Proposed Exemptions From Certain Prohibited Transaction Restrictions, 70623-70671 [2014-27935]

Agencies

• Employee Benefits Security Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 228 (Wednesday, November 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70623-70671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27935]



[[Page 70623]]

Vol. 79

Wednesday,

No. 228

November 26, 2014

Part II





Department of Labor





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Employee Benefits Security Administration





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Proposed Exemptions From Certain Prohibited Transaction Restrictions; 
Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 228 / Wednesday, November 26, 2014 / 
Notices

[[Page 70624]]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Exemptions From Certain Prohibited Transaction 
Restrictions

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Exemptions.

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SUMMARY: This document contains notices of pendency before the 
Department of Labor (the Department) of proposed exemptions from 
certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This notice includes the 
following proposed exemptions: D-11750, United Association of 
Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 
No. 189 Pension Plan; D-11751, The Camco Financial & Subsidiaries 
Salary Savings Plan; D-11752, Wells Fargo Company; L-11775, Craftsman 
Independent Union Local #1 Health, Welfare & Hospitalization Trust 
Fund; D-11782, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated; D-11826, First 
Security Group, Inc. 401(k) and Employee Stock Ownership Plan; and, D-
11827, BNP Paribas, S.A.

DATES: All interested persons are invited to submit written comments or 
requests for a hearing on the pending exemptions, unless otherwise 
stated in the Notice of Proposed Exemption, within 45 days from the 
date of publication of this Federal Register Notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for a hearing should state: (1) The 
name, address, and telephone number of the person making the comment or 
request, and (2) the nature of the person's interest in the exemption 
and the manner in which the person would be adversely affected by the 
exemption. A request for a hearing must also state the issues to be 
addressed and include a general description of the evidence to be 
presented at the hearing.
    All written comments and requests for a hearing (at least three 
copies) should be sent to the Employee Benefits Security Administration 
(EBSA), Office of Exemption Determinations, Room N-5700, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. 
Attention: Application No. ___--, stated in each Notice of Proposed 
Exemption. Interested persons are also invited to submit comments and/
or hearing requests to EBSA via email or FAX. Any such comments or 
requests should be sent either by email to: moffitt.betty@dol.gov, or 
by FAX to (202) 219-0204 by the end of the scheduled comment period. 
The applications for exemption and the comments received will be 
available for public inspection in the Public Documents Room of the 
Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 
Room N-1513, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210.
    Warning: All comments will be made available to the public. Do not 
include any personally identifiable information (such as Social 
Security number, name, address, or other contact information) or 
confidential business information that you do not want publicly 
disclosed. All comments may be posted on the Internet and can be 
retrieved by most Internet search engines.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice to Interested Persons

    Notice of the proposed exemptions will be provided to all 
interested persons in the manner agreed upon by the applicant and the 
Department within 15 days of the date of publication in the Federal 
Register. Such notice shall include a copy of the notice of proposed 
exemption as published in the Federal Register and shall inform 
interested persons of their right to comment and to request a hearing 
(where appropriate).
    The proposed exemptions were requested in applications filed 
pursuant to section 408(a) of the Act and/or section 4975(c)(2) of the 
Code, and in accordance with procedures set forth in 29 CFR part 2570, 
Subpart B (76 FR 66637, 66644, October 27, 2011).\1\ Effective December 
31, 1978, section 102 of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978, 5 U.S.C. 
App. 1 (1996), transferred the authority of the Secretary of the 
Treasury to issue exemptions of the type requested to the Secretary of 
Labor. Therefore, these notices of proposed exemption are issued solely 
by the Department.
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    \1\ The Department has considered exemption applications 
received prior to December 27, 2011 under the exemption procedures 
set forth in 29 CFR part 2570, subpart B (55 FR 32836, 32847, August 
10, 1990).
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    The applications contain representations with regard to the 
proposed exemptions which are summarized below. Interested persons are 
referred to the applications on file with the Department for a complete 
statement of the facts and representations.

The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbers 
and Pipefitters Local Union No. 189 Pension Plan, as Amended (the Plan) 
Located in Columbus, Ohio

[Application No. D-11750]

Proposed Exemption

    The Department is considering granting an exemption under the 
authority of section 408(a) of the Act (or ERISA) and section 
4975(c)(2) of the Code and in accordance with the procedures set forth 
in 29 CFR part 2570, subpart B (76 FR 66637, 66644, October 27, 
2011).\2\ If the exemption is granted, the restrictions of section 
406(a)(1)(A) and (D) and section 406(b)(1) and (b)(2) of the Act and 
the sanctions resulting from the application of section 4975(c)(1)(A), 
(D) and (E) of the Code, shall not apply to the proposed sale (Sale) of 
certain improved real property (the Property) by the Plan to Local #189 
of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing 
and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada (the 
Union),\3\ a party in interest with respect to the Plan, provided that 
the following conditions are satisfied:
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    \2\ For purposes of this proposed exemption, references to the 
provisions of Title I of the Act, unless otherwise specified, refer 
also to the corresponding provisions of the Code.
    \3\ The Plan and the Union are together referred to herein as 
``the Applicants.''
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    (a) The Sale is a one-time transaction for cash;
    (b) As consideration, the Plan receives the greater of $2,900,000 
or the fair market value of the Property as determined by a qualified, 
independent appraiser (the Appraiser) in a written appraisal (the 
Appraisal) of the Property, which is updated on the date of Sale (Sale 
Date);
    (c) The Plan pays no commissions, costs or fees with respect to the 
Sale;
    (d) The terms and conditions of the Sale are at least as favorable 
to the Plan as those obtainable in an arm's length transaction with an 
unrelated party;
    (e) The Sale has been reviewed and approved by a qualified, 
independent fiduciary (I/F), who, among other things: has reviewed and 
approved the methodology used by the Appraiser and has ensured that the 
appraisal methodology was properly applied in determining the fair 
market value of the Property; and has determined that it is prudent to 
go forward with the Sale.

