International Services Surveys: BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons, 10628-10632 [2020-03727]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 37 / Tuesday, February 25, 2020 / Proposed Rules
impact on a substantial number of small
entities under the criteria of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Environmental Review
This proposal will be subject to an
environmental analysis in accordance
with FAA Order 1050.1F,
‘‘Environmental Impacts: Policies and
Procedures’’ prior to any FAA final
regulatory action.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71
Airspace, Incorporation by reference,
Navigation (air).
Issued in Seattle, Washington, on February
19, 2020.
Stephanie C. Harris,
Manager (Acting), Operations Support Group,
Western Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2020–03580 Filed 2–24–20; 8:45 am]
The Proposed Amendment
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
Accordingly, pursuant to the
authority delegated to me, the Federal
Aviation Administration proposes to
amend 14 CFR part 71 as follows:
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Economic Analysis
PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A,
B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR
TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND
REPORTING POINTS
15 CFR Part 801
1. The authority citation for 14 CFR
part 71 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g); 40103,
40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR,
1959–1963 Comp., p. 389.
International Services Surveys: BE–
180 Benchmark Survey of Financial
Services Transactions Between U.S.
Financial Services Providers and
Foreign Persons
§ 71.1
AGENCY:
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AWP WA E2 Port Angeles, WA [NEW]
Port Angeles CGAS
(Lat. 48°08′29″ N, long. 123°24′50″ W)
That airspace extending upward from the
surface to and including 2500 feet within a
1.5-mile radius of Port Angeles CGAS, Port
Angeles, WA.
Paragraph 6004 Class E Airspace Areas
Designated as an Extension to a Class D or
Class E Surface Area.
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AWP WA E4 Port Angeles, WA [NEW]
Port Angeles CGAS, WA
(Lat. 48°08′29″ N, long. 123°24′50″ W)
That airspace extending upward from the
surface within 2.1 miles both sides of the
Port Angeles CGAS 80° bearing extending
from William R Fairchild surface area 4.1mile radius to 5.6 miles east of the Port
Angeles CGAS airport.
Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas
Extending Upward From 700 Feet or More
Above the Surface of the Earth.
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RIN 0691–AA90
This proposed rule would
amend regulations of the Department of
Commerce’s Bureau of Economic
Analysis (BEA) to renew reporting
requirements for the mandatory BE–180
Benchmark Survey of Financial Services
Transactions between U.S. Financial
Services Providers and Foreign Persons.
This survey will apply to the 2019 fiscal
reporting year. This mandatory
benchmark survey, conducted under the
authority of the International
Investment and Trade in Services
Survey Act, covers the universe of
transactions in financial services and is
BEA’s most comprehensive survey of
such transactions. For the 2019
benchmark survey, BEA proposes
several changes in the data items
collected and the design of the survey
form.
DATES: Comments on this proposed rule
will receive consideration if submitted
in writing on or before 5:00 p.m. April
27, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You can submit comments,
identified by RIN 0691–xxxx, and
referencing the agency name (Bureau of
Economic Analysis), by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
SUMMARY:
Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace
Designated as Surface Areas.
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[200219–0058]
Bureau of Economic Analysis,
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
[Amended]
2. The incorporation by reference in
14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 7400.11D,
Airspace Designations and Reporting
Points, dated August 8, 2019, and
effective September 15, 2019, is
amended as follows:
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AWP WA E5 Port Angeles, WA [NEW]
Port Angeles CGAS, WA
(Lat. 48°08′29″ N, long. 123°24′50″ W)
The Class E airspace extending upward
from 700 feet 3 miles south and 7.5 miles
north of the of Port Angeles CGAS Airport
80° bearing extending from the William R
Fairchild 4.1-mile radius to 11 miles east,
excluding that portion in Canadian airspace.
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instructions for submitting comments.
For Keyword or ID, enter ‘‘EAB–2019–
0003.’’
• Email: christopher.stein@bea.gov.
• Fax: Christopher Stein, Chief,
Services Surveys Branch, Balance of
Payments Division, (301) 278–9507.
• Mail: Christopher Stein, Chief,
Services Surveys Branch (BE–50),
Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of
Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 4600 Silver Hill Rd.,
Washington, DC 20233.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Christopher
Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch
(BE–50), Balance of Payments Division,
Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 4600 Silver
Hill Rd., Suitland, MD 20746.
Written comments regarding the
burden-hour estimates or other aspects
of the collection-of-information
requirements contained in the proposed
rule should be sent to both BEA through
any of the methods above and to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), OIRA, Paperwork Reduction
Project 0608–0062, Attention PRA Desk
Officer for BEA, via email at Robert_G_
Sivinski@omb.eop.gov, or by fax at 202–
395–7245.
Public Inspection: All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to https://
www.regulations.gov without change.
All personal identifying information (for
example, name, address, etc.)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may be publicly accessible. Do not
submit confidential business
information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information. BEA will accept
anonymous comments (enter N/A in
required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft
Word, Excel, or Adobe portable
document file (pdf) formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christopher Stein, Chief, Services
Surveys Branch (BE–50), Balance of
Payments Division, Bureau of Economic
Analysis, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 4600 Silver Hill Rd.,
Washington, DC 20233; email
christopher.stein@bea.gov or phone
(301) 278–9189.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BE–
180 Benchmark Survey of Financial
Services Transactions between U.S.
Financial Services Providers and
Foreign Persons is a mandatory survey
and is conducted once every five years
by BEA under the authority provided by
the International Investment and Trade
in Services Survey Act (Pub. L. 94–472,
90 Stat. 2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101–3108, as
amended) (the Act), and by Section
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5408 of the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C.
4908(b)). The Act provides that data
reported to BEA on this survey are
confidential and may be used only for
analytical and statistical purposes.
Without prior written permission from
the survey respondent, the data
collected cannot be presented in a
manner that allows individual
responses to be identified. An
individual respondent’s report cannot
be used for purposes of taxation,
investigation, or regulation. Copies
retained by BEA are exempt from legal
process. Per the Federal Cybersecurity
Enhancement Act of 2015 (Division N,
Title II, Subtitle B, Pub. L. 114–113), a
respondent’s data are protected from
cybersecurity risks through security
monitoring of the BEA information
systems.
