hand delivered to the guard station at 

the rear of the 550 17th Street Building 

(located on F Street) on business days 

between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

Public Inspection: All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/ 

federal/notices.html including any 

personal information provided. 

Comments may be inspected at the FDIC 

Public Information Center, Room E–

1002, 3501 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 

22226, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on 

business days. 

OTS: You may submit comments, 

identified by ‘‘1550–0023 (TFR: 

Schedule CCR),’’ by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail address: 

infocollection.comments@ots.treas.gov. 

Please include ‘‘1550–0023 (TFR: 

Schedule CCR)’’ in the subject line of 

the message and include your name and 

telephone number in the message. 

• Fax: (202) 906–6518. 

• Mail: Information Collection 

Comments, Chief Counsel’s Office, 

Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552, 

Attention: ‘‘1550–0023 (TFR: Schedule 

CCR).’’

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Guard’s 

Desk, East Lobby Entrance, 1700 G 

Street, NW., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 

business days, Attention: Information 

Collection Comments, Chief Counsel’s 

Office, Attention: ‘‘1550–0023 (TFR: 

Schedule CCR).’’

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and OMB 

Control Number for this information 

collection. All comments received will 

be posted without change to the OTS 

Internet Site at http://www.ots.treas.gov/ 

pagehtml.cfm?catNumber=67&an=1, 

including any personal information 

provided. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

www.ots.treas.gov/ 

pagehtml.cfm?catNumber=67&an=1. 

In addition, you may inspect 

comments at the Public Reading Room, 

1700 G Street, NW., by appointment. To 

make an appointment for access, call 

(202) 906–5922, send an e-mail to 

public.info@ots.treas.gov, or send a 

facsimile transmission to (202) 906–

7755. (Prior notice identifying the 

materials you will be requesting will 

assist us in serving you.) We schedule 

appointments on business days between 

10 a.m. and 4 p.m. In most cases, 

appointments will be available the next 

business day following the date we 

receive a request. 

Additionally, commenters may send a 

copy of their comments to the OMB 

desk officer for the Agencies by mail to 

the Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, U.S. Office of Management and 

Budget, New Executive Office Building, 

Room 10235, 725 17th Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to 

(202) 395–6974. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information about the proposed 

revisions discussed in this notice, 

please contact any of the agency 

clearance officers whose names appear 

below. 

OCC: Mary Gottlieb, OCC Clearance 

Officer, or Camille Dickerson, (202) 

874–5090, Legislative and Regulatory 

Activities Division, Office of the 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with PRELIMS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 14, 2007 / Notices 7117 

1The estimated times per response for the Call 

Report that are presented for the OCC, the Board, 

and the FDIC are averages that vary by agency 

because of differences in the composition of the 

banks under each agency’s supervision (e.g., size 

distribution of banks, types of activities in which 

they are engaged, existence of foreign offices, and 

risk-based capital rules used by banks). The average 

reporting burden for the Call Report on an ongoing 

basis is estimated to range from 16 to 645 hours per 

quarter, depending on an individual bank’s 

circumstances. 

Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. 

Board: Michelle E. Shore, Federal 

Reserve Board Clearance Officer, (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 call (202) 263–4869. 

FDIC: Steven F. Hanft, Paperwork 

Clearance Officer, (202) 898–3907, Legal 

Division, Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20429. 

OTS: Marilyn K. Burton, OTS 

Clearance Officer, at 

marilyn.burton@ots.treas.gov, (202) 

906–6467, or facsimile number (202) 

906–6518, Litigation Division, Chief 

Counsel’s Office, Office of Thrift 

Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20552. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

agencies are proposing to revise the 

reporting of risk-based capital 

information in the Call Report and the 

TFR, which are currently approved 

collections of information for the 

agencies. These proposed reporting 

revisions are based on the agencies’

joint notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPR) on proposed revisions to their 

existing risk-based capital framework, 

an approach known as Basel IA (71 FR 

77445, December 26, 2006). At the end 

of the comment periods for the Basel IA 

NPR and this notice, the agencies will 

review the comments on both proposals 

and, as a result, may modify the 

proposed Basel IA risk-based capital 

rules and the proposed reporting 

requirements described in this notice. 

