[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22762-22763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09255]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection
Renewal; Comment Request; Subordinated Debt
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal
agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing
information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (PRA).
In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC 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.
The OCC is soliciting comment concerning renewal of its information
collection titled, ``Subordinated Debt.''
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 23, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at the OCC
is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments by
email if possible. Comments may be sent to: Legislative and Regulatory
Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,
Attention: 1557-0320, 400 7th Street SW., Suite 3E-218, Mail Stop 9W-
11, Washington, DC 20219. In addition, comments may be sent by fax to
(571) 465-4326 or by electronic mail to [email protected].
You may personally inspect and photocopy comments at the OCC, 400 7th
Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. For security reasons, the OCC
requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. You may
do so by calling (202) 649-6700. 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.
All comments received, including attachments and other supporting
materials, are part of the public record and subject to public
disclosure. Do not enclose any information in your comment or
supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate
for public disclosure.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Johnny Vilela or Mary H. Gottlieb, OCC
Clearance Officers, (202) 649-5490, for persons who are deaf or hard of
hearing, TTY, (202) 649-5597, Legislative and Regulatory Activities
Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street
SW., Suite 3E-218, Mail Stop 9W-11, Washington, DC 20219.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal
agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' is
defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency
requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports,
keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires Federal
agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning
each proposed collection of information, including each proposed
extension of an existing collection of information, before submitting
the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement,
the OCC is publishing notice of the proposed collection of information
set forth in this document.
In connection with issuance of the interim final rule entitled
``Basel III Conforming Amendments Related to Cross-References,
Subordinated Debt and Limits Based on Regulatory Capital,'' \1\ OMB
provided a six-month approval for this information collection. The OCC
is proposing to extend OMB approval of the collection for the standard
three years.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 79 FR 11300 (February 28, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Subordinated Debt.
OMB Control No.: 1557-0320.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents: 184.
Burden per Respondent: 1.3 hours.
Total Burden: 239 hours.
Description: Federal law and OCC regulations require that, under
certain circumstances, a national bank or Federal savings association
(collectively, ``institution'') must receive OCC approval to issue or
prepay subordinated debt and include subordinated debt in tier 2
capital. The OCC uses information contained in various applications
submitted by institutions to decide whether to grant approval for
requests to issue or prepay subordinated debt and/or include
subordinated debt in tier 2 capital.
The OCC uses the request for approval to issue or prepay
subordinated debt or include subordinated debt in tier 2 capital,
outlined in 12 CFR 5.47 and 163.81, to determine whether to grant or
deny an institution's request. In addition, when the prepayment is in
the form of a call option, the OCC uses the information provided to
determine whether to require the institution to replace the instrument
with an instrument that meets the criteria for tier 1 or tier 2
capital, and if so, whether the replacement instrument would qualify as
tier 1 or tier 2 capital. The information collected is used to ensure
compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. In the case of a
prepayment in the form of a call option, the OCC uses the additional
information collected to implement a requirement in the OCC's Basel III
regulations, as described below.
Through the interim final rule, the OCC revised the requirements of
Sec. 5.47. Specifically, all national banks now must receive prior OCC
approval in order to prepay subordinated debt that is included in tier
2 capital, and certain banks must receive prior approval to prepay
subordinated debt that is not included in tier 2 capital. If the
prepayment is in the form of a call option, a national bank must submit
the information required for general prepayment requests under
paragraph (n)(1)(ii)(A) and also comply with paragraph
(n)(1)(ii)(B)(2), which requires a national bank to submit either: (1)
A statement explaining why the bank believes that following the
proposed prepayment the bank would continue to hold an amount of
capital commensurate with its risk; or (2) a description of the
replacement capital instrument that meets the criteria for tier 1 or
tier 2 capital under 12 CFR 3.20, including the amount of such
instrument and the time frame for issuance. The OCC may require the
bank
[[Page 22763]]
to replace the subordinated debt instrument with an instrument of an
equivalent amount that satisfies the requirements for a tier 1 or tier
2 capital instrument.
The OCC also revised the requirements of Sec. 163.81 in the
interim rule. Specifically, the prepayment of subordinated debt
securities or mandatorily redeemable preferred stock (``covered
securities'') included in tier 2 capital now requires prior OCC
approval. If the prepayment is in the form of a call option, a Federal
savings association must submit the information required for general
prepayment requests under paragraph (j)(2)(i) and also comply with
paragraph (j)(2)(ii)(A), which requires a Federal savings association
to submit either: (1) a statement explaining why the Federal savings
association believes that following the proposed prepayment the savings
association would continue to hold an amount of capital commensurate
with its risk; or (2) a description of the replacement capital
instrument that meets the criteria for tier 1 or tier 2 capital under
12 CFR 3.20, including the amount of such instrument and the time frame
for issuance. The OCC may require the Federal savings association to
replace the subordinated debt instrument with an instrument of an
equivalent amount that satisfies the requirements for a tier 1 or tier
2 capital instrument.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will become
a matter of public record. Comments are invited on:
(a) Whether the collections of information are necessary for the
proper performance of the OCC's functions, including whether the
information has practical utility;
(b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimates of the burden of the
information collections, including the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;
(c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(d) Ways to minimize the burden of information collections on
respondents, including through the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Dated: April 17, 2014.
Stuart E. Feldstein,
Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division.
[FR Doc. 2014-09255 Filed 4-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P