A response is required from persons
subject to the reporting requirements of
the BE–180, whether or not they are
contacted by BEA, to ensure complete
coverage of transactions in financial
services between U.S. persons (any
individual or organization subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States) and
foreign persons.
In 2012, BEA established regulatory
guidelines for collecting data on
international trade in services and direct
investment (77 FR 24373; April 24,
2012). This proposed rule, as published,
would amend those regulations to
require a response from persons subject
to the reporting requirements of the BE–
180, whether or not they are contacted
by BEA.
The BE–180 benchmark survey is
intended to cover the universe of
financial services transactions of U.S.
financial services companies with
foreign persons and is BEA’s most
comprehensive survey of such
transactions. In nonbenchmark years,
the universe of estimates covering these
transactions are derived from the
sample data reported on BEA’s BE–185
Quarterly Survey of Financial Services
Transactions between U.S. Financial
Services Providers and Foreign Persons.
The BE–185 and the BE–180 collect
similar information. BEA uses cutoff
sampling for the BE–185, meaning that
respondents must report on the BE–185
only if they had combined sales to
foreign persons that exceeded $20
million or combined purchases from
foreign persons that exceeded $15
million in any one of the 10 covered
financial services transaction categories
during fiscal year 2019. The sample of
respondents that file on a quarterly basis
throughout fiscal year 2019 will also be
required to report on the 2019 BE–180
survey. BEA reconciles the annual data
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from the BE–180 survey with the
quarterly data reported on the BE–185
survey by comparing quarterly to annual
submissions that are typically
completed using audited information.
The benchmark data, which include
data from respondents not subject to
filing on an ongoing quarterly basis, will
be used, in conjunction with quarterly
data collected on the companion BE–
185 survey, to produce quarterly
estimates of financial services
transactions for BEA’s international
transactions accounts, national income
and product accounts, and industry
accounts. If this information is not
collected on the BE–180 survey, BEA
would need to expand the scope of the
BE–185 quarterly survey in order to
collect additional data items and reduce
reporting thresholds. Expanding the BE–
185 quarterly survey in this way would
result in an increased number of
respondents and a measurable increase
in the reporting burden each quarter.
The data collected through the BE–180
are needed to monitor U.S. trade in
financial services, to analyze the impact
of U.S. trade in financial services on the
U.S. economy and on foreign
economies, to compile and improve the
U.S. economic accounts, to support U.S.
commercial policy on trade in services,
to conduct trade promotion activities,
and to improve the ability of U.S.
businesses to identify and evaluate
market opportunities.
This proposed rule would amend 15
CFR part 801 by adding new § 801.13 to
set forth the reporting requirements for
the BE–180 Benchmark Survey of
Financial Services Transactions
between U.S. Financial Services
Providers and Foreign Persons. A full
list of the financial services transactions
covered by the BE–180 survey can be
found in the regulatory text of this
proposed rule in new § 801.13(d). This
includes brokerage services,
underwriting and private placement
services related to equity transactions
and debt transactions, financial
management services, credit-related
services, credit card services, financial
advisory and custody services,
securities lending services, electronic
funds transfer services, and other
financial services.
Description of Changes
The proposed changes would amend
the regulations and the survey form for
the BE–180 benchmark survey. These
amendments include several changes in
data items collected and the design of
the survey form relative to the 2014
benchmark survey.
BEA proposes to change the reporting
requirements for respondents with
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transactions in covered services below
the threshold for mandatory reporting
on the schedule(s) of the survey ($3
million in combined sales and/or
purchases for fiscal year 2019). While
responding to benchmark surveys is
always mandatory, for the previous BE–
180 survey, respondents with
transactions below these thresholds
were required only to provide a figure
for total sales and/or total purchases for
all covered transactions, combined.
These respondents had the option of
providing additional detail for each
covered transaction by transaction type,
by country, and by affiliation; such
additional detail was voluntary rather
than required. For the 2019 BE–180,
however, all respondents, regardless of
the amount of their transactions in
covered services would be required to
provide a total dollar amount for their
sales and purchases, as applicable, by
transaction type. This information
would allow BEA to improve the
accuracy of the trade statistics.
This change would impose minimal
additional burden for respondents
because the additional information to be
reported is information that respondents
would have needed to compile or
estimate previously in order to apply
the reporting requirements. Under the
prior approach, respondents would have
needed to compile or estimate the dollar
amount of their sales to and/or
purchases from foreigners by transaction
type in order to determine if their
transactions met the threshold for
mandatory reporting on the schedules.
Under the new approach, BEA would
simply be requiring that respondents
report those transaction totals.
BEA proposes to add five items to the
survey. The changes are proposed in
response to suggestions from data users
and to allow BEA to more closely align
its statistics with international
guidelines and publish more
information on U.S. trade in financial
services.
The following items would be added
to the BE–180 benchmark survey:
(1) Question to request the Legal
Entity Identifier (LEI) of the survey
respondent. Respondents would be
asked to provide their 20-digit LEI, if
they have one. Obtaining an LEI will not
be required for the purpose of filing the
survey. This information will assist in
matching entities across databases,
enabling better verification of data and
more direct linking to other surveys and
publicly available data.
(2) Questions to collect financial
management transactions by type of
account. Respondents who had
financial management transactions
during the fiscal year would be required
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to disaggregate these transactions, for
both sales and purchases, as applicable,
by type of account (for example, mutual
funds; pension funds; exchange-traded
funds; private equity funds; corporate
portfolio; individual portfolio; hedge
funds; and trusts). This additional
information can be used to better
understand the nature of cross-border
financial services transactions.
(3) Questions about the timing of
performance fees. Respondents who had
financial management transactions
during fiscal year 2019 would be
required to provide additional
information about whether these
transactions included fees that are tied
to performance and, if so, about the
timing of those performance fees.
Respondents with performance fees
(receipts and/or payments) during fiscal
year 2019 would be required to
distribute them, in a table, based on the
quarter(s) in which they were received
and/or paid. The additional detail will
be used to improve quarterly estimates.
