Self-Regulatory Organizations; National Securities Clearing Corporation; Order Granting Approval to Proposed Rule Change Relating to Buy-Ins of Municipal Securities, 4320-4321 [E7-1381]

Download as PDF ycherry on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES 4320 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 19 / Tuesday, January 30, 2007 / Notices revenue sharing or other arrangements in connection with such assets. Applicants represent that the Substitutions and the selection of the Replacement Portfolios were not motivated by any financial consideration paid or to be paid by the Replacement Portfolios, their advisors or underwriters, or their respective affiliates. 15. For the two year period following the date of the Substitutions, the Applicants agree that if, on the last day of each fiscal quarter during the 2 year period, the total operating expenses of an unaffiliated Replacement Fund (taking into account any expense waiver or reimbursement) exceed on an annualized basis the net expense level of the corresponding Replaced Fund for the 2005 fiscal year, it will, for each Contract outstanding on the date of the Substitutions, make a corresponding reimbursement of expenses to the Contract Owners as of the last day of such fiscal quarter period, such that the amount of the Replacement Fund’s net expenses, together with those of the corresponding Separate Account, on an annualized basis, will be no greater than the sum of the net expenses of the corresponding Replaced Fund and the expenses of the Separate Account for the 2005 fiscal year. 16. For a two year period following the date of the Substitution, the Applicants agree that the total operating expenses of each affiliated Replacement Portfolio (taking into account any expense waiver or reimbursement) will not exceed on an annualized basis the net expense level of the corresponding Replaced Fund for the 2005 fiscal year. 17. Applicants further agree that Separate Account charges on the Contracts affected by this Substitution will not be increased at any time during the 2 year period following the date of the Substitution, while the caps discussed in paragraphs 15 and 16 are in effect on the Replacement Portfolios. 18. Notice of the proposed substitution was mailed to all Contract owners on October 30, 2006. In addition, all Contract owners will be given another notice of the Substitution after it is approved by the Commission. This notice will be sent at least 30 days prior to the Substitution. All Contract owners will have an opportunity at any time after receipt of this notification of the Substitution and for 30 days after the Substitution to reallocate accumulation value among other available subaccounts without the imposition of any transfer charge or limitation and without being counted as one of the Contract owner’s free transfers in a contract year. VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:36 Jan 29, 2007 Jkt 211001 19. Within five days after the Substitution, the Integrity Companies will send to affected Contract owners written confirmation that the Substitution has occurred. 20. The Substitution will in no way alter the insurance benefits to Contract owners or the contractual obligations of the Integrity Companies. 21. The Substitution will have no adverse tax consequences to contract owners and will in no way alter the tax benefits to Contract owners. Conclusion For the reasons and upon the facts set forth above, Applicants submit that the requested order meets the standards set forth in Section 26(c). Applicants request an order of the Commission, pursuant to Section 26(c) of the Act, approving the Substitutions. For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, pursuant to delegated authority. Florence E. Harmon, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. E7–1408 Filed 1–29–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–55157; File No. SR–NSCC– 2006–12] Self-Regulatory Organizations; National Securities Clearing Corporation; Order Granting Approval to Proposed Rule Change Relating to Buy-Ins of Municipal Securities January 23, 2007. I. Introduction On October 16, 2006, the National Securities Clearing Corporation (‘‘NSCC’’) submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 a proposed rule change to modify NSCC’s rules concerning buy-ins of municipal securities. The proposed rule change was published for comment in the Federal Register on December 14, 2006.3 No comment letters were received on the proposal. This order approves the proposal. II. Description of the Proposal The purpose of this filing is to amend NSCC’s rules to streamline the 1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). CFR 240.19b–4. 3 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 54900 (Dec. 8, 2006), 71 FR 75286. 2 17 PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 processing of continuous net settlement (‘‘CNS’’) buy-ins of municipal securities. At the request of members and after consultation with the Buy-In Subcommittee of the Securities Industry Association, NSCC is modifying Rule 11 (CNS System), Procedure VII (CNS Accounting Operation), and Procedure X (Execution of CNS Buy-Ins) with respect to CNS buy-ins of municipal securities as set forth below. Executions of buy-ins of municipal securities are governed by the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (‘‘MSRB’’) and have a ten-day cycle from notification of intent to buyin to buy-in execution. In contrast, buyins for equity and corporate bond securities have a two-day cycle. Under NSCC’s rules (except with respect to securities subject to voluntary corporate reorganizations), an NSCC member that has a long CNS position at the end of any day (‘‘originator’’) may submit to NSCC a Notice of Intention to Buy-In (‘‘Buy-In Notice’’) specifying a quantity of securities not exceeding such long CNS position that it intends to buy-in (‘‘Buy-In Position’’). The day the Buy-In Notice is submitted is referred to as N and the succeeding days are referred to as N+1 and N+2. The Buy-In Position is given high priority for CNS allocations until expiration of the buy-in. While increased priority is provided to facilitate the allocation of the Buy-In Position in CNS, municipal securities are usually thinly traded and the increased allocation priority has not been generally effective in accelerating the delivery process. Accordingly, when a municipal security Buy-In Position is not satisfied by a CNS allocation, the long member must have its Buy-In Position exited from CNS in order to be able to proceed under MSRB rules, which entails issuing a new buy-in notice and then waiting an additional ten days before executing the