Summary of Facts and Representations

The Parties

    1. The Plan, with offices located in Columbus, Ohio, is a 
multiemployer

[[Page 70625]]

defined benefit plan created as of June 1, 1967, to provide retirement 
and disability benefits to apprentices and journeymen in the plumbing 
and pipefitting industry. The Plan is maintained pursuant to a 
collective bargaining agreement between the Union and the Mechanical 
Contractors Association of Central Ohio, Inc. (the MCACO), an 
association of central Ohio contractors formed to promote, among other 
things, cooperation with state and city inspection departments and 
develop relations between designers and mechanical engineers.
    As of December 31, 2013, the Plan had 1,587 participants and 
beneficiaries who were either active, terminated with a vested 
interest, or retired and in pay status. As of the same date, the Plan 
had total assets of approximately $130,319,233.
    2. The Plan is administered by a Board of Trustees (the Board) 
consisting of eight members, four of whom are elected by the Union 
members and four of whom are designated by the MCACO. The Trustees are 
fiduciaries, as defined in section 3(21) of the Act, and therefore are 
parties in interest with respect to the Plan, pursuant to section 
3(14)(A) of the Act. The Plan's current Trustees elected by the Union 
are Bill Steinhausser (Board Chairman), Michael Kelly, Kenneth Davis, 
and James C. Green. Mr. Kelly also serves as the Union's Business 
Manager and Mr. Davis also serves as the Union's Financial Secretary. 
The Plan's current Trustees designated by the MCACO are Michael Stemen 
(Board Secretary), Dennis Shuman, Neil Harfield, and Terry Griffith. 
For purposes of the proposed Sale, Messrs. Kelly and Davis, who 
currently serve in dual roles as Trustees and Union officials, have 
recused themselves from all determinations in connection therewith.
    The Board employs James A. Wright, the Plan Administrator, to 
oversee the performance of the routine administrative duties of the 
Plan. Because the Plan Administrator has discretionary control over a 
nominal level of Plan assets, he is also a fiduciary under section 
3(14)(A) of the Act and a party in interest to the Plan.
    3. The Union, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, was chartered in 
1899. Members of the Union, except for first-year apprentices, are 
eligible to participate in the Plan. As an employee organization with 
members covered by the Plan, the Union is a party in interest with 
respect to the Plan pursuant to section 3(14)(D) of the Act. The Union 
represents over 1,500 individuals working in the plumbing and 
mechanical pipefitting industries within central Ohio.

The Property

    4. On June 11, 1980, the Plan purchased the Property from Buckeye 
Telephone, Harold Wirtz and Bob Rice, who were unrelated parties, for 
$600,000 in cash. The Property consists of approximately 4.868 acres of 
improved real property located on the north side of Kinnear Road in 
Clinton Township, Franklin County, Ohio. Although the street address 
for the Property is 1226 through 1250 Kinnear Road, Columbus, Ohio, the 
Property is more commonly identified as ``1250 Kinnear Road, Columbus, 
Ohio.'' The Plan owns no other real property besides the Property.
    The Property is improved with a building that was constructed in or 
about 1951 and remodeled in 1999. The building consists of 
approximately 37,230 square feet of space. The south and east portions 
of the building are used as Union offices. The north and west portions 
of the building have classrooms designed to allow access to training. A 
large portion of the building is a meeting hall with a stage and a 
kitchen. There are also some unfinished storage areas.

Leasing of the Property

    5. On October 30, 1980, the Plan entered into a lease of the 
Property with the Union (the 1980 Lease) for a 20-year period, 
effective January 1, 1981. Under the terms of the 1980 Lease, the Union 
was obligated to: (a) Pay taxes assessed by any governmental taxing 
authority during the term; (b) maintain insurance on the Property; and 
(c) maintain the buildings on the Property in good condition at its 
sole cost and expense. The 1980 Lease was amended several times over 
the ensuing years. Currently, the Union pays the Plan monthly rent of 
$10,433.99 or $125,207.89, annually.
    According to the Applicants, the Plan and the Union have relied on 
Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 76-1, 71 FR 12740 (March 26, 
1976, as corrected, 41 FR 16620, April 20, 1976) and PTE 77-10, 42 FR 
33918 (July 1, 1977) with respect to the 1980 Lease and the amendments 
to this lease.\4\
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    \4\ The Department expresses no opinion herein as to whether the 
conditions of PTEs 76-1 and 77-10 have been met.
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Plan's Holding Costs and Net Income Related to the Property

    6. For the period from January 31, 1981, to March 31, 2014, the 
Plan incurred total unaudited expenses of $801,109, in connection with 
the structural maintenance of the Property, as well as expenses related 
to that portion of the Property that the Plan retained. Such expenses 
included $670,005 for repairs and maintenance, $84,187 for property tax 
and administrative office expenses, and $46,917 for utilities, 
insurance and other expenses. During this same period, the Plan 
received total rental income of $2,924,898. Therefore, the Plan's net 
income for this period is $2,123,789.

