Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 10217-10218 [2013-03271]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 13, 2013 / Notices mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES request periodic reports from their depository. Commission staff estimates that depositories spend approximately 18 hours (by support staff) annually transmitting reports to the 79 funds.12 The total annual burden estimate for compliance with rule 17f–4’s reporting requirement is therefore 805 hours.13 If a fund deals directly with a securities depository, rule 17f–4 requires that the fund implement internal control systems reasonably designed to prevent an unauthorized officer’s instructions (by providing at least for the form, content, and means of giving, recording, and reviewing all officers’ instructions).14 All funds that seek to rely on rule 17f–4 should have already implemented these internal control systems when the rule was amended. Therefore, there is no ongoing burden associated with this collection of information requirement.15 Based on the foregoing, the Commission staff estimates that the total annual hour burden of the rule’s collection of information requirement is 805 hours. The estimate of average burden hours is made solely for the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act. This estimate is not derived from a comprehensive or even representative survey or study of the costs of Commission rules. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission’s estimate of the burden of the collections of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burdens of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 12 (79 fund clients who may deal directly with a securities depository × 2 reports) = 158 transmissions. The staff estimates that each transmission would take approximately 7 minutes for a total of approximately 18 hours (7 minutes × 158 transmissions). 13 787 hours for custodians and 18 hours for securities depositories. 14 Rule 17f–4(b)(2). 15 The Commission staff assumes that new funds relying on 17f–4 would choose to use a custodian instead of directly dealing with a securities depository because of the high costs associated with maintaining an account with a securities depository. Thus new funds would not be subject to this condition. VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:21 Feb 12, 2013 Jkt 229001 Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 days of this publication. 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, VA 22312; or send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Dated: February 7, 2013. Kevin M. O’Neill, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 2013–03273 Filed 2–12–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [SEC File No. 270–489, OMB Control No. 3235–0541] Proposed Collection; Comment Request Upon Written Request Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549–0123. Extension: Rule 606 of Regulation NMS. Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (‘‘PRA’’), the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments on the existing collection of information provided for in Rule 606 of Regulation NMS (‘‘Rule 606’’) (17 CFR 242.606), under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.). The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for extension and approval. Rule 606 (formerly known as Rule 11Ac1–6) requires broker-dealers to prepare and disseminate quarterly order routing reports. Much of the information needed to generate these reports already should be collected by broker-dealers in connection with their periodic evaluations of their order routing practices. Broker-dealers must conduct such evaluations to fulfill the duty of best execution that they owe their customers. The collection of information obligations of Rule 606 apply to brokerdealers that route non-directed customer orders in covered securities. The Commission estimates that out of the currently 5178 broker-dealers that are subject to the collection of information obligations of Rule 606, clearing brokers bear a substantial portion of the burden PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 10217 of complying with the reporting and recordkeeping requirements of Rule 606 on behalf of small to mid-sized introducing firms. There currently are approximately 527 clearing brokers. In addition, there are approximately 2426 introducing brokers that receive funds or securities from their customers. Because at least some of these firms also may have greater involvement in determining where customer orders are routed for execution, they have been included, along with clearing brokers, in estimating the total burden of Rule 606. The Commission staff estimates that each firm significantly involved in order routing practices incurs an average burden of 40 hours to prepare and disseminate a quarterly report required by Rule 606, or a burden of 160 hours per year. With an estimated 2953 1 broker-dealers significantly involved in order routing practices, the total industry-wide burden per year to comply with the quarterly reporting requirement in Rule 606 is estimated to be 472,480 hours (160 × 2953). Rule 606 also requires broker-dealers to respond to individual customer requests for information on orders handled by the broker-dealer for that customer. Clearing brokers generally bear the burden of responding to these requests. The Commission staff estimates that an average clearing broker incurs an annual burden of 400 hours (2000 responses × 0.2 hours/response) to prepare, disseminate, and retain responses to customers required by Rule 606. With an estimated 527 clearing brokers subject to Rule 606, the total industry-wide burden per year to comply with the customer response requirement in Rule 606 is estimated to be 210,800 hours (527 × 400). Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission’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 1 527 clearing brokers + 2426 introducing brokers = 2953. E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM 13FEN1 10218 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 13, 2013 / Notices unless it displays a currently valid OMB 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 OMB control number. Comments should be directed 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 email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Dated: February 7, 2013. Kevin M. O’Neill, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 2013–03271 Filed 2–12–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Proposed Collection; Comment Request Upon Written Request Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549–0213. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Extension: Rule 15b1–1/Form BD; SEC File No. 270– 19, OMB Control No. 3235–0012. Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (‘‘PRA’’), the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments on the collection of information provided for in Rule 15b1–1 (17 CFR 240.15b1–1) and Form BD (17 CFR 249.501) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 U.S.C. 78a et seq.). The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for extension and approval. Form BD is the application form used by firms to apply to the Commission for registration as a broker-dealer, as required by Rule 15b1–1. Form BD also is used by firms other than banks and registered broker-dealers to apply to the Commission for registration as a municipal securities dealer or a government securities broker-dealer. In addition, Form BD is used to change information contained in a previous Form BD filing that becomes inaccurate. The total industry-wide annual time burden imposed by Form BD is approximately 5,941 hours, based on approximately 15,890 responses (288 initial filings + 15,602 amendments). Each application filed on Form BD requires approximately 2.75 hours to complete and each amended Form BD VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:21 Feb 12, 2013 Jkt 229001 requires approximately 20 minutes to complete. (288 × 2.75 hours = 792 hours; 15,602 × 0.33 hours = 5,149 hours; 792 hours + 5,149 hours = 5,941 hours.) The staff believes that a brokerdealer would have a Compliance Manager complete and file both applications and amendments on Form BD at a cost of $279/hour. Consequently, the staff estimates that the total internal cost of compliance associated with the annual time burden is approximately $1,657,539 per year ($279 × 5941). There is no external cost burden associated with Rule 15b1–1 and Form BD. The Commission uses the information disclosed by applicants in Form BD: (1) To determine whether the applicant meets the standards for registration set forth in the provisions of the Exchange Act; (2) to develop a central information resource where members of the public may obtain relevant, up-to-date information about broker-dealers, municipal securities dealers and government securities broker-dealers, and where the Commission, other regulators and SROs may obtain information for investigatory purposes in connection with securities litigation; and (3) to develop statistical information about broker-dealers, municipal securities dealers and government securities broker-dealers. Without the information disclosed in Form BD, the Commission could not effectively implement policy objectives of the Exchange Act with respect to its investor protection function. Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission’s estimate of the burden of the proposed 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 OMB 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 OMB control number. PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 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 email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Dated: February 7, 2013. Kevin M. O’Neill, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 2013–03272 Filed 2–12–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–68864; File No. S7–27–11] Order Extending Temporary Exemptions Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in Connection With the Revision of the Definition of ‘‘Security’’ to Encompass SecurityBased Swaps, and Request for Comment February 7, 2013. I. Introduction On July 1, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) issued an order granting temporary exemptive relief from compliance with certain provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Exchange Act’’) in connection with the revision of the Exchange Act definition of ‘‘security’’ to encompass security-based swaps (‘‘Exchange Act Exemptive Order’’).1 Certain temporary exemptions contained in the Exchange Act Exemptive Order are set to expire upon the compliance date for final rules further defining the terms ‘‘securitybased swap’’ and ‘‘eligible contract participant,’’ which is scheduled to occur on February 11, 2013 (‘‘Expiring Temporary Exemptions’’).2 The 1 See Order Granting Temporary Exemptions under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in Connection with the Pending Revisions of the Definition of ‘‘Security’’ to Encompass SecurityBased Swaps, Exchange Act Release No. 64795 (Jul. 1, 2011), 76 FR 39927 (Jul. 7, 2011). 2 Id. See also Further Definition of ‘‘Swap,’’ ‘‘Security-Based Swap,’’ and ‘‘Security-Based Swap Agreement’’; Mixed Swaps; Security-Based Swap Agreement Recordkeeping, Exchange Act Release No. 67453 (Jul. 18, 2012), 77 FR 48207 (Aug. 13, 2012) (Joint Final Rule with the CFTC) (‘‘Product Definitions Adopting Release’’), which postpones the Expiring Temporary Exemptions expiration date to February 11, 2013. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (‘‘FINRA’’) filed a proposed rule change, which was effective upon receipt by the Commission, extending the expiration date of FINRA Rule 0180 (Application of Rules to SecurityBased Swaps), which temporary limits the application of certain FINRA rules with respect to security-based swaps, to July 17, 2013. See SelfRegulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing and E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM 13FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10217-10218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03271]


