Federal Reserve System June 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board requests comments on proposed changes to Part I of its Policy on Payments System Risk (PSR policy) addressing risk management in payments and settlement systems. The proposed policy changes include (1) incorporating into the PSR policy the Recommendations for Central Counterparties (Recommendations for CCP) as the Board's minimum standards for central counterparties, (2) clarifying the purpose of Part I of the policy and revising its scope with regard to central counterparties, and (3) establishing an expectation that systemically important systems disclose publicly self- assessments against the Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems (Core Principles), Recommendations for Securities Settlement Systems (Recommendations for SSS), or Recommendations for CCP, as appropriate, demonstrating the extent to which these systems meet the principles or minimum standards. The Board is also making other technical changes.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (``Board'') is publishing this consultation paper to seek information from financial institutions and other interested parties on their experience in managing intraday liquidity, credit, and operational risks relating to Fedwire funds transfers and associated transactions. The Board also seeks views on potential changes in market practices, operations, and its Payments System Risk (PSR) Policy that could reduce one or more of these risks, while maintaining or improving the efficiency of the payments system. This consultation is consistent with the Federal Reserve's long-standing practice of working with the financial industry to address payments system risk issues and provides a framework for discussions about the long-term evolution of the PSR Policy.

The Board is inviting the public to nominate qualified individuals for appointment to its Consumer Advisory Council, whose membership represents interests of consumers, communities, and the financial services industry. New members will be selected for three- year terms that will begin in January 2007. The Board expects to announce the selection of new members in early January.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the ``agencies'') may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), of which the agencies are members, has approved the agencies' publication for public comment of a proposal to revise the Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 002), which is a currently approved information collection. The Board is publishing this proposal on behalf of the agencies. At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the FFIEC should modify the reports. The Board will then submit the reports to OMB for review and approval.

The Board of Governors is amending appendix A of Regulation CC to delete the reference to the East Rutherford office of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and reassign the Federal Reserve routing symbols currently listed under that office to the head office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. These amendments will ensure that the information in appendix A accurately describes the actual structure of check processing operations within the Federal Reserve System.