[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 245 (Monday, December 22, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76850-76855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28990]



[[Page 76849]]

Vol. 79

Monday,

No. 245

December 22, 2014

Part XXIII





Federal Reserve System





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Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 245 / Monday, December 22, 2014 / 
Unified Agenda

[[Page 76850]]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Ch. II


Semiannual Regulatory Flexibility Agenda

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Semiannual regulatory agenda.

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SUMMARY: The Board is issuing this agenda under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act and the Board's Statement of Policy Regarding Expanded 
Rulemaking Procedures. The Board anticipates having under consideration 
regulatory matters as indicated below during the period November 1, 
2014, through April 30, 2015. The next agenda will be published in 
spring 2015.

DATES: Comments about the form or content of the agenda may be 
submitted anytime during the next six months.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Robert deV. Frierson, 
Secretary of the Board, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A staff contact for each item is 
indicated with the regulatory description below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board is publishing its fall 2014 agenda 
as part of the Fall 2014 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions, which is coordinated by the Office of Management 
and Budget under Executive Order 12866. The agenda also identifies 
rules the Board has selected for review under section 610(c) of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act, and public comment is invited on those 
entries. The complete Unified Agenda will be available to the public at 
the following Web site: www.reginfo.gov. Participation by the Board in 
the Unified Agenda is on a voluntary basis.
    The Board's agenda is divided into four sections. The first, Pre-
rule Stage, reports on matters the Board is considering for future 
rulemaking. The second section, Proposed Rule Stage, reports on matters 
the Board may consider for public comment during the next six months. 
The third section, Final Rule Stage, reports on matters that have been 
proposed and are under Board consideration. And a fourth section, 
Completed Actions, reports on regulatory matters the Board has 
completed or is not expected to consider further. A dot (<bullet>) 
preceding an entry indicates a new matter that was not a part of the 
Board's previous agenda.

 Margaret McCloskey Shanks,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.

               Federal Reserve System--Proposed Rule Stage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier  No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
545.......................  Regulation CC_Availability         7100-AD68
                             of Funds and Collection
                             of Checks (Docket No: R-
                             1409).
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                Federal Reserve System--Final Rule Stage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier  No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
546.......................  Regulation HH_Financial            7100-AE09
                             Market Utilities (Docket
                             No: R-1477).
547.......................  Regulation LL_Savings and          7100-AD80
                             Loan Holding Companies
                             and Regulation MM_Mutual
                             Holding Companies (Docket
                             No: R-1429).
548.......................  Regulation WW_Liquidity            7100-AE03
                             Coverage Ratio: Liquidity
                             Risk Measurement,
                             Standards, and Monitoring
                             (Docket No: R-1466).
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                Federal Reserve System--Completed Actions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier  No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
549.......................  Regulation KK_Margin and           7100-AD74
                             Capital Requirements for
                             Covered Swap Entities
                             (Docket No: R-1415).
550.......................  Regulations H and                  7100-AD99
                             Q_Regulatory Capital
                             Rules (Docket No: R-1460).
551.......................  Regulation P_Privacy of            7100-AE13
                             Consumer Information
                             (Docket No: R-1483).
552.......................  Regulation V_Fair Credit           7100-AE14
                             Reporting (Docket No: R-
                             1484).
------------------------------------------------------------------------


FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (FRS)

Proposed Rule Stage

545. Regulation CC--Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks 
(Docket No: R-1409)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4001 to 4010; 12 U.S.C. 5001 to 5018
    Abstract: The Federal Reserve Board (the Board) proposed amendments 
to Regulation CC to facilitate the banking industry's ongoing 
transition to fully electronic interbank check collection and return, 
including proposed amendments to condition a depositary bank's right of 
expeditious return on the depositary bank agreeing to accept returned 
checks electronically either directly or indirectly from the paying 
bank. The Board also proposed amendments to the funds availability 
schedule provisions to reflect the fact that there are no longer any 
nonlocal checks. The Board proposed to revise the model forms in 
appendix C that banks may use in disclosing their funds availability 
policies to their customers and to update the preemption determinations 
in appendix F. Finally, the Board requested comment on whether it 
should consider future changes to the regulation to improve the check 
collection system, such as decreasing the time afforded to a paying 
bank to decide whether to pay a check in order to reduce the risk to a 
depositary bank of needing to make funds available for withdrawal 
before learning whether a deposited check has been returned unpaid.
    Timetable:

[[Page 76851]]



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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comment.............   03/25/11  76 FR 16862
Board Requested Comment on Revised     02/04/14  79 FR 6673
 Proposal.
Board Expects Further Action........   03/00/15  .......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Clinton Chen, Attorney, Federal Reserve System, 
Legal Division, Phone: 202 452-3952.
    RIN: 7100-AD68

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (FRS)

Final Rule Stage

546. Regulation HH--Financial Market Utilities (Docket No: R-1477)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 5464 (a)(1)(A)
    Abstract: The Federal Reserve Board (Board) is in the process of 
finalizing amendments to the risk-management standards currently in the 
Board's Regulation HH, Part 234 of Title 12 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, by replacing the current risk-management standards in 
section 234.3 (for payment systems) and section 234.4 (for central 
securities depositories and central counterparties) with a common set 
of risk-management standards applicable to all types of designated FMUs 
in proposed section 234.3. The Board is also in the process of 
finalizing related amendments to definitions in section 234.2.
    Timetable:

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               Action                   Date             FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comments...........    01/31/14  79 FR 3666
Board Expects Further Action.......    11/00/14  .......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Jennifer A. Lucier, Deputy Associate Director, 
Federal Reserve System, Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems, 
Phone: 202 872-7581.
    Chris Clubb, Special Counsel, Federal Reserve System, Legal 
Division, Phone: 202 452-3904.
    RIN: 7100-AE09

547. Regulation LL--Savings and Loan Holding Companies and Regulation 
MM--Mutual Holding Companies (Docket No: R-1429)

    Legal Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552; 5 U.S.C. 559; 5 U.S.C. 1813; 5 
U.S.C. 1817; 5 U.S.C. 1828; . . .
    Abstract: The Dodd-Frank Act Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act (the Act) transferred responsibility for supervision of 
Savings and Loan Holding Companies (SLHCs) and their non-depository 
subsidiaries from the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) to the Board 
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), on July 21, 2011. 
The Act also transferred supervisory functions related to Federal 
savings associations and State savings associations to the Office of 
the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation (FDIC), respectively. The Board on August 12, 2011, 
approved an interim final rule for SLHCs, including a request for 
public comment. The interim final rule transferred from the OTS to the 
Board the regulations necessary for the Board to supervise SLHCs, with 
certain technical and substantive modifications. The interim final rule 
has three components: (1) New Regulation LL (part 238), which sets 
forth regulations generally governing SLHCs; (2) new Regulation MM 
(part 239), which sets forth regulations governing SLHCs in mutual 
form; and (3) technical amendments to existing Board regulations 
necessary to accommodate the transfer of supervisory authority for 
SLHCs from the OTS to the Board. The structure of interim final 
Regulation LL closely follows that of the Board's Regulation Y, which 
governs bank holding companies, in order to provide an overall 
structure to rules that were previously found in disparate locations. 
In many instances interim final Regulation LL incorporated OTS 
regulations with only technical modifications to account for the shift 
in supervisory responsibility from the OTS to the Board. Interim final 
Regulation LL also reflects statutory changes made by the Dodd-Frank 
Act with respect to SLHCs, and incorporates Board precedent and 
practices with respect to applications processing procedures and 
control issues, among other matters. Interim final Regulation MM 
organized existing OTS regulations governing SLHCs in mutual form 
(MHCs) and their subsidiary holding companies into a single part of the 
Board's regulations. In many instances interim final Regulation MM 
incorporated OTS regulations with only technical modifications to 
account for the shift in supervisory responsibility from the OTS to the 
Board. Interim final Regulation MM also reflects statutory changes made 
by the Dodd-Frank Act with respect to MHCs. The interim final rule also 
made technical amendments to Board rules to facilitate supervision of 
SLHCs, including to rules implementing Community Reinvestment Act 
requirements and to Board procedural and administrative rules. In 
addition, the Board made technical amendments to implement section 
312(b)(2)(A) of the Act, which transfers to the Board all rulemaking 
authority under section 11 of the Home Owner's Loan Act relating to 
transactions with affiliates and extensions of credit to executive 
officers, directors, and principal shareholders. These amendments 
include revisions to parts 215 (Insider Transactions) and part 223 
(Transactions with Affiliates) of Board regulations.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comment.............   09/13/11  76 FR 56508
Board Expects Further Action........   12/00/14  .......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Tate Wilson, Senior Attorney, Federal Reserve 
System, Legal Division, Phone: 202 452-3696.
    Claudia Von Pervieux, Counsel, Federal Reserve System, Legal 
Division, Phone: 202 452-2552.
    RIN: 7100-AD80