Before implementing any proposed 

changes to the Call Report or the TFR, 

the agencies will submit any such 

changes to OMB for review and 

approval. 

1. Report Title: Consolidated Reports 

of Condition and Income (Call Report).1

Form Number: FFIEC 031 (for banks 

with domestic and foreign offices) and 

FFIEC 041 (for banks with domestic 

offices only). 

Frequency of Response: Quarterly. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit. 

OCC: 

OMB Number: 1557–0081. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1,900 national banks. 

Estimated Time per Response: 44.57 

burden hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

338,732 burden hours. 

Board: 

OMB Number: 7100–0036. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

905 state member banks. 

Estimated Time per Response: 51.32 

burden hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

185,778 burden hours. 

FDIC: 

OMB Number: 3064–0052. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

5,234 insured state nonmember banks. 

Estimated Time per Response: 35.73 

burden hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

748,043 burden hours. 

2. Report Title: Thrift Financial 

Report (TFR: Schedule CCR). 

Form Number: OTS 1313 (for savings 

associations). 

Frequency of Response: Quarterly. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit. 

OTS: 

OMB Number: 1550–0023. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

854 savings associations. 

Estimated Time per Response: 58.5 

burden hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

197,598 burden hours. 

The estimated times per response 

shown above represent estimates of the 

ongoing average reporting burden per 

bank or savings association (institution) 

per response after those institutions that 

are expected to opt in to the proposed 

Basel IA risk-based capital rules have 

made the one-time systems and other 

recordkeeping changes needed to 

support their ability to measure their 

risk-based capital ratios under the 

proposed Basel IA approach and report 

the results of this measurement process 

in the proposed revised Call Report 

Schedule RC-R and TFR Schedule CCR. 

The agencies estimate that 428 

institutions will choose to adopt the 

proposed Basel IA risk-based capital 

rules. The agencies also estimate that, 

on average, these institutions will incur 

an incremental ongoing burden of 

between 5 and 15 hours per quarter, 

which is reflected in the estimated time 

per response and estimated total annual 

burden shown above for each agency. 

Across all institutions supervised by the 

agencies, this represents an average 

estimated increase in reporting burden 

of 0.5 hours per institution. 

In addition, the institutions that are 

expected to opt in to Basel IA will incur 

capital and start-up costs associated 

with implementing the one-time 

systems and other recordkeeping 

changes needed to support their 

reporting of Basel IA risk-based capital 

information in the Call Report and TFR. 

These costs will vary in amount from 

institution to institution depending 

upon an institution’s individual 

circumstances and the extent of its 

involvement, if any, with the particular 

assets, derivatives, and off-balance-sheet 

items whose risk-based capital 

treatment under the Basel IA proposal 

differs from their treatment under the 

existing risk-based capital rules. For 

those institutions that opt in to the 

proposed Basel IA capital rules, the 

agencies estimate that the one-time 

capital and start-up costs that would be 

incurred to enable them to report riskbased capital information in the Call 

Report and TFR for those assets, 

derivatives, and off-balance-sheet items 

accorded a different treatment under the 

proposed Basel IA reporting revisions 

would range from $10,000 to $300,000 

per institution. 

General Description of Reports 

These information collections are 

mandatory: 12 U.S.C. 161 (for national 

banks), 12 U.S.C. 324 (for state member 

banks), 12 U.S.C. 1817 (for insured state 

nonmember commercial and savings 

banks), and 12 U.S.C. 1464(v) (for 

savings associations). Except for 

selected data items, these information 

collections are not given confidential 

treatment. 

Abstract 

Institutions submit Call Report and 

TFR data to the agencies each quarter 

for the agencies’ use in monitoring the 

condition, performance, and risk profile 

of individual institutions and the 

industry as a whole. Call Report and 

TFR data provide the most current 

statistical data available for evaluating 

institutions’ corporate applications, for 

identifying areas of focus for both onsite and off-site examinations, and for 

monetary and other public policy 

purposes. The agencies use Call Report 

and TFR data in evaluating interstate 

merger and acquisition applications to 

determine, as required by law, whether 

the resulting institution would control 

more than 10 percent of the total 

amount of deposits of insured 

depository institutions in the United 

States. Call Report and TFR data are also 

used to calculate all institutions’ deposit 

insurance and Financing Corporation 

assessments, national banks’

semiannual assessment fees, and the 

OTS’s assessments on savings 

associations. 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with PRELIMS
7118 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 14, 2007 / Notices 

