Federal Reserve System July 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Background 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, as per 5 CFR 1320.16, to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board under conditions set forth in 5 CFR 1320 Appendix A.1. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of the Paperwork Reduction Act 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 control number.

Background. Notice is hereby given of the final approval of proposed information collections by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) under OMB delegated authority, as per 5 CFR 1320.16 (OMB Regulations on Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public). Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission, supporting statements and approved collection of information instrument(s) 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 control number.

The staffs of the OCC, the Board, the FDIC, and OTS (collectively, the ``agencies'') have combined three previously adopted publications of informal staff guidance answering questions regarding community reinvestment (Interagency Questions and Answers). The Interagency Questions and Answers address frequently asked questions about community reinvestment to assist agency personnel, financial institutions, and the public. The agencies are proposing nine new questions and answers, as well as substantive and technical revisions to the existing Interagency Questions and Answers. Among the proposed new questions and answers is one that addresses activities engaged in by a majority-owned financial institution with a minority-or women- owned financial institution or a low-income credit union. In addition, three revisions are intended to encourage institutions to work with homeowners who are unable to make mortgage payments by highlighting that they can receive CRA consideration for foreclosure prevention programs for low- and moderate-income homeowners, consistent with the interagency Statement on Working with Mortgage Borrowers issued April 17, 2007. Public comment is invited on the proposed new and revised questions and answers, as well as any other community reinvestment issues.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the OCC, the Board, the FDIC, and the OTS (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. On April 6, 2007, the agencies published a notice requesting public comment for sixty days on the extension, with revision, of the Transfer Agent Registration and Amendment Form (TA-1). In addition, OTS seeks to implement an amendment to section 3(a)(34) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Act), pursuant to a provision of the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006 (FSRRA), enacted on October 13, 2006. This implementation would institute the use of the TA-1 for savings associations intending to engage in transfer agent activities. Currently, the OCC, FDIC, and OTS are soliciting comment concerning the extension, with revision, of the Transfer Agent Registration and Amendment Form. The Board has approved this information collection under its delegated authority from OMB.