SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements 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 ( printed page 28048) information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.

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 Collection

Report title: Notice of Proposed Stock Redemption.

Agency form number: FR 4008.

OMB control number: 7100-0131.

Frequency: Event-generated.

Respondents: Bank holding companies.

Estimated number of respondents: 8.

Estimated average hours per response: 15.5 hours.

Estimated annual burden hours: 124 hours.

General description of report: The Bank Holding Company Act (BHC Act) and Board's Regulation Y require a bank holding company (BHC) to seek the prior approval of the Board before purchasing or redeeming its equity securities in certain circumstances. Due to the limited information that a BHC must provide in connection with any such request, there is no required reporting form (the FR 4008 designation is for internal purposes only), and each request for prior approval must be filed as a notification with the Reserve Bank that has direct supervisory responsibility for the requesting BHC. The Federal Reserve uses the information provided in the redemption notice to supervise BHCs.

Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 4008 is authorized pursuant to sections 5(b) and (c) of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1844(b) and (c)). Section 5(b) of the BHC Act, as amended by section 616 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act),^[1] generally authorizes the Board to, among other things, issue capital regulations that are necessary to administer and carry out the purposes of the BHC Act and prevent evasions thereof. Section 5(c) of the BHC Act generally authorizes the Board to, among other things, require reports from BHCs on a range of issues. The FR 4008 is required for some BHCs to obtain the benefit of being able to purchase or redeem their equity securities.

Individual respondents may request that data submitted be kept confidential on a case-by-case basis. If a respondent requests confidential treatment, the Board will determine whether the information is entitled to confidential treatment on an ad hoc basis. Requests may include information related to the BHC's business operations, such as terms and sources of the funding for the redemption and pro forma balance sheets. This information may be kept confidential under exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, which protects privileged or confidential commercial or financial information.^[2]

84 FR 28047