2The Board currently collects data pertaining to 

the composition of a bank holding company’s riskbased capital ratios under the existing risk-based 

capital rules in Schedule HC–R, Regulatory Capital, 

of the Consolidated Financial Statements for Bank 

Holding Companies (FR Y–9C; OMB No. 7100–

0128). Revisions comparable to those proposed to 

Call Report Schedule RC–R would be considered for 

the FR Y–9C, Schedule HC–R, and a separate notice 

and request for comment would be published in the 

Federal Register in the future. Comments received 

in response to the proposed Call Report revisions 

would be taken into consideration for the 

comparable proposed revisions to the FR Y–9C. 

Current Actions 

I. Overview 

On December 26, 2006, the agencies 

issued a joint notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPR) requesting comment 

on an alternative approach for 

computing risk-weighted assets and 

credit equivalent amounts of offbalance-sheet items for purposes of 

calculating the risk-based capital ratios 

of banks, bank holding companies, and 

savings associations (banking 

organizations), an approach known as 

Basel IA (71 FR 77445). In general, the 

agencies proposed in the Basel IA NPR 

to: 

(1) Expand the number of risk weight 

categories; 

(2) Allow the use of external credit 

ratings to risk weight certain exposures; 

(3) Expand the range of recognized 

collateral and eligible guarantors; 

(4) Use loan-to-value ratios to risk 

weight most residential mortgages; 

(5) Increase the credit conversion 

factor for certain commitments with an 

original maturity of one year or less; 

(6) Assess a capital charge for 

securitizations of revolving exposures 

with early-amortization features; and 

(7) Remove the 50 percent limit on the 

risk weight for certain derivative 

transactions. 

As proposed in the Basel IA NPR, the 

application of the Basel IA risk-based 

capital rules would be optional. 

According to the Basel IA NPR, a 

banking organization would have to 

apply all of the proposed Basel IA 

changes to its risk-based capital 

calculations if it chose to use the Basel 

IA risk-based capital approach, which 

would affect the denominator of the 

organization’s risk-based capital ratios. 

The agencies did not propose any 

changes to the numerator used in these 

ratios in the Basel IA NPR. 

The agencies currently collect data 

pertaining to the composition of an 

institution’s risk-based capital ratios 

under the current risk-based capital 

framework in Call Report Schedule RC–

R, Regulatory Capital, and TFR 

Schedule CCR, Consolidated Capital 

Requirement. These schedules also 

collect data pertaining to a banking 

organization’s leverage ratio. In their 

present forms, Schedule RC–R and 

Schedule CCR consist of sections in 

which banking organizations report the 

components of Tier 1 capital, Tier 2 

capital, and total risk-based capital; the 

calculation of total assets for the 

leverage ratio; various adjustments to 

regulatory capital measures; leverage 

and risk-based capital ratios; the riskweighting of on-balance-sheet assets; the 

credit conversion and risk-weighting of 

derivatives and off-balance-sheet items; 

the calculation of total risk-weighted 

assets; and the current credit exposure 

and remaining maturities of derivative 

contracts covered by the risk-based 

capital standards. 

As proposed in the Basel IA NPR, 

unless a banking organization uses the 

risk-based capital framework proposed 

in the agencies’ separate Basel II NPR 

(71 FR 55380, September 25, 2006), a 

banking organization could elect to 

adopt the proposed Basel IA capital 

rules or it could continue to calculate its 

risk-based capital ratios under the 

existing risk-based capital rules. 

Therefore, because the Basel IA 

proposal would affect the calculation of 

a banking organization’s total riskweighted assets, the agencies are 

proposing only to revise Call Report 

Schedule RC–R and TFR Schedule CCR. 

These proposed revisions would add a 

second set of sections in which 

institutions that opt to apply the Basel 

IA capital rules would report the riskweighting of on-balance-sheet assets, the 

credit conversion and risk-weighting of 

derivatives and off-balance-sheet items, 

and the calculation of total riskweighted assets. Basel IA institutions 

would complete this alternative set of 

risk-weighting sections in lieu of the 

comparable risk-weighting sections 

currently contained in Schedule RC–R 

and Schedule CCR that pertain to the 

existing risk-based capital rules. 

