[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 7, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1290-1293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29647]



[[Page 1289]]

Vol. 79

Tuesday,

No. 4

January 7, 2014

Part XXIV





Federal Reserve System





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Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 4 / Tuesday, January 7, 2014 / 
Unified Agenda

[[Page 1290]]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Ch. II


Semiannual Regulatory Flexibility Agenda

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Semiannual regulatory agenda.

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SUMMARY: The Board is issuing this agenda under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act and the Board's Statement of Policy Regarding Expanded 
Rulemaking Procedures. The Board anticipates having under consideration 
regulatory matters as indicated below during the period November 1, 
2013, through April 30, 2014. The next agenda will be published in 
spring 2014.

DATES: Comments about the form or content of the agenda may be 
submitted any time during the next 6 months.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Robert deV. Frierson, 
Secretary of the Board, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A staff contact for each item is 
indicated with the regulatory description below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board is publishing its fall 2013 agenda 
as part of the Fall 2013 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions, which is coordinated by the Office of Management 
and Budget under Executive Order 12866. The agenda also identifies 
rules the Board has selected for review under section 610(c) of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act, and public comment is invited on those 
entries. The complete Unified Agenda will be available to the public at 
the following Web site: www.reginfo.gov. Participation by the Board in 
the Unified Agenda is on a voluntary basis.
    The Board's agenda is divided into four sections. The first, 
Proposed Rule Stage, reports on matters the Board may consider for 
public comment during the next 6 months. The second section, Final Rule 
Stage, reports on matters that have been proposed and are under Board 
consideration. A third section, Long-Term Actions, reports on matters 
that have been proposed and under Board consideration, but a completion 
date has not been determined. And a forth section, Completed Actions, 
reports on regulatory matters the Board has completed or is not 
expected to consider further. A dot () preceding an entry 
indicates a new matter that was not a part of the Board's previous 
agenda.

Margaret McCloskey Shanks,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.

               Federal Reserve System--Proposed Rule Stage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
545.......................  Regulation CC--                    7100-AD68
                             Availability of Funds and
                             Collection of Checks
                             (Docket No. R-1408).
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                Federal Reserve System--Final Rule Stage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
546.......................  Regulation LL--Savings and         7100-AD80
                             Loan Holding Companies
                             and Regulation MM--Mutual
                             Holding Companies (Docket
                             No. R-1429).
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                Federal Reserve System--Long-Term Actions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
547.......................  Regulation KK--Margin and          7100-AD74
                             Capital Requirements for
                             Covered Swap Entities
                             (Docket No: R-1415).
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                Federal Reserve System--Completed Actions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
548.......................  Regulations H, Q, & Y--            7100-AD87
                             Regulatory Capital Rules:
                             Regulatory Capital,
                             Implementation of Basel
                             III, Capital Adequacy,
                             Transition Provisions,
                             Prompt Corrective Action
                             (Docket No. R-1442).
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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (FRS)

Proposed Rule Stage

545. Regulation CC--Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks 
(Docket No. R-1408)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4001 to 4010; 12 U.S.C. 5001 to 5018
    Abstract: The Federal Reserve Board (the Board) proposed amendments 
to Regulation CC to facilitate the banking industry's ongoing 
transition to fully electronic interbank check collection and return, 
including proposed amendments to condition a depositary bank's right of 
expeditious return on the depositary bank agreeing to accept returned 
checks electronically either directly or indirectly from the paying 
bank. The Board also proposed amendments to the funds availability 
schedule provisions to reflect the fact that there are no longer any 
nonlocal checks. The Board proposed to revise the model forms in 
appendix C that banks may use in disclosing their funds availability 
policies to their customers and to update the preemption determinations 
in appendix F. Finally, the Board requested comment on whether it 
should consider future changes to the regulation to improve the check 
collection system, such as decreasing the time afforded to a paying 
bank to decide whether to pay a check in order to reduce the risk to a 
depositary bank of needing to make funds available for withdrawal 
before

[[Page 1291]]

learning whether a deposited check has been returned unpaid.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comment.............   03/25/11  76 FR 16862
Board Expects Further Action........   12/00/13  .......................
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Dena Milligan, Senior Attorney, Federal Reserve 
System, Legal Division, Phone: 202-452-3900.
    RIN: 7100-AD68

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (FRS)

Final Rule Stage

546. Regulation LL--Savings and Loan Holding Companies and Regulation 
Mm--Mutual Holding Companies (Docket No. R-1429)

    Legal Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552; 5 U.S.C. 559; 5 U.S.C. 1813; 5 
U.S.C. 1817; 5 U.S.C. 1828; * * *

