FRK2_20240730_omb

Supporting Statement for the
International Applications and Prior Notifications under Subpart B of Regulation K
(FR K-2; OMB No. 7100-0284)
Summary
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), under authority
delegated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has extended for three years,
without revision, the International Applications and Prior Notifications under Subpart B of
Regulation K (FR K-2; OMB No. 7100-0284). Under the International Banking Act of 1978
(IBA), foreign banks are required to obtain the prior approval of the Board to establish a branch,
agency, or representative office in the United States; to establish or acquire ownership or control
of a commercial lending company in the United States; or to change the status of an agency or
limited branch to a branch in the United States. The Board uses the information from the FR K-2
in connection with these applications and to supervise foreign banks with offices1 in the United
States.
The estimated total annual burden for the FR K-2 is 372 hours. The form and instructions
are available on the Board’s public website at
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportingforms.
Background and Justification
Subpart B of Regulation K, Foreign Banking Organizations (12 CFR Part 211,
Subpart B), governs the U.S. activities of foreign banking organizations. It implements the IBA
and provisions of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and sets forth rules under which
foreign banks establish and operate U.S. offices and certain foreign banking organizations that
have U.S. commercial and industrial holdings. Generally, the IBA and Regulation K provide that
a foreign bank may not establish a branch, agency, or representative office in the United States or
acquire ownership or control of a commercial lending company in the United States, unless the
Board finds that the foreign bank is subject to comprehensive supervision on a consolidated basis
by the bank’s home country supervisor and engages directly in the business of banking outside of
the United States. Even if these conditions are not met, the Board may approve an application by
a foreign bank to establish a U.S. branch or agency if (1) the appropriate authorities in the home
country of such foreign bank are working to establish arrangements for the consolidated
supervision of such bank and (2) all other factors are consistent with approval.2
The various attachments to the FR K-2 instructions specify the information a foreign
bank must include when submitting an application or prior notice under Subpart B of
Regulation K. The information required in the instructions pertains only to the specific activity
proposed. The information reported on the FR K-2 is not available from any other source.
The term “office” means any branch, agency, or representative office, or a commercial lending company subsidiary
of a foreign bank in the United States.
2 In deciding whether to approve an application under this lesser standard, the Board also considers whether the
foreign bank has adopted and implemented procedures to combat money laundering, and whether the home country
supervisor is developing a legal regime to address money laundering.
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Description of Information Collection
The FR K-2 reporting form consists of a cover sheet and the following 5 attachments for
the application and notification requirements in Subpart B of Regulation K:
• Attachment A Information Requested in Connection with Applications by Foreign Banks
to Establish Branches, Agencies, or Commercial Lending Companies in
the United States (Section 211.24(a)(1) of Regulation K),
• Attachment B Information Requested in Connection with Applications by Foreign Banks
to Establish Representative Offices in the United States (Section
211.24(a)(1) of Regulation K),
• Attachment C Information Requested in Connection with Notifications by Foreign Banks
to Establish Branches, Agencies, or Commercial Lending Companies in
the United States (Section 211.24(a)(2)(i)(A) of Regulation K),
• Attachment D Information Requested in Connection with Notifications by Foreign Banks
to Establish Representative Offices in the United States (Section
211.24(a)(2)(i)(B)(1) - (3) of Regulation K), and
• Attachment E Commitments Required in Connection with Applications and
Notifications by Foreign Banks to Establish Branches, Agencies,
Commercial Lending Companies, or Representative Offices in the United
States.
The applicant foreign bank must describe the proposed office or commercial lending
company subsidiary, including the types of business to be conducted and the types of services to
be offered. The applicant must also describe the home country bank regulatory and supervisory
framework and any secrecy laws or other impediments that would restrict the ability of the
applicant and its ultimate parent(s) to provide information to the Board as needed. In addition,
the applicant must describe any relevant home-country laws or regulations or measures adopted
by the applicant to deter money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illicit activities. Finally,
the applicant must provide information about its operations, structure, and ownership, including
a complete organization chart, financial information, and information regarding certain of the
bank’s senior officers, major shareholders, and proposed management of the U.S. office.
Applicants are also required to publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in
the community where the office is proposed to be located.3 The newspaper notice must state the
name and address of the applicant/notificant and the proposed office, and it must invite the
public to submit written comments to the appropriate Reserve Bank.
A foreign bank and its ultimate parent(s) submitting an application to establish branches,
agencies, and commercial lending companies in the United States (Attachment A) or a
notification to establish representative offices in the United States (Attachment D) must also
provide commitments to (1) generally make available to the Board such information on the
operations of the bank and any of its affiliates that the Board deems necessary to enforce
applicable law and (2) consent to jurisdiction in the United States in any manner arising under
U.S. banking law (Attachment E). Information already provided in applications filed with state
or federal bank regulatory authorities or otherwise previously provided to the Federal Reserve
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12 CFR 211.24(b)(2).