Institutions that continue to calculate 

their risk-based capital ratios under the 

existing risk-based capital rules would 

continue to complete the current set of 

risk-weighting sections in Schedule RC–

R and Schedule CCR; they would not 

complete the proposed Basel IA 

alternative risk-weighting sections of 

these schedules. 

In addition, the agencies would add a 

question to Schedule RC–R and 

Schedule CCR in which each institution 

would indicate whether it calculates its 

risk-based capital ratios under the 

existing risk-based capital rules or the 

Basel IA capital rules. Existing items 

within Schedule RC–R and Schedule 

CCR that cross-reference that schedule’s 

item for ‘‘total risk-weighted assets’’

would be revised to refer to the ‘‘total 

risk-weighted assets’’ item determined 

under the existing risk-based capital 

rules or the Basel IA approach, as 

appropriate. 

These proposed revisions to Call 

Report Schedule RC–R and TFR 

Schedule CCR, which have been 

approved for publication by the FFIEC, 

would take effect as of the first quarterend Call Report and TFR date following 

the effective date of the agencies’ final 

rule amending their risk-based capital 

standards to implement the Basel IA 

alternative risk-based capital 

framework.2

II. Proposed Basel IA Alternative RiskWeighting Sections in Schedule RC–R 

and Schedule CCR 

The current on-balance-sheet asset 

risk-weighting section of Schedule RC–

R and Schedule CCR includes separate 

line items for the major asset categories 

along with columns (Schedule RC–R) 

and rows (Schedule CCR) for four of the 

five risk-weight categories in the 

agencies’ existing risk-based capital 

framework: zero percent, 20 percent, 50 

percent, and 100 percent. Assets subject 

to the 200 percent risk weight are 

handled through an adjustment that, in 

general, doubles the balance sheet 

amount of the asset. 

The current section of Schedule RC–

R for derivatives and off-balance-sheet 

items contains separate data items for 

the categories of these exposures that 

are covered by the existing risk-based 

capital framework. This section also 

includes columns for the credit 

equivalent amounts of these exposures 

and for the four risk-weight categories 

mentioned above. The current Schedule 

CCR does not include a separate section 

for off-balance-sheet items. Instead, 

these items are subject to a credit 

conversion factor and the credit 

equivalent amounts of the converted 

items are included in the appropriate 

risk weight category on Schedule CCR. 

The credit equivalent amounts of 

derivatives are included in a risk weight 

category no higher than 50 percent. 

For each category of assets, 

derivatives, and off-balance-sheet items, 

an institution allocates the individual 

asset amounts or credit equivalent 

amounts within that exposure category 

across the risk-weight columns 

(Schedule RC–R) or into the risk-weight 

rows (Schedule CCR) based on the risk 

weight or weights appropriate to the 

individual asset or credit equivalent 

amount. In the current risk-weighted 

assets section of Schedule RC–R and 

Schedule CCR, the asset amounts and 

credit equivalent amounts in each risk 

weight category are totaled and then 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with PRELIMS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 14, 2007 / Notices 7119 

3The OTS has not yet implemented a market risk 

rule for savings associations, but has proposed such 

a rule in a separate notice of proposed rulemaking. 

See 71 FR 55958 (September 25, 2006). 

4The FDIC, the Board, and the OCC (the banking 

agencies) are also proposing to add a 200 percent 

risk-weight column to the existing Basel I riskweighting sections of Schedule RC–R, thereby 

replacing the current indirect method of applying 

the 200 percent risk weight with a direct method. 

The OTS is proposing to add a row to Schedule 

CCR to also replace the current indirect method. 

5Loans ‘‘held in portfolio’’ are those loans that 

the bank has the intent and ability to hold for the 

foreseeable future or until maturity or payoff. 

6Banks that exercise the option to continue to 

risk weight existing residential mortgages using the 

existing risk-based capital standard would report 

these mortgages in the data items for their other 

loans and leases held for sale or held in portfolio. 

multiplied by the applicable risk weight 

to produce the institution’s riskweighted assets by risk weight category. 

