Federal Reserve System – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board has amended the provisions in Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing) that govern adjustments to debit card interchange transaction fees to make an allowance for fraud- prevention costs incurred by issuers. The amendments permit an issuer to receive or charge an amount of no more than 1 cent per transaction (the same amount currently permitted) in addition to its interchange transaction fee if the issuer develops and implements policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to take effective steps to reduce the occurrence of, and costs to all parties from, fraudulent electronic debit transactions. The amendments set forth fraud- prevention aspects that an issuer's policies and procedures must address and require an issuer to review its policies and procedures at least annually, and update them as necessary in light of their effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and changes in the types of fraud, methods used to commit fraud, and available fraud-prevention methods. An issuer must notify its payment card networks annually that it complies with the Board's fraud-prevention standards. Finally, the amendments provide that an issuer that is substantially noncompliant with the Board's fraud-prevention standards is ineligible to receive or charge a fraud-prevention adjustment and set forth a timeframe within which an issuer must stop receiving or charging a fraud-prevention adjustment.

Notice is hereby given of the final approval of a proposed information collection 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.

Background. On June 4, 2012, the Board published in the Federal Register, a notice of final approval of a proposed information collection by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) under OMB delegated authority, per 5 CFR 1320.16 (OMB Regulations on Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public). The notice requested public comment for 30 days to revise, without extension, Capital Assessments and Stress Testing information collection (FR Y- 14A/Q/M). The comment period for this information collection notice expires on July 5, 2012. Due to the range and complexity of the issues addressed in the information collection notice, the Board has determined that an extension of the end of the public comment period for an additional 30 days is appropriate. This action will allow interested persons additional time to analyze the proposed revisions and prepare their comments.

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), pursuant to 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.

The Board is issuing this guidance to provide clarity on the manner in which the conformance period would apply to various activities and investments covered by the requirements of section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act. This guidance is identical to what the Board announced on its public Web site on April 19, 2012.