Sale Transaction and Rationale

    7. The Applicants request an individual exemption from the 
Department that would permit the Plan to sell the Property to the 
Union. The Applicants represent that the Sale is in the interest of the 
participants and beneficiaries of the Plan for the following reasons. 
First, the Sale will be a one-time transaction for cash, which will 
transfer a non-liquid asset from the Plan. Second, the Plan will 
receive the greater of $2,900,000 or the fair market value of the 
Property as determined by an Appraiser, and set forth in an Appraisal 
of the Property, which will be updated on the Sale Date. Third, the 
Plan will pay no commissions, costs or fees with respect to the Sale.
    Further, as described in more detail below, the Plan does not want 
to risk a substantial diminution in the value of the Property if it 
loses the Union as its tenant, so the Plan wishes to sell the Property, 
at this time, to the Union while the current value of the Property 
reflects the fact that it is largely occupied.
    Following the Sale, the Plan intends to enter into a lease whereby 
the Union will lease to the Plan the space currently occupied by the 
Plan.\5\ The Applicants represent that the Plan Trustees, who are Union 
officials, will recuse themselves from any consideration of the 
proposed sale and leasing arrangement described above, and they will 
not otherwise exercise any fiduciary authority, control or 
responsibility in connection with these transactions.
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    \5\ According to the Applicants, the lease between the Union and 
the Plan will be consistent with section 408(b)(2) of the Act and 
the regulations promulgated thereunder.
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Request for Exemptive Relief

    8. The Applicants are requesting exemptive relief from section 
406(a)(1)(A) and (D) of the Act and section 406(b)(1) and (b)(2) of the 
Act for the Sale of the Property by the Plan to the Union. In this 
regard, section 406(a)(1)(A) of the Act provides, in part, that a 
fiduciary with respect to a plan

[[Page 70626]]

shall not cause the plan to engage in a transaction if he knows or 
should know that such transaction constitutes a direct or indirect sale 
of any property between a plan and a party in interest. In addition, 
section 406(a)(1)(D) of the Act provides that a fiduciary with respect 
to a plan shall not cause the plan to engage in a transaction if he 
knows or should know that such transaction constitutes a direct or 
indirect transfer to or use by or for the benefit of a party in 
interest of any assets of the plan. Further, section 406(b)(1) of the 
Act prohibits any fiduciary from dealing with plan assets in his own 
interest or for his own account. Moreover, section 406(b)(2) of the Act 
prohibits any fiduciary from acting, in his individual or any other 
capacity, in any transaction involving the plan on behalf of a party 
whose interests are adverse to the interests of the plan or its 
participants or beneficiaries.
    The term ``party in interest'' is defined under section 3(14)(A) of 
the Act to include a fiduciary with respect to the Plan, such as the 
Trustees, or an employee organization any of whose employees are 
covered by such plan, as defined under section 3(14)(D), such as the 
Union.
    Accordingly, in the absence of a statutory or administrative 
exemption, the Sale would violate the foregoing provisions of the Act.

The Appraisal

    9. In an independent appraisal report dated January 31, 2014 (the 
2014 Appraisal), Thomas R. Horner, MAI, SRA, ASA (the Appraiser) of 
Ohio Real Estate Consultants, Inc., updated a July 6, 2012, appraisal 
(the 2012 Appraisal) that was prepared by his firm, in which the fair 
market value of the Property in fee simple was placed at $2,650,000, as 
of July 6, 2012. The Appraiser is President of Ohio Real Estate 
Consultants, Inc., which is located in Dublin, Ohio. The Appraiser is 
an Ohio certified general real estate appraiser with approximately 30 
years of appraisal experience. The Appraiser is also a member of the 
Appraisal Institute and the American Society of Appraisers and has 
served as an expert witness in the Ohio and Michigan judicial systems.
    10. The Appraiser represents that he has no present or prospective 
interest in the Property and has no personal interest with respect to 
the parties involved. Further, the Appraiser represents that he has 
derived less than 1% of his annual income from any party in interest 
involved in the transaction or such party's affiliates for the years 
2012, 2013 and 2014.
    11. In the 2014 Appraisal, the Appraiser estimated the Property's 
land value, as if vacant, and compared the land value to the value of 
the Property, as improved, to determine its highest and best value. The 
Appraiser did not develop the Income Capitalization Approach to 
valuation because, among other things, the Property is currently 
occupied by entities related to the ownership and the rental rates are 
not considered to reflect market conditions. Likewise, the Appraiser 
did not develop the Cost Approach to valuation because he determined 
that the Property's improvements are at or near the end of their useful 
life.
    Using the Sales Comparison Approach to valuation for the land 
value, if vacant, the Appraiser placed the fair market value of the 
Property in fee simple at $2,900,000 as of January 27, 2014. As of the 
same date, using the Sales Comparison Approach to valuation for the 
Property, as improved, the Appraiser placed the fair market value of 
the improved Property at $2,250,000.
    12. The Appraiser considered the Sales Comparison Approach to value 
the Property's land, if vacant, to be the best indication of the 
Property's market value because: (a) Most of the comparables have been 
redevelopment sites and redevelopment continues to occur throughout the 
neighborhood; and (b) the Property's existing improvements have reached 
the end of their economic life and no longer contribute value to the 
Property other than in an interim use. In this regard, the Appraiser 
represents that the Property is located in an area that is in 
transition from older industrial uses to high-density residential and 
high-tech business and research uses. The Appraiser further represents 
that Ohio State University (OSU) has purchased many buildings in the 
area for these uses and that The Commons, a multifamily development 
located just east of the Property, was developed in 2000. Based upon 
surrounding land uses in the Property's neighborhood, as well as the 
Kinnear Road engineering and the increased demand for housing created 
by OSU, the Appraiser believes that a high-density residential use is 
probable. Taking into consideration those uses that are legally 
permissible, physically possible and financially feasible, the 
Appraiser believes that the highest and best use of the Property, if 
vacant, is for future high-density residential use.
    13. Accordingly, after reconciling the Sales Comparison Approach 
for the land value, if vacant, and the Sales Comparison Approach for 
the Property, as improved, the Appraiser represents that in his 
professional opinion the market value, fee simple estate, of the 
Property, as a whole, in its present condition, in terms of financial 
arrangements equivalent to cash, ``as-is'', as of January 27, 2014, is 
$2,900,000.