(4) Mandatory questions to collect
information on financial services that
were conducted remotely, e.g., where
both the supplier and the consumer
were in different territories when the
service is delivered. This information
would be collected for both sales of
services performed remotely for foreign
persons and for purchases of services
performed remotely by foreign persons.
For transactions in the financial services
categories covered by the survey,
respondents would be required to check
one of several boxes identifying the
percentage of their transactions that
were conducted remotely, and to
identify if this information was sourced
from their accounting records or from
recall/general knowledge. Respondents
would also be required to check one of
two boxes identifying how the
remainder of the services not reported
as 100% remotely transacted were
typically performed (e.g., by the
provider traveling to the consumer or by
the consumer traveling to the provider).
This additional detail will allow BEA to
break down U.S. financial services
transactions by the various paths
(modes of supply) businesses take to
access foreign markets. This information
is important to trade negotiators and
other policymakers because trade
agreements are structured around these
modes of supply.
(5) A question to identify respondents
engaged in transactions related to
cryptocurrency. BEA will add a single
question asking respondents to identify,
of their 2019 cross-border financial
services reported in the required
transaction categories, any that were
related to cryptocurrency activities. The
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question would identify respondents
involved in these transactions without a
significant increase in reporting burden
and ensure accurate reporting within
the existing transaction categories.
In addition to the changes described
above, BEA proposes to redesign the
format and wording of the survey. The
new survey design would incorporate
improvements that have been made to
other BEA surveys. Some improvements
are the result of a recent review
conducted with selected survey
respondents during the planning for the
2017 BE–120 Benchmark Survey of
Transactions in Selected Services and
Intellectual Property with Foreign
Persons. BE–180 Benchmark Survey
instructions and data item descriptions
would be changed to improve clarity
and ensure that the survey form is
consistent with other BEA surveys.
Executive Order 12866
This proposed rule has been
determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
This rule is not an Executive Order
13771 regulatory action because this
rule is not significant for purposes of
Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 13132
This proposed rule does not contain
policies with Federalism implications
sufficient to warrant preparation of a
Federalism assessment under Executive
Order 13132.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This proposed rule contains a
collection-of-information requirement
subject to review and approval by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520 (PRA).
The requirement will be submitted to
OMB for approval as a reinstatement,
with change, of a previously approved
collection under OMB control number
0608–0062, for which approval has
expired. Surveys were collected for the
2014 BE–180 in calendar years 2015 and
2016. No survey submissions were
solicited by BEA after the expiration
and discontinuance of the collection in
August of 2018.
Notwithstanding any other provisions
of law, no person is required to respond
to, nor shall any person be subject to a
penalty for failure to comply with, a
collection of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA unless that
collection displays a currently valid
OMB control number.
The BE–180 survey, as proposed, is
expected to result in the filing of reports
from approximately 7,000 respondents.
Approximately 5,500 respondents
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would report mandatory data on the
survey, and approximately 1,500 would
file exemption claims. The respondent
burden for this collection of information
would vary from one respondent to
another, but is estimated to average (1)
11 hours for the 1,875 respondents that
file mandatory or voluntary data by
country and affiliation for relevant
transaction types on the mandatory
schedules; (2) 2 hours for the 3,625
respondents that file mandatory data by
transaction type but not by country or
affiliation; and (3) 1 hour for the 1,500
exemption claims. These burden-hour
estimates consider time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data
sources, gathering and maintaining the
data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information.
Thus, the total respondent burden for
this survey is estimated at 29,375 hours,
or approximately 4 hours per response
(29,375 hours/7,000 respondents),
compared to 27,500 hours, or about 3
hours per response (27,500 hours/8,750
respondents) for the 2014 BE–180
benchmark survey. The increase in
burden hours is due to estimated
changes in the expected response
composition of the respondent universe
from 2014 to 2019, as well as changes
in the content of the survey.
As part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, the Department of Commerce
invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the PRA.
Comments are requested concerning: (a)
Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the burden estimate;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information collected;
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on the
respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Written comments regarding the
burden-hour estimates or other aspects
of the collection-of-information
requirements contained in the proposed
rule should be sent to both BEA and
OMB following the instructions given in
the ADDRESSES section above.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Chief Counsel for Regulation,
Department of Commerce, has certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy,
Small Business Administration, under
the provisions of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), that this
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proposed rulemaking, if adopted, will
not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small
entities. The changes proposed in this
rule are discussed in the preamble and
are not repeated here.
A BE–180 report would be required of
any U.S. company that is a financial
services provider who had financial
services transactions, sales to, or
purchases from foreign persons in any
of the covered types of financial services
listed in 15 CFR 801.13(d). This
includes brokerage services,
underwriting and private placement
services related to equity transactions
and debt transactions, financial
management services, credit-related
services, credit card services, financial
advisory and custody services,
securities lending services, electronic
funds transfer services, and other
financial services. While the survey
would not collect data on total sales or
other measures of the overall size of the
respondents to the survey, historically
the respondents to the existing quarterly
survey of financial services transactions
and to the previous benchmark surveys
were mostly major U.S. corporations. A
completed benchmark survey, as
proposed, would be required from U.S.
financial companies that had financial
services transactions in any of the
covered categories with foreign persons.
For U.S. financial services companies
that had combined sales and/or
purchases transactions exceeding $3
million in the financial services covered
by the survey for fiscal year 2019, a
completed benchmark survey would
include data on each of the covered
types of financial services transactions
with totals disaggregated by country and
by relationship to the foreign transactor
(foreign affiliate, foreign parent group,
or unaffiliated). For U.S. financial
services companies that had combined
sales and/or purchases transactions of
$3 million or less in the financial
services covered by the survey for fiscal
year 2019, a completed benchmark
would include totals for each type of
transaction in which they engaged. This
abbreviated benchmark requirement
would exclude most small businesses
from mandatory reporting of detail by
country and by affiliation. Any small
businesses that would be required to
report would likely have engaged in a
small number of covered transactions
and would be less likely to report detail
by country and affiliation, and,
therefore, would be expected to have
below the average burden of 4 hours per
response. Even if the responses for small
businesses took the expected average
burden of 4 hours per response, that
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would likely apply to a small number of
transactions, and, as such, would not
constitute a significant impact on any
small business or other entity. Because
this proposed rule would not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities, an
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is
not required, and none has been
prepared.