    Abstract: The Dodd-Frank Act Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act (the Act) transferred responsibility for supervision of 
Savings and Loan Holding Companies (SLHCs) and their non-depository 
subsidiaries from the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) to the Board 
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), on July 21, 2011. 
The Act also transferred supervisory functions related to Federal 
savings associations and State savings associations to the Office of 
the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation (FDIC), respectively.
    The Board on August 12, 2011, approved an interim final rule for 
SLHCs, including a request for public comment. The interim final rule 
transferred from the OTS to the Board the regulations necessary for the 
Board to supervise SLHCs, with certain technical and substantive 
modifications. The interim final rule has three components: (1) New 
Regulation LL (part 238), which sets forth regulations generally 
governing SLHCs; (2) new Regulation MM (part 239), which sets forth 
regulations governing SLHCs in mutual form; and (3) technical 
amendments to existing Board regulations necessary to accommodate the 
transfer of supervisory authority for SLHCs from the OTS to the Board.
    The structure of interim final Regulation LL closely follows that 
of the Board's Regulation Y, which governs bank holding companies, in 
order to provide an overall structure to rules that were previously 
found in disparate locations. In many instances interim final 
Regulation LL incorporated OTS regulations with only technical 
modifications to account for the shift in supervisory responsibility 
from the OTS to the Board. Interim final Regulation LL also reflects 
statutory changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act with respect to SLHCs, and 
incorporates Board precedent and practices with respect to applications 
processing procedures and control issues, among other matters.
    Interim final Regulation MM organized existing OTS regulations 
governing SLHCs in mutual form (MHCs) and their subsidiary holding 
companies into a single part of the Board's regulations. In many 
instances interim final Regulation MM incorporated OTS regulations with 
only technical modifications to account for the shift in supervisory 
responsibility from the OTS to the Board. Interim final Regulation MM 
also reflects statutory changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act with respect 
to MHCs.
    The interim final rule also made technical amendments to Board 
rules to facilitate supervision of SLHCs, including to rules 
implementing Community Reinvestment Act requirements and to Board 
procedural and administrative rules. In addition, the Board made 
technical amendments to implement section 312(b)(2)(A) of the Act, 
which transfers to the Board all rulemaking authority under section 11 
of the Home Owner's Loan Act relating to transactions with affiliates 
and extensions of credit to executive officers, directors, and 
principal shareholders. These amendments include revisions to parts 215 
(Insider Transactions) and part 223 (Transactions with Affiliates) of 
Board regulations.
    The comment period with respect to the interim final rule closed on 
November 1, 2011, and the Board intends in the future to issue a 
finalized rule.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
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Board Requested Comment.............   09/13/11  76 FR 56508
Board Expect Further Action.........   01/00/14  .......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Claudia Von Pervieux, Counsel, Federal Reserve 
System, Legal Division,Phone: 202-452-2552.
    RIN: 7100-AD80

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (FRS)

Long-Term Actions

547. Regulation KK--Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap 
Entities (Docket No: R-1415)

    Legal Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6s; 15 U.S.C. 780-10
    Abstract: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the 
Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the 
Farm Credit Administration, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (the 
Agencies) are requesting comment on a proposal to establish minimum 
margin and capital requirements for registered swap dealers, major swap 
participants, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based 
swap participants for which one of the Agencies is the prudential 
regulator. This proposed rule implements sections 731 and 764 of the 
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which 
require the Agencies to adopt rules jointly to establish capital 
requirements and initial and variation margin requirements for such 
entities on all non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps 
in order to offset the greater risk to such entities and the financial 
system arising from the use of swaps and security-based swaps that are 
not cleared.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
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Board Requested Comment.............   04/12/11  76 FR 27564
Comment Period End..................   07/11/11  76 FR 37029
Board Reopened Comment Period.......   10/02/12  77 FR 60057
Next Action Undetermined............
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Stephanie Martin, Associate General Counsel, 
Federal Reserve System, Legal Division,Phone: 202-452-3198.
    Anna Harrington, Senior Attorney, Federal Reserve System, Federal 
Reserve System, Legal Division,Phone: 202-452-6406.
    Christopher Paridon, Counsel, Federal Reserve System, Legal 
Division,Phone: 202-452-3274.
    RIN: 7100-AD74


[[Page 1292]]



FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (FRS)

Completed Actions

548. Regulations H, Q, & Y--Regulatory Capital Rules: Regulatory 
Capital, Implementation of Basel III, Capital Adequacy, Transition 
Provisions, Prompt Corrective Action (Docket No. R-1442)

    Legal Authority: 12 U.S.C. 24; 12 U.S.C. 36; 12 U.S.C. 92a; 12 
U.S.C. 93a; * * *
    Abstract: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) 
(collectively, the Agencies) adopted a final rule that revises their 
risk-based and leverage capital requirements for banking organizations, 
substantially as originally proposed. The final rule consolidates three 
separate notices of proposed rulemaking that the OCC, the Board, and 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) published in the Federal 
Register on August 30, 2012, with selected changes. The final rule 
implements a revised definition of regulatory capital, a new common 
equity tier 1 minimum capital requirement, a higher minimum tier 1 
capital requirement, and, for banking organizations subject to the 
advance approaches risk-based capital rules, a supplementary leverage 
ratio that incorporates a broader set of exposures in the denominator. 
The final rule incorporates these new requirements into the agencies' 
prompt corrective action framework. In addition, the final rule 
establishes limits on a banking organization's capital distributions 
and certain discretionary bonus payments if the banking organization 
does not hold a specified amount of common equity tier 1 capital in 
addition to the amount necessary to meet its minimum risk-based capital 
requirements. Further, the final rule amends the methodologies for 
determining risk-weighted assets for all banking organizations, and 
introduces disclosure requirements that would apply to top-tier banking 
organizations domiciled in the United States with $50 billion or more 
in total assets. The final rule also adopts changes to the Agencies' 
regulatory capital requirements that meet the requirements of section 
171 and section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act. The final rule also codifies the agencies' regulatory 
capital rules, which have previously resided in various appendices to 
their respective regulations, into a harmonized integrated regulatory 
framework. In addition, the OCC is amending the market risk capital 
rule (market risk rule) to apply to Federal savings associations, and 
the Board is amending the advanced approaches and market risk rules to 
apply to top-tier savings and loan holding companies domiciled in the 
United States, except for certain savings and loan holding companies 
that are substantially engaged in insurance underwriting or commercial 
activities.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board Requested Comment.............   08/30/12  77 FR 53059
Board Adopted Final Rule............   07/02/13  78 FR 51101
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Anna Lee Hewko, Deputy Associate Director, Federal 
Reserve System, Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation,Phone: 
202-530-6260.
    RIN: 7100-AD87

[FR Doc. 2013-29647 Filed 1-6-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P