Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, 36939-36940 [2011-15665]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 121 / Thursday, June 23, 2011 / Notices 17, 2011 to: Paul Ponganis, Permit No. 2012–001. Nadene G. Kennedy, Permit Officer. [FR Doc. 2011–15673 Filed 6–22–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7555–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549. erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES Extension: Rule 17Ab2–1, Form CA–1; SEC File No. 270–203; OMB Control No. 3235–0195. Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a request for approval of extension of the previously approved collection of information provided for in Rule 17Ab2–1 (17 CFR 240.17Ab2–1) and Form CA–1: Registration of Clearing Agencies (17 CFR 249b.200) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.). Rule 17Ab2–1 and Form CA–1 require clearing agencies to register with the Commission and to meet certain requirements with regard to, among other things, a clearing agency’s organization, capacities, and rules. The information is collected from the clearing agency upon the initial application for registration on Form CA–1. Thereafter, information is collected by amendment to the initial Form CA–1 when material changes in circumstances necessitate modification of the information previously provided to the Commission. The Commission uses the information disclosed on Form CA–1 to (i) Determine whether an applicant meets the standards for registration set forth in Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Exchange Act’’), (ii) enforce compliance with the Exchange Act’s registration requirement, and (iii) provide information about specific registered clearing agencies for compliance and investigatory purposes. Without Rule 17Ab2–1, the Commission could not perform these duties as statutorily required. The Commission staff estimates that each initial Form CA–1 requires approximately 130 hours to complete VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:02 Jun 22, 2011 Jkt 223001 and submit for approval. This burden is composed primarily of a one-time reporting burden that reflects the applicant’s staff time (i.e. internal labor costs) to prepare and submit the Form to the Commission. Hours required for amendments to Form CA–1 that must be submitted to the Commission in connection with material changes to the initial CA–1 can vary, depending upon the nature and extent of the amendment. Since the Commission only receives an average of one submission per year, the aggregate annual burden associated with compliance with Rule 17Ab2–1 and Form CA–1 is 130 hours. The main cost to respondents is associated with generating, maintaining, and providing the information sought by Form CA–1. The external costs associated with such activities include fees charged by outside lawyers and accountants to assist the registrant collect and prepare the information sought by the form (though such consultations are not required by the Commission) and are estimated to be approximately $18,000. The rule and form do not involve the collection of confidential information. The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. Background documentation for this information collection may be viewed at the following link, https:// www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an e-mail to: Shagufta_ Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Thomas Bayer, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, VA 22312 or send an e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice. Dated: June 20, 2011. Cathy H. Ahn, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 2011–15730 Filed 6–22–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 36939 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549. Extension: Rule 17f–2(c); SEC File No. 270–35; OMB Control No. 3235–0029. Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments on the collection of information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget for extension and approval for the Rule 17f–2(c) (17 CFR 240.17f–2(c)). Rule 17f–2(c) allows persons required to be fingerprinted pursuant to Section 17(f)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to submit their fingerprints through a registered securities exchange or a national securities association in accordance with a plan submitted to and approved by the Commission. Plans have been approved for the American, Boston, Chicago, New York, Pacific, and Philadelphia stock exchanges and for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (‘‘FINRA’’) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Currently, FINRA accounts for the bulk of the fingerprint submissions. It is estimated that 4,939 respondents submit approximately 288,000 sets of fingerprints (consisting of 133,000 electronic fingerprints and 155,000 fingerprint cards) to exchanges or a national securities association on an annual basis. The Commission estimates that it would take approximately 15 minutes to create and submit each fingerprint card. The total reporting burden is therefore estimated to be 72,000 hours, or approximately 15 hours per respondent, annually. In addition, the exchanges and FINRA charge an estimated $30.25 fee for processing fingerprint cards, resulting in a total annual cost to all 4,939 respondents of $8,712,000, or $1,764 per respondent per year. Because the Federal Bureau of Investigation will not accept fingerprint cards directly from submitting organizations, Commission approval of plans from certain exchanges and national securities associations is essential to the Congressional goal of fingerprint personnel in the security E:\FR\FM\23JNN1.SGM 23JNN1 36940 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 121 / Thursday, June 23, 2011 / Notices industry. The filing of these plans for review assures users and their personnel that fingerprint cards will be handled responsibly and with due care for confidentiality. Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 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 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. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 days of this publication. The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to PRA that does not display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number. Please direct your written comments to Thomas Bayer, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi PavlikSimon, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312; or send an e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Dated: June 17, 2011. Cathy H. Ahn, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 2011–15665 Filed 6–22–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Proposed Collection; Comment Request erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES Upon written request, copies available from: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549–0213. Extension: Rule 15g–9; SEC File No. 270–325; OMB Control No. 3235–0385. Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comment on the collection of information described below. The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:02 Jun 22, 2011 Jkt 223001 Management and Budget for extension and approval. Section 15(c)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) (the ‘‘Exchange Act’’) authorizes the Commission to promulgate rules that prescribe means reasonably designed to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative practices in connection with over-the-counter (‘‘OTC’’) securities transactions. Pursuant to this authority, the Commission in 1989 adopted Rule 15a– 6 which was subsequently redesignated as Rule 15g–9, 17 CFR 240.15g–9 (the ‘‘Rule’’). The Rule requires brokerdealers to produce a written suitability determination for, and to obtain a written customer agreement to, certain recommended transactions in penny stocks that are not registered on a national securities exchange, and whose issuers do not meet certain minimum financial standards. The Rule is intended to prevent the indiscriminate use by broker-dealers of fraudulent, high pressure telephone sales campaigns to sell penny stocks to unsophisticated customers. The Commission staff estimates that there are approximately 253 brokerdealers subject to the Rule. The burden of the Rule on a respondent varies widely depending on the frequency with which new customers are solicited. On the average for all respondents, the staff has estimated that respondents process three new customers per week, or approximately 156 new customer suitability determinations per year. We also estimate that a broker-dealer would expend approximately one-half hour per new customer in obtaining, reviewing, and processing (including transmitting to the customer) the information required by Rule 15g–9, and each respondent would consequently spend 78 hours annually (156 customers × .5 hours) obtaining the information required in the rule. We determined, based on the estimate of 253 brokerdealer respondents, that the current annual burden of Rule 15g–9 is 19,734 hours (253 respondents × 78 hours). In addition, we estimate that if tangible communications alone are used to transmit the documents required by Rule 15g–9, each customer should take: (1) No more than eight minutes to review, sign and return the suitability determination document; and (2) no more than two minutes to either read and return or produce the customer agreement for a particular recommended transaction in penny stocks, listing the issuer and number of shares of the particular penny stock to be purchased, and send it to the broker-dealer. Thus, the total current customer respondent PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 burden is approximately 10 minutes per response, for an aggregate total of 1,560 minutes for each broker-dealer respondent. Since there are 253 respondents, the annual burden for customer responses is 394,680 minutes (1,560 customer minutes per each of the 253 respondents) or 6,578 hours. In addition, we estimate that, if tangible means of communications alone are used, broker-dealers could incur a burden under Rule 15g–9 of approximately two minutes per response. Since there are approximately 253 broker-dealer respondents and each respondent would have approximately 156 responses annually, respondents would incur an aggregate burden of 78,936 minutes (253 respondents × 156 responses × 2 minutes per response), or 1,315 hours. Accordingly, the aggregate annual hour burden associated with Rule 15g–9 is 27,627 hours (19,734 hours to prepare the suitability statement and agreement + 6,578 hours for customer review + 1,315 hours for processing). We recognize that under the amendments to Rule 15g–9, the burden hours may be slightly reduced if the transaction agreement required under the rule is provided through electronic means such as an e-mail from the customer to the broker-dealer (e.g., the customer may take only one minute, instead of the two minutes estimated above, to provide the transaction agreement by e-mail rather than regular mail). If each of the customer respondents estimated above communicates with his or her brokerdealer electronically, the total burden hours on the customers would be reduced from 10 minutes to 9 minutes per response, or an aggregate total of 1,404 minutes per respondent (156 customers × 9 minutes for each customer). Since there are 253 respondents, the annual customer respondent burden, if electronic communications were used by all customers, would be approximately 355,212 minutes (253 respondents × 1,404 minutes per each respondent), or 5,920 hours. We do not believe the hour burden on broker-dealers in obtaining, reviewing, and processing the suitability determination would change through use of electronic communications. In addition, we do not believe that, based on information currently available to us, recordkeeping burdens under Rule 15g– 9 would change where the required documents were sent or received through means of electronic communication. Thus, if all brokerdealer respondents obtain and send the documents required under the rule electronically, the aggregate annual hour E:\FR\FM\23JNN1.SGM 23JNN1

