Sunshine Act Meeting, 50109-50110 [06-7177]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 164 / Thursday, August 24, 2006 / Notices
Information Services, Washington, DC
20549.
Extension: Rule 17i–2, SEC File No. 270–528,
OMB Control No. 3235–0592.
Notice is hereby given that pursuant
to the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 1 the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) intends to
submit to the Office of Management and
Budget a request for extension of the
previously approved collection of
information discussed below. The Code
of Federal Regulation citation to this
collection of information is the
following rule: 17 CFR 240.17i–2.
Section 231 of the Gramm-LeachBliley Act of 1999 2 (the ‘‘GLBA’’)
amended Section 17 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 to create a
regulatory framework under which a
holding company of a broker-dealer
(‘‘investment bank holding company’’ or
‘‘IBHC’’) may voluntarily be supervised
by the Commission as a supervised
investment bank holding company (or
‘‘SIBHC’’).3 In 2004, the Commission
promulgated rules, including Rule 17i–
2, to create a framework for the
Commission to supervise SIBHCs.4 This
framework includes qualification
criteria for SIBHCs, as well as
recordkeeping and reporting
requirements. Among other things, this
regulatory framework for SIBHCs is
intended to provide a basis for non-US
financial regulators to treat the
Commission as the principal U.S.
consolidated, home-country supervisor 5
for SIBHCs and their affiliated brokerdealers.
Rule 17i–2 provides the method by
which an IBHC can elect to become an
SIBHC. In addition, Rule 17i–2 indicates
that the IBHC will automatically become
an SIBHC 45 days after the Commission
receives its completed Notice of
Intention unless the Commission issues
an order indicating either that it will
begin its supervision sooner or that it
does not believe it to be necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of Section 17
of the Act for the IBHC to be so
supervised. Finally, Rule 17i–2 sets
forth the criteria the Commission would
use to make this determination. The
records required to be created pursuant
to Rule 17i–2 must be preserved for a
period of not less than three years.6
1 44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
L. 106–102, 113 Stat. 1338 (1999).
3 See 15 U.S.C. 78q(i).
4 See Exchange Act Release No. 49831 (Jun. 8,
2004), 69 FR 34472 (Jun. 21, 2004).
5 See H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 106–434, 165 (1999).
See also Exchange Act Release No. 49831, at 6 (Jun.
8, 2004), 69 FR 34472, at 34473 (Jun. 21, 2004).
6 17 CFR 240.17i–5(b)(2).
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The collections of information
required by Rule 17i–2 are necessary to
allow the Commission to effectively
determine whether supervision of an
IBHC as an SIBHC is necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of § 17 of the Act. In addition,
these collections are needed so that the
Commission can adequately supervise
the activities of these SIBHCs. Finally,
these rules enhance the Commission’s
supervision of the SIBHCs’ subsidiary
broker-dealers through collection of
additional information and inspections
of affiliates of those broker-dealers.
We estimate that three IBHCs will file
Notices of Intention with the
Commission to be supervised by the
Commission as SIBHCs. Each IBHC that
files a Notice of Intention to become
supervised by the Commission as an
SIBHC will require approximately 900
hours to draft the Notice of Intention,
compile the various documents to be
included with the Notice of Intention,
and work with the Commission staff.
Further, each IBHC likely will have an
attorney review its Notice of Intention,
and it will take the attorney
approximately 100 hours to complete
such a review. Consequently, we
estimate the total one-time burden for
all three firms to file their Notices of
Intention would be approximately 3,000
hours.7 Rule 17i–2 also requires that an
IBHC/SIBHC update its Notice of
Intention on an ongoing basis.8 Each
IBHC/SIBHC will require approximately
two hours each month to update its
Notice of Intention, as necessary. Thus,
we estimate that it will take the three
IBHC/SIBHCs, in the aggregate, about 72
hours each year to update their Notices
of Intention.9 Thus, the total burden
relating to Rule 17i–2 for all SIBHCs
would be approximately 3,072 hours in
the first year,10 and approximately 72
hours each year thereafter.
Written comments are invited on: (a)
Whether the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
collection of information; (c) ways to
7 (900 hours + 100 hours) × 3 IBHCs/SIBHCs =
3,000 hours.
8 An IBHC would be required to review and
update its Notice of Intention to the extent it
becomes inaccurate prior to a Commission
determination, and an SIBHC would be required to
update its Notice of Intention if it changes a
mathematical model used to calculate its risk
allowances pursuant to Rule 17i–7 after a
Commission determination was made.
