80 FR 38276 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations Report on Closure by U.S. Financial Institutions of Correspondent Accounts and Payable-Through Accounts

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Foreign Assets Control

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 127 (July 2, 2015)

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning OFAC's Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations Report on Closure by U.S. Financial Institutions of Correspondent Accounts and Payable-Through Accounts.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 127 (Thursday, July 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38276-38277]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16370]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Foreign Assets Control


Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Iranian Financial 
Sanctions Regulations Report on Closure by U.S. Financial Institutions 
of Correspondent Accounts and Payable-Through Accounts

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general 
public and other federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). 
Currently, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the 
Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning OFAC's 
Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations Report on Closure by U.S. 
Financial Institutions of Correspondent Accounts and Payable-Through 
Accounts.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 31, 2015 
to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions on the Web site for submitting comments.
    Fax: Attn: Request for Comments (Iranian Financial Sanctions 
Regulations Report on Closure by U.S. Financial Institutions of 
Correspondent Accounts and Payable-Through Accounts) 202-622-1657.
    Mail: Attn: Request for Comments (Iranian Financial Sanctions 
Regulations Report on Closure by U.S. Financial Institutions of 
Correspondent Accounts and Payable-Through Accounts), Office of Foreign 
Assets Control, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20220.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and the Federal Register Doc. number that appears at the end of this 
document. Comments received will be made available to the public via 
regulations.gov or upon request, without change and including any 
personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Assistant Director for Licensing, 
tel.: 202-622-2480, Assistant Director for Policy, tel.: 202-622-2746, 
Assistant

[[Page 38277]]

Director for Regulatory Affairs, tel.: 202-622-4855, Assistant Director 
for Sanctions Compliance & Evaluation, tel.: 202-622-2490, Office of 
Foreign Assets Control, or Chief Counsel (Foreign Assets Control), 
tel.: 202-622-2410, Office of the General Counsel, Department of the 
Treasury (not toll free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations Report on Closure by 
U.S. Financial Institutions of Correspondent Accounts and Payable-
Through Accounts.
    OMB Number: 1505-0243.
    Abstract: Section 561.504(b) of the Iranian Financial Sanctions 
Regulations, 31 CFR part 561 (the IFSR), specifies that a U.S. 
financial institution that maintained a correspondent account or 
payable-through account for a foreign financial institution whose name 
is added to the part 561 List on OFAC's Web site (www.treasury.gov/ofac) as subject to a prohibition on the maintaining of such accounts 
must file a report with OFAC that provides full details on the closing 
of each such account within 30 days of the closure of the account. This 
collection of information assists in verifying that U.S. financial 
institutions are complying with prohibitions on maintaining 
correspondent accounts or payable-through accounts for foreign 
financial institutions listed on the part 561 List. The reports will be 
reviewed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and may be used for 
compliance and enforcement purposes by the agency.
    Current Actions: There are no changes being made to the notice at 
this time.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: U.S. financial institutions operating 
correspondent or payable-through accounts for foreign financial 
institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The likely respondents and record-
keepers affected by this collection of information in Sec.  561.504(b) 
are U.S. financial institutions operating correspondent accounts or 
payable through accounts for foreign financial institutions. Since the 
date this reporting requirement was added to the IFSR (February 27, 
2012) through June 18, 2015, OFAC added the names of two foreign 
financial institutions to the part 561 List, of which one remains. The 
number of respondents to this collection has been zero. For future 
notices, OFAC will continue to report retrospectively on the number of 
respondents during the reporting period.
    Estimated Time per Respondent: 2 hours per response.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: Because the Sec.  561.504(b) 
reporting requirement applies to those U.S. financial institutions that 
operate correspondent or payable-through accounts for a foreign 
financial institution whose name is added to the part 561 List, OFAC 
cannot predict the response rate for the Sec.  561.504(b) reporting 
requirement at this time. Since the date this reporting requirement was 
added to the IFSR (February 27, 2012) through June 18, 2015, the number 
of respondents to this collection has been zero. For future notices, 
OFAC will continue to report retrospectively on the response rate 
during the previous reporting period.
    The following paragraph applies to all of the collections of 
information covered by this notice:
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
information displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
control number. Books or records relating to a collection of 
information must be retained for five years.

Request for Comments

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments 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 agency, including whether the information has 
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the collection of information, 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 the collection of information 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.

John E. Smith,
Acting Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
[FR Doc. 2015-16370 Filed 7-1-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-AL-P