[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 78 (Monday, April 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24205-24206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9644]
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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment
Request
AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
SUMMARY: 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 part 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.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 22, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 2230 by any of the
following methods:
Agency Web Site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. Include OMB
number in the subject line of the message.
Fax: 202/452-3819 or 202/452-3102.
Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, 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 Web site at
www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted,
unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your comments will
not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public
comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper form in Room MP-
500 of the Board's Martin Building (20th and C Streets NW.) between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Additionally, commenters may send a copy
of their comments to the OMB Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed --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: A copy of the PRA OMB submission,
including the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting
statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public
docket files, once approved. These documents will also be made
available on the Federal Reserve Board's public Web site at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/reportforms/review.cfm or may be
requested from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Cynthia Ayouch--Division
of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, Washington, DC 20551 (202-452-3829) Telecommunications Device
for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202-263-4869), Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal
The following information collection, which is being handled under
this delegated authority, has received initial Board approval and is
hereby published for comment. At the end of the comment period, the
proposed information collection, along with an analysis of comments and
recommendations received, will be submitted to the Board for final
approval under OMB delegated authority. Comments are invited on the
following:
a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the Federal Reserve's functions; including
whether the information has practical utility;
b. The accuracy of the Federal Reserve'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
[[Page 24206]]
e. Estimates of capital or start up costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
Proposal to approve under OMB delegated authority the extension for
three years, without revision, of the following report:
Report title: Suspicious Activity Report by Depository
Institutions.
Agency form number: FR 2230.
OMB Control number: 7100-0212.
Frequency: On occasion.\1\
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\1\ Between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2011, 6,000 state
member banks, bank holding companies, Edge and agreement
corporations, and U.S. branches and agencies, representative
offices, and nonbank subsidiaries of foreign banks filed 90,397
suspicious activity report, generating an annual frequency of
15.0661for each institution.
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Reporters: State member banks, bank holding companies and their
nonbank subsidiaries, Edge and agreement corporations, and the U.S.
branches and agencies, representative offices, and nonbank subsidiaries
of foreign banks supervised by the Federal Reserve.
Annual reporting hours: 90,397 hours.
Estimated average hours per response: 1 hour.
Number of respondents: 6,000.
General description of report: The Suspicious Activity Report by
Depository Institutions (SAR) is mandatory, pursuant to authority
contained in the following statutes: 12 U.S.C. 248(a)(1), 625, 1844(c),
3105(c)(2), 3106(a), and 1818(s). SARs are exempt from Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) disclosure by 31 U.S.C. 5319 and FIOA exemption
3 which incorporates into the FOIA certain nondisclosure provisions
that are contained in other federal statutes, 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(3), by
FOIA exemption 7, which generally exempts from public disclosure
``records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes,'' 5
U.S.C. 552 (b)(7), and by exemption 8, 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(8), which
exempts information ``contained in or related to examination,
operating, or condition reports,'' prepared for the use of financial
institution supervisory agencies. Additionally, pursuant to 31 U.S.C.
5318(g), officers and employees of the Federal government are generally
forbidden from disclosing the contents of a SAR, or even acknowledging
that a SAR exists, to a party involved in a transaction that is the
subject of a SAR. Finally, information contained in SARs may be exempt
from certain disclosure and other requirements of the Privacy Act
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2).
Abstract: Since 1996, the federal banking agencies (the Federal
Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union
Administration) and the Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network have required certain types of financial
institutions to report known or suspected violations of law and
suspicious transactions. To fulfill these requirements, supervised
banking organizations file SARs. Law enforcement agencies use the
information submitted on the reporting form to initiate investigations
and the Federal Reserve uses the information in the examination and
oversight of supervised institutions.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 17,
2012.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2012-9644 Filed 4-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P