[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23082-23083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08936]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection
Renewal; Comment Request; Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered
Swap Entities: Exemptions
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal
agencies 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 the renewal of its
information collection titled, ``Margin and Capital Requirements for
Covered Swap Entities: Exemptions.''
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 20, 2016.
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: 1557-0335, 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 or, for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing,
TTY, (202) 649-5597. 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 include any information in your comment or
supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate
for public disclosure.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance
Officer, (202) 649-5490 or, 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 the 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
``Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap Entities,'' \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.
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\1\ 80 FR 74915 (November 30, 2015).
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Title: Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap Entities:
Exemptions.
OMB Control No.: 1557-0335.
Description: The OCC issued an interim final rule required by the
Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015
(TRIPRA).\2\ Title III of TRIPRA, the ``Business Risk Mitigation and
Price Stabilization Act of 2015,'' amends the statutory provisions
added by the Dodd-Frank Act relating to margin requirements for non-
cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps. Section 302 of
TRIPRA amends sections 731 and 764 of the Dodd-Frank Act to provide
that the initial and variation margin requirements do not apply to
certain transactions with specified counterparties that qualify for an
exemption or exception from clearing. Non-cleared swaps and non-cleared
security-based swaps that are exempt under section 302 of TRIPRA will
not be subject to the Agencies' \3\ rules implementing margin
requirements.\4\ The effect of the interim final rule is to augment
provisions of the final rule published by the Agencies in November 2015
\5\ that allow swap entities to collect no initial or variation margin
from certain ``other counterparties'' like commercial end-users with a
provision that grants an exception from the margin requirements for
certain swaps with these and certain additional counterparties.
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\2\ Public Law 114-1, 129 Stat. 3 (2015).
\3\ The Agencies are the Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Farm Credit
Administration, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
\4\ The interim final rule is a companion rule to a final rule
adopted to implement section 731 and 764 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
\5\ The final rule was issued on November 30, 2015 (80 FR
74840).
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The reporting requirements in the interim final rule are found in
12 CFR 45.1(d), which refers to other statutory provisions that set
forth conditions for an exemption from clearing. Section 45.1(d)(1)
provides an exemption for non-cleared swaps if one of the
counterparties to the swap is not a financial entity, is using swaps to
hedge or mitigate commercial risk, and notifies the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission of how it generally meets its financial obligations
associated with entering into non-cleared swaps. Section 45.1(d)(2)
provides an exemption for security-based swaps if the counterparty
notifies the Securities and Exchange Commission of how it generally
meets its financial obligations associated with entering into non-
cleared security-based swaps.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals; Businesses or other for-profit.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 20.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 20,000.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized,
included in the request for OMB approval, and will become a matter of
public record. Comments are invited on:
(a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the OCC, including whether the
information has practical utility;
(b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimate of the information
collection burden;
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(c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected;
(d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection on respondents,
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology; and
(e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
Dated: April 13, 2016.
Mary Hoyle Gottlieb,
Regulatory Specialist, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division.
[FR Doc. 2016-08936 Filed 4-18-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P