The risk-weighted assets in each 

category, together with the institution’s 

market risk equivalent assets (if the 

institution is subject to the market risk 

rule within the risk-based capital 

standards 3), are summed to arrive at the 

institution’s risk-weighted assets before 

any deductions for excess allowance for 

loan and lease losses and allocated 

transfer risk reserve. Following these 

deductions, the institution reports its 

total risk-weighted assets, which 

generally serves as the denominator for 

the institution’s risk-based capital 

ratios. 

The structure of the sections of 

existing Schedule RC–R and Schedule 

CCR that institutions use to report the 

risk-weighting of on-balance-sheet 

assets, the credit conversion and riskweighting of derivatives and offbalance-sheet items, and the calculation 

of total risk-weighted assets, which have 

been described above, provides a 

suitable starting point for the Basel IA 

alternative version of these sections. 

Therefore, the agencies are proposing to 

add modified versions of these sections 

to Schedule RC–R and Schedule CCR 

and to designate them as the Basel IA 

alternative, which only those 

institutions that have opted in to Basel 

IA would complete. The proposed 

modifications are discussed in the 

following paragraphs. 

The Basel IA proposal would increase 

the number of risk-weight categories to 

which on- and off-balance-sheet credit 

exposures may be assigned, specifically 

by adding risk weights of 35 percent, 75 

percent, and 150 percent. Therefore, in 

the proposed Basel IA alternative riskweighting sections of these revised 

schedules, the agencies would add 

columns (Schedule RC–R) and rows 

(Schedule CCR) for these three 

additional risk-weight categories. The 

agencies would also include in the 

proposed Basel IA alternative riskweighting sections a specific column in 

Schedule RC–R and a specific row in 

Schedule CCR for the existing 200 

percent risk-weight category that the 

current schedules provide for 

indirectly.4

The Basel IA proposal increases the 

credit conversion factor for various 

commitments with an original maturity 

of one year or less. Under this proposal, 

short-term commitments, to which the 

current risk-based capital standards 

generally apply a zero percent credit 

conversion factor, would be assigned a 

10 percent credit conversion factor. The 

resulting credit equivalent amount 

would then be risk weighted according 

to the underlying asset(s) or the obligor 

after considering any applicable 

collateral, guarantees, or the external 

rating of the facility. Under the Basel IA 

proposal, commitments that are 

unconditionally cancelable would retain 

their existing zero percent credit 

conversion factor. 

The current section of Schedule RC–

R for risk-weighting the credit 

equivalent amount of derivatives and 

off-balance-sheet items includes data 

items for unused commitments that 

cover commitments with an original 

maturity exceeding one year and eligible 

liquidity facilities for asset-backed 

commercial paper programs with an 

original maturity of one year or less. 

Because other short-term commitments 

are generally subject to a zero percent 

credit conversion factor under the 

agencies’ existing risk-based capital 

rules, they are not reported in the 

current Schedule RC–R. In order to 

implement the proposed Basel IA 10 

percent credit conversion factor for 

these other short-term commitments 

(excluding commitments that are 

unconditionally cancelable), the 

banking agencies propose to add new 

data items for such commitments to the 

Basel IA alternative risk-weighting 

section in the revised Schedule RC–R. 

No additional data items are required 

for Schedule CCR. 

Under the Basel IA proposal, loan-tovalue (LTV) ratios would be used to 

determine the risk weight to which first 

lien and junior lien one-to-four family 

residential mortgage loans, including 

those held for sale and those held in 

portfolio,5 would be assigned. The 

agencies have proposed this LTV 

approach for one-to-four family 

residential mortgages to increase the 

risk sensitivity of their risk-based 

capital standards while minimizing the 

overall burden to banks. To aid in 

minimizing burden, the Basel IA NPR 

includes a transitional rule that would 

provide an option for banking 

organizations opting in to the proposed 

Basel IA approach to continue to risk 

weight existing residential mortgages 

using the existing risk-based capital 

standard. 

