12 U.S.C. § 5342 — Office of Financial Research established

Page 1850 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 5342 (4) the term ‘‘Research and Analysis Center’’ means the research and analysis center estab- lished under section 5344 of this title; (5) the term ‘‘financial transaction data’’ means the structure and legal description of a financial contract, with sufficient detail to de- scribe the rights and obligations between counterparties and make possible an inde- pendent valuation; (6) the term ‘‘position data’’— (A) means data on financial assets or li- abilities held on the balance sheet of a finan- cial company, where positions are created or changed by the execution of a financial transaction; and (B) includes information that identifies counterparties, the valuation by the finan- cial company of the position, and informa- tion that makes possible an independent valuation of the position; (7) the term ‘‘financial contract’’ means a le- gally binding agreement between 2 or more counterparties, describing rights and obliga- tions relating to the future delivery of items of intrinsic or extrinsic value among the counterparties; and (8) the term ‘‘financial instrument’’ means a financial contract in which the terms and con- ditions are publicly available, and the roles of one or more of the counterparties are assign- able without the consent of any of the other counterparties (including common stock of a publicly traded company, government bonds, or exchange traded futures and options con- tracts). (Pub. L. 111–203, title I, § 151, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1412.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Subchapter II, referred to in par. (2), was in the origi- nal ‘‘title II’’, meaning title II of Pub. L. 111–203, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1442, which is classified principally to subchapter II (§ 5381 et seq.) of this chapter. For com- plete classification of title II to the Code, see Tables. § 5342. Office of Financial Research established (a) Establishment There is established within the Department of the Treasury the Office of Financial Research. (b) Director (1) In general The Office shall be headed by a Director, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (2) Term of service The Director shall serve for a term of 6 years, except that, in the event that a suc- cessor is not nominated and confirmed by the end of the term of service of a Director, the Director may continue to serve until such time as the next Director is appointed and confirmed. (3) Executive level The Director shall be compensated at Level III of the Executive Schedule. (4) Prohibition on dual service The individual serving in the position of Di- rector may not, during such service, also serve as the head of any financial regulatory agen- cy. (5) Responsibilities, duties, and authority The Director shall have sole discretion in the manner in which the Director fulfills the responsibilities and duties and exercises the authorities described in this part. (c) Budget The Director, in consultation with the Chair- person, shall establish the annual budget of the Office. (d) Office personnel (1) In general The Director, in consultation with the Chairperson, may fix the number of, and ap- point and direct, all employees of the Office. (2) Compensation The Director, in consultation with the Chairperson, shall fix, adjust, and administer the pay for all employees of the Office, with- out regard to chapter 51 or subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, relating to classification of positions and General Schedule pay rates. (3), (4) Omitted (e) Assistance from Federal agencies Any department or agency of the United States may provide to the Office and any special advisory, technical, or professional committees appointed by the Office, such services, funds, fa- cilities, staff, and other support services as the Office may determine advisable. Any Federal Government employee may be detailed to the Office without reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege. (f) Procurement of temporary and intermittent services The Director may procure temporary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5 at rates for individuals which do not ex- ceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for Level V of the Execu- tive Schedule under section 5316 of such title. (g) Post-employment prohibitions The Secretary, with the concurrence of the Di- rector of the Office of Government Ethics, shall issue regulations prohibiting the Director and any employee of the Office who has had access to the transaction or position data maintained by the Data Center or other business confiden- tial information about financial entities re- quired to report to the Office from being em- ployed by or providing advice or consulting serv- ices to a financial company, for a period of 1 year after last having had access in the course of official duties to such transaction or position data or business confidential information, re- gardless of whether that entity is required to re- port to the Office. For employees whose access to business confidential information was lim- ited, the regulations may provide, on a case-by- case basis, for a shorter period of post-employ- ment prohibition, provided that the shorter pe- riod does not compromise business confidential information. Page 1851 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 5343 (h) Technical and professional advisory commit- tees The Office, in consultation with the Chair- person, may appoint such special advisory, tech- nical, or professional committees as may be use- ful in carrying out the functions of the Office, and the members of such committees may be staff of the Office, or other persons, or both. (i) Fellowship program The Office, in consultation with the Chair- person, may establish and maintain an academic and professional fellowship program, under which qualified academics and professionals shall be invited to spend not longer than 2 years at the Office, to perform research and to provide advanced training for Office personnel. (Pub. L. 111–203, title I, § 152, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1413.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Level III of the Executive Schedule, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is set out in section 5314 of Title 5, Gov- ernment Organization and Employees. CODIFICATION Section is comprised of section 152 of Pub. L. 111–203. Subsecs. (d)(3), (4) and (j) of section 152 amended sec- tion 1833b of this title and sections 3132 and 5314 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, respec- tively. § 5343. Purpose and duties of the Office (a) Purpose and duties The purpose of the Office is to support the Council in fulfilling the purposes and duties of the Council, as set forth in part A, and to sup- port member agencies, by— (1) collecting data on behalf of the Council, and providing such data to the Council and member agencies; (2) standardizing the types and formats of data reported and collected; (3) performing applied research and essential long-term research; (4) developing tools for risk measurement and monitoring; (5) performing other related services; (6) making the results of the activities of the Office available to financial regulatory agen- cies; and (7) assisting such member agencies in deter- mining the types and formats of data author- ized by this Act to be collected by such mem- ber agencies. (b) Administrative authority The Office may— (1) share data and information, including software developed by the Office, with the Council, member agencies, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which shared data, infor- mation, and software— (A) shall be maintained with at least the same level of security as is used by the Of- fice; and (B) may not be shared with any individual or entity without the permission of the Council; (2) sponsor and conduct research projects; and (3) assist, on a reimbursable basis, with fi- nancial analyses undertaken at the request of other Federal agencies that are not member agencies. (c) Rulemaking authority (1) Scope The Office, in consultation with the Chair- person, shall issue rules, regulations, and or- ders only to the extent necessary to carry out the purposes and duties described in para- graphs (1), (2), and (7) of subsection (a). (2) Standardization Member agencies, in consultation with the Office, shall implement regulations promul- gated by the Office under paragraph (1) to standardize the types and formats of data re- ported and collected on behalf of the Council, as described in subsection (a)(2). If a member agency fails to implement such regulations prior to the expiration of the 3-year period fol- lowing the date of publication of final regula- tions, the Office, in consultation with the Chairperson, may implement such regulations with respect to the financial entities under the jurisdiction of the member agency. This paragraph shall not supersede or interfere with the independent authority of a member agency under other law to collect data, in such format and manner as the member agency re- quires. (d) Testimony (1) In general The Director of the Office shall report to and testify before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives annually on the ac- tivities of the Office, including the work of the Data Center and the Research and Analysis Center, and the assessment of the Office of sig- nificant financial market developments and potential emerging threats to the financial stability of the United States. (2) No prior review No officer or agency of the United States shall have any authority to require the Direc- tor to submit the testimony required under paragraph (1) or other congressional testi- mony to any officer or agency of the United States for approval, comment, or review prior to the submission of such testimony. Any such testimony to Congress shall include a state- ment that the views expressed therein are those of the Director and do not necessarily represent the views of the President. (e) Additional reports The Director may provide additional reports to Congress concerning the financial stability of the United States. The Director shall notify the Council of any such additional reports provided to Congress. (f) Subpoena (1) In general The Director may require from a financial company, by subpoena, the production of the