Notice2022-14375
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 6, 2022
Issuing agencies
Federal Reserve System
Abstract
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Notice by Financial Institutions of Government Securities Broker or Government Securities Dealer Activities and Notice by Financial Institutions of Termination of Activities as a Government Securities Broker or Government Securities Dealer (Form G-FIN and Form G-FINW; OMB No. 7100-0224).
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 128 (Wednesday, July 6, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40239-40241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14375]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
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 Notice by Financial Institutions of Government Securities
Broker or Government Securities Dealer Activities and Notice by
Financial Institutions of Termination of Activities as a Government
Securities Broker or Government Securities Dealer (Form G-FIN and Form
G-FINW; OMB No. 7100-0224).
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Form G-FIN or Form G-
FINW, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Agency Website: <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/">https://www.federalreserve.gov/</a>. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments at <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx">https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx</a>.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7c0e191b0f521f1311111912080f3c1a1918190e1d100e190f190e0a19521b130a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="46342321356825292b2b23283235062023222334272a3423352334302368212930">[email protected]</span></a>. Include the OMB
number or FR number in the subject line of the message.
<bullet> Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
<bullet> Mail: Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Attn: Ann E.
Misback, Secretary of the Board, Mailstop M-4775, 2001 C St NW,
Washington, DC 20551.
All public comments are available from the Board's website at
<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx">https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx</a> 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
[[Page 40240]]
on the Board's public website at <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx">https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx</a> or may be requested from the agency clearance
officer, whose name appears above. Final versions of these documents
will be made available at <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>, 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 Collections
Collection title: Notice by Financial Institutions of Government
Securities Broker or Government Securities Dealer Activities and Notice
by Financial Institutions of Termination of Activities as a Government
Securities Broker or Government Securities Dealer.
Collection identifiers: Form G-FIN and Form G-FINW.
OMB control number: 7100-0224.
Frequency: Event-generated.
Respondents: State member banks, foreign banks, uninsured state
branches or state agencies of foreign banks, commercial lending
companies owned or controlled by foreign banks, and Edge Act
corporations (collectively, Board-regulated financial institutions)
that are required to register as government security brokers or
government security dealers and those entities that have terminated
such activities.
Estimated number of respondents:
Reporting
Form G-FIN: 39; Form G-FINW: 1
Recordkeeping
Form G-FIN: 39; Form G-FINW: 1
Estimated average hours per response:
Reporting
Form G-FIN: 1; Form G-FINW: 0.25
Recordkeeping
Form G-FIN: 0.25; Form G-FINW: 0.25
Estimated annual burden hours:
Reporting
Form G-FIN: 39; Form G-FINW: 10
Recordkeeping
Form G-FIN: 0; Form G-FINW: 0 \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Due to the mechanics of the RISC/OIRA Consolidated
Information System (ROCIS), fractional amounts below 0.5 are rounded
to 0.
General description of collection: The Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the Act), requires financial institutions to notify
their appropriate regulatory agency (ARA) prior to using the mails or
any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce to engage in
government securities broker or dealer activities, and to notify their
ARA upon terminating such activities. The Board is the ARA for Board-
regulated financial institutions. A Board-regulated financial
institution must use Form G-FIN to register as a government securities
broker or dealer or to amend a previously submitted Form G-FIN and must
use Form G-FINW to notify the Board of its termination of such
activities.
Legal authorization and confidentiality: Form G-FIN and Form G-FINW
are authorized under section 15C of the Act,\2\ which requires a
financial institution that is a broker or dealer of government
securities to submit a written notice advising its ARA that it is a
government securities broker or a government securities dealer or that
it has ceased to act as such. The Act also directs the Board, in
consultation with the other ARAs (the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
(OCC)),\3\ as well as with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), to prescribe the form of and the information collected in these
notices.\4\ Further support for the creation and collection of these
notices by the Board is found in Department of Treasury (Treasury)
regulations, authorized by section 15 of the Act, which state that the
Form G-FIN and Form G-FINW are promulgated by the Board and that such
forms are to be used by non-exempt \5\ financial institutions to notify
their ARA of their status as government securities brokers or dealers
or the termination of such status.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-5(a)(l)(B).
\3\ These forms are also collected by the FDIC and the OCC,
respectively, for government securities brokers and dealers under
their supervision. A copy of the form filed with each ARA is also
made available by the ARA to the SEC under the Act. 15 U.S.C. 78o-
5(a)(1)(B)(iii).
\4\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-5(a)(l)(B)(ii).