Given the significant change in 

approach to the risk-weighting of oneto-four family residential mortgages 

under the Basel IA proposal, the 

banking agencies are seeking the ability 

to monitor the effect of this LTV-based 

approach at individual banks under 

their supervision that opt in to Basel IA 

and across all such banks that opt in. 

Therefore, the banking agencies are 

proposing to add new data items to the 

Basel IA alternative risk-weighting 

section of Schedule RC–R for assets to 

enable them to track the allocation 

across the risk-weighting categories of 

residential mortgages to which the 

proposed Basel IA LTV-based riskweighting approach has been applied. In 

these new data items, banks supervised 

by the banking agencies would report 

breakdowns by risk-weight category of 

(a) Their one-to-four family residential 

mortgages held for sale that are riskweighted using the LTV-based approach 

separately from their other loans and all 

leases held for sale and (b) their one-tofour family residential mortgages held 

in portfolio that are risk-weighted using 

the LTV-based approach separately from 

their other loans and all leases held in 

portfolio.6 The OTS believes that the 

current Schedule CCR captures 

sufficient information to meet this 

monitoring purpose. Therefore, OTS is 

not proposing any changes to Schedule 

CCR to address this allocation tracking 

function. 

In the Basel IA NPR, the agencies 

proposed to risk weight mortgage loans 

with negative amortization features 

consistent with the risk-based capital 

treatment for other unfunded 

commitments (for example, lines of 

credit). Under the proposed approach, 

the unfunded portion of the maximum 

negative amortization amount would be 

handled separately from the funded 

portion of the loan. The unfunded 

portion would be treated as a 

commitment (based on the original 

maturity of the commitment, i.e., the 

original time period the negative 

amortization feature would be 

available), converted to a credit 

equivalent amount, and then risk 

weighted based on the LTV for the 

maximum contractual loan amount (i.e., 

the sum of the drawn amount of the 

loan and the unfunded portion of the 

maximum negative amortization 

amount). For banks, the unfunded 

portion of the maximum negative 


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7120 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 14, 2007 / Notices 

7The excess spread trapping point is the point at 

which a banking organization is required by the 

documentation governing a securitization to divert 

and hold excess spread in a spread or reserve 

account, expressed as a percentage. 

amortization amount would be reported 

in the appropriate data item for unused 

commitments in the Basel IA alternative 

risk-weighting section for off-balancesheet items in revised Schedule RC–R. 

The funded portion of a mortgage loan 

with negative amortization features 

would be risk-weighted based on the 

LTV of the funded portion and reported 

in the asset data item on revised 

Schedule RC–R for either (a) The oneto-four family residential mortgages 

held for sale that are risk-weighted 

using the LTV-based approach or (b) the 

one-to-four family residential mortgages 

held in portfolio that are risk-weighted 

using the LTV-based approach, as 

appropriate. Savings associations would 

compute the risk-weighted amount by 

applying the appropriate credit 

conversion factor to the amount of the 

unfunded commitment and including 

this amount in the appropriate risk 

weight category for the LTV of the loan 

on the Schedule CCR. As with other offbalance-sheet credit equivalent amounts 

under the Basel IA proposal, no 

additional data items are required for 

Schedule CCR. 

Another feature of the Basel IA NPR 

is the proposed assessment of a riskbased capital charge for securitizations 

of revolving exposures with earlyamortization features. The earlyamortization capital charge would be 

levied against the credit equivalent 

amount of the off-balance-sheet 

investors’ interest (that is, the total 

amount of securities or other interests 

issued by a trust or special purpose 

entity to investors that is not on the 

securitizing banking organization’s 

balance sheet) and would be imposed 

only in the event that the excess spread 

on the securitization has declined to a 

predetermined percentage of the excess 

spread trapping point.7 As the level of 

excess spread approaches the early 

amortization trigger, the credit 

conversion factor to be applied to the 

amount of investors’ interest would 

increase from zero percent to 100 

percent, thereby producing an increase 

in the capital charge. 

