Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
1506-0043 Foreign Shell Bank Cert- Supporting Statement 04182022 Final.docx Supporting Statement A	2022-04-19

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
15355	Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process Other-Optional Certification Form	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1506-0043	ICR Reference No: 202204-1506-001
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 201808-1506-013
Agency/Subagency: TREAS/FINCEN	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 04/29/2022

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	04/30/2022
Responses	17,392	27,000
Time Burden (Hours)	260,880	306,000
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

---

Abstract: 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.

---

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 31 USC 5318(j) and (k) Name of Law: Bank Secrecy Act
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

---

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

---

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	87 FR 7919	02/10/2022
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	87 FR 25353	04/28/2022
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

---

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process

---

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	17,392	27,000	0	0	-9,608	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	260,880	306,000	0	0	-45,120	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: 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 bank’s 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.

---

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

---

Common Form ICR:  No

---

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:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(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;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

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.

Certification Date: 04/29/2022

---