The I/F

    14. Pursuant to an engagement letter dated March 20, 2013 (the 
Engagement Letter), SEI Investments Management Corporation (SEI), was 
retained on behalf of the Plan by the Plan Administrator to serve as 
the qualified independent fiduciary. SEI provides investment management 
and advisory services and is a federally registered investment adviser 
with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment 
Advisers Act of 1940.
    15. The I/F estimates that it will receive approximately $1,236,000 
from the Plan in 2014 for its institutional fiduciary investment 
management services, $0 of which is specifically related to the 
services described herein.\6\ The I/F represents that its revenue from 
all sources related to its institutional fiduciary investment 
management services (excluding fixed, nondiscretionary retirement 
income) for 2013 is estimated to be $187,000,000. Therefore, the I/F 
represents that its revenue from the Plan for its institutional 
fiduciary investment management services is expected to comprise 
approximately 0.7% of its estimated annual institutional fiduciary 
management gross revenue, 0% of which is attributable to services 
rendered in connection with the proposed Sale. Further, the I/F states 
that it does not receive any amount from a party in interest to the 
Plan.
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    \6\ The I/F represents that it agreed to provide the services 
described herein without the receipt of compensation in order to 
save the Plan the expense of paying for such services and because it 
expected its engagement to be narrow in scope.
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    16. The I/F represents that it is qualified to represent the Plan's 
interests with respect to the Sale because it has a demonstrated strong 
understanding of fiduciary duties under the Act for the following 
reasons. First, the I/F states that it already serves as an independent 
fiduciary of the Plan, overseeing the Plan's investments. In this 
regard, the I/F states that it is generally responsible for providing 
guidance to the Plan's Board of Trustees on matters pertaining to the 
investment of the Plan's assets, including investment selection and 
monitoring the Plan's performance and compliance with its investment 
guidelines. Second, the I/F represents that it has general financial 
management experience in

[[Page 70627]]

evaluating asset allocations, financial transactions, projected risk 
and return expectations and certain real estate transactions on behalf 
of plans gained through its previous fiduciary investment management 
experience and from overseeing real estate investment trusts.
    In addition, the I/F represents that it has engaged Morgan, Lewis & 
Bockius LLP, a law firm that has experience in dealing with matters 
under the Act's fiduciary responsibility rules, as outside legal 
counsel to advise the I/F with regard to the exercise of its fiduciary 
duties with respect to its engagement on this matter to the extent that 
this engagement is outside of the I/F's typical role for its clients.
    17. Pursuant to the Engagement Letter, the I/F agreed to perform 
certain services on the Plan's behalf with respect to the Sale. Among 
other things, the I/F agreed to: (a) Analyze the prudence of the 
proposed Sale, from an investment standpoint, taking into consideration 
certain things such as the 2014 Appraisal, the Plan's investment 
guidelines and objectives, and the interests of the Plan and its 
participants and beneficiaries with respect to any subsequent leasing 
of the Property; and (b) issue a written report to the Plan that would 
include, among other things, a complete analysis of the proposed Sale, 
a determination of whether the proposed Sale is consistent with the 
Plan's investment guidelines and financial objectives, a determination 
as to the financial effects of the proposed Sale, and a determination 
as to whether the proposed Sale is in the interests of and protective 
of the Plan and its participants and beneficiaries. The I/F is also 
authorized to take all appropriate actions to safeguard the interests 
of the Plan in connection with the Sale and, during the pendency of the 
subject transaction, to: (a) Monitor the transaction on behalf of the 
Plan on a continuing basis; (b) ensure that the transaction remains in 
the interest of the Plan and, if not, to take any appropriate actions 
available under the circumstances; and (c) enforce compliance with all 
conditions and obligations imposed on any party dealing with the Plan 
with respect to the Sale.
    18. Based on its analysis of the proposed Sale, the I/F has 
determined that the Sale is in the interests of the Plan and its 
participants and beneficiaries, and is protective of the rights of such 
participants and beneficiaries. In the ``Report of Independent 
Fiduciary'' (the I/F Report) dated March 25, 2014 (which updated an I/F 
Report of March 20, 2013), the I/F sets forth the following reasons for 
its opinion. First, the I/F has analyzed the proposed Sale terms, as 
well as the Plan's reasons for the proposed Sale, as stated above in 
Representation 7, which include the Plan's desire to avoid the risk of 
a substantial diminution in the value of the Property if the Plan 
should lose the Union as tenant. The I/F notes that the proposed Sale 
will allow the Plan to sell the Property at a time when its value 
reflects the fact that it is largely occupied.
    19. In addition, the I/F represents that the proposed Sale is 
consistent with the Plan's investment guidelines. As provided in the 
Plan's Investment Policy Statement, the I/F states that the primary 
financial objective is to increase the value of the Plan's assets and a 
secondary financial objective is to avoid significant downside risk. 
The I/F represents that the objectives of the Plan must be considered 
with respect to any investment of the Plan. In particular, the I/F 
states that consideration must be given to the return and risk 
expectations of the Plan and how such investment fits within the total 
portfolio, as well as to the liquidity needs of the Plan. The I/F 
represents that the current actuarial return assumption of the Plan is 
7.50%. The I/F explains that portfolios should be constructed to target 
expected long-term return of the total portfolio of investments in 
excess of this target with a reasonable level of annual variation of 
return.
    Further, the I/F opines that ownership of the Property inhibits the 
Plan from the full ability to rebalance its portfolio and to avail 
itself of liquid assets should it need to do so for outflow purposes. 
The I/F states that if the Plan should divest itself of the Property 
and invest the proceeds across its other portfolio asset classes, the 
Plan would enhance the expected return of the portfolio as a whole 
while not affecting the risk level of the portfolio (as measured by 
standard deviation of returns). The I/F represents that this action 
would also provide additional liquidity to the Plan by exchanging the 
investment in a single property for the investment in a collective 
trust holding many properties or for other diversified fund asset 
classes within the portfolio.
    20. Finally, the I/F confirms that it has reviewed the methodology 
used by the Appraiser in the 2014 Appraisal and that the methodology is 
consistent with industry standards in the valuation of commercial 
properties of this type. The I/F therefore agrees that the Appraiser's 
methodology has been properly applied to arrive at the Property's fair 
market value.