Because no capital charge is imposed 

on investors’ interests in revolving 

securitizations with early-amortization 

features under the existing risk-based 

capital framework, the banking agencies 

are proposing to add new data items for 

these investors’ interests to the offbalance-sheet items section of revised 

Schedule RC–R for the purpose of 

reporting the credit equivalent amount 

of these interests and then riskweighting this off-balance-sheet 

exposure. As with other off-balancesheet credit equivalent amounts, no 

additional data items are required for 

Schedule CCR. However, when 

reporting on its revolving securitizations 

with early-amortization features on 

Schedule RC–R or Schedule CCR, an 

institution will need to determine the 

credit equivalent amount for each 

individual securitization based on the 

credit conversion factor specific to that 

securitization rather than applying a 

single credit conversion factor to the 

total of all investors’ interests. The 

credit equivalent amount for each 

securitization would then be assigned to 

the risk weight category appropriate to 

the securitized assets. 

The Basel IA proposed rule would 

remove the 50 percent risk-weight limit 

that applies to certain derivative 

contracts. The risk weight assigned to 

the credit equivalent amount of a 

derivative contract would instead be the 

risk weight assigned to the derivative 

counterparty after consideration of any 

collateral or guarantees. The data items 

for derivative contracts in the current 

section of Schedule RC–R for riskweighting derivatives and off-balancesheet items do not permit the credit 

equivalent amount of a derivative 

contract to be assigned a risk weight 

greater than 50 percent. As a 

consequence, the data items for 

derivatives in the Basel IA alternative 

risk-weighting section for derivatives 

and off-balance-sheet items in revised 

Schedule RC–R will permit these credit 

equivalent amounts to be assigned to the 

full range of risk-weight categories. No 

modification will be necessary on 

Schedule CCR to address this change in 

Basel IA. 

The Basel IA proposed rule would 

expand the use of external credit ratings 

to risk-weight most categories of 

externally-rated exposures, including 

sovereign and corporate debt securities 

and rated loans. At present, external 

credit ratings can be used to risk-weight 

only asset-backed and mortgage-backed 

securities and other positions in 

securitization transactions (except 

credit-enhancing interest-only strips). 

The Basel IA proposal would also 

expand the range of recognized 

collateral to include a broader array of 

externally-rated, liquid, and readily 

marketable financial instruments. The 

agencies’ existing risk-based capital 

standards recognize limited types of 

collateral, including cash on deposit 

and securities issued or guaranteed by 

the U.S. government, U.S. government 

agencies, and U.S. governmentsponsored agencies. Finally, the Basel 

IA proposal would expand the range of 

eligible guarantors by recognizing 

entities that have long-term senior debt 

that, in general, is rated at least 

investment grade, provided the 

guarantee meets certain additional 

criteria. The agencies’ existing riskbased capital standards limit the 

recognition of third party guarantees. 

Currently recognized guarantees include 

those provided by the U.S. government 

and U.S. government-sponsored 

agencies, U.S. depository institutions, 

and qualifying U.S. securities firms. 

When risk-weighting on-balance-sheet 

assets and the credit equivalent amounts 

of derivatives and off-balance-sheet 

items in existing Schedule RC–R and 

Schedule CCR, institutions take 

currently recognized external credit 

ratings, collateral, and guarantees into 

account when they allocate assets and 

credit equivalent amounts to risk-weight 

categories. Institutions are not required 

to separately identify or report on their 

use of the ratings-based approach or 

eligible collateral or guarantees in 

existing Schedule RC–R and Schedule 

CCR. The agencies would maintain this 

same reporting approach for the 

expanded recognized external credit 

ratings, collateral, and guarantees in the 

Basel IA alternative risk-weighting 

sections for on-balance-sheet assets and 

for the credit equivalent amount of 

derivatives and off-balance-sheet items 

in revised Schedule RC–R and Schedule 

CCR. 

III. Request for Comment 

Public comment is requested on all 

aspects of this joint notice. Comments 

are invited on: 

(a) Whether the proposed revisions to 

the Call Report and TFR collections of 

information 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 as they are 

proposed to be revised, 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, 

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 joint notice will be shared among 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 14, 2007 / Notices 7121 

the agencies and will be summarized or 

included in the agencies’ requests for 

OMB approval. All comments will 

become a matter of public record. 

Dated: February 8, 2007. 

Stuart E. Feldstein, 

Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory 

Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller 

of the Currency. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, February 6, 2007. 

Jennifer J. Johnson, 

Secretary of the Board. 

