Supporting Statement
Recordkeeping Requirements for Securities Transactions – 12 CFR 12
OMB Control Number 1557-0142
A. Justification.
1. Circumstances that make the collection necessary:
12 CFR part 12 was issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) subsequent to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Final Report on Bank Securities Activities, and its provisions in part reflect the recommendations of the SEC in their report. Similar requirements were adopted simultaneously by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
The SEC study was conducted and reports prepared pursuant to the mandate of section 11A(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Pub. L. 94-29). Section 11A(e) provides in part:
The Commission is authorized and directed to make a study of the extent to which persons excluded from the definitions of “broker” and “dealer” maintain accounts on behalf of public customers for buying and selling securities registered under Section 12 of this title and whether such exclusions are consistent with the protection of the investors and the other purposes of this title.
As a result of its mandated study, the SEC concluded that there were differences in the regulatory approach between broker-dealers, and banks that effect securities transactions for customers, but are exempt from the definition of broker-dealer under the provisions of the Exchange Act.
It was to address these differences that part 12 was prepared and adopted. The regulation ensures national bank compliance with securities laws and improves the protection afforded persons who purchase and sell securities through banks. Prior to the enactment of part 12 and its counterpart regulations, no uniform system existed for the handling of customer security transactions by banks. Some banks had no established procedures. Information provided to customers regarding transactions varied widely from bank to bank. Recordkeeping practices also varied widely. In many banks, the audit trail was inadequate or non-existent. The situation raised two major concerns:
Inadequate disclosure of information to customers – Customers had to rely on the expertise of the bank and had to trust that the bank was acting in their best interest.
Potential for fraudulent practices – In many banks, no controls existed to discourage or detect such practices, and if fraudulent practices were suspected, no audit trail and, therefore, no evidence existed to prove or disprove the suspicions.
The conduct of broker-dealers is governed by the various statutes administered by the SEC, principally the Exchange Act of 1934, and by SEC rules, regulations, and reporting and inspection requirements. The general effect of this regulatory pattern is to require broker-dealers to adhere to specific requirements and procedures designed to promote the protection of investors and the maintenance of fair and efficient markets. In consideration of the inequality in regulatory requirements between broker-dealers and banks which effect securities transactions for customers, part 12 and its counterpart regulations were adopted to bring the banking industry into conformity with the standards of the securities industry for effecting securities transactions. (See generally the confirmation requirements of the Exchange Act and Exchange Act Rules 17a and 17a-4 on recordkeeping requirements).
Under 12 U.S.C. 92a, the OCC is granted supervisory responsibility for national bank trust activities. Further, under 12 U.S.C. 93a, the OCC is granted authority to prescribe rules and regulations to carry out its responsibilities. The requirements of part 12 are necessary for the OCC to effectively carry out its statutory responsibilities with regard to trust activities.
2. Use of the information:
These recordkeeping requirements serve to establish an audit trail. That audit trail is used by the OCC in its regulatory examinations as a tool to evaluate a national bank’s compliance with the anti-fraud provisions of the Federal securities laws. Further, the records provide a basis for adequate disclosure to customers who effect securities transactions through national banks.
3. Consideration of the use of improved information technology:
A national bank may use any software or hardware that allows for the creation of an adequate audit trail. While some banks have very high volumes of activity and other banks have significantly less volume, most banks are automated to a significant extent.
4. Efforts to identify duplication:
This recordkeeping requirement is not duplicative of any other requirement imposed on national banks.
5. Methods used to minimize burden on small entities:
Part 12 imposes the minimum burden possible in keeping with the OCC’s supervisory and public protection responsibilities.
6. Consequences to the Federal program if the collection were conducted less frequently:
Less frequent collection would not comply with applicable statutes, would be inadequate for OCC purposes, and could impair the OCC’s bank supervisory program.
7. Special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with 5 CFR Part 1320:
None. The information collection is conducted in accordance with the requirements of 5 CFR Part 1320.
8. Efforts to consult with persons outside the agency:
On January 13, 2009, the OCC published a Notice in the Federal Register soliciting comments on the proposed extension of OMB approval of this information collection (74 FR 1762). The OCC received no public comments.
9. Payment or gift to respondents:
None.
10. Any assurance of confidentiality:
No information is reported to the OCC. Any information reviewed is treated in the same confidential manner that other examination-related information is treated.
11. Justification for questions of a sensitive nature:
There are no questions of a sensitive nature.