548. Regulation WW--Liquidity Coverage Ratio: Liquidity Risk 
Measurement, Standards, and Monitoring (Docket No: R-1466)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 248(a); 12 U.S.C. 321; 12 U.S.C. 481; 12 
U.S.C. 1818; . . .
    Abstract: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), have finalized a rule 
that implements quantitative liquidity requirement consistent with the 
liquidity coverage ratio standard established by the Basel Committee on 
Banking Supervision. The requirement is designed to promote short-term 
resilience of the liquidity risk profile of internationally active 
banking organizations thereby improving the banking sectors ability to 
absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress as well as 
improvements in the measurement of liquidity risk. The rule applies to 
all internationally active

[[Page 76852]]

banking organizations generally bank holding companies certain savings 
and loan holding companies and depository institutions with more than 
$250 billion in total assets or more than $10 billion in on-balance 
sheet foreign exposure and to their consolidated subsidiary depository 
institutions with $10 billion or more in total consolidated assets. The 
rule will become effective January 1, 2015. The Board also finalized on 
its own a modified liquidity coverage ratio standard that is less 
stringent than the full LCR by reducing net outflows by 30%. The 
modified LCR applies to bank holding companies and certain savings and 
loan holding companies that have $50 billion or more in consolidated 
assets but do not meet the threshold described above. The modified LCR 
becomes effective January 1, 2016.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comment.............   11/29/13  78 FR 71818
Board Expects Further Action........   11/00/14  .......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Anna Lee Hewko, Deputy Associate Director, Federal 
Reserve System, Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, Phone: 
202 530-6260,
    David Emmel, Manager, Federal Reserve System, Banking Supervision 
and Regulation, Phone: 202 912-4612.
    April C. Snyder, Senior Counsel, Federal Reserve System, Legal 
Division, Phone: 202 452-3099.
    RIN: 7100-AE03

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (FRS)

Completed Actions

549. Regulation KK--Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap 
Entities (Docket No: R-1415)

    Legal Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6s; 15 U.S.C. 780-10
    Abstract: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the 
Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the 
Farm Credit Administration, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (the 
Agencies) are requesting comment on a proposal to establish minimum 
margin and capital requirements for registered swap dealers, major swap 
participants, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based 
swap participants for which one of the Agencies is the prudential 
regulator. This proposed rule implements sections 731 and 764 of the 
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which 
require the Agencies to adopt rules jointly to establish capital 
requirements and initial and variation margin requirements for such 
entities on all non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps 
in order to offset the greater risk to such entities and the financial 
system arising from the use of swaps and security-based swaps that are 
not cleared.
    On September 3, 2014, the Board voted unanimously to propose a rule 
that builds on the one originally released by the Agencies in 2011. The 
proposed rule includes some modifications that were made in light of 
comments received. The Agencies requested comments on the proposed rule 
no later than 60 days after the date of its publication in the Federal 
Register.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comment.............   04/12/11  76 FR 27564
Comment Period End..................   07/11/11  76 FR 37029
Board Reopened Comment Period.......   10/02/12  77 FR 60057
Adopted Final Rule..................   09/24/14  79 FR 57348
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Victoria Szybillo, Counsel, Federal Reserve System, 
Legal Division, Phone: 202 475-6325.
    Stephanie Martin, Associate General Counsel, Federal Reserve 
System, Legal Division, Phone: 202 452-3198.
    Anna Harrington, Senior Attorney, Federal Reserve System, Legal 
Division, Phone: 202 452-6406.
    RIN: 7100-AD74

