Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process
Extension without change of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
04/29/2022
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
04/30/2022
17,392
27,000
260,880
306,000
0
0
31 U.S.C. 5318(j) prohibits covered financial institutions from maintaining correspondent accounts in the United States for, or on behalf of, foreign banks that do not have a physical presence in any country. In addition, under 31 U.S.C. 5318(k), a covered financial institution maintaining a correspondent account in the United States for a foreign bank must retain records identifying (i) the owners of record and the beneficial owners of the foreign bank, and (ii) the name and address of a person residing in the United States who is authorized to accept service of legal process for the foreign bank. The regulations implementing 31 U.S.C. 5318(j) and 31 U.S.C. 5318(k) appear at 31 CFR 1010.630.
The estimated total annual burden hours decreased from 306,000 hours in 2018 to 260,880 hours in 2022. When FinCEN renewed OMB control number 1506-0043 in 2018 it estimated that 2,000 covered financial institutions would obtain and maintain 9,000 certification and recertification forms from foreign banks, and estimated the burden per certification/recertification form would be 34 hours per form. In 2022, FinCEN estimated that 8,696 covered financial institutions would obtain and maintain 17,392 certification and recertification forms from foreign banks, and estimated the burden per certification/recertification form would be 15 hours per form. In 2018, the estimate included an annual estimate of the following three items: (i) 20 hours to complete a certification for a foreign bank; (ii) 5 hours to complete a recertification for a foreign bank; and (iii) 9 hours to maintain records on the foreign bankâs certification/recertification. In 2022, FinCEN revised its estimate to incorporate the recordkeeping component of the burden estimate within the certification and recertification process. FinCEN also revised its assessment of the time necessary to conduct a recertification, as the process is identical to a certification. For those reasons, FinCEN is estimating the burden for a certification and corresponding recordkeeping is 15 hours; and the burden for a recertification and corresponding recordkeeping is also 15 hours. The decrease in burden is a combination of an increase in the estimated number of certification/recertification forms from 9,000 in 2018 to 17,392 in 2022 and a decrease in the estimated burden per certification/recertification form from 34 hours per form in 2018 to 15 hours per form in 2022.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
1506-0043 Foreign Shell Bank Cert- Supporting Statement 04182022 Final.docx
Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process