Agencies

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 121 (Thursday, June 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36939-36940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15665]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 
20549.

Extension:
    Rule 17f-2(c); SEC File No. 270-35; OMB Control No. 3235-0029.

    Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the collection of 
information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit this 
existing collection of information to the Office of Management and 
Budget for extension and approval for the Rule 17f-2(c) (17 CFR 
240.17f-2(c)).
    Rule 17f-2(c) allows persons required to be fingerprinted pursuant 
to Section 17(f)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to submit 
their fingerprints through a registered securities exchange or a 
national securities association in accordance with a plan submitted to 
and approved by the Commission. Plans have been approved for the 
American, Boston, Chicago, New York, Pacific, and Philadelphia stock 
exchanges and for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority 
(``FINRA'') and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Currently, FINRA 
accounts for the bulk of the fingerprint submissions.
    It is estimated that 4,939 respondents submit approximately 288,000 
sets of fingerprints (consisting of 133,000 electronic fingerprints and 
155,000 fingerprint cards) to exchanges or a national securities 
association on an annual basis. The Commission estimates that it would 
take approximately 15 minutes to create and submit each fingerprint 
card. The total reporting burden is therefore estimated to be 72,000 
hours, or approximately 15 hours per respondent, annually. In addition, 
the exchanges and FINRA charge an estimated $30.25 fee for processing 
fingerprint cards, resulting in a total annual cost to all 4,939 
respondents of $8,712,000, or $1,764 per respondent per year.
    Because the Federal Bureau of Investigation will not accept 
fingerprint cards directly from submitting organizations, Commission 
approval of plans from certain exchanges and national securities 
associations is essential to the Congressional goal of fingerprint 
personnel in the security

[[Page 36940]]

industry. The filing of these plans for review assures users and their 
personnel that fingerprint cards will be handled responsibly and with 
due care for confidentiality.
    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
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 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. Consideration will 
be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 
days of this publication.
    The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No 
person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a 
collection of information subject to PRA that does not display a valid 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number.
    Please direct your written comments to Thomas Bayer, Director/Chief 
Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi 
Pavlik-Simon, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312; or 
send an e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

    Dated: June 17, 2011.
Cathy H. Ahn,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-15665 Filed 6-22-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P

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