550. Regulations H and Q--Regulatory Capital Rules (Docket No: R-1460)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1344(b); 12 U.S.C. 329; 12 U.S.C. 3907; 
12 U.S.C. 3909; . . .
    Abstract: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the 
Agencies), are seeking comment on a proposal that would strengthen the 
agencies' leverage ratio standards for large, interconnected U.S. 
banking organizations. The proposal would apply to any U.S. top-tier 
bank holding company (BHC) with at least $700 billion in total 
consolidated assets or at least $10 trillion in assets under custody 
(covered BHC) and any insured depository institution (IDI) subsidiary 
of these BHCs. In the revised capital approaches adopted by the 
agencies in July, 2013 (2013 revised capital approaches), the agencies 
established a minimum supplementary leverage ratio of 3 percent 
(supplementary leverage ratio), consistent with the minimum leverage 
ratio adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), for 
banking organizations subject to the advanced approaches risk-based 
capital rules. In this notice of proposed rulemaking (proposal or 
proposed rule), the agencies are proposing to establish a ``well 
capitalized'' threshold of 6 percent for the supplementary leverage 
ratio for any IDI that is a subsidiary of a covered BHC, under the 
agencies' prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. The Board also 
proposes to establish a new leverage buffer for covered BHCs above the 
minimum supplementary leverage ratio requirement of 3 percent (leverage 
buffer). The leverage buffer would function like the capital 
conservation buffer for the risk-based capital ratios in the 2013 
revised capital approaches. A covered BHC that maintains a leverage 
buffer of tier 1 capital in an amount great than 2 percent of its total 
leverage exposure would not be subject to limitations on distributions 
and discretionary bonus payments. The proposal would take effect 
beginning on January 1, 2018. The agencies seek comment on all aspects 
of this proposal.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comment.............   08/20/13  78 FR 51101
Board Adopted Final Rule............   05/01/14  79 FR 24528
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Benjamin McDonough, Senior Counsel, Federal Reserve 
System, Legal Division, Phone: 202 452-2036.
    April C. Snyder, Senior Counsel, Federal Reserve System, Legal 
Division, Phone: 202 452-3099.
    RIN: 7100-AD99

551. Regulation P--Privacy of Consumer Information (Docket No: R-1483)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 5581
    Abstract: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
(Board) repealed its Regulation P, 12 CFR part 216, which was issued to 
implement section 504 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act). Title X 
of the Dodd-

[[Page 76853]]

Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) 
transferred rulemaking authority for a number of consumer financial 
protection laws from the Board, and six other Federal agencies, to the 
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau), including rulemaking 
authority for the provisions in Subtitle A of Title V of the GLB Act 
that were implemented in the Board's Regulation P. In December 2011, 
the Bureau published an interim final rule establishing its own 
Regulation P to implement these provisions of the GLB Act (Bureau 
Interim Final Rule). The Bureau's Regulation P covers those entities 
previously subject to the Board's Regulation P.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comments............   02/14/14  79 FR 8904
Board Issued Final Rule.............   05/29/14  79 FR 30708
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Vivian W. Wong, Counsel, Federal Reserve System, 
Consumer & Community Affairs Division, Phone: 202 452-3667.
    RIN: 7100-AE13

552. Regulation V--Fair Credit Reporting (Docket No: R-1484)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1681(m)
    Abstract: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
amended its Identity Theft Red Flags rule, which implements section 
615(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Red Flag Program 
Clarification Act of 2010 (Clarification Act) added a definition of 
``creditor'' in FCRA section 615(e) that is specific to section 615(e). 
Accordingly, the final rule amended the definition of ``creditor'' in 
the Identity Theft Red Flags rule to reflect the definition of that 
term as added by the statute. The final rule also updated a cross-
reference in the Identity Theft Red Flags rule to reflect a statutory 
change in rulemaking authority.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comments............   02/20/14  79 FR 9645
Board Issued Final Rule.............   05/29/14  79 FR 30709
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Mandie Aubrey, Counsel, Federal Reserve System, 
Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Phone: 202 973-7315.
    RIN: 7100-AE14

[FR Doc. 2014-28990 Filed 12-19-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P