List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801
Economic statistics, Foreign trade,
International transactions, Penalties,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Dated: January 17, 2020.
Paul W. Farello,
Associate Director of International
Economics, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
For reasons set forth in the preamble,
BEA proposes to amend 15 CFR part 801
as follows:
PART 801—SURVEY OF
INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES
BETWEEN U.S. AND FOREIGN
PERSONS AND SURVEYS OF DIRECT
INVESTMENT
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR
part 801 continues to read as follows:
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Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22
U.S.C. 3101–3108; E.O. 11961 (3 CFR, 1977
Comp., p. 86), as amended by E.O. 12318 (3
CFR, 1981 Comp. p. 173); and E.O. 12518 (3
CFR, 1985 Comp. p. 348).
■
2. Revise § 801.3 to read as follows:
§ 801.3
Reporting requirements.
Except for surveys subject to
rulemaking in §§ 801.7, 801.8, 801.9,
801.10, 801.11, 801.12, and 801.13,
reporting requirements for all other
surveys conducted by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis shall be as follows:
(a) Notice of specific reporting
requirements, including who is required
to report, the information to be reported,
the manner of reporting, and the time
and place of filing reports, will be
published by the Director of the Bureau
of Economic Analysis in the Federal
Register prior to the implementation of
a survey;
(b) In accordance with section
3104(b)(2) of title 22 of the United States
Code, persons notified of these surveys
and subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States shall furnish, under oath,
any report containing information
which is determined to be necessary to
carry out the surveys and studies
provided for by the Act; and
(c) Persons not notified in writing of
their filing obligation by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis are not required to
complete the survey.
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3. Add § 801.13 to read as follows:
§ 801.13 Rules and regulations for the BE–
180 Benchmark Survey of Financial
Services Transactions between U.S.
Financial Services Providers and Foreign
Persons—2019.
The BE–180 Benchmark Survey of
Financial Services Transactions
between U.S. Financial Services
Providers and Foreign Persons will be
conducted covering fiscal year 2019. All
legal authorities, provisions, definitions,
and requirements contained in §§ 801.1
through 801.2 and §§ 801.4 through
801.6 are applicable to this survey.
Specific additional rules and regulations
for the BE–180 survey are given in
paragraphs (a) through (e) of this
section. More detailed instructions are
given on the report form and in
instructions accompanying the report
form.
(a) Response required. A response is
required from persons subject to the
reporting requirements of the BE–180
Benchmark Survey of Financial Services
Transactions between U.S. Financial
Services Providers and Foreign
Persons—2019, contained herein,
whether or not they are contacted by
BEA. Also, a person, or its agent, that is
contacted by BEA about reporting on
this survey, either by sending a report
form or by written inquiry, must
respond in writing pursuant to this
section. This may be accomplished by:
(1) Completing and returning the BE–
180 by the due date of the survey; or
(2) If exempt, by completing the
determination of reporting status section
of the BE–180 survey and returning it to
BEA by the due date of the survey.
(b) Who must report. A BE–180 report
is required of each U.S. person that is
a financial services provider or
intermediary, or whose consolidated
U.S. enterprise includes a separately
organized subsidiary, or part, that is a
financial services provider or
intermediary, and that had financial
services transactions with foreign
persons in the categories covered by the
survey during its 2019 fiscal year.
(c) BE–180 definition of financial
services provider. The definition of
financial services provider used for this
survey is identical to the definition of
the term as used in the North American
Industry Classification System, United
States, 2012, Sector 52—Finance and
Insurance, and holding companies that
own or influence, and are principally
engaged in making management
decisions for these firms (part of Sector
55—Management of Companies and
Enterprises). For example, companies
and/or subsidiaries and other separable
parts of companies in the following
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 37 / Tuesday, February 25, 2020 / Proposed Rules
industries are defined as financial
services providers: Depository credit
intermediation and related activities
(including commercial banking, savings
institutions, credit unions, and other
depository credit intermediation); nondepository credit intermediation
(including credit card issuing, sales
financing, and other non-depository
credit intermediation); activities related
to credit intermediation (including
mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers,
financial transactions processing,
reserve, and clearinghouse activities,
and other activities related to credit
intermediation); securities and
commodity contracts intermediation
and brokerage (including investment
banking and securities dealing,
securities brokerage, commodity
contracts and dealing, and commodity
contracts brokerage); securities and
commodity exchanges; other financial
investment activities (including
miscellaneous intermediation, portfolio
management, investment advice, and all
other financial investment activities);
insurance carriers; insurance agencies,
brokerages, and other insurance related
activities; insurance and employee
benefit funds (including pension funds,
health and welfare funds, and other
insurance funds); other investment
pools and funds (including open-end
investment funds, trusts, estates, and
agency accounts, real estate investment
trusts, and other financial vehicles); and
holding companies that own, or
influence the management decisions of,
firms principally engaged in the
aforementioned activities.
(d) What must be reported. (1) A U.S.
person that had combined sales to, or
purchases from foreign persons that
exceeded $3 million in the financial
services categories covered by the
survey during its 2019 fiscal year, on an
accrual basis, is required to provide data
on total sales and/or purchases of each
of the covered types of financial services
and must disaggregate the totals by
country and by relationship to the
foreign transactor (foreign affiliate,
foreign parent group, or unaffiliated).
The determination of whether a U.S.
financial services provider is subject to
this reporting requirement can be based
on the judgment of knowledgeable
persons in a company who can identify
reportable transactions on a recall basis,
with a reasonable degree of certainty,
without conducting a detailed manual
records search.
(2) A U.S. person that had combined
sales to, or purchases from foreign
persons that were $3 million or less in
the financial services categories covered
by the survey during its 2019 fiscal year,
on an accrual basis, is required to
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:35 Feb 24, 2020
Jkt 250001
provide the total sales and/or purchases
for each type of transaction in which
they engaged. The $3 million threshold
for sales and purchases should be
applied to financial services
transactions with foreign persons by all
parts of the consolidated domestic U.S.
