Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2017 / Notices 40155 

2See 12 CFR 217.402. 

3 12 U.S.C. 5365. 

4A number of the items in the FR Y–15 are 

retrieved from the FR Y–9C and certain items may 

be retrieved from the FFIEC–101 and FFIEC 009. 

Confidential treatment will also extend to any 

automatically-calculated items on the FR Y–15 that 

have been derived from confidential data items and 

that, if released, would reveal the underlying 

confidential data. 

5See Instructions for the end-2016 G–SIB 

assessment exercise, January 2017, available at 

www.bis.org/bcbs/gsib/instr_end16_gsib.pdf. 

more, and any BHC identified as a G– 

SIB based on its method 1 score 

calculated as of December 31 of the 

previous calendar year 2 that does not 

otherwise meet the consolidated assets 

threshold for BHCs. The Board uses the 

FR Y–15 data to monitor, on an ongoing 

basis, the systemic risk profile of 

institutions which are subject to 

enhanced prudential standards under 

section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Wall 

Street Reform and Consumer Protection 

Act (Dodd-Frank Act).3 In addition, the 

FR Y–15 is used to (i) facilitate the 

implementation of the surcharge for G– 

SIBs, (ii) identify other institutions 

which may present significant systemic 

risk, and (iii) analyze the systemic risk 

implications of proposed mergers and 

acquisitions. 

Proposed Revisions: The FR Y–15 

would be revised by (1) including 

Mexican pesos in total payments 

activity on Schedule C and removing it 

from the Memorandum items; (2) adding 

securities brokers to the definition of 

financial institutions in the instructions 

for Schedule B; (3) expressly including 

all cleared derivative transactions in 

Schedule D, item 1; (4) specifying how 

certain cleared derivatives transactions 

are reported in Schedule B, items 5(a) 

and 11(a); and (5) making minor 

clarifications to the form and 

instructions. The proposed changes 

would be effective for reports submitted 

on or after January 1, 2018, beginning 

with reports reflecting the December 31, 

2017, report date. 

Legal Authorization and 

Confidentiality: The Board has 

determined that the FR Y–15 is 

authorized by the Dodd-Frank Act 

(sections 163, 165, and 604), the 

International Banking Act, the Bank 

Holding Company Act, and the Home 

Owners’ Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1467a, 

1844, 3106, and 3108). The obligation to 

respond to the FR Y–15 is mandatory. 

Most of the data collected on the FR 

Y–15 is made public unless a specific 

request for confidentiality is submitted 

by the reporting entity, either on the FR 

Y–15 or on the form from which the 

data item is obtained.4 Such information 

will be accorded confidential treatment 

under exemption 4 of the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA), (5 U.S.C. 

552(b)(4)), if the submitter substantiates 

its assertion that disclosure would likely 

cause substantial competitive harm. To 

the extent confidential data collected 

under the FR Y–15 will be used for 

supervisory purposes, it may be exempt 

from disclosure under Exemption 8 of 

FOIA, (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)). 

Consultation Outside the Agency: The 

FR Y–15 was derived from data 

collections developed by the Basel 

Committee on Banking Supervision 

(BCBS) to assess the global systemic 

importance of banks. The BCBS revised 

its data collations in January 2017 after 

consultation with representatives from 

numerous national supervisory 

authorities, including the Board.5 Many 

of the proposed revisions to the FR Y– 

15 would correspond to changes made 

to the BCBS data collection. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, August 21, 2017. 

Ann E. Misback, 

Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17939 Filed 8–23–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

[File No. 151 0138] 

National Association of Animal 

Breeders, Inc.; Analysis To Aid Public 

Comment 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed Consent Agreement. 

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this 

matter settles alleged violations of 

federal law prohibiting unfair methods 

of competition. The attached Analysis to 

Aid Public Comment describes both the 

allegations in the complaint and the 

terms of the consent order—embodied 

in the consent agreement—that would 

settle these allegations. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 19, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a 

comment online or on paper, by 

following the instructions in the 

Request for Comment part of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. Write: ‘‘In the Matter of National 

Association of Animal Breeders, Inc. 