9 (2 hours × 12 months each year) × 3 SIBHCs =
72.
10 (3,000 hours to file the Notices of Intention +
72 hours to update them).
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50109
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information collected; and (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Comments should be directed to: R.
Corey Booth, Director/Chief Information
Officer, Securities and Exchange
Commission, C/O Shirley Martinson,
6432 General Green Way, Alexandria,
Virginia 22312 or send an e-mail to:
PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must
be submitted to OMB within 60 days of
this notice.
Dated: August 14, 2006.
J. Lynn Taylor,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–14024 Filed 8–23–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Sunshine Act Meeting
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to
the provisions of the Government in the
Sunshine Act, Pub. L. 94–409, that the
Securities and Exchange Commission
will hold the following meeting during
the week of August 28, 2006:
A Closed Meeting will be held on
Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at 10 a.m.
Commissioners, Counsels to the
Commissioners, the Secretary to the
Commission, and recording secretaries
will attend the Closed Meeting. Certain
staff members who have an interest in
the matters may also be present.
The General Counsel of the
Commission, or his designee, has
certified that, in his opinion, one or
more of the exemptions set forth in 5
U.S.C. 552b(c)(3), (5), (7), (9)(B), (10)
and 17 CFR 200.402(a) (3), (5), (7),
(9)(ii), and (10) permit consideration of
the scheduled matters at the Closed
Meeting.
Commissioner Casey, as duty officer,
voted to consider the items listed for the
closed meeting in closed session.
The subject matters of the Closed
Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August
29, 2006 will be:
Formal orders of investigation;
Institution and settlement of injunctive
actions;
Institution and settlement of
administrative proceedings of an
enforcement nature;
An adjudicatory matter;
Requests for information in an
investigative file;
Litigation matter; and
Other matters related to enforcement
proceedings.
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50110
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 164 / Thursday, August 24, 2006 / Notices
At times, changes in Commission
priorities require alterations in the
scheduling of meeting items.
For further information and to
ascertain what, if any, matters have been
added, deleted or postponed, please
contact: The Office of the Secretary at
(202) 551–5400.
Dated: August 22, 2006.
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 06–7177 Filed 8–22–06; 3:54 pm]
BILLING CODE 8010–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–54324; File No. SR–Amex–
2006–63]
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
American Stock Exchange LLC; Notice
of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness
of Proposed Rule Change Relating to
Transaction Based Fees for
Supplemental Registered Options
Traders
August 16, 2006.
rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES1
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) 1 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’), and Rule 19b–4 2 thereunder,
notice is hereby given that on August
15, 2006, the American Stock Exchange
LLC (‘‘Amex’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with
the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) a
proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II, and III below, which Items
have been prepared by the Exchange.
Amex has designated the proposed rule
change as establishing or changing a
due, fee, or other charge applicable only
to members, pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,3 and Rule
19b–4(f)(2) 4 thereunder, which renders
the proposal effective upon filing with
the Commission. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change
from interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
Amex proposes to amend its Options
Fee Schedule to adopt transaction-based
fees for Supplemental Registered
Options Traders (‘‘SROTs’’).
The text of the proposed rule change
is available on Amex’s Web site at
https://www.amex.com, at Amex’s Office
of the Secretary, and at the
Commission’s Public Reference Room.
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission,
Amex included statements concerning
the purpose of and basis for the
proposed rule change and discussed any
comments it received on the proposed
rule change. The text of these statements
may be examined at the places specified
in Item IV below. The Exchange has
prepared summaries, set forth in
Sections A, B, and C below, of the most
significant aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
Amex proposes to amend its Options
Fee Schedule to subject SROTs to the
Exchange’s options transactions fee,
options comparison fee, options floor
brokerage fee, options marketing fee and
options licensing fee. SROTs are
members of the Exchange.5
The Exchange proposes to adopt an
aggregate transaction-based fee for
SROTs of $0.23 per contract side
(consisting of an options transaction fee
of $0.13 per contract side, an options
comparison fee of $.05 per contract side
and an options floor brokerage fee of
$0.05 per contract side) for equity
options, ETF options, and trust issued
receipt options. In addition, an
aggregate transaction-based fee for
SROTs of $0.36 per contract side
(consisting of an options transaction fee
of $0.26 per contract side, an options
comparison fee of $0.05 per contract
side and an options floor brokerage fee
of $0.05 per contract side) for index
options (including MNX and NDX
options) is also proposed by the
Exchange. The aggregate transactionbased fee for SROTs is set higher than
the specialist and Registered Options
Trader (‘‘ROT’’) transaction fees because
the Exchange will incur additional
systems and logistical costs in order to
establish and maintain the
infrastructure needed to enable the
participation of a SROT.