Reporter. Because the $3 million
threshold applies separately to sales and
purchases, the mandatory reporting
requirement may apply only to sales,
only to purchases, or to both.
(e) Voluntary reporting of financial
services transactions. If, during fiscal
year 2019, combined sales and
purchases were $3 million or less, on an
accrual basis, the U.S. person may, in
addition to providing the required total
for each type of transaction, report sales
at a country and affiliation level of
detail on the applicable mandatory
schedule(s). The estimates can be
judgmental, that is, based on recall,
without conducting a detailed records
search.
(f) Exemption claims. Any U.S. person
that receives the BE–180 survey form
from BEA, but is not subject to the
reporting requirements, must file an
exemption claim by completing the
determination of reporting status section
of the BE–180 survey and returning it to
BEA by the due date of the survey. This
requirement is necessary to ensure
compliance with reporting requirements
and efficient administration of the Act
by eliminating unnecessary follow-up
contact.
(g) Covered types of financial services.
Financial services covered by the BE–
180 survey consist of transactions
between U.S. financial services
companies and foreign persons for:
(1) Brokerage services related to
equity transactions;
(2) Other brokerage services;
(3) Underwriting and private
placement services related to equity
transactions;
(4) Underwriting and private
placement services related to debt
transactions;
(5) Financial management services;
(6) Credit-related services, except
credit card services;
(7) Credit card services;
(8) Financial advisory and custody
services;
(9) Securities lending services;
(10) Electronic funds transfer services;
and
(11) Other financial services.
(h) Due date. A fully completed and
certified BE–180 report, or qualifying
exemption claim with the determination
of reporting status section completed, is
due to be filed with BEA not later than
July 31, 2020 (or by August 31, 2020 for
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
respondents that use BEA’s eFile
system).
[FR Doc. 2020–03727 Filed 2–24–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
21 CFR Part 172
[Docket No. 2020–F–0268]
Unilever; Filing of Food Additive
Petition
AGENCY:
Food and Drug Administration,
HHS.
ACTION:
Notification of petition.
The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA or we) is
announcing that we have filed a
petition, submitted by Unilever,
proposing that the food additive
regulations be amended to provide for
the safe use of potassium iodate in salt
added to select food categories as a
source of dietary iodine.
DATES: The food additive petition was
filed on November 25, 2019.
ADDRESSES: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov and insert the
docket number, found in brackets in the
heading of this document, into the
‘‘Search’’ box and follow the prompts,
and/or go to the Dockets Management
Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061,
Rockville, MD 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jason Downey, Center for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug
Administration, 5001 Campus Dr.,
College Park, MD 20740, 240–402–9241.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(section 409(b)(5) (21 U.S.C. 348(b)(5))),
we are giving notice that we have filed
a food additive petition (FAP 0A4824),
submitted on behalf of Unilever by
Exponent, Inc., 1150 Connecticut Ave.
NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036.
The petition proposes to amend the food
additive regulations in 21 CFR part 172
Food Additives Permitted for Direct
Addition to Food for Human
Consumption to provide for the safe use
of potassium iodate added to salt in the
following select food categories: (1)
Potato dumpling and pancake mixes, (2)
matzo ball mix, (3) falafel mix, (4) select
spreads and salad dressings, (5)
margarine and margarine-like spreads,
(6) tuna sandwich spread, (7) seasoned
noodles/rice dry mixes, and (8) dry
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\25FEP1.SGM
25FEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10628-10632]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03727]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Economic Analysis
15 CFR Part 801
[200219-0058]
RIN 0691-AA90
International Services Surveys: BE-180 Benchmark Survey of
Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services
Providers and Foreign Persons
AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This proposed rule would amend regulations of the Department
of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to renew reporting
requirements for the mandatory BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial
Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and
Foreign Persons. This survey will apply to the 2019 fiscal reporting
year. This mandatory benchmark survey, conducted under the authority of
the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, covers
the universe of transactions in financial services and is BEA's most
comprehensive survey of such transactions. For the 2019 benchmark
survey, BEA proposes several changes in the data items collected and
the design of the survey form.
DATES: Comments on this proposed rule will receive consideration if
submitted in writing on or before 5:00 p.m. April 27, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You can submit comments, identified by RIN 0691-xxxx, and
referencing the agency name (Bureau of Economic Analysis), by any of
the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. For Keyword or ID,
enter ``EAB-2019-0003.''
Email: [email protected].
Fax: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch,
Balance of Payments Division, (301) 278-9507.
Mail: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch
(BE-50), Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of Economic Analysis,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 4600 Silver Hill Rd., Washington, DC
20233.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services
Surveys Branch (BE-50), Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of
Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, 4600 Silver Hill Rd.,
Suitland, MD 20746.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in the
proposed rule should be sent to both BEA through any of the methods
above and to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), OIRA, Paperwork
Reduction Project 0608-0062, Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA, via
email at [email protected], or by fax at 202-395-7245.
Public Inspection: All comments received are a part of the public
record and will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying information (for example,
name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be
publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information. BEA will accept anonymous
comments (enter N/A in required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats
only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services
Surveys Branch (BE-50), Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of
Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, 4600 Silver Hill Rd.,
Washington, DC 20233; email [email protected] or phone (301)
278-9189.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial
Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and
Foreign Persons is a mandatory survey and is conducted once every five
years by BEA under the authority provided by the International
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 90 Stat.
2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended) (the Act), and by Section
[[Page 10629]]
5408 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C.
4908(b)). The Act provides that data reported to BEA on this survey are
confidential and may be used only for analytical and statistical
purposes. Without prior written permission from the survey respondent,
the data collected cannot be presented in a manner that allows
individual responses to be identified. An individual respondent's
report cannot be used for purposes of taxation, investigation, or
regulation. Copies retained by BEA are exempt from legal process. Per
the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 (Division N, Title
II, Subtitle B, Pub. L. 114-113), a respondent's data are protected
from cybersecurity risks through security monitoring of the BEA
information systems.
A response is required from persons subject to the reporting
requirements of the BE-180, whether or not they are contacted by BEA,
to ensure complete coverage of transactions in financial services
between U.S. persons (any individual or organization subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States) and foreign persons.