Summary

    21. In summary, the Applicants represent that the Sale will satisfy 
the statutory requirements for an exemption under section 408(a) of the 
Act because:
    (a) The Sale will be a one-time transaction for cash;
    (b) As consideration, the Plan will receive the greater of 
$2,900,000, or the fair market value of the Property as determined by 
the Appraiser in a written Appraisal of the Property, which is updated 
on the Sale Date;
    (c) The Plan will pay no commissions, costs, or fees;
    (d) The terms and conditions of the Sale will be at least as 
favorable to the Plan as those obtainable in an arm's length 
transaction with an unrelated party; and
    (e) The Sale has been reviewed and approved by an I/F, who, among 
other things: Has reviewed and approved the methodology used by the 
Appraiser, and has ensured that such methodology was properly applied 
in determining the fair market value of the Property; and has 
determined that it is prudent to go forward with the Sale.

Notice to Interested Parties

    Notice of the proposed exemption (consisting of a copy of the 
proposed exemption, as published in the Federal Register, and the 
supplemental statement required by 29 CFR 2570.43(b)(2), (together, the 
Notice)) will be given to interested persons within 15 days of the 
publication of the Notice in the Federal Register. The Notice will be 
given to interested persons by posting in the Union hall for active 
Plan participants and by first class mail for inactive Plan 
participants. Active Plan participants are those Plan participants for 
whom a participating employer contributed to the Plan within the 60 
days before the Notice is distributed. Inactive Plan participants are 
those participants for whom a participating employer is not currently 
contributing under a collectively bargained agreement, and includes any 
deferred vested participant (i.e, a participant who is not drawing 
retirement benefits and for whom no contributions are being made by a 
participating employer, either because they are not working or because 
they are working for a non-contributing employer) and any retiree (a 
participant who is currently drawing retirement benefits). Written 
comments are due within 45 days of the publication of the Notice in the 
Federal Register.
    All comments will be made available to the public. Warning: Do not 
include any personally identifiable information

[[Page 70628]]

(such as name, address, or other contact information) or confidential 
business information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All 
comments may be posted on the Internet and can be retrieved by most 
Internet search engines.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Anna Mpras Vaughan of the 
Department at (202) 693-8565. (This is not a toll-free number.)

The Camco Financial & Subsidiaries Salary Savings Plan (the Plan) and 
Huntington Bancshares, Inc. (Huntington) Located in Cambridge, OH and 
Columbus, OH

[Application No. D-11751]

Proposed Exemption

    The Department is considering granting an exemption under the 
authority of section 408(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
Act of 1974, as amended, (the Act or ERISA) and section 4975(c)(2) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and in 
accordance with the procedures set forth in 29 CFR part 2570, subpart B 
(76 FR 66637, 66644, October 27, 2011).
Section I: Transactions
    If the proposed exemption is granted, the restrictions of sections 
406(a)(1)(A), 406(a)(1)(E), 406(a)(2), 406(b)(1), 406(b)(2), and 
407(a)(1)(A) of the Act and the sanctions resulting from the 
application of section 4975 of the Code, by reason of sections 
4975(c)(1)(A) and (E) of the Code,\7\ shall not apply to the 
acquisition and holding of certain warrants (the Warrants) by the 
individually-directed account(s) (the Account(s)) of certain 
participant(s) in the Plan in connection with an offering (the 
Offering) of shares of common stock (the Stock) of Camco Financial 
Corporation (Camco), the sponsor of the Plan and a party in interest 
with respect to the Plan.
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    \7\ For purposes of this proposed exemption, references to 
specific provisions of Title I of the Act, unless otherwise 
specified, refer also to the corresponding provisions of the Code.
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Section II: Proposed Conditions
    (a) The Accounts acquired the Warrants in connection with the 
exercise of subscription rights (the Rights) to purchase Stock by the 
Plan's directed trustee (the Directed Trustee) on behalf of Plan 
participants;
    (b) Each stockholder, including each of the Accounts holding Stock 
on behalf of Plan participants, received the same proportionate number 
of Rights based on the number of shares of Stock held as of July 29, 
2012 (the Record Date), and the same proportionate number of Warrants 
based on the number of Rights exercised during the Offering;
    (c) The Plan participant whose Account received the Warrants made, 
or will make, all decisions with respect to the holding or exercise of 
such Warrants;
    (d) The Plan did not pay, nor will it pay, any brokerage fees, 
commissions, or other fees or expenses to any related broker in 
connection with the acquisition, holding, and/or exercise of the Rights 
or Warrants;
    (e) The acquisition of the Rights by the Accounts resulted from an 
independent corporate act of Camco; and
    (f) The Rights and Warrants were acquired pursuant to and in 
accordance with, provisions under the Plan for individually directed 
investments of the Accounts holding Stock on behalf of Plan 
participants.
    Effective Date: This proposed exemption, if granted, will be 
effective from November 1, 2012, until the Warrants are exercised or 
expire.

