[Federal Register: March 28, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 60)]
[Notices]               
[Page 16945-16946]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28mr01-59]                         

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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

[Docket No. R-1098]

 
Pro Forma Financial Statements For Federal Reserve Priced 
Services

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Board requests comment on a proposal to discontinue the 
quarterly publication of interim pro forma financial statements for 
Federal Reserve priced services (pro formas). The Board believes 
information provided in the quarterly pro formas are of little value to 
parties interested in the Federal Reserve's priced-services financial 
results because it does not provide a relevant long-term cost-recovery 
assessment.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by April 23, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments, which should refer to Docket No. R-1098, may be 
mailed to Ms. Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20551 or 
mailed electronically to regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. Comments 
addressed to Ms. Johnson also may be delivered to the Board's mail room 
between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. and to the security control room 
outside of those hours. Both the mail room and the security control 
room are accessible from the courtyard entrance on 20th Street between 
Constitution Avenue and C Street, NW. Comments may be inspected in Room 
MP-500 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. weekdays, pursuant to 
Sec. 261.12, except as provided in Sec. 261.14 of the Board's Rules 
Regarding Availability of Information, 12 CFR 261.12 and 261.14.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory L. Evans, Manager (202/452-
3945); or Elizabeth Miyagi, Financial Analyst (202/452-2222), Division 
of Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Currently, the Board publishes pro forma 
financial statements for Federal Reserve priced services (pro formas) 
for the first, second, and third quarters each year in the Federal 
Reserve Bulletin and the annual pro formas in the Annual Report of the 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 
    The Monetary Control Act of 1980 (MCA) requires the Federal Reserve 
to set fees for its priced services to recover, over the long term, its 
actual costs of providing the services, as well as imputed costs and 
profits. Although it is not required by MCA, the Board has published 
the pro formas since 1984 to provide information to the public in a 
manner that is similar to the information published by other service 
providers.
    The Federal Reserve uses a ten-year cost recovery rate as a 
benchmark to assess Reserve Bank compliance with MCA. The Board 
believes the ten-year historical recovery rate, together with the 
annual pro formas published in the Board's Annual Report and the 
additional cost-recovery information

[[Page 16946]]

included in the annual repricing Federal Register notice, provides the 
relevant information for the public to evaluate the Federal Reserve's 
performance under the MCA. The information provided in the quarterly 
pro formas, therefore, are of little value to parties interested in 
priced-services financial results because they do not provide a 
relevant long-term cost-recovery assessment.
    Accordingly, the Board proposes to discontinue the quarterly 
publication of the pro formas. The Board will continue to publish, 
however, the annual pro formas in the Annual Report and the additional 
cost-recovery information included in the annual repricing Federal 
Register notice. The latest publication of the quarterly pro formas may 
be found in the February 2001 issue of the Federal Reserve Bulletin. 
The public may order the document online from the Board's web site at 
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/default.htm.
    The Board requests comments on whether there are benefits to 
continuing the publication of the quarterly pro formas and, if so, what 
elements of the current pro formas provide the most relevant 
information.

    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, March 22, 2001.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 01-7570 Filed 3-27-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P