In 2012, BEA established regulatory guidelines for collecting data
on international trade in services and direct investment (77 FR 24373;
April 24, 2012). This proposed rule, as published, would amend those
regulations to require a response from persons subject to the reporting
requirements of the BE-180, whether or not they are contacted by BEA.
The BE-180 benchmark survey is intended to cover the universe of
financial services transactions of U.S. financial services companies
with foreign persons and is BEA's most comprehensive survey of such
transactions. In nonbenchmark years, the universe of estimates covering
these transactions are derived from the sample data reported on BEA's
BE-185 Quarterly Survey of Financial Services Transactions between U.S.
Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons. The BE-185 and the
BE-180 collect similar information. BEA uses cutoff sampling for the
BE-185, meaning that respondents must report on the BE-185 only if they
had combined sales to foreign persons that exceeded $20 million or
combined purchases from foreign persons that exceeded $15 million in
any one of the 10 covered financial services transaction categories
during fiscal year 2019. The sample of respondents that file on a
quarterly basis throughout fiscal year 2019 will also be required to
report on the 2019 BE-180 survey. BEA reconciles the annual data from
the BE-180 survey with the quarterly data reported on the BE-185 survey
by comparing quarterly to annual submissions that are typically
completed using audited information.
The benchmark data, which include data from respondents not subject
to filing on an ongoing quarterly basis, will be used, in conjunction
with quarterly data collected on the companion BE-185 survey, to
produce quarterly estimates of financial services transactions for
BEA's international transactions accounts, national income and product
accounts, and industry accounts. If this information is not collected
on the BE-180 survey, BEA would need to expand the scope of the BE-185
quarterly survey in order to collect additional data items and reduce
reporting thresholds. Expanding the BE-185 quarterly survey in this way
would result in an increased number of respondents and a measurable
increase in the reporting burden each quarter. The data collected
through the BE-180 are needed to monitor U.S. trade in financial
services, to analyze the impact of U.S. trade in financial services on
the U.S. economy and on foreign economies, to compile and improve the
U.S. economic accounts, to support U.S. commercial policy on trade in
services, to conduct trade promotion activities, and to improve the
ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market
opportunities.
This proposed rule would amend 15 CFR part 801 by adding new Sec.
801.13 to set forth the reporting requirements for the BE-180 Benchmark
Survey of Financial Services Transactions between U.S. Financial
Services Providers and Foreign Persons. A full list of the financial
services transactions covered by the BE-180 survey can be found in the
regulatory text of this proposed rule in new Sec. 801.13(d). This
includes brokerage services, underwriting and private placement
services related to equity transactions and debt transactions,
financial management services, credit-related services, credit card
services, financial advisory and custody services, securities lending
services, electronic funds transfer services, and other financial
services.
Description of Changes
The proposed changes would amend the regulations and the survey
form for the BE-180 benchmark survey. These amendments include several
changes in data items collected and the design of the survey form
relative to the 2014 benchmark survey.
BEA proposes to change the reporting requirements for respondents
with transactions in covered services below the threshold for mandatory
reporting on the schedule(s) of the survey ($3 million in combined
sales and/or purchases for fiscal year 2019). While responding to
benchmark surveys is always mandatory, for the previous BE-180 survey,
respondents with transactions below these thresholds were required only
to provide a figure for total sales and/or total purchases for all
covered transactions, combined. These respondents had the option of
providing additional detail for each covered transaction by transaction
type, by country, and by affiliation; such additional detail was
voluntary rather than required. For the 2019 BE-180, however, all
respondents, regardless of the amount of their transactions in covered
services would be required to provide a total dollar amount for their
sales and purchases, as applicable, by transaction type. This
information would allow BEA to improve the accuracy of the trade
statistics.
This change would impose minimal additional burden for respondents
because the additional information to be reported is information that
respondents would have needed to compile or estimate previously in
order to apply the reporting requirements. Under the prior approach,
respondents would have needed to compile or estimate the dollar amount
of their sales to and/or purchases from foreigners by transaction type
in order to determine if their transactions met the threshold for
mandatory reporting on the schedules. Under the new approach, BEA would
simply be requiring that respondents report those transaction totals.
BEA proposes to add five items to the survey. The changes are
proposed in response to suggestions from data users and to allow BEA to
more closely align its statistics with international guidelines and
publish more information on U.S. trade in financial services.
The following items would be added to the BE-180 benchmark survey:
(1) Question to request the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) of the
survey respondent. Respondents would be asked to provide their
20[hyphen]digit LEI, if they have one. Obtaining an LEI will not be
required for the purpose of filing the survey. This information will
assist in matching entities across databases, enabling better
verification of data and more direct linking to other surveys and
publicly available data.
(2) Questions to collect financial management transactions by type
of account. Respondents who had financial management transactions
during the fiscal year would be required
[[Page 10630]]
to disaggregate these transactions, for both sales and purchases, as
applicable, by type of account (for example, mutual funds; pension
funds; exchange-traded funds; private equity funds; corporate
portfolio; individual portfolio; hedge funds; and trusts). This
additional information can be used to better understand the nature of
cross-border financial services transactions.
(3) Questions about the timing of performance fees. Respondents who
had financial management transactions during fiscal year 2019 would be
required to provide additional information about whether these
transactions included fees that are tied to performance and, if so,
about the timing of those performance fees. Respondents with
performance fees (receipts and/or payments) during fiscal year 2019
would be required to distribute them, in a table, based on the
quarter(s) in which they were received and/or paid. The additional
detail will be used to improve quarterly estimates.
(4) Mandatory questions to collect information on financial
services that were conducted remotely, e.g., where both the supplier
and the consumer were in different territories when the service is
delivered. This information would be collected for both sales of
services performed remotely for foreign persons and for purchases of
services performed remotely by foreign persons. For transactions in the
financial services categories covered by the survey, respondents would
be required to check one of several boxes identifying the percentage of
their transactions that were conducted remotely, and to identify if
this information was sourced from their accounting records or from
recall/general knowledge. Respondents would also be required to check
one of two boxes identifying how the remainder of the services not
reported as 100% remotely transacted were typically performed (e.g., by
the provider traveling to the consumer or by the consumer traveling to
the provider). This additional detail will allow BEA to break down U.S.
financial services transactions by the various paths (modes of supply)
businesses take to access foreign markets. This information is
important to trade negotiators and other policymakers because trade
agreements are structured around these modes of supply.