Summary of Facts and Representations \8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ The Summary of Facts and Representations is based on the 
Applicants' representations and does not reflect the views of the 
Department, unless indicated otherwise.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Background

    1. The Camco Financial & Subsidiaries Salary Savings Plan (the 
Plan) and Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (Huntington, and together 
with the Plan, the Applicants) request the prohibited transaction 
exemption proposed herein. At the time of the transaction described 
herein, Camco Financial Corporation (Camco), the original sponsor of 
the Plan, was engaged in the financial services business in Ohio, 
Kentucky, and West Virginia through its wholly-owned subsidiary, 
Advantage Bank (Advantage). Advantage is an Ohio savings bank that 
operates branch offices in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The 
Applicants represent that on October 9, 2013, Camco entered into a 
definitive agreement with Huntington, by which Huntington acquired 
Camco and Advantage in a cash and stock transaction (the Acquisition) 
that allowed Camco shareholders to receive, in exchange for each of 
their Camco shares, either a fractional share of Huntington stock or 
$6.00 per Camco share. The Applicants represent that Camco filed proxy 
materials describing the proposed merger with the SEC and distributed 
those materials to its shareholders.
    2. The Plan is a 401(k) plan qualified under section 401(a) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code) and intended to 
comply with ERISA section 404(c) with respect to accounts subject to 
participant investment direction. Camco established the Plan on 
February 1, 1987. The Plan was taken over by Huntington in connection 
with the Acquisition and has not been merged into any other plans 
sponsored by Huntington. The Applicants represent that the Plan, as 
amended and restated, operates in compliance with applicable Code 
requirements. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 249 participants 
had account balances in the Plan and total combined assets of 
approximately $9,374,142. The fair market value of the Plan's shares of 
Camco common stock (the Stock) as of December 31, 2011, was $288,615, 
which represented approximately 3% of the Plan's total assets.
    3. Prior to the Acquisition, all employees of Camco and Advantage 
were eligible to participate in the Plan, which allows each participant 
to choose the investments in his or her Account. Prior to 2008, Camco 
made profit-sharing contributions to the Plan on behalf of 
participants, portions of which were automatically invested in shares 
of the Stock, but the Plan was amended effective January 1, 2009, to 
make all accounts fully participant-directed. Each Plan participant 
could choose from a variety of investment options, including any 
combination of mutual funds, Camco common stock, common/collective 
funds, and other investment securities.\9\ Therefore, starting in 2009, 
any Plan participant who chose to invest in the Stock did so 
voluntarily. The Applicants represent that the Stock was a ``qualifying 
employer security'' as defined under section 407(d)(5) of ERISA and 
section 4975(e) of the Code.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ The Plan's directed trustee, Charles Schwab Trust Company or 
its affiliates, manage certain investment funds offered within the 
Plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Prior to the Acquisition, the Plan was administered by Camco, 
which adopted an investment policy that provided for a Plan committee 
called the ``401(k) Retirement Planning Committee'' (the Committee). 
The Committee met periodically (typically at least twice a year) and 
monitored and selected the investment options under the Plan. Jim 
Huston, Camco's Chairman, CEO, and President, was a member of the 
Committee.

[[Page 70629]]