buy-in. As a result, a member typically will request that NSCC exit the municipal security Buy-In Position from CNS, and NSCC will exit the municipal security from CNS, which results in receive and deliver obligations for the affected parties two days later. To assist members in their timely processing of buy-ins of municipal securities, NSCC is modifying its rules and procedures to automatically exit from CNS unsatisfied municipal security Buy-In Positions. Under the new procedures, CNS will automatically exit such positions prior to the night cycle on N+1. This will create a brokerto-broker close-out receive and deliver obligation between the member with the long CNS position and the member(s) E:\FR\FM\30JAN1.SGM 30JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 19 / Tuesday, January 30, 2007 / Notices with the oldest short CNS position(s). Thus, the Buy-In Position will be automatically exited from CNS one day earlier than is currently the case and the buy-in process under MSRB rules can likewise commence one day earlier. III. Discussion The Commission finds that the proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a registered clearing agency. In particular, the Commission believes the proposal is consistent with the requirements of Section 17A(b)(3)(F),4 which among other things, requires the rules of a clearing agency to promote the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of securities transactions. By automating and accelerating the exiting of unsatisfied municipal securities Buy-In Positions, the new rule should expedite and make more efficient the processing of municipal securities buy-ins. As a result, the new rule should promote the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of such securities transactions. IV. Conclusion On the basis of the foregoing, the Commission finds that the proposal is consistent with the requirements of the Act and in particular with the requirements of Section 17A of the Act 5 and the rules and regulations thereunder. It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,6 that the proposed rule change (File No. SR– NSCC–2006–12) be, and hereby is, approved.7 For the Commission by the Division of Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated authority.8 Florence E. Harmon, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. E7–1381 Filed 1–29–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration # 10793] California Disaster # CA–00044 Declaration of Economic Injury U.S. Small Business Administration. AGENCY: ycherry on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES 4 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). U.S.C. 78q–1. 6 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 7 In approving the proposed rule change, the Commission considered the proposal’s impact on efficiency, competition and capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 8 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 5 15 VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:36 Jan 29, 2007 Jkt 211001 ACTION: Notice. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SUMMARY: This is a notice of an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) declaration for the State of California , dated 01/24/2007. Incident: Freeze. Incident Period: 01/11/2007 and continuing. Effective Date: 01/24/2007. EIDL Loan Application Deadline Date: 10/24/2007. Submit completed loan applications to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing And Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. ADDRESSES: A. Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, SW., Suite 6050, Washington, DC 20416. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Notice is hereby given that as a result of the Administrator’s EIDL declaration, applications for economic injury disaster loans may be filed at the address listed above or other locally announced locations. The following areas have been determined to be adversely affected by the disaster: Primary Counties Alameda, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Riverside, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Ventura. Contiguous Counties California: Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, Napa, Orange, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo. Arizona: La Paz, Mohave, Yuma. Nevada: Clark. The Interest Rate is: 4.000. The number assigned to this disaster for economic injury is: 107930. The States which received an EIDL Declaration # are: California, Arizona, Nevada. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 59002) Dated: January 24, 2007. Steven C. Preston, Administrator. [FR Doc. E7–1442 Filed 1–29–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8025–01–P PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 4703 4321 Sfmt 4703 National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board; Public Meeting The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board will hold a public meeting via conference call on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 at 1 p.m. (EST). The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the upcoming SBA board meeting; the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) Board meeting; and the detailed agenda of SBA presentations. Anyone wishing to make an oral presentation to the Board must contact Erika Fischer, Senior Program Analyst, U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Small Business Development Centers, 409 3rd Street, SW., Washington, DC 20416, telephone (202) 205–7045 or fax (202) 481–0681. Matthew Teague, Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E7–1383 Filed 1–29–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8025–01–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration [Docket No. FHWA–2007–27038] Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for New Information Collection Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on November 21, 2006. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Please submit comments by March 1, 2007. ADDRESSES: You may send comments within 30 days to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention DOT Desk Officer. You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is E:\FR\FM\30JAN1.SGM 30JAN1

Agencies

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4320-4321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1381]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-55157; File No. SR-NSCC-2006-12]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; National Securities Clearing 
Corporation; Order Granting Approval to Proposed Rule Change Relating 
to Buy-Ins of Municipal Securities

January 23, 2007.