(5) A question to identify respondents engaged in transactions
related to cryptocurrency. BEA will add a single question asking
respondents to identify, of their 2019 cross-border financial services
reported in the required transaction categories, any that were related
to cryptocurrency activities. The question would identify respondents
involved in these transactions without a significant increase in
reporting burden and ensure accurate reporting within the existing
transaction categories.
In addition to the changes described above, BEA proposes to
redesign the format and wording of the survey. The new survey design
would incorporate improvements that have been made to other BEA
surveys. Some improvements are the result of a recent review conducted
with selected survey respondents during the planning for the 2017 BE-
120 Benchmark Survey of Transactions in Selected Services and
Intellectual Property with Foreign Persons. BE-180 Benchmark Survey
instructions and data item descriptions would be changed to improve
clarity and ensure that the survey form is consistent with other BEA
surveys.
Executive Order 12866
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866. This rule is not an Executive Order
13771 regulatory action because this rule is not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 13132
This proposed rule does not contain policies with Federalism
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism
assessment under Executive Order 13132.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This proposed rule contains a collection-of-information requirement
subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520
(PRA). The requirement will be submitted to OMB for approval as a
reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection under
OMB control number 0608-0062, for which approval has expired. Surveys
were collected for the 2014 BE-180 in calendar years 2015 and 2016. No
survey submissions were solicited by BEA after the expiration and
discontinuance of the collection in August of 2018.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person is required
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements
of the PRA unless that collection displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
The BE-180 survey, as proposed, is expected to result in the filing
of reports from approximately 7,000 respondents. Approximately 5,500
respondents would report mandatory data on the survey, and
approximately 1,500 would file exemption claims. The respondent burden
for this collection of information would vary from one respondent to
another, but is estimated to average (1) 11 hours for the 1,875
respondents that file mandatory or voluntary data by country and
affiliation for relevant transaction types on the mandatory schedules;
(2) 2 hours for the 3,625 respondents that file mandatory data by
transaction type but not by country or affiliation; and (3) 1 hour for
the 1,500 exemption claims. These burden-hour estimates consider time
for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering
and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information. Thus, the total respondent burden for this
survey is estimated at 29,375 hours, or approximately 4 hours per
response (29,375 hours/7,000 respondents), compared to 27,500 hours, or
about 3 hours per response (27,500 hours/8,750 respondents) for the
2014 BE-180 benchmark survey. The increase in burden hours is due to
estimated changes in the expected response composition of the
respondent universe from 2014 to 2019, as well as changes in the
content of the survey.
As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, the Department of Commerce invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the PRA. Comments are requested concerning:
(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether
the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in the
proposed rule should be sent to both BEA and OMB following the
instructions given in the ADDRESSES section above.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Chief Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, has
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business
Administration, under the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act,
5 U.S.C. 605(b), that this
[[Page 10631]]
proposed rulemaking, if adopted, will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. The changes proposed
in this rule are discussed in the preamble and are not repeated here.
A BE-180 report would be required of any U.S. company that is a
financial services provider who had financial services transactions,
sales to, or purchases from foreign persons in any of the covered types
of financial services listed in 15 CFR 801.13(d). This includes
brokerage services, underwriting and private placement services related
to equity transactions and debt transactions, financial management
services, credit-related services, credit card services, financial
advisory and custody services, securities lending services, electronic
funds transfer services, and other financial services. While the survey
would not collect data on total sales or other measures of the overall
size of the respondents to the survey, historically the respondents to
the existing quarterly survey of financial services transactions and to
the previous benchmark surveys were mostly major U.S. corporations. A
completed benchmark survey, as proposed, would be required from U.S.
financial companies that had financial services transactions in any of
the covered categories with foreign persons. For U.S. financial
services companies that had combined sales and/or purchases
transactions exceeding $3 million in the financial services covered by
the survey for fiscal year 2019, a completed benchmark survey would
include data on each of the covered types of financial services
transactions with totals disaggregated by country and by relationship
to the foreign transactor (foreign affiliate, foreign parent group, or
unaffiliated). For U.S. financial services companies that had combined
sales and/or purchases transactions of $3 million or less in the
financial services covered by the survey for fiscal year 2019, a
completed benchmark would include totals for each type of transaction
in which they engaged. This abbreviated benchmark requirement would
exclude most small businesses from mandatory reporting of detail by
country and by affiliation. Any small businesses that would be required
to report would likely have engaged in a small number of covered
transactions and would be less likely to report detail by country and
affiliation, and, therefore, would be expected to have below the
average burden of 4 hours per response. Even if the responses for small
businesses took the expected average burden of 4 hours per response,
that would likely apply to a small number of transactions, and, as
such, would not constitute a significant impact on any small business
or other entity. Because this proposed rule would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities,
an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required, and none
has been prepared.
List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801
Economic statistics, Foreign trade, International transactions,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: January 17, 2020.
Paul W. Farello,
Associate Director of International Economics, Bureau of Economic
Analysis.
For reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 CFR
part 801 as follows:
PART 801--SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S.
AND FOREIGN PERSONS AND SURVEYS OF DIRECT INVESTMENT
0
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 801 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108;
E.O. 11961 (3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86), as amended by E.O. 12318 (3
CFR, 1981 Comp. p. 173); and E.O. 12518 (3 CFR, 1985 Comp. p. 348).
0
2. Revise Sec. 801.3 to read as follows:
Sec. 801.3 Reporting requirements.
