Federal Reserve System – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is adopting final amendments to its Regulation A to revise the provisions regarding the establishment of the primary credit rate in a financial emergency and to delete the provisions relating to the use of credit ratings for collateral for extensions of credit under the former Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). The final amendments are intended to allow the regulation to address circumstances in which the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has established a target range for the federal funds rate rather than a single target rate, and to reflect the expiration of the TALF program.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is requesting comment on the benefits and drawbacks of a potential change to part II of the Federal Reserve Policy on Payment System Risk (PSR policy). The potential change would entail the Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) monitoring in real time all Fedwire Funds transfers and rejecting those transfers that would breach the Fedwire sender's net debit cap, that is, the ceiling on its total daylight overdraft position that it is permitted to incur in its Federal Reserve account during any given day. If, after an evaluation of the public comments on this notice, the Board concludes that an expansion of real- time monitoring is desirable, the Board will request public comment on specific proposed changes to the PSR policy.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Recordkeeping Requirements Associated with Limitations on Interbank Liabilities (Regulation F; OMB No. 7100-0331).

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, 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 December 27, 2017, the Board, under the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), requested public comment for 60 days on a proposal to extend, with revision, the Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 002) and the Report of Assets and Liabilities of a Non-U.S. Branch that is Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch or Agency of a Foreign (Non-U.S.) Bank (FFIEC 002S), which are currently approved collections of information. The Board published this proposal on behalf of the agencies. The proposed revisions to these reports align with corresponding changes made to the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (FFIEC 031, FFIEC 041, and FFIEC 051). The Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income are commonly referred to as the Call Report. The proposed revisions to the FFIEC 002 and the FFIEC 002S delete or consolidate certain items, establish certain reporting thresholds, account for changes in the accounting for equity investments, and make instructional clarifications consistent with those previously made to or currently proposed for the Call Report instructions. The proposed revisions would result in an overall reduction in burden. The comment period for this proposal ended on February 26, 2018. The Board received two comments addressing the proposed changes. After considering the comments received on the proposal, the agencies will proceed with the proposed reporting revisions to the FFIEC 002 and FFIEC 002S, while incorporating one clarification in response to a comment. These reporting revisions would take effect as of the June 30, 2018, report date. The Board is giving notice that it is sending the collection to OMB for review.

The Board is inviting comment on a notice of proposed rulemaking (proposal) that would integrate the Board's regulatory capital rule (capital rule) and the Board's Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) and stress test rules in order to simplify the capital regime applicable to firms subject to the capital plan rule. The proposal would amend the Board's capital plan rule, capital rule, and stress testing rules, and make amendments to the Stress Testing Policy Statement that was proposed for public comment on December 15, 2017. Under the proposal, the Board's supervisory stress test would be used to establish the size of a stress capital buffer requirement and a stress leverage buffer requirement. The proposal would apply to bank holding companies with $50 billion or more in total consolidated assets and U.S. intermediate holding companies of foreign banking organizations established pursuant to Regulation YY. The proposal would not apply to any community bank, any bank holding company with total consolidated assets of less than $50 billion, or to any state member bank or savings and loan holding company. The proposal would be effective on December 31, 2018. Under the proposal, a firm's first stress capital buffer and stress leverage buffer requirements would generally be effective on October 1, 2019.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) published a final rule in the Federal Register on October 11, 2013, regarding Regulatory Capital Rules. The Board also published a final rule in the Federal Register on May 1, 2014, to amend the regulatory capital rules to include enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards. This publication resolves an unintended deletion from the regulatory capital rules that was made in connection with the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) are seeking comment on a proposal that would modify the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards for U.S. top-tier bank holding companies identified as global systemically important bank holding companies, or GSIBs, and certain of their insured depository institution subsidiaries. Specifically, the proposal would modify the current 2 percent leverage buffer, which applies to each GSIB, to equal 50 percent of the firm's GSIB risk-based capital surcharge. The proposal also would require a Board- or OCC-regulated insured depository institution subsidiary of a GSIB to maintain a supplementary leverage ratio of at least 3 percent plus 50 percent of the GSIB risk-based surcharge applicable to its top-tier holding company in order to be deemed ``well capitalized'' under the Board's and the OCC's prompt corrective action rules. Consistent with this approach to establishing enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards for insured depository institutions, the OCC is proposing to revise the methodology it uses to identify which national banks and Federal savings associations are subject to the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards to ensure that they apply only to those national banks and Federal savings associations that are subsidiaries of a Board-identified GSIB. The Board also is seeking comment on a proposal to make conforming modifications to the GSIB leverage buffer of the Board's total loss- absorbing capacity and long-term debt requirements and other minor amendments to the buffer levels, covered intermediate holding company conformance period, methodology for calculating the covered intermediate holding company long-term debt amount, and external total loss-absorbing capacity risk-weighted buffer.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Regulation B (Equal Credit Opportunity Act) (FR B; OMB No. 7100-0201).

Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, notice is given that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) proposes the establishment of a new system of records, BGFRS- 40, entitled ``FRBBoard Subscription Services.'' The new system of records, BGFRS-40, will maintain subscription-related information regarding individuals who subscribe to Board publications. The main publication that the Board provides is the Federal Reserve Regulatory Service (FRRS), which is a compilation of the statutes administered by the Board along with regulations, interpretations, policy statements, rulings, and opinions issued by the Board and its staff. The FRRS also includes select regulations issued by other agencies that are relevant to the Board's responsibilities. The Board also provides subscriptions to other publications such as general publications, reports to Congress, and economic research and data. To date, the Board has operated the subscription services itself and stored the data by year rather than by name or personal identifier. Going forward, the Board will contract the subscription services for the FRRS to a vendor, who will maintain the files (both electronic and in paper) in a manner that customarily allows the files to be accessed by name or personal identifier, thus necessitating this new system of records. After the transition of the FRRS subscription services to the vendor, the Board will continue to maintain its old historical FRRS subscription materials for the appropriate record retention period. In addition, the Board will continue to operate the subscription services for the other publications (e.g., the general publications). The Board, however, is changing how it maintains its Board-operated subscription services as, going forward, the Board will be using an electronic system that will allow retrieval of the subscription materials by subscriber name or other personal identifier.

This document supplements and corrects the preamble of the final rule that was published in the Federal Register on November 24, 2017, entitled ``Community Reinvestment Act Regulations.''

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Regulation M (Consumer Leasing) (FR M; OMB No. 7100-0202).