The Exchange further proposes that
the current options marketing fee for
specialists and ROTs of $0.75 per
contract side for equity options, ETF
options (excluding SPY options), trust
issued receipt options, and NDX and
RUT Options, and $1.00 per contract
side for SPY options, be equally
applicable to SROTs.
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5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53635
(April 12, 2006), 71 FR 20144 (April 19, 2006).
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In addition, the Exchange also
proposes that the options licensing fee
on certain index options and ETF
options be applicable to SROTs. The
options licensing fee proposal for
SROTs in connection with equity
options, ETF options, and trust issued
receipt options will equal the current
charges applicable to specialists, ROTs,
firms, non-member market makers, and
broker-dealers. This options licensing
fee varies in amount from $0.05 to $0.20
per contract side, depending on the
particular index or ETF option.
Both the options order cancellation
fee and broker-dealer auto-ex fees will
be inapplicable to SROTs and RROTs,
according to current footnote 4 and
proposed footnote 10. Pursuant to
footnote 4, cancellation fees are
currently charged only to orders sent
through the Amex Order File (‘‘AOF’’),
which are not typically delivered in a
market making capacity by an Amex
specialist or ROT. Since, according to
Amex rules, SROTs and RROTs act only
in a market making capacity, and their
orders are not delivered to the Exchange
through AOF, the cancellation fee shall
not apply to these participants.
Likewise, broker-dealer auto-ex fees
are typically charged only to orders for
the accounts of firms, broker-dealers
and non-member market makers
because these orders are not delivered to
the Exchange in a market making
capacity.6 Currently, orders from ROTs
and specialists in their market making
capacity (i.e., liquidity providers) are
not charged a broker-dealer auto-ex fee.
However, orders of ROTs and
specialists, if delivered to the Exchange
via AOF, would be charged a brokerdealer auto-ex fee because these orders
would not be part of their market
making function. RROT and SROT
orders will not be charged the brokerdealer auto-ex fee because these market
participants act only in a market making
capacity, and their orders are not
delivered through AOF.
Finally, the Exchange proposes to
amend several of the footnotes to its
Options Fee Schedule. Footnote 3
provides that the marketing fee will also
be collected on SROT transactions
involving electronically executed
customer orders from firms accepting
payment for directing their orders to the
Exchange. Furthermore, if a specialist
has negotiated a payment to a firm of
less than the marketing fee, the
difference between the marketing fee
and the actual payment will also be
6 Telephone conversation between Kristie Diemer,
Special Counsel, Division of Market Regulation,
Commission and Jeffrey P. Burns, Vice President
and Associate General Counsel, Exchange, on
August 16, 2006.
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[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 164 (Thursday, August 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50109-50110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7177]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Sunshine Act Meeting
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the
Government in the Sunshine Act, Pub. L. 94-409, that the Securities and
Exchange Commission will hold the following meeting during the week of
August 28, 2006:
A Closed Meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at 10
a.m.
Commissioners, Counsels to the Commissioners, the Secretary to the
Commission, and recording secretaries will attend the Closed Meeting.
Certain staff members who have an interest in the matters may also be
present.
The General Counsel of the Commission, or his designee, has
certified that, in his opinion, one or more of the exemptions set forth
in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(3), (5), (7), (9)(B), (10) and 17 CFR 200.402(a)
(3), (5), (7), (9)(ii), and (10) permit consideration of the scheduled
matters at the Closed Meeting.
Commissioner Casey, as duty officer, voted to consider the items
listed for the closed meeting in closed session.
The subject matters of the Closed Meeting scheduled for Tuesday,
August 29, 2006 will be:
Formal orders of investigation;
Institution and settlement of injunctive actions;
Institution and settlement of administrative proceedings of an
enforcement nature;
An adjudicatory matter;
Requests for information in an investigative file;
Litigation matter; and
Other matters related to enforcement proceedings.
[[Page 50110]]
At times, changes in Commission priorities require alterations in
the scheduling of meeting items.
For further information and to ascertain what, if any, matters have
been added, deleted or postponed, please contact: The Office of the
Secretary at (202) 551-5400.
Dated: August 22, 2006.
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 06-7177 Filed 8-22-06; 3:54 pm]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