File No. 1510138’’ on your comment, 

and file your comment online at https:// 

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ 

cattleartificialinseminationconsent by 

following the instructions on the webbased form. If you prefer to file your 

comment on paper, write ‘‘In the Matter 

of National Association of Animal 

Breeders, Inc. File No. 1510138’’ on 

your comment and on the envelope, and 

mail your comment to the following 

address: Federal Trade Commission, 

Office of the Secretary, 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC– 

5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, 

or deliver your comment to the 

following address: Federal Trade 

Commission, Office of the Secretary, 

Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 

5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), 

Washington, DC 20024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Armando Irizarry (202–326–2964), 

Bureau of Competition, 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20580. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade 

Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 

FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is 

hereby given that the above-captioned 

consent agreement containing a consent 

order to cease and desist, having been 

filed with and accepted, subject to final 

approval, by the Commission, has been 

placed on the public record for a period 

of thirty (30) days. The following 

Analysis to Aid Public Comment 

describes the terms of the consent 

agreement, and the allegations in the 

complaint. An electronic copy of the 

full text of the consent agreement 

package can be obtained from the FTC 

Home Page (for August 18, 2017), on the 

World Wide Web, at https://

www.ftc.gov/news-events/commissionactions. 

You can file a comment online or on 

paper. For the Commission to consider 

your comment, we must receive it on or 

before September 19, 2017. Write ‘‘In 

the Matter of National Association of 

Animal Breeders, Inc. File No. 1510138’’ 

on your comment. Your comment— 

including your name and your state— 

will be placed on the public record of 

this proceeding, including, to the extent 

practicable, on the public Commission 

Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/ 

public-comments. 

Postal mail addressed to the 

Commission is subject to delay due to 

heightened security screening. As a 

result, we encourage you to submit your 

comments online. To make sure that the 

Commission considers your online 

comment, you must file it at https://

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ 

cattleartificialinseminationconsent by 

following the instructions on the webbased form. If this Notice appears at 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you 

also may file a comment through that 

Web site. 

If you prefer to file your comment on 

paper, write ‘‘In the Matter of National 


rmajette on DSKBCKNHB2PROD with NOTICES
40156 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2017 / Notices 

Association of Animal Breeders, Inc. 

File No. 1510138’’ on your comment 

and on the envelope, and mail your 

comment to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Suite CC–5610 (Annex D), 

Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your 

comment to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th 

Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 

(Annex D), Washington, DC. 20024. If 

possible, submit your paper comment to 

the Commission by courier or overnight 

service. 

Because your comment will be placed 

on the publicly accessible FTC Web site 

at https://www.ftc.gov, you are solely 

responsible for making sure that your 

comment does not include any sensitive 

or confidential information. In 

particular, your comment should not 

include any sensitive personal 

information, such as your or anyone 

else’s Social Security number; date of 

birth; driver’s license number or other 

state identification number, or foreign 

country equivalent; passport number; 

financial account number; or credit or 

debit card number. You are also solely 

responsible for making sure that your 

comment does not include any sensitive 

health information, such as medical 

records or other individually 

identifiable health information. In 

addition, your comment should not 

include any ‘‘trade secret or any 

commercial or financial information 

which . . . is privileged or 

confidential’’—as provided by Section 

6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 

FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)— 

including in particular competitively 

sensitive information such as costs, 

sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 

patterns, devices, manufacturing 

processes, or customer names. 

Comments containing material for 

which confidential treatment is 

requested must be filed in paper form, 

must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’ 

and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). 

In particular, the written request for 

confidential treatment that accompanies 

the comment must include the factual 

and legal basis for the request, and must 

identify the specific portions of the 

comment to be withheld from the public 

record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your 

comment will be kept confidential only 

if the General Counsel grants your 

request in accordance with the law and 

the public interest. Once your comment 

has been posted on the public FTC Web 

site—as legally required by FTC Rule 

4.9(b)—we cannot redact or remove 

your comment from the FTC Web site, 

unless you submit a confidentiality 

request that meets the requirements for 

such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), 

and the General Counsel grants that 

request. 

Visit the FTC Web site to read this 

Notice and the news release describing 

it. The FTC Act and other laws that the 

Commission administers permit the 

collection of public comments to 

consider and use in this proceeding, as 

appropriate. The Commission will 

consider all timely and responsive 

public comments that it receives on or 

before September 19, 2017. For 

information on the Commission’s 

privacy policy, including routine uses 

permitted by the Privacy Act, see 

https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/ 

privacy-policy. 

Analysis of Agreement Containing 

Consent Order To Aid Public Comment 

The Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) has accepted, subject to 

final approval, an Agreement 

Containing Consent Order (‘‘Consent 

Agreement’’) from the National 

Association of Animal Breeders, Inc. 

