(a) Filing, disclosure,
and other requirements.
(1) General. Except as otherwise provided
in this section, a member bank whose securities are subject to registration
pursuant to section 12(b) or section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 (the 1934 act) (15 U.S.C. 78l(b) and (g)) shall
comply with the rules, regulations, and forms adopted by the Securities
and Exchange Commission (Commission) pursuant to—
(i) sections 10A(m), 12, 13, 14(a),
14(c), 14(d), 14(f), and 16 of the 1934 Act (15 U.S.C. 78f(m), 78l, 78m, 78n(a), (c), (d), and (f), and 78p); and
(ii) sections 302, 303, 304, 306, 401(b),
404, 406, and 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (codified at 15
U.S.C. 7241, 7242, 7243, 7244, 7261, 7262, 7264, and 7265).
(2) References
to the Commission. Any references to the “Securities and Exchange
Commission” or the “Commission” in the rules, regulations, and forms
described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall with respect to
securities issued by member banks be deemed to refer to the Board
unless the context otherwise requires.
3-286
(b) Elections permitted for member banks with total
assets of $150 million or less.
(1) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this
section or the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission
pursuant to the 1934 act, a member bank that has total assets of $150
million or less as of the end of its most recent fiscal year, and
no foreign offices, may elect to substitute for the financial statements
required by the Commission’s Form 10-Q, the balance sheet and income
statement from the quarterly report of condition required to be filed
by the bank with the Board under section 9 of the Federal Reserve
Act (12 U.S.C. 324) (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
Form 033 or 034).
3-287
(2) A member bank qualifying
for and electing to file financial statements from its quarterly report
of condition pursuant to paragraph (b)(1) of this section in its Form
10-Q shall include earnings per share or net loss per share data prepared
in accordance with GAAP and disclose any material contingencies, as
required by article 10 of the Commission’s Regulation S-X (17 CFR
210.10-01), in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations section of Form 10-Q.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(1) of
this section, a member bank may, from December 2, 2020, through December
31, 2021, make the election described in paragraph (b)(1) of this
section if it has no foreign offices and had total assets of $150
million or less, determined based on the lesser of total assets as
of December 31, 2019, and total assets as of the end of the bank’s
most recent fiscal year. The relief provided under this paragraph
(b)(3) of this section does not apply to a member bank if the Board
determines that permitting the member bank to determine its assets
in accordance with that paragraph would not be commensurate with the risk profile
of the member bank. When making this determination, the Board will
consider all relevant factors, including the extent of asset growth
of the member bank since December 31, 2019; the causes of such growth,
including whether growth occurred as a result of mergers or acquisitions;
whether such growth is likely to be temporary or permanent; whether
the member bank has become involved in any additional activities since
December 31, 2019; the asset size of any parent companies; and the
type of assets held by the member bank. In making a determination
pursuant to this paragraph (b)(3), the Board will apply notice and
response procedures in the same manner and to the same extent as the
notice and response procedures in 12 CFR 263.202.
3-288
(c) Required filings.
(1) Place and
timing of filing. All papers required to be filed with the Board,
pursuant to the 1934 act or regulations thereunder, shall be submitted
to the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551. Material may be filed by delivery to
the Board, through the mails, or otherwise. The date on which papers
are actually received by the Board shall be the date of filing thereof
if all of the requirements with respect to the filing have been complied
with.
(2) Filing fees. No filing fees specified by the Commission’s rules
shall be paid to the Board.
(3) Public inspection. Copies of the registration
statement, definitive proxy solicitation materials, reports, and annual
reports to shareholders required by this section (exclusive of exhibits)
shall be available for public inspection at the Board’s offices in
Washington, D.C., as well as at the Federal Reserve Banks of New York,
Chicago, and San Francisco and at the Reserve Bank in the District
in which the reporting bank is located.
3-289
(d) Confidentiality of filing. Any person filing
any statement, report, or document under the 1934 act may make written
objection to the public disclosure of any information contained therein
in accordance with the following procedure:
(1) The person shall omit from the statement,
report, or document, when it is filed, the portion thereof that the
person desires to keep undisclosed (hereinafter called the confidential
portion). The person shall indicate at the appropriate place in the
statement, report, or document that the confidential portion has been
so omitted and filed separately with the Board.
(2) The person shall file with the copies
of the statement, report, or document filed with the Board—
(i) as many copies of the confidential
portion, each clearly marked “CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT,” as there are
copies of the statement, report, or document filed with the Board.
Each copy of the confidential portion shall contain the complete text
of the item and, notwithstanding that the confidential portion does
not constitute the whole of the answer, the entire answer thereto;
except that in case the confidential portion is part of a financial
statement or schedule, only the particular financial statement or
schedule need be included. All copies of the confidential portion
shall be in the same form as the remainder of the statement, report,
or document; and
(ii) an application
making objection to the disclosure of the confidential portion. The
application shall be on a sheet or sheets separate from the confidential
portion, and shall—
(A)
identify the portion of the statement, report, or document that has
been omitted;
(B) include a statement
of the grounds of objection; and
(C)
include the name of each exchange, if any, with which the statement,
report, or document is filed.
(3) The copies of the confidential portion
and the application filed in accordance with this paragraph shall
be enclosed in a separate envelope marked “CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT”
and addressed to Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, Washington, D.C. 20551.
3-290
(4) Pending the determination by the Board on the objection filed
in accordance with this paragraph, the confidential portion shall
not be disclosed by the Board.
(5)
If the Board determines to sustain the objection, a notation to that
effect shall be made at the appropriate place in the statement, report,
or document.
(6) If the Board determines
not to sustain the objection because disclosure of the confidential
portion is in the public interest, a finding and determination to
that effect shall be entered and notice of the finding and determination
sent by registered or certified mail to the person.
3-291
(7) If the Board determines not to sustain
the objection, pursuant to paragraph (d)(6) of this section, the confidential
portion shall be made available to the public—
(i) 15 days after notice of the Board’s
determination not to sustain the objection has been given, as required
by paragraph (d)(6) of this section, provided that the person filing
the objection has not previously filed with the Board a written statement
that he intends, in good faith, to seek judicial review of the finding
and determination; or
(ii) 60
days after notice of the Board’s determination not to sustain the
objection has been given as required by paragraph (d)(6) of this section
and the person filing the objection has filed with the Board a written
statement of intent to seek judicial review of the finding and
determination, but has failed to file a petition for judicial review
of the Board’s determination; or
(iii) upon final judicial determination,
if adverse to the party filing the objection.
(8) If the confidential portion is made
available to the public, a copy thereof shall be attached to each
copy of the statement, report, or document filed with the Board.