The American Bankers Association today offered several recommendations in response to a request by banking agencies on steps to streamline the regulatory reporting burden in filing a Call Report.
The agencies in December released 21 questions related to the Call Report, such as which items in the report are the most time-consuming and whether the agencies should raise the eligibility criteria for filing a short form. In a letter, ABA provided a list of over 70 recommendations to reduce the regulatory burden in the Call Report. In addition, the ABA recommended the Banking Agencies consider several principles in their efforts to reduce regulatory reporting burden, including:
- The Call Report should be limited to collecting data that is essential for fulfilling the banking agencies’ supervisory responsibilities.
- The agencies are encouraged to prioritize the use of modern technology to streamline the Call Report process.
- The agencies should consider any changes in the context of the overall reporting regime. Examples to streamline the process include harmonizing line-item definitions across reporting forms and conducting a comprehensive rationalization of both entire reports and individual line items.
ABA also offered answers to the questions put forward by the agencies.