(‘‘NAAB’’). NAAB is a trade association 

of cattle artificial insemination firms. 

Dairy production in the United States 

is dependent on volume from more than 

9.3 million cows, the market for which 

relies on services provided by NAAB 

member breeders. In 2008, the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, with partial 

funding from the NAAB through a 

Cooperative Research and Development 

Agreement (‘‘CRADA’’), developed a 

new technology that is the best indicator 

of genetic merit of dairy bulls for use in 

artificial insemination in so far as 

yielding higher producing dairy cows. 

The Commission’s complaint 

(‘‘Complaint’’) alleges that NAAB 

violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade 

Commission Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. 

45, by restraining competition among its 

regular members in the use of this new 

technology, which dampened 

competition in the market for dairy 

bulls used for semen production. 

This matter reaffirms the longstanding 

rule that trade associations composed of 

members that compete among 

themselves, while typically serving 

important and procompetitive 

functions, must not adopt rules or 

regulations that unreasonably limit 

competition among their members. It 

also illustrates that industry groups that 

obtain valuable and unique technology 

from the government may not establish 

rules or regulations regarding that 

technology that unreasonably restrain 

competition. 

The Consent Agreement has been 

placed on the public record for 30 days 

for receipt of comments from interested 

members of the public. Comments 

received during this period will become 

part of the public record. After 30 days, 

the Commission will review the Consent 

Agreement and comments received, and 

decide whether it should withdraw, 

modify, or make the Consent Agreement 

final. 

The Consent Agreement is for 

settlement purposes only and does not 

constitute an admission by NAAB that 

it has violated the law as alleged in the 

Complaint or that the facts alleged in 

the Complaint, other than jurisdictional 

facts, are true. 

The purpose of this Analysis to Aid 

Public Comment is to invite and 

facilitate public comment. It is not 

intended to constitute an official 

interpretation of the proposed Consent 

Agreement and the accompanying 

Proposed Order, or in any way modify 

their terms. 

I. The Complaint 

The Complaint makes the following 

allegations. 

NAAB is a non-profit corporation 

with about 24 regular members that 

compete among themselves and with 

others in the business of collecting, 

processing, freezing, marketing or 

selling dairy cattle semen for artificial 

insemination. NAAB’s members buy 

dairy bulls from dairy farmers and 

breeders to produce semen for artificial 

insemination. NAAB members together 

account for more than 90 percent of 

dairy cattle semen sales in the United 

States. 

In September 2006, NAAB entered 

into a CRADA with the United States 

Department of Agriculture (‘‘USDA’’) to 

cooperate with a USDA laboratory in a 

project for developing the genomic 

testing technology described above. The 

CRADA granted NAAB exclusive access 

to the results of the CRADA project until 

February 2013. The CRADA did not 

restrain in any way the ability of NAAB 

or its members to use the new 

technology or to sell access to it, nor did 

it authorize NAAB or its members to 

adopt rules that restrain in any way the 

ability of its members to use the new 

technology or to sell access to it. 

By April 2008, the USDA laboratory 

had developed the new technology, 

known as the Genomic Predicted 

Transmitting Ability (‘‘GPTA’’), which 

analyzes the genetics of a dairy bull to 

predict the ability of the bull to transmit 

commercially important traits, such as 

milk yield, to its daughters. This new 

technology is superior to the traditional 

method of evaluating dairy bulls for 

semen production, and it became the 

best indicator of a dairy bull’s 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2017 / Notices 40157 

commercial value for transmitting 

genetic traits. 

In October 2008, more than two years 

after entering into the CRADA, NAAB 

approved a resolution that regulated its 

members’ access to the new technology 

during the exclusivity period granted by 

the CRADA (through February 2013). 

NAAB acted as a combination of its 

members when it approved the 

resolution. 

The resolution required that for a 

NAAB member to obtain the GPTA of a 

dairy bull, the Member had to have one 

of the following interests in the bull: (a) 

Own the bull, (b) have an agreement to 

purchase at least a 30 percent interest in 

the bull, (c) have a lease on the bull, or 

(d) have an exclusive marketing 

agreement for the bull. The USDA 

laboratory was the only source of 

GPTAs during the exclusivity period. 