\5\ The Act permits the Secretary of the Treasury to exempt
certain government securities brokers or dealers, 15 U.S.C. 78o-
5(a)(5), and the Secretary of the Treasury has promulgated
regulations exempting certain types of firms. See 17 CFR part 401.
\6\ See 17 CFR 400.1(d), 449.1, and 449.2; see also 17 CFR
400.5(b) (requiring that any amendments or corrections to the notice
of status of government securities broker or dealer be filed by the
financial institution on Form G-FIN within 30 days).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 15C of the Act also instructs the Secretary of the Treasury
to promulgate recordkeeping requirements regarding the forms and
records to be retained by government securities brokers and dealers and
to specify the time period for which such records shall be preserved.
Accordingly, the recordkeeping requirement associated with these forms
is contained in 17 CFR 404.4, which requires state member banks and
uninsured state branches or state agencies of foreign banks, as well as
other institutions, to retain these forms for three years after the
financial institution notifies its ARA that it has ceased to function
as a government securities broker or dealer. Although Treasury's
recordkeeping requirement does not explicitly apply to foreign banks,
to Edge corporations, or to commercial lending companies that are owned
or controlled by foreign banks, the Board has the authority to ``issue
such rules and regulations with respect to transactions in government
securities as may be necessary to prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices and to promote just and equitable principles of
trade.'' \7\ Imposing a recordkeeping requirement on foreign banks,
Edge corporations, and commercial lending companies owned or controlled
by foreign banks is necessary for the public interest and protection of
investors in order to ensure that the proper notification has been
provided when these institutions are transacting in government
securities. In addition, the Board is authorized to impose
recordkeeping requirements on foreign banks,\8\ Edge corporations,\9\
and on commercial lending companies that are owned or controlled by
foreign
[[Page 40241]]
banks.\10\ The obligation to file the Form G-FIN and Form G-FINW with
the Board, and the obligation for the government securities broker or
dealer to retain a copy of the Form G-FIN and Form G-FINW, is mandatory
for those financial institutions for which the Board serves as the ARA,
unless the financial institution is exempt from the reporting
requirement under Treasury's regulations. The filing of these forms and
the records retention period is event-generated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-5(b)(3)(A). See 15 U.S.C. 78o-5(a)(1)(B).
\8\ 12 U.S.C. 3107 and 3108.
\9\ 12 U.S.C. 625.
\10\ 12 U.S.C. 3106, as applied through 12 U.S.C. 1844(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the Act, each ARA is instructed to make these forms available
to the SEC, and the SEC is instructed to make the notices available to
the public.\11\ Thus, the information collected on Form G-FIN and Form
G-FINW is ordinarily not treated as confidential.\12\ However, given
that Item 6 of Form G-FIN instructs the filer to attach copies of the
confidential Form G-FIN-4, or if applicable, to attach copies of any
previously filed confidential Form MSD-4 or confidential Form U-4, such
attachments may be treated as confidential by the Board under
exemptions 4 and/or 6 of the Freedom of Information Act.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-5(a)(l)(B)(iii).
\12\ The Board's Regulation H provides that any person filing
any statement, report, or document under the Act may submit written
objection to the public disclosure of the information when such
information is filed in accordance with the procedures provided in
12 CFR 208.36(d). In addition, if a respondent believes that
information disclosed on these forms constitutes nonpublic
commercial or financial information, which is both customarily and
actually treated as private by the respondent, the respondent may
request confidential treatment pursuant to exemption 4 of the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) pursuant to the Board's Rules
Regarding the Availability of Information, 12 CFR 261.15.
\13\ Generally, information provided on Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-
5 will be kept confidential from the public under exemption 6 of the
FOIA, which protects information in ``personnel and medical files
and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.'' 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6). In
addition, other information on Form MSD-4 and Form MSD-5, such as
the name of the municipal securities dealer that filed the form, may
be withheld under exemption 4 of the FOIA, if it constitutes
nonpublic commercial or financial information, which is both
customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent (e.g.,
if a municipal securities dealer recently hired or terminated a
number of municipal securities employees, disclosing these forms
could reveal competitively sensitive commercial information about
that dealer). 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). We note that FINRA's Form U-4
collects the social security number and other personally
identifiable information about an individual, which may be withheld
under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b. In addition, Treasury's Form
G-FIN-4 states ``[t]he Department of the Treasury and the
appropriate regulatory agencies regard the information provided by
each respondent on this form as confidential.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consultation outside the agency: The Board consulted with the FDIC,
OCC, and SEC in confirming that there were no changes needed to the
collection as part of this clearance.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 30, 2022.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2022-14375 Filed 7-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 6, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.