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may be used to meet the information requirements of the FR K-2. The Board understands that
respondents use information technology to comply with these provisions, including submitting
applications electronically through the Federal Reserve System’s FedEZFile platform
(https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/afi/afi.htm).4
Respondent Panel
The FR K-2 panel comprises foreign banks, which are required to obtain the prior
approval of the Board to establish a branch, agency, or representative office in the United States;
to establish or acquire ownership or control of a commercial lending company in the United
States; or to change the status of any existing office in the United States.
Frequency and Time Schedule
The FR K-2 is event-generated. These applications and notifications are event-generated.
The applying or notifying organization submits the FR K-2 information collection in accordance
with the application and notification requirements embodied in Subpart B of Regulation K to the
Federal Reserve Bank with supervisory responsibility for that foreign bank.5
Public Availability of Data
With regard to the FR K-2, the Board publishes certain information regarding the parties
to and structure of the associated transaction in its H.2 release. The Board does not routinely
publicly release information collected through the FR K-2. The Board may release nonconfidential information included in the FR K-2 upon request, pursuant to the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA).
Legal Status
The FR K-2 is authorized pursuant to sections 7, 10, and 13 of the IBA (12 U.S.C. §§
3105, 3107, and 3108). The applications and notifications comprising FR K-2 are required to
obtain a benefit.
The Board does not routinely publicly release information collected through the FR K-2.
With regard to applications filed using the FR K-2, the Board publishes certain information
regarding the parties to and structure of the associated transactions in its H.2 release. To the
extent a respondent submits nonpublic commercial or financial information in connection with
the FR K-2, which is both customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent, the
respondent may request confidential treatment pursuant to exemption 4 of the FOIA (5 U.S.C. §
552(b)(4)). To the extent a respondent submits information that is matter contained in or related
to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an

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The FR K-2 application may alternatively be submitted in paper form, however applicants are strongly encouraged
to submit applications though FedEZFile.
5 If the foreign bank does not currently operate in the United States, the application is submitted to the Federal
Reserve Bank in whose district the proposed office will be located.

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agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions, the information
would be confidential pursuant to exemption 8 of the FOIA (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(8)).
Consultation Outside the Agency
There has been no consultation outside the Federal Reserve System.
Public Comments
On March 29, 2024, the Board published an initial notice in the Federal Register (89 FR
22149) requesting public comment for 60 days on the extension, without revision, of the FR K-2.
The comment period for this notice expired on May 28, 2024. The Board did not receive any
comments. The Board adopted the extension, without revision, of the FR K-2 as originally
proposed. On July 30, 2024, the Board published a final notice in the Federal Register (89 FR
61116).
Estimate of Respondent Burden
As shown in the table below, the estimated total annual burden for the FR K-2 is 372
hours. The reporting burden is based on the number of responses received during a typical year.
The disclosure burden reflects the amount of time required to fulfill the newspaper publication
requirement. The burden estimate was produced using the standard Board burden calculation
methodology. These reporting and disclosure requirements represent less than 1 percent of the
Board’s total paperwork burden.

FR K-2
Reporting
Disclosure

Estimated
number of
respondents6

Estimated
annual
frequency

Estimated
average hours
per response

Estimated
annual burden
hours

13
13

1
1

27.5
1.1

358
14

Total

372

The estimated total annual cost to the public for the FR K-2 is $25,984.7

6

Of these respondents, none are considered small entities as defined by the Small Business Administration (i.e.,
entities with less than $850 million in total assets). Size standards effective March 17, 2023. See
https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards.
7 Total cost to the responding public is estimated using the following formula: total burden hours, multiplied by the
cost of staffing, where the cost of staffing is calculated as a percent of time for each occupational group multiplied
by the group’s hourly rate and then summed (30% Office & Administrative Support at $23, 45% Financial
Managers at $84, 15% Lawyers at $85, and 10% Chief Executives at $124). Hourly rates for each occupational
group are the (rounded) mean hourly wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Occupational Employment
and Wages, May 2023, published April 3, 2024, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm. Occupations are
defined using the BLS Standard Occupational Classification System, https://www.bls.gov/soc/.

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Sensitive Questions
This information collection contains no questions of a sensitive nature, as defined by
OMB guidelines.
Estimate of Cost to the Federal Reserve System
The estimated cost to the Federal Reserve System for collecting and processing the
FR K-2 is negligible.

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