Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION:

Notice, request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Recordkeeping Provisions Associated with Guidance on Leveraged Lending (FR 4203; OMB No. 7100-0354).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before June 6, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by FR 4203, by any of the following methods:

• Agency Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.

• Email: regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. Include the OMB number or FR number in the subject line of the message.

• Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.

• Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551.

All public comments are available from the Board's website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as submitted, unless modified for technical reasons or to remove personally identifiable information at the commenter's request. Accordingly, comments will not be edited to remove any confidential business information, identifying information, or contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper in Room M-4365A, 2001 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20551, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. For security reasons, the Board requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. You may do so by calling (202) 452-3684. Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present valid government-issued photo identification and to submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy comments.

Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 452-3829.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.

During the comment period for this proposal, a copy of the proposed PRA OMB submission, including the draft reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, and other documentation, will be made available on the Board's public website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears above. Final versions of these documents will be made available at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, if approved.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

The Board invites public comment on the following information collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:

a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the information has practical utility;

b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and

e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board should modify the proposal.

Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, Without Revision, the Following Information Collection

Report title: Recordkeeping Provisions Associated with Guidance on Leveraged Lending.

Agency form number: FR 4203.

OMB control number: 7100-0354.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondents: The FR 4203 panel comprises all bank holding companies, savings and loan holding companies, state member banks, and state-chartered branches and agencies of foreign banks that engage in leveraged lending activities.

Many community banks are not subject to the FR 4203 because they do not engage in leveraged lending. The limited number of community and smaller institutions that are involved in leveraged lending activities may discuss with the Federal Reserve System whether and, if so, how to implement these collections of information in a cost-effective manner that is appropriate for the complexity of their exposures and activities.

Estimated number of respondents: 37.

Estimated average hours per response: 755.

Estimated annual burden hours: 27,935.

General description of report: The guidance on leveraged lending (Guidance) outlines high-level principles related to safe-and-sound leveraged lending activities. The Guidance includes a number of voluntary recordkeeping provisions that apply to financial institutions that are engaged in leveraged lending activities and for which the Board is the primary federal supervisor, including bank holding companies, savings and loan holding companies, state member banks, and state-chartered branches and agencies of foreign banks that engage in these activities.

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The recordkeeping provisions of the Guidance are authorized pursuant to sections 9(6), 25, and 25A of the Federal Reserve Act (for state member banks, agreement corporations, and Edge corporations, respectively); section 5(c) of the Bank Holding Company Act (for bank holding companies); sections 10(b)(2) and 10(b)(3) of the Home Owners' Loan Act (savings and loan holding companies), and section 7(c)(2) of the International Banking Act (state-licensed branches and agencies of foreign banks, other than insured branches). The recordkeeping provisions contained in the FR 4203 are voluntary.

Because these records would be maintained at each banking organization, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) would only be implicated if the Board obtained such records as part of the examination or supervision of a banking organization. If the records were obtained by the Board as part of an examination or supervision of a financial institution, this information may be considered confidential pursuant to exemption 8 of the FOIA, which protects information contained in “examination, operating, or condition reports” obtained in the bank supervisory process. In addition, to the extent that information contained in these records constitutes nonpublic commercial or financial information, which is both customarily and actually treated as private by a banking organization, it may be kept confidential under exemption 4 of the FOIA, which exempts “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential.”