The MOU, Consent Order, and Rights Offering

    5. Camco was regulated by the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), and 
Advantage is primarily regulated by the State of Ohio Department of 
Commerce, Division of Financial Institutions (the Ohio Division) and 
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The Applicants state 
that on March 4, 2009, Camco entered into a Memorandum of Understanding 
(MOU) with the FRB that prohibits Camco from: (1) Declaring or paying 
dividends to stockholders; and (2) repurchasing the Stock without the 
prior written approval of the FRB. On August 5, 2009, Camco and the FRB 
entered into a written agreement that required Camco to obtain FRB 
approval prior to: (1) Declaring or paying dividends; (2) receiving 
dividends or any other form of payment representing a reduction in 
capital from Advantage; (3) making distributions of interest, 
principal, or other sums or subordinated debentures or trust preferred 
securities; (4) incurring, increasing, or guaranteeing any debt; or (5) 
repurchasing any Camco stock. The written agreement also required Camco 
to develop a capital plan and submit it to the FRB for approval. On 
February 9, 2012, the FDIC and the Ohio Division executed a Consent 
Order, which required Advantage to, among other things: (1) Raise its 
Tier 1 Leverage Capital ratio to 9%; (2) raise its total Risk-Based 
Capital ratio to 12%; and (3) seek regulatory approval prior to 
declaring or paying any cash dividend.
    6. According to the Applicants, the Camco board of directors chose 
to raise equity capital through a rights offering (the Offering) in 
order to improve Advantage's capital position, retain additional 
capital at Camco, and give stockholders the opportunity to limit 
ownership dilution by buying additional shares of the Stock. Camco's 
Offering commenced on September 24, 2012. Through the Offering, Camco 
offered up to 5,714,286 shares of the Stock at a subscription price of 
$1.75 per share (the Subscription Price).
    7. The Applicants state that on or about September 26, 2012, Camco 
sent detailed information regarding the Rights Offering to each Plan 
participant. In this regard, the Applicants represent that Plan 
participants were provided with a copy of the prospectus that described 
the Offering, a Q&A entitled ``Important Information Regarding the 
Rights Offering for Plan Participants,'' an election form, a return 
envelope addressed to Camco, and a statement indicating the number of 
shares of Stock each participant held in his or her Account, as of the 
Record Date. Camco informed stockholders that the proceeds from the 
Offering would be used to improve Advantage's capital position and to 
retain additional capital at Camco. Additionally, Camco informed 
stockholders that even if the Offering was fully subscribed, Advantage 
would not meet the Consent Order's capital requirements.
    8. Under the terms of the Offering, all stockholders, including the 
Plan participants whose Accounts held shares of the Stock, received at 
no charge, non-transferable subscription rights (the Rights) to 
purchase their share of $10 million worth of the Stock. Stockholders 
could execute their Rights through a ``basic subscription privilege'' 
and an ``oversubscription privilege.'' The ``basic subscription 
privilege'' gave each stockholder the opportunity to purchase one share 
of Stock, for $1.75 per share (the Subscription Price), for every one 
share of Stock owned as of July 29, 2012 (the Record Date). The 
Applicants state further that, if a stockholder exercised all of his or 
her Rights through the basic subscription privilege, that stockholder 
was also entitled to an ``over-subscription privilege,'' which allowed 
the stockholder to purchase a proportional share of the Stock that was 
not subscribed for by other stockholders under their basic subscription 
privileges.
    9. The Applicants represent that for every two Rights a stockholder 
exercised, the stockholder received one Warrant to purchase one share 
of Stock at a future date for $2.10 per share. The Applicants represent 
that the Warrants are exercisable for a period of five years from the 
close of the Offering. The Applicants state further that the Warrants 
are not transferrable, except: (1) By will or the laws of descent and 
distribution upon a Warrant holder's death; and (2) through a 
distribution of Warrants to a Plan participant whose Account holds the 
Warrants, assuming that particular participant is eligible to receive a 
distribution. Moreover, the Applicants state that Camco did not issue 
any fractional Warrants; instead, Camco rounded the number of Warrants 
down. Furthermore, the number of shares for which Warrants may be 
exercised and the exercise price applicable to the Warrants would be 
proportionately adjusted if Camco paid dividends on the Stock or made a 
distribution of common stock, or subdivided, combined, or reclassified 
outstanding shares of common stock such as through a stock split or a 
reverse stock split. The Applicants represent further that any shares 
of Stock purchased upon exercise of the Warrants held by a Plan 
participant's Account would be allocated to a common stock investment 
option where it would remain subject to further investment direction 
from the Plan participant.
    10. The Offering was originally scheduled to close on October 31, 
2012, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Camco reserved the right to extend the 
Offering one or more times, but in no event later than December 31, 
2012. The Offering was extended one day due to Hurricane Sandy and 
officially closed on November 1, 2012, at 5:00 p.m. EST. The Applicants 
represent that the Rights Offering was fully subscribed so that Camco 
received gross proceeds of $10,000,000 and net proceeds estimated at 
$9,361,000.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ The Applicants represent that expenses related to the 
Rights Offering included: Legal fees, accounting fees, printing and 
mailing fees, subscription/escrow/warrant agent fees, and financial 
advisor fees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Early Exercise

    11. The Applicants explain that each Plan participant who desired 
to exercise Rights was required to make an election to exercise any or 
all of the Rights in his or her Account. According to the Applicants, 
the Directed Trustee had to aggregate all such elections and place a 
single order to exercise Rights on behalf of the Plan as a whole, 
through a process known as an ``early exercise.'' \11\ The early 
exercise required Plan participants to place orders to exercise his or 
her Account's Rights by the close of business on the fifth business day 
prior to the close of the Offering (i.e., October 24, 2012, at 5:00 
p.m. EST) so that the Directed Trustee had enough time to combine all 
of the orders. Additionally, Camco informed all stockholders that their 
election to exercise the Rights was irrevocable. According to the 
Applicants, in order to protect Plan participants from a drop in the 
stock price between October 24, 2012 (Plan participant's early election 
date), and November 1, 2012, (the close of the Offering), Camco 
informed Plan participants that the Directed Trustee would not place 
the order if the closing price of the Stock was below the Subscription 
Price on October 31, 2012, the business day immediately before the 
Offering closed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ The Applicants note that brokers and stockholders who hold 
shares for the benefit of third parties commonly utilize this 
process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    12. The Applicants represent that on October 31, 2012, there was a 
discrepancy with respect to the Stock's closing price, as reported on 
NASDAQ. According to the Applicants, over the

[[Page 70630]]