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

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-489, OMB Control No. 3235-0541]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon Written Request Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 
20549-0123.

Extension:
    Rule 606 of Regulation NMS.

    Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (``PRA''), the Securities and 
Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the 
existing collection of information provided for in Rule 606 of 
Regulation NMS (``Rule 606'') (17 CFR 242.606), under the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.). The Commission plans to 
submit this existing collection of information to the Office of 
Management and Budget (``OMB'') for extension and approval.
    Rule 606 (formerly known as Rule 11Ac1-6) requires broker-dealers 
to prepare and disseminate quarterly order routing reports. Much of the 
information needed to generate these reports already should be 
collected by broker-dealers in connection with their periodic 
evaluations of their order routing practices. Broker-dealers must 
conduct such evaluations to fulfill the duty of best execution that 
they owe their customers.
    The collection of information obligations of Rule 606 apply to 
broker-dealers that route non-directed customer orders in covered 
securities. The Commission estimates that out of the currently 5178 
broker-dealers that are subject to the collection of information 
obligations of Rule 606, clearing brokers bear a substantial portion of 
the burden of complying with the reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements of Rule 606 on behalf of small to mid-sized introducing 
firms. There currently are approximately 527 clearing brokers. In 
addition, there are approximately 2426 introducing brokers that receive 
funds or securities from their customers. Because at least some of 
these firms also may have greater involvement in determining where 
customer orders are routed for execution, they have been included, 
along with clearing brokers, in estimating the total burden of Rule 
606.
    The Commission staff estimates that each firm significantly 
involved in order routing practices incurs an average burden of 40 
hours to prepare and disseminate a quarterly report required by Rule 
606, or a burden of 160 hours per year. With an estimated 2953 \1\ 
broker-dealers significantly involved in order routing practices, the 
total industry-wide burden per year to comply with the quarterly 
reporting requirement in Rule 606 is estimated to be 472,480 hours (160 
x 2953).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 527 clearing brokers + 2426 introducing brokers = 2953.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Rule 606 also requires broker-dealers to respond to individual 
customer requests for information on orders handled by the broker-
dealer for that customer. Clearing brokers generally bear the burden of 
responding to these requests. The Commission staff estimates that an 
average clearing broker incurs an annual burden of 400 hours (2000 
responses x 0.2 hours/response) to prepare, disseminate, and retain 
responses to customers required by Rule 606. With an estimated 527 
clearing brokers subject to Rule 606, the total industry-wide burden 
per year to comply with the customer response requirement in Rule 606 
is estimated to be 210,800 hours (527 x 400).
    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Commission, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission'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

[[Page 10218]]

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 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 OMB 
control number.
    Comments should be directed 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 email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

    Dated: February 7, 2013.
Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-03271 Filed 2-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.