12. Burden estimate:
The OCC estimates that 497 national banks will be subject to the requirements of part 12. All of these banks have trust departments. The burden is estimated as follows:
Cite and Burden Type |
Information Collection Requirements in 12 CFR Part 12 |
Number of Respondents |
Average Hours Per Response |
Estimated Burden Hours |
12 CFR 12.3 Recordkeeping (usual and customary) |
Recordkeeping. – Record maintenance may include the use of automated or electronic records provided the records are easily retrievable, readily available for inspection and capable of being reproduced in hard copy. A national bank effecting securities transactions for customers shall maintain the following records for at least three years:
|
497
|
1 hour
|
497 hours
|
12 CFR 12.4 and 12.5 Disclosure (usual and customary)
|
Content and time of notification – Unless a national bank elects to provide notification by one of the means specified in § 12.5, a national bank effecting a securities transaction for a customer shall give or send to the customer either of the following types of notifications at or before completion of the transaction, or if the bank uses a registered broker/dealer’s confirmation, within one business day from the bank’s receipt of the registered broker/dealer’s confirmation:
Notification by agreement; alternative forms and times of notification – A national bank may elect to use the following notification procedures as an alternative to complying with § 12.4:
|
497
|
1 hour
|
497 hours
|
12 CFR 12.7(a)(1)- (3) Recordkeeping |
Securities trading policies and procedures – A national bank effecting securities transactions for customers is required to maintain and adhere to policies and procedures that assign responsibility for supervision of employees who perform securities trading functions; provide for the fair and equitable allocation of securities prices to accounts; and provide for the crossing of buy and sell orders on a fair and equitable basis.
|
13
497
|
8 hours
2 hours |
104 hours
996 hours
|
12 CFR 12.7(a)(4) and 12.7(b) Reporting (usual and customary) |
Securities trading policies and procedures – A national bank effecting securities transactions for customers shall require bank officers and employees to report to the bank, within ten business days after the end of the calendar quarter, all personal transactions in securities made by them or on their behalf in which they have a beneficial interest, if the officers and employees: 1) make investment recommendations or decisions for the accounts of customers; 2) participate in the determination of the recommendations or decisions; or 3) in connection with their duties, obtain information concerning which securities are purchased, sold, or recommended for purchase or sale by the bank. The report must contain: 1) the date of the transaction, the title and number of shares, and the principal amount of each security; 2) the nature of the transaction (i.e., purchase, sale, or other type of acquisition or disposition); 3) the price at which the transaction was effected; and 4) the name of the registered broker, registered dealer, or bank with or through whom the transaction was effected. |
497
|
1 hour
|
497 hours
|
12 CFR 12.8 Reporting |
Waivers – A national bank may file a written request with the OCC for waiver of one or more of the requirements set forth in §§ 12.2 through 12.7, either in whole or in part. |
3
|
40 hour
|
120 hours
|
Total
|
|
497 respondents |
|
2,711 hours |
Cost of Hour Burden to Respondents:
The OCC estimates the cost of the hour burden to respondents (by wage rate categories) as follows
Clerical ($20/hour): 80% x 2,711 hours = 2,168.8 hours @ $20 = $ 43,376
Managerial/technical ($40/hour): 20% x 2,711 hours = 542.2 hours @ $40 = $ 21,688
Senior Management ($80/hour): not applicable
Legal Counsel ($100/hour): not applicable
Total cost of hour burden to respondents: $ 65,064
13. Estimate of total annual costs to respondents (excluding cost of hour burden in Item #12):
None.
14. Estimate of annualized costs to the Federal government:
None.
15. Change in burden:
Former burden:
585 respondents/recordkeepers; 2,369 responses; 3,207 burden hours
New burden:
497 respondents/recordkeepers; 2,004 responses; 2,711 burden hours
Difference:
- 88 respondents/recordkeepers; - 365 responses; - 496 burden hours (adjustment)
16. Information regarding collections whose results are to be published for statistical use:
The OCC has no plans to publish the information for statistical purposes.
17. Reasons for not displaying OMB approval expiration date:
Not applicable.
18. Exceptions to the certification statement in Item 19 of OMB Form 83-I:
None.
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.
Not applicable.
File Type | application/msword |
File Title | Supporting Statement |
Author | Administrator |
Last Modified By | OCC |
File Modified | 2009-03-05 |
File Created | 2009-02-02 |