The Complaint alleges that NAAB’s 

resolution harmed competition by 

diminishing competition for dairy bulls 

used for semen production. First, it 

impeded the development of a market in 

which dairy farmers and breeders could 

pay NAAB members to obtain GPTAs 

for their dairy bulls. Second, the 

resolution limited NAAB members from 

obtaining the GPTA of bulls in which 

they did not already have a financial 

interest. Access to a bull’s GPTA prior 

to buying or selling it would tend to 

increase competition and drive the price 

of the bull toward a value that more 

accurately reflects its ability to yield 

higher producing dairy cows. After the 

exclusivity period expired in February 

2013, GPTAs became available for a fee 

through an industry organization. 

The Complaint alleges that the 

purpose, effect, tendency or capacity of 

the resolution was to restrain 

competition unreasonably among 

NAAB’s Members, and that this conduct 

injured dairy farmers and breeders by 

depriving them of the benefits of free 

and open competition. Therefore, the 

resolution constitutes an unfair method 

of competition that violates Section 5 of 

the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

II. The Proposed Order 

The Proposed Order has the following 

substantive provisions. Paragraph II 

requires NAAB to cease and desist from 

restraining the ability of its members to 

obtain, disclose, provide, use or sell any 

technology or information resulting 

from research projects conducted by, or 

pursuant to, an agreement to which 

NAAB is a party. The Proposed Order 

also prohibits NAAB from restraining 

price-related competition among its 

members relating to the sale or 

acquisition of bulls or bull semen. 

A proviso to Paragraph II specifies 

that the Proposed Order does not 

prohibit NAAB from engaging in any 

conduct that is reasonably necessary to 

achieve procompetitive benefits or 

efficiencies relating to NAAB’s 

operation or to the operation of its 

members, provided that such benefits or 

efficiencies likely would offset the 

anticompetitive harms. 

Paragraph III requires that, for five 

years, NAAB notify the Commission if 

it adopts or modifies any regulation that 

restrains the ability of its members to 

obtain disclose, provide, sell or use any 

technology or information resulting 

from any research project. 

Paragraph V of the Proposed Order 

requires that NAAB implement an 

antitrust compliance program to ensure 

compliance with the Proposed Order 

and the antitrust laws. 

Paragraphs IV and VI–VIII of the 

Proposed Order impose certain standard 

reporting and compliance requirements 

on NAAB. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Donald S. Clark, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17880 Filed 8–23–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifier: CMS–10371, CMS– 

10507, CMS–10558 and CMS–10650] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing 

an opportunity for the public to 

comment on CMS’ intention to collect 

information from the public. Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), federal agencies are required to 

publish notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

extension or reinstatement of an existing 

collection of information, and to allow 

a second opportunity for public 

comment on the notice. Interested 

persons are invited to send comments 

regarding the burden estimate or any 

other aspect of this collection of 

information, including the necessity and 

utility of the proposed information 

collection for the proper performance of 

the agency’s functions, the accuracy of 

the estimated burden, ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology to 

minimize the information collection 

burden. 

DATES: Comments on the collection(s) of 

information must be received by the 

OMB desk officer by September 25, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: When commenting on the 

proposed information collections, 

please reference the document identifier 

or OMB control number. To be assured 

consideration, comments and 

recommendations must be received by 

the OMB desk officer via one of the 

following transmissions: OMB, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Attention: CMS Desk Officer, Fax 

Number: (202) 395–5806 OR Email: 

OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov. 

To obtain copies of a supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed collection(s) summarized in 

this notice, you may make your request 

using one of following: 

1. Access CMS’ Web site address at 

https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-andGuidance/Legislation/ 

PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRAListing.html. 

2. Email your request, including your 

address, phone number, OMB number, 

and CMS document identifier, to 

Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov. 

3. Call the Reports Clearance Office at 

(410) 786–1326. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Parham at (410) 786–4669. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), federal agencies 

must obtain approval from the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for each 

collection of information they conduct 

or sponsor. The term ‘‘collection of 

information’’ is defined in 44 U.S.C. 

3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and 

includes agency requests or 

requirements that members of the public 

submit reports, keep records, or provide 

information to a third party. Section 

3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)) requires federal agencies 

to publish a 30-day notice in the 

Federal Register concerning each 

proposed collection of information, 

including each proposed extension or 

reinstatement of an existing collection 

of information, before submitting the 

collection to OMB for approval. To 

comply with this requirement, CMS is 

publishing this notice that summarizes 


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