Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request, 31635-31637 [2016-11781]

Agencies

• FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 97 (Thursday, May 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31635-31637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11781]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY: On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
(Board) its approval authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 
to approve of and assign OMB numbers to collection of information 
requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-
approved collections of information are incorporated into the official 
OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies 
of the PRA Submission, supporting statements and approved collection of 
information instruments are placed into OMB's public docket files. The 
Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not 
required to respond to, an information collection that has been 
extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless 
it displays a currently valid OMB number.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 18, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 2046 or FR 3067, 
by any of the following methods:
     Agency Web site: https://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the

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instructions for submitting comments at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx .
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. Include OMB 
number in the subject line of the message.
     FAX: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Robert deV. Frierson, 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 
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx 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 form in Room 
3515, 1801 K Street (between 18th and 19th Streets NW.) Washington, DC 
20006 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.
    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
OMB Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, 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: A copy of the PRA OMB submission, 
including the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting 
statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public 
docket files, once approved. These documents will also be made 
available on the Federal Reserve Board's public Web site at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested 
from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.
    Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of 
the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551 (202) 452-3829. Telecommunications Device 
for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202) 263-4869, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposals

    The following information collections, which are being handled 
under this delegated authority, have received initial Board approval 
and are hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, 
the proposed information collections, along with an analysis of 
comments and recommendations received, will be submitted to the Board 
for final approval under OMB delegated authority. Comments are invited 
on the following:
    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Federal Reserve's functions; including 
whether the information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Federal Reserve's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed information collection, 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 collection 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.

Proposal To Approve Under OMB Delegated Authority the Extension for 
Three Years, Without Revision, of the Following Report

    Report title: Report of Selected Balance Sheet Items for Discount 
Window Borrowers.
    Agency form number: FR 2046.
    OMB control number: 7100-0289.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Reporters: Depository institutions.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Primary and Secondary Credit, 1 
hour; Seasonal Credit, 383 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: Primary and Secondary Credit, 
0.75 hours; Seasonal Credit, 0.25 hours.
    Number of respondents: Primary and Secondary Credit, 1; Seasonal 
Credit, 85.
    General description of report: The Board's Legal Division has 
determined that the FR 2046 is authorized pursuant to sections 10B and 
19(b)(7) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 347b and 461(b)(7)) and 
the Board's Regulation A (12 CFR part 201). Sections 10B and 19(b)(7) 
authorize Federal Reserve Banks to make advances to a member bank or 
other depository institution on the borrower's time or demand notes 
under rules and regulations prescribed by the Board. The Board's 
Regulation A sets out the rules for obtaining such advances. The FR 
2046 is required to obtain a benefit because an entity may be required 
to file the form in order to borrow from the Federal Reserve's discount 
window. Individual respondent data are regarded as confidential under 
the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
    Abstract: The Federal Reserve's Regulation A, Extensions of Credit 
by Federal Reserve Banks, requires that Reserve Banks review balance 
sheet data in determining whether to extend credit and to help 
ascertain whether undue use is made of such credit. Depository 
institutions that borrow from the discount window report on the FR 2046 
certain balance sheet data for a period that encompasses the dates of 
borrowing.
    Current Actions: The Federal Reserve proposes to extend, without 
revision, the FR 2046.

Proposal To Approve Under OMB Delegated Authority the Extension for 
Three Years, With Revision, of the Following Report

    Report title: Payments Research Survey.
    Agency form number: FR 3067.
    OMB control number: 7100-0355.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Reporters: Depository institutions, financial and nonfinancial 
businesses and related entities, individual consumers, households, and 
federal, state and local government agencies.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 30,000 hours.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1.5 hours.
    Number of respondents: 10,000.
    General description of report: This survey is generally authorized 
by sections 2A and 12A of the Federal Reserve Act (FRA). Section 2A of 
the FRA requires that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintain long run 
growth of the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate with the 
economy's long run potential to increase production, so as to promote 
effectively the goals of the maximum employment, stable prices, and 
moderate long-term interest rates (12 U.S.C. 225a). In addition, under 
section 12A of the FRA, the FOMC is required to implement regulations 
relating to the open market operations conducted by Federal Reserve 
Banks with a view to accommodating commerce and business and with 
regard to the regulations' bearing upon the general credit situation of 
the country (12 U.S.C. 263). The authority of the Federal Reserve to 
collect economic data to carry out the requirements of these provisions 
is implicit. Accordingly, the Federal

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Reserve is authorized to use the FR 3067 by sections 2A and 12A of the 
FRA.
    Additionally, depending on the survey respondent, the information 
collection may be authorized under a more specific statute. These 
statutes are:
     Expedited Funds Availability Act section 609 (12 U.S.C. 
4008)
     Electronic Fund Transfer Act section 920 (15 U.S.C. 1693o-
2)
     The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act section 15 (12 
U.S.C. 5014)
     Federal Reserve Act section 11 (Examinations and reports, 
Supervision over Reserve Banks, and Federal Reserve Note provisions, 12 
U.S.C. 248); section 11A (Pricing of Services, 12 U.S.C. 248a); section 
13 (FRB deposits and collections, 12 U.S.C. 342); and section 16 
(Issuance of Federal Reserve notes, par clearance, and FRB 
clearinghouse, 12 U.S.C. 248-1, 360, and 411).
    Under the appropriate authority, the Federal Reserve may make 
submission of survey information mandatory for entities such as 
financial institutions or payment card networks; submissions would 
otherwise be voluntary.
    The ability of the Federal Reserve to maintain the confidentiality 
of information provided by respondents to the FR 3067 surveys will be 
determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the type of information 
provided for a particular survey. For instance, in some circumstances, 
no issue of confidentiality will arise as the surveys may be conducted 
by private firms under contract with the Federal Reserve and names or 
other directly identifying information would not be provided to the 
Federal Reserve. In circumstances where identifying information is 
provided to the Federal Reserve, such information could possibly be 
protected under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), exemptions 4 and 
6. If the survey is mandatory and is undertaken as part of the 
supervisory process, information could be protected under FOIA 
exemption 8, which protects information relating to the examination 
reports (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)).
    Abstract: This survey collects information, as needed, on specific 
and time sensitive issues, which may affect the Federal Reserve's 
decision making. Respondents may comprise depository institutions, 
financial and nonfinancial businesses and related entities, individual 
consumers, households, and federal, state and local government 
agencies. This survey may be mandatory for a certain subset of entities 
and voluntary for all other respondents. The Federal Reserve uses this 
event-driven survey to obtain information specifically tailored to the 
Federal Reserve System's supervisory, regulatory, fiscal, and 
operational responsibilities. The Federal Reserve may conduct various 
versions of the survey, as needed, and may survey respondents up to 
four times per year. The frequency and content of the questions depends 
on changing economic, regulatory, supervisory, or legislative 
developments.
    Current Actions: The Federal Reserve proposes to add federal, 
state, and local government agencies as potential respondents to a 
survey. The Federal Reserve also proposes adjusting the burden by 
decreasing the estimated number of responses per year from four to two; 
decreasing the hours per response from 3 to 1.5; and by increasing the 
estimated number of respondents from 5,000 to 10,000.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 12, 2016.
Michael Lewandowski,
Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2016-11781 Filed 5-18-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P