I. Introduction

    On October 16, 2006, the National Securities Clearing Corporation 
(``NSCC'') submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission''), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ a 
proposed rule change to modify NSCC's rules concerning buy-ins of 
municipal securities. The proposed rule change was published for 
comment in the Federal Register on December 14, 2006.\3\ No comment 
letters were received on the proposal. This order approves the 
proposal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 54900 (Dec. 8, 2006), 71 
FR 75286.
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II. Description of the Proposal

    The purpose of this filing is to amend NSCC's rules to streamline 
the processing of continuous net settlement (``CNS'') buy-ins of 
municipal securities. At the request of members and after consultation 
with the Buy-In Subcommittee of the Securities Industry Association, 
NSCC is modifying Rule 11 (CNS System), Procedure VII (CNS Accounting 
Operation), and Procedure X (Execution of CNS Buy-Ins) with respect to 
CNS buy-ins of municipal securities as set forth below.
    Executions of buy-ins of municipal securities are governed by the 
rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (``MSRB'') and have 
a ten-day cycle from notification of intent to buy-in to buy-in 
execution. In contrast, buy-ins for equity and corporate bond 
securities have a two-day cycle.
    Under NSCC's rules (except with respect to securities subject to 
voluntary corporate reorganizations), an NSCC member that has a long 
CNS position at the end of any day (``originator'') may submit to NSCC 
a Notice of Intention to Buy-In (``Buy-In Notice'') specifying a 
quantity of securities not exceeding such long CNS position that it 
intends to buy-in (``Buy-In Position''). The day the Buy-In Notice is 
submitted is referred to as N and the succeeding days are referred to 
as N+1 and N+2. The Buy-In Position is given high priority for CNS 
allocations until expiration of the buy-in.
    While increased priority is provided to facilitate the allocation 
of the Buy-In Position in CNS, municipal securities are usually thinly 
traded and the increased allocation priority has not been generally 
effective in accelerating the delivery process. Accordingly, when a 
municipal security Buy-In Position is not satisfied by a CNS 
allocation, the long member must have its Buy-In Position exited from 
CNS in order to be able to proceed under MSRB rules, which entails 
issuing a new buy-in notice and then waiting an additional ten days 
before executing the buy-in. As a result, a member typically will 
request that NSCC exit the municipal security Buy-In Position from CNS, 
and NSCC will exit the municipal security from CNS, which results in 
receive and deliver obligations for the affected parties two days 
later.
    To assist members in their timely processing of buy-ins of 
municipal securities, NSCC is modifying its rules and procedures to 
automatically exit from CNS unsatisfied municipal security Buy-In 
Positions. Under the new procedures, CNS will automatically exit such 
positions prior to the night cycle on N+1. This will create a broker-
to-broker close-out receive and deliver obligation between the member 
with the long CNS position and the member(s)

[[Page 4321]]

with the oldest short CNS position(s). Thus, the Buy-In Position will 
be automatically exited from CNS one day earlier than is currently the 
case and the buy-in process under MSRB rules can likewise commence one 
day earlier.

III. Discussion

    The Commission finds that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations 
thereunder applicable to a registered clearing agency. In particular, 
the Commission believes the proposal is consistent with the 
requirements of Section 17A(b)(3)(F),\4\ which among other things, 
requires the rules of a clearing agency to promote the prompt and 
accurate clearance and settlement of securities transactions. By 
automating and accelerating the exiting of unsatisfied municipal 
securities Buy-In Positions, the new rule should expedite and make more 
efficient the processing of municipal securities buy-ins. As a result, 
the new rule should promote the prompt and accurate clearance and 
settlement of such securities transactions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(F).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Conclusion

    On the basis of the foregoing, the Commission finds that the 
proposal is consistent with the requirements of the Act and in 
particular with the requirements of Section 17A of the Act \5\ and the 
rules and regulations thereunder.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the 
Act,\6\ that the proposed rule change (File No. SR-NSCC-2006-12) be, 
and hereby is, approved.\7\
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
    \7\ In approving the proposed rule change, the Commission 
considered the proposal's impact on efficiency, competition and 
capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).

    For the Commission by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-1381 Filed 1-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P

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