Notice2024-09149
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Services Surveys: BE-180, Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons
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
April 29, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentEconomic Analysis Bureau
Abstract
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 83 (Monday, April 29, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 83 (Monday, April 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33315-33317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09149]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Services Surveys: BE-180, Benchmark Survey of Financial
Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and
Foreign Persons
AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received on or before June 28, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of Economic
Analysis, by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2f4c475d465c5b405f474a5d015c5b4a46416f4d4a4e01484059"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="482b203a213b3c2738202d3a663b3c2d2126082a2d29662f273e">[email protected]</span></a> or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#94c4c6d5f7fbf9f9f1fae0e7d4f6f1f5baf3fbe2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b5e5e7f4d6dad8d8d0dbc1c6f5d7d0d49bd2dac3">[email protected]</span></a>.
Please reference OMB Control Number 0608-0062 in the subject line of
your comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
[[Page 33316]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
to Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of
Economic Analysis; 301-278-9189; or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#583b302a312b2c3728303d2a762b2c3d3136183a3d39763f372e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a19120813090e150a121f0854090e1f13143a181f1b541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions between
U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons (Form BE-180) is
a periodic survey, conducted every five years for reporting years
ending in ``4'' and ``9'', that collects data from U.S. persons who
engage in international trade in covered financial services
transactions. This mandatory benchmark survey, conducted under the
authority of the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey
Act, and section 5408 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of
1988, covers the universe of transactions in financial services with
foreign persons and is BEA's most comprehensive survey of such
transactions. The survey was last conducted in 2020, covering the 2019
reporting year. A response is required from U.S. persons subject to the
reporting requirements of the BE-180, whether or not they are contacted
by BEA, to ensure complete coverage of transactions in financial
services between U.S. and foreign persons. A U.S. person means any
individual, branch, partnership, associated group, association, estate,
trust, corporation, or other organization (whether or not organized
under the laws of any State), resident in the United States or subject
to the jurisdiction of the United States. A U.S. person must report if
they had transactions with foreign persons in the categories covered by
the survey during the 2024 calendar year. For U.S. persons that had
combined transactions that were $3 million or less in the financial
services categories covered by the survey for fiscal year 2024, a
completed benchmark would include totals for each type of transaction
in which they engaged. A U.S. person whose combined transactions with
foreign persons exceeded $3 million in the financial services
categories covered by the survey for fiscal year 2024, is required to
provide data on the total transactions of each of the covered types of
financial services transactions and must disaggregate the totals by
country and by relationship to the foreign counterparty (foreign
affiliate, foreign parent group, or unaffiliated).
The data are needed to monitor U.S. trade in financial services, to
analyze the impact of these cross-border services on the U.S. and
foreign economies, to compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts,
to support U.S. commercial policy on trade in services, to conduct
trade promotion, and to improve the ability of U.S. businesses to
identify and evaluate market opportunities. The data are used in
estimating the trade in financial services component of the U.S.
international transactions accounts (ITAs) and national income and
product accounts (NIPAs).
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is proposing to make
modifications to the survey for 2024 to further align BEA's statistics
with international guidelines and to collect additional information
that can be used to improve the current estimation methodologies for
published financial services transactions, increasing the quality and
usefulness of BEA's statistics on trade in financial services. To
evaluate the feasibility of these changes, BEA conducted outreach to a
sample of nine respondents to the Quarterly Survey of Financial
Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and
Foreign Persons (BE-185). Reporter feedback gathered substantiated the
ability of the respondents to comply with the additional data requests,
and that the survey changes should not impose a material increase in
reporting burden.
BEA does not plan to change the exemption levels used for the
previous benchmark survey for 2019.
BEA proposes to:
(1) Add a question on employment size class. This information would
be required of all survey respondents to aid in identifying the number
of small businesses reporting on the survey, and the volume of services
trade data reported by small businesses. These questions will help
BEA's broader effort to develop statistics to better track the economic
health and contributions on the nation's small businesses.
(2) Add a question to collect information on the largest states,
districts, or territories (up to three) for exports and imports of
services. This information would be required of all survey respondents
and will contribute to BEA's effort to produce estimates of the value
of exports and imports of services by U.S. state for the first time.
(3) Modify the remote services schedules (C and D) to better
capture trade in digitally delivered services. This will improve BEA's
estimates of U.S. trade in information and communications technology
(ICT) and potentially ICT-enabled services.
BEA will also align BE-180 transaction categories to incorporate
two minor modifications made to the BE-185 survey beginning with 2021
reporting: collecting brokerage services in the three separate
categories of (1) equity, (2) debt, and (3) other; and financial
advisory and custody services in two distinct categories for (1)
advisory, and (2) custody services. BEA also plans to eliminate
question 15, asking if the U.S. Reporter had cryptocurrency-related
transactions. This item is no longer necessary for BEA's effort to
measure financial services transactions associated with crypto
currency.
BEA estimates there will be no material impact on the average
filing burden. Proposals one and two should not affect burden because
BEA believes this data to be readily available in reporter records or
can be provided by many respondents based on recall, without the need
to search existing records. Additionally, proposal three is a minor
modification to data previously collected on the 2019 BE-180 benchmark
survey. The codes being aligned with transaction categories on the BE-
185 survey will have no material impact on burden because reporters are
already reporting in these categories on the BE-185 survey or have data
readily available (those companies only subject to filing in a
benchmark year) since the requirement was aggregate reporting on the
previous BE-180 filing.
The language in the instructions and definitions will be reviewed
and adjusted as necessary to clarify survey requirements.
II. Method of Collection
BEA will contact potential respondents by mail in January of 2025
to announce the upcoming benchmark survey. Respondents would then be
notified in May 2025 that a completed BE-180 form is due July 31, 2025.
Reports would be required from each U.S. person that had transactions
in the covered financial services with foreign persons during 2024. A
response is required from persons subject to the reporting requirements
of the BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions
between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons, whether
or not they are contacted by BEA.
BEA offers its electronic filing option, the eFile system, for use
in reporting on Form BE-180. For more information about eFile, go to
<a href="http://www.bea.gov/efile">www.bea.gov/efile</a>. In addition, BEA posts all its survey forms and
reporting instructions on its website, <a href="http://www.bea.gov/ssb">www.bea.gov/ssb</a>. These may
[[Page 33317]]
be downloaded, completed, printed, and submitted via fax or mail.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0608-0062.
Form Number(s): BE-180.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,000 annually (4,500 reporting
mandatory data and 1,500 that would file exemption claims or voluntary
responses).
Estimated Time per Response: 11 hours is the average for the 2,000
respondents filing data by country and affiliation; 2 hours for the
2,500 respondents filing data by transaction type only, and 1 hour for
those filing an exemption claim or other response. Hours may vary
considerably among respondents because of differences in company size
and complexity.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 28,500.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services
Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended) and
Section 5408 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-09149 Filed 4-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P
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