Dated at Washington, DC, this 8th day of 

February, 2007. 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

Valerie J. Best, 

Assistant Executive Secretary. 

Dated: February 6, 2007. 

Deborah Dakin, 

Senior Deputy Chief Counsel, Regulations and 

Legislation Division, Office of Thrift 

Supervision. 

[FR Doc. 07–639 Filed 2–13–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–33–P; 6210–01–P; 6714–01–P; 

6720–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Thrift Supervision 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Joint Comment Request 

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of 

the Currency (OCC), Treasury; Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System (Board); Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation (FDIC); and 

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of information 

collections to be submitted to OMB for 

review and approval under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35), the OCC, the Board, the 

FDIC, and the OTS (the ‘‘agencies’’) may 

not conduct or sponsor, and the 

respondent is not required to respond 

to, an information collection unless it 

displays a currently valid Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) control 

number. On October 31, 2006, the 

agencies, under the auspices of the 

Federal Financial Institutions 

Examination Council (FFIEC), requested 

public comment for 60 days on a 

proposal to extend, with revision, the 

Consolidated Reports of Condition and 

Income (Call Report) for banks and the 

Thrift Financial Report (TFR) for 

savings associations, which are 

currently approved collections of 

information. After considering the 

comments, the FFIEC and the agencies 

have modified some of the proposed 

changes, which will be implemented 

March 31, 2007, as proposed. 

Additionally, OTS will incorporate in 

its OMB submission the proposed TFR 

changes published in the Federal 

Register on December 1, 2006 (71 FR 

69619). These changes will also be 

implemented March 31, 2007, as 

proposed. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before March 16, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments to 

any or all of the agencies. All comments, 

which should refer to the OMB control 

number(s), will be shared among the 

agencies. 

OCC: Communications Division, 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency, Public Information Room, 

Mailstop 1–5, Attention: 1557–0081, 

250 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20219. In addition, comments may be 

sent by fax to (202) 874–4448, or by 

electronic mail to 

regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. You can 

inspect and photocopy the comments at 

the OCC’s Public Information Room, 250 

E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. 

You can make an appointment to 

inspect the comments by calling (202) 

874–5043. 

Board: You may submit comments, 

which should refer to ‘‘Consolidated 

Reports of Condition and Income, 7100–

0036,’’ by any of the following methods: 

• Agency Web Site: http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the http://www.federalreserve.gov/ 

generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: 

regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. 

Include docket number in the subject 

line of the message. 

• FAX: 202–452–3819 or 202–452–

3102. 

• Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, 

Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System, 20th Street and 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20551. 

All public comments are available 

from the Board’s Web site at http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/ 

foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, 

unless modified 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 (20th and C Streets, 

NW) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on 

weekdays. 

FDIC: You may submit comments, 

which should refer to ‘‘Consolidated 

Reports of Condition and Income, 3064–

0052,’’ by any of the following methods: 

• http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/ 

laws/federal/notices.html. 

• E-mail: comments@FDIC.gov. 

Include ‘‘Consolidated Reports of 

Condition and Income, 3064–0052’’ in 

the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Steven F. Hanft (202–898–

3907), Clearance Officer, Attn: 

Comments, Room MB–2088, Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429. 

• Hand Delivery: Comments may be 

hand delivered to the guard station at 

the rear of the 550 17th Street Building 

(located on F Street) on business days 

between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

Public Inspection: All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/ 

federal/notices.html including any 

personal information provided. 

Comments may be inspected at the FDIC 

Public Information Center, Room E–

1002, 3501 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 

22226, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on 

business days. 

OTS: You may submit comments, 

identified by ‘‘1550–0023 (TFR: March 

2007 Revisions),’’ by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail address: 

infocollection.comments@ots.treas.gov. 

Please include ‘‘1550–0023 (TFR: March 

2007 Revisions)’’ in the subject line of 

the message and include your name and 

telephone number in the message. 

• Fax: (202) 906–6518. 

• Mail: Information Collection 

Comments, Chief Counsel’s Office, 

Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552, 

Attention: ‘‘1550–0023 (TFR: March 

2007 Revisions).’’

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Guard’s 

Desk, East Lobby Entrance, 1700 G 

Street, NW., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 

business days, Attention: Information 


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