Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FDIC, 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

[[Page 40526]]

comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as

required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Currently, the FDIC is soliciting comments concerning an information

collection titled ``Application for Consent to Reduce or Retire

Capital.''

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 29, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to

Steven F. Hanft, FDIC Clearance Officer, (202) 898-3907, Office of the

Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th

Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20429. Comments may be hand-delivered to

the guard station at the rear of the 17th Street building (located on F

Street), on business days between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Fax number

(202) 808-3838; Internet address: [email protected]]). All comments

should refer to ``Application for Consent to Reduce or Retire

Capital.''

A copy of the comments may also be submitted to the OMB desk

officer for the FDIC: Alexander Hunt, Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive

Office Building, Room 3208, Washington, D.C. 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven F. Hanft, at the address identified above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal to renew the following currently approved collection of

information:

Title: Application for Consent to Reduce or Retire Capital.

OMB Number: 3064-0079.

Frequency of Response: Occasional.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 125.

Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 125 hours.

General Description Of the Collection: Section 18(i) of the Federal

Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1828(i)) states that no insured state

nonmember bank shall, without the prior consent of the FDIC, reduce the

amount or retire any part of its common or preferred capital stock, or

retire any part of its capital notes or debentures. In granting or

withholding consent under section 18(i) of the FDI Act, the FDIC is

required to consider the following: (a) the financial history and

condition of the bank, (b) the adequacy of its capital structure, (c)

its future earnings prospects (d) the general character and fitness of

its management, (e) the convenience and needs of the community to be

served, and (f) whether or not its corporate powers are consistent with

the purpose of the Act. To carry out this statutory responsibility, the

FDIC requires the banks it supervises to submit letter applications

that convey information about planned capital reductions. The FDIC

evaluates the information contained in an application and makes a

decision to grant or withhold consent based on the statutory

considerations.

Request for Comment

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance of the FDIC's functions,

including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the

accuracy of the estimates of the burden of the 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; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information

collection on respondents, including through the use of automated

collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations

received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the

collection should be modified prior to submission to OMB for review and

approval. Comments submitted in response to this notice also will be

summarized or included in the FDIC's requests to OMB for renewal of

this collection. All comments will become a matter of public record.

Dated at Washington, D.C., this 23rd day of July 1997.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Robert E. Feldman,

Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-19881 Filed 7-28-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6714-01-M