Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Renewal; Comment Request; Market Risk

AGENCY:

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

Under the PRA, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice.

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, “Market Risk.”

DATES:

You should submit written comments by: October 9, 2015.

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: 1557-0247, 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 prainfo@occ.treas.gov. 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. Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present valid government-issued photo identification and 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, Clearance Officer, (202) 649-5490, 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., Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The OCC is requesting extension of OMB approval for this collection. There have been no changes to the requirements of the regulations.

Title: Market Risk.

OMB Control No.: 1557-0247.

Description: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) market risk capital rules (12 CFR part 3, subpart F) capture positions for which the market risk capital rules are appropriate; reduce procyclicality in market risk capital requirements; enhance the rules' sensitivity to risks that are not adequately captured under the current regulatory measurement methodologies; and increase transparency through enhanced disclosures.

The information collection requirements are located at 12 CFR 3.203 through 3.212. The rules enhance risk sensitivity and include requirements for the public disclosure of certain qualitative and quantitative information about the market risk of national banks and federal savings associations. The collection of information is necessary to ensure capital adequacy appropriate for the level of market risk.

Section 3.203 sets forth the requirements for applying the market risk framework. Section 3.203(a)(1) requires national banks and federal savings associations to have clearly defined policies and procedures for determining which trading assets and trading liabilities are trading positions and specifies the factors a national bank or federal savings association must take into account in drafting those policies and procedures. Section 3.203(a)(2) requires national banks and federal savings associations to have clearly defined trading and hedging strategies for trading positions that are approved by senior management and specifies what the strategies must articulate. Section 3.203(b)(1) requires national banks and federal savings associations to have clearly defined policies and procedures for actively managing all covered positions and specifies the minimum requirements for those policies and procedures. Sections 3.203(c)(4) through 3.203(c)(10) require the annual review of internal models and specify certain requirements for those models. Section 3.203(d) requires the internal audit group of a national bank or federal savings association to prepare an annual report to the board of directors on the effectiveness of controls supporting the market risk measurement systems.

Section 3.204(b) requires national banks and federal savings associations to conduct quarterly backtesting. Section 3.205(a)(5) requires institutions to demonstrate to the OCC the appropriateness of proxies used to capture risks within value-at-risk models. Section 3.205(c) requires institutions to develop, retain, and make available to the OCC value-at-risk and profit and loss information on sub-portfolios for two years. Section 3.206(b)(3) requires national banks and federal savings associations to have policies and procedures that describe how they determine the period of significant financial stress used to calculate the institution's stressed value-at-risk models and to obtain prior OCC approval for any material changes to these policies and procedures.

Section 3.207(b)(1) details requirements applicable to a national bank or federal savings association when the national bank or federal savings association uses internal models to measure the specific risk of certain covered positions. Section 3.208 requires national banks and federal savings associations to obtain prior written OCC approval for incremental risk modeling. Section 3.209(a) requires prior OCC approval for the use of a comprehensive risk measure. Section 3.209(c)(2) requires national banks and federal savings associations to retain and report the results of supervisory stress testing. Section 3.210(f)(2)(i) requires national banks and federal savings associations to document an internal analysis of the risk characteristics of each securitization position in order to demonstrate an understanding of the position. Section 3.212 requires quarterly quantitative disclosures, annual qualitative disclosures, and a formal disclosure policy approved by the board of directors that addresses the approach for determining the market risk disclosures it makes.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection. Affected Public: Individuals; Businesses or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents: 13.

Estimated Burden per Respondent: 1,964 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Burden: 25,532 hours.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized, included in the request for OMB approval, and 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 burden of the collection of information;

(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.