International Services Surveys: BE-85, Quarterly Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons

This final rule amends 15 CFR 801.9 to set forth the reporting requirements for the BE-85, Quarterly Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. The BE-85 survey will be conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, and under Section 5408 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. The first survey conducted under this rule will cover transactions in the first quarter of 2004. Data from the BE-85 survey are needed to monitor trade in financial services, analyze its impact on the U.S. and foreign economies, compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, support U.S. commercial policy on financial services, conduct trade promotion, improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities, and for other Government uses. The survey will cover the same financial services presently covered by the BE-82, Annual Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons, which the BE-85 survey would replace, following a final annual data collection for 2003.