Except for surveys subject to rulemaking in Sec. Sec. 801.7,
801.8, 801.9, 801.10, 801.11, 801.12, and 801.13, reporting
requirements for all other surveys conducted by the Bureau of Economic
Analysis shall be as follows:
(a) Notice of specific reporting requirements, including who is
required to report, the information to be reported, the manner of
reporting, and the time and place of filing reports, will be published
by the Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the Federal
Register prior to the implementation of a survey;
(b) In accordance with section 3104(b)(2) of title 22 of the United
States Code, persons notified of these surveys and subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States shall furnish, under oath, any report
containing information which is determined to be necessary to carry out
the surveys and studies provided for by the Act; and
(c) Persons not notified in writing of their filing obligation by
the Bureau of Economic Analysis are not required to complete the
survey.
0
3. Add Sec. 801.13 to read as follows:
Sec. 801.13 Rules and regulations for the BE-180 Benchmark Survey of
Financial Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services
Providers and Foreign Persons--2019.
The BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions
between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons will be
conducted covering fiscal year 2019. All legal authorities, provisions,
definitions, and requirements contained in Sec. Sec. 801.1 through
801.2 and Sec. Sec. 801.4 through 801.6 are applicable to this survey.
Specific additional rules and regulations for the BE-180 survey are
given in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section. More detailed
instructions are given on the report form and in instructions
accompanying the report form.
(a) Response required. A response is required from persons subject
to the reporting requirements of the BE-180 Benchmark Survey of
Financial Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services
Providers and Foreign Persons--2019, contained herein, whether or not
they are contacted by BEA. Also, a person, or its agent, that is
contacted by BEA about reporting on this survey, either by sending a
report form or by written inquiry, must respond in writing pursuant to
this section. This may be accomplished by:
(1) Completing and returning the BE-180 by the due date of the
survey; or
(2) If exempt, by completing the determination of reporting status
section of the BE-180 survey and returning it to BEA by the due date of
the survey.
(b) Who must report. A BE-180 report is required of each U.S.
person that is a financial services provider or intermediary, or whose
consolidated U.S. enterprise includes a separately organized
subsidiary, or part, that is a financial services provider or
intermediary, and that had financial services transactions with foreign
persons in the categories covered by the survey during its 2019 fiscal
year.
(c) BE-180 definition of financial services provider. The
definition of financial services provider used for this survey is
identical to the definition of the term as used in the North American
Industry Classification System, United States, 2012, Sector 52--Finance
and Insurance, and holding companies that own or influence, and are
principally engaged in making management decisions for these firms
(part of Sector 55--Management of Companies and Enterprises). For
example, companies and/or subsidiaries and other separable parts of
companies in the following
[[Page 10632]]
industries are defined as financial services providers: Depository
credit intermediation and related activities (including commercial
banking, savings institutions, credit unions, and other depository
credit intermediation); non-depository credit intermediation (including
credit card issuing, sales financing, and other non-depository credit
intermediation); activities related to credit intermediation (including
mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers, financial transactions
processing, reserve, and clearinghouse activities, and other activities
related to credit intermediation); securities and commodity contracts
intermediation and brokerage (including investment banking and
securities dealing, securities brokerage, commodity contracts and
dealing, and commodity contracts brokerage); securities and commodity
exchanges; other financial investment activities (including
miscellaneous intermediation, portfolio management, investment advice,
and all other financial investment activities); insurance carriers;
insurance agencies, brokerages, and other insurance related activities;
insurance and employee benefit funds (including pension funds, health
and welfare funds, and other insurance funds); other investment pools
and funds (including open-end investment funds, trusts, estates, and
agency accounts, real estate investment trusts, and other financial
vehicles); and holding companies that own, or influence the management
decisions of, firms principally engaged in the aforementioned
activities.
(d) What must be reported. (1) A U.S. person that had combined
sales to, or purchases from foreign persons that exceeded $3 million in
the financial services categories covered by the survey during its 2019
fiscal year, on an accrual basis, is required to provide data on total
sales and/or purchases of each of the covered types of financial
services and must disaggregate the totals by country and by
relationship to the foreign transactor (foreign affiliate, foreign
parent group, or unaffiliated). The determination of whether a U.S.
financial services provider is subject to this reporting requirement
can be based on the judgment of knowledgeable persons in a company who
can identify reportable transactions on a recall basis, with a
reasonable degree of certainty, without conducting a detailed manual
records search.
(2) A U.S. person that had combined sales to, or purchases from
foreign persons that were $3 million or less in the financial services
categories covered by the survey during its 2019 fiscal year, on an
accrual basis, is required to provide the total sales and/or purchases
for each type of transaction in which they engaged. The $3 million
threshold for sales and purchases should be applied to financial
services transactions with foreign persons by all parts of the
consolidated domestic U.S. Reporter. Because the $3 million threshold
applies separately to sales and purchases, the mandatory reporting
requirement may apply only to sales, only to purchases, or to both.
(e) Voluntary reporting of financial services transactions. If,
during fiscal year 2019, combined sales and purchases were $3 million
or less, on an accrual basis, the U.S. person may, in addition to
providing the required total for each type of transaction, report sales
at a country and affiliation level of detail on the applicable
mandatory schedule(s). The estimates can be judgmental, that is, based
on recall, without conducting a detailed records search.
(f) Exemption claims. Any U.S. person that receives the BE-180
survey form from BEA, but is not subject to the reporting requirements,
must file an exemption claim by completing the determination of
reporting status section of the BE-180 survey and returning it to BEA
by the due date of the survey. This requirement is necessary to ensure
compliance with reporting requirements and efficient administration of
the Act by eliminating unnecessary follow-up contact.
(g) Covered types of financial services. Financial services covered
by the BE-180 survey consist of transactions between U.S. financial
services companies and foreign persons for:
(1) Brokerage services related to equity transactions;
(2) Other brokerage services;
(3) Underwriting and private placement services related to equity
transactions;
(4) Underwriting and private placement services related to debt
transactions;
(5) Financial management services;
(6) Credit-related services, except credit card services;
(7) Credit card services;
(8) Financial advisory and custody services;
(9) Securities lending services;
(10) Electronic funds transfer services; and
(11) Other financial services.
(h) Due date. A fully completed and certified BE-180 report, or
qualifying exemption claim with the determination of reporting status
section completed, is due to be filed with BEA not later than July 31,
2020 (or by August 31, 2020 for respondents that use BEA's eFile
system).
[FR Doc. 2020-03727 Filed 2-24-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P
