Reports of investments filed periodically by certain domestic bank holding companies (BHCs), savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs), and financial holding companies (FHCs) would be revised and renewed for three years under a proposal by the Federal Reserve Board.
The Fed is proposing changes to the FR Y-12, the Consolidated Holding Company Report of Equity Investments in Nonfinancial Companies, filed by BHCs and SLHCs quarterly and semiannually; and the FR Y-12A, the Annual Report of Merchant Banking Investments Held for an Extended Period, filed by FHCs that hold merchant banking investments that are approaching the end of the holding periods permissible under the Fed’s Regulation Y.
The proposal, slated for publication Monday in the Federal Register, is out for a 60-day public comment period.
Two changes are proposed for both forms, with numerous others also slated for the FR Y-12A.
Both the the FR Y-12 and FR Y-12A would be revised under the Fed proposal to require that dollar values be reported in thousands instead of millions. Firms also would no longer be required to report the fax number of the person to be contacted regarding a report submission.
Additionally, the proposed changes to the FR Y-12A:
- add an item for the holding period expiration date of the covered investment,
- expand the scope of the item where a respondent indicates its plan and schedule for disposition of its covered investment,
- clarify that the top-tier FHC should be the filer for each submitted report,
- add an item for the RSSD ID of the direct holder of the covered investment,
- clarify that an FHC needs to continue to file the report until it ceases to hold the covered investment, and
- make other minor clarifications throughout the instructions.
Regarding dollar values reported, amounts reported on the current forms that that are less than $500,000 are round down and are reported as $0. In the case of the FR Y-12A report, this complicates the Fed’s ability, without knowing the dollar value of the covered investment, to assess a respondent’s plan for disposing of the investment. For consistency between the FR Y-12 and FR Y-12A reports, the Fed Board is proposing that values be reported in the millions for both reports.
The proposed revisions to the FR Y-12 would be effective for the March 30, 2019, report date. The proposed revisions to the FR Y-12A would be effective for the December 31, 2019, report date.
The Fed Board invites public comment specifically on:
- whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the board’s functions, including whether the information has practical utility;
- the accuracy of the board’s estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
- ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
- 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
- estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request