course of the day, the Stock traded between $1.65 and $1.90 per share. 
The Applicants contend that after the markets closed, Jim Huston and 
the Plan's counsel checked the NASDAQ official Web site, which 
indicated an ``Official Close Price'' of $1.85. The Applicants note 
that The Standard, the Plan's recordkeeper, also used its internal 
systems to verify that the closing price was $1.85 and informed the 
Directed Trustee that it could submit the Plan's order to exercise the 
Rights.\12\ Then, according to the Applicants, on November 1, 2012, 
Camco's financial advisor for the Offering, Paracap Group LLC 
(Paracap), and Camco's attorney noted that the Web sites for SNL 
Financial and Yahoo! showed the closing price as $1.70. Additionally, 
on November 1, 2012, Paracap was aware that NASDAQ's Web site also 
showed the closing price as $1.70. However, according to the 
Applicants, the internal computer terminal of a Paracap analyst 
continued to show the closing price of the Stock as $1.85. Ultimately, 
the Directed Trustee deferred to Camco and The Standard's reliance on 
$1.85 as the closing price and caused the Plan to participate in the 
Offering by exercising the Rights on behalf of electing participants. 
Accordingly, the Plan purchased and allocated 941,909 shares of Stock 
and 470,946 Warrants to the Accounts of 47 Plan participants. The Plan 
paid $1,648,340.75 for the Stock in connection with the Offering, or 
roughly 16% of the $10 million available in the Offering.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ The Applicants explain that The Standard uses only the 
official NASDAQ closing price when reporting prices for the Stock 
held by the Plan, and The Standard did not contact anyone at NASDAQ 
in connection with its interpretation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    13. After the Offering closed, Plan fiduciaries contacted a NASDAQ 
employee at the NASDAQ Market Intelligence Desk (the Representative) 
for an explanation of the price discrepancy. The Applicants represent 
that the Representative explained that the NASDAQ Official Closing 
Price is the last trade that occurs on the NASDAQ platform whereas the 
``Previous Close'' is based on the last trade across all places where 
the Stock is traded.\13\ According to the Applicants, the 
Representative confirmed that the last trade on the NASDAQ platform on 
October 31, 2012, was for $1.85, but there were two later trades on 
another exchange. Notably, the last trade of the day on October 31, 
2012, was for $1.70 per share.\14\ Consequently, the Directed Trustee 
and other Plan fiduciaries caused the Plan to participate in the 
Offering despite the fact that the Stock's closing price was below 
$1.75 on October 31, 2012. As described in further detail in paragraph 
18, Camco filed a form 5330 with the IRS with respect to the Plan's 
acquisition and holding of the Rights.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ The Stock was traded on 11 exchanges: (1) NASDAQ Stock 
Market, (2) NASDAQ BX, (3) NASDAQ PSX, (4) Archipelago, (5) 
National, (6) Bats, (7) Bats Y, (8) DirectEdge EDGA, (9) DirectEdge 
EDGX, (10) CBOE Stock Exchange, and (11) the Chicago Stock Exchange. 
Trades that occur off exchanges are reported to NASDAQ via two trade 
reporting facilities, the FINRA/NASDAQ TRF and FINRA/NYSE TRF.
    \14\ The Department notes that the NASDAQ now reports $1.70 as 
the closing price for October 31, 2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exercise of the Rights and Acquisition of the Warrants

    14. The Applicants explain that each Plan participant was 
instructed to transfer assets in his or her Account into a specially 
designated investment alternative, the Morley Stable Value Fund (the 
Fund), in order to purchase the Stock. The Applicants state that if a 
Plan participant's Account did not hold sufficient assets in the Fund, 
the Directed Trustee exercised the participant's request to the fullest 
extent possible based on the cash value of the participant's Fund.
    15. The Applicants state that Camco's subscription agent, Registrar 
and Transfer Company (Registrar), issued the purchased shares of Stock 
to each subscriber, along with any excess payment from the subscriber, 
and forwarded the payments to Camco. According to the Applicants, Camco 
issued the Stock and accompanying Warrants to stockholders, including 
the Plan, on November 7, 2012.
    16. The Applicants represent that Camco paid all expenses 
associated with the Offering, and the Plan paid no brokerage fees, 
commissions, subscription fees, or other charges with respect to the 
acquisition, holding, or exercise of the Rights, Warrants, or Stock.
    17. The Applicants also represent that upon completion of the 
Acquisition, Huntington assumed the Camco Warrant Agreement, dated 
November 2, 2012, between Camco and Registrar, and each outstanding 
Warrant was converted into a warrant to purchase Huntington common 
stock, as adjusted based on an exchange ratio of 0.7264 Huntington 
warrants for each Camco warrant.

Requested Relief

    18. The Applicants originally requested retroactive exemptive 
relief to cover the Plan's acquisition and holding of both the Rights 
and the Warrants. However, given the uncertainty regarding whether the 
proper closing price was used for purposes of the Plan's acquisition 
and holding of the Rights, as discussed above, Camco filed a Form 5330 
with the IRS disclosing a prohibited transaction with no related loss 
amount.\15\ Therefore, the Department is proposing relief only for the 
acquisition and holding of the Warrants (the Warrants Transaction).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ The Department is taking no view herein regarding whether 
Camco properly filed the Form 5330, including properly reporting 
such loss amount.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    19. The Applicants explain that the Warrants Transaction 
constitutes the acquisition and holding of ``employer securities'' as 
defined under section 407(d)(1) of the Act. However, the Warrants do 
not satisfy the definition of ``qualifying employer securities'' as 
defined under section 407(d)(5) of the Act because they are not stock 
or marketable securities. Under section 407(a)(1)(A) of the Act, a plan 
may not acquire or hold any ``employer security'' which is not a 
``qualifying employer security.'' Moreover, section 406(a)(1)(E) of the 
Act prohibits the acquisition, on behalf of a plan, of any ``employer 
security in violation of section 407(a) of the Act.'' Finally, section 
406(a)(2) of the Act prohibits a fiduciary who has authority or 
discretion to control or manage the assets of a plan to permit the plan 
to hold any ``employer security'' that violates section 407(a) of the 
Act. Therefore, the acquisition and holding of the Warrants constitute 
prohibited transactions in violation of sections 406(a)(1)(E) and 
406(a)(2) of the Act.
    20. Additionally, the Applicants explain that other provisions of 
the Act that are implicated by the Warrants Transaction include section 
406(a)(1)(A) of the Act and the fiduciary self-dealing and conflict of 
interest provisions of section 406(b)(1) and (b)(2) of the Act. In 
relevant part, section 406(a)(1)(A) of the Act provides that a 
fiduciary with respect to a plan shall not cause the plan to engage in 
a transaction if the fiduciary knows or should know that the 
transaction is a prohibited sale or exchange of any property between a 
plan and a party in interest. Because the Plan fiduciaries acquired the 
Warrants on behalf of Plan participants through the exercise of the 
Rights in the Offering, the Warrants Transaction also constituted a 
sale or exchange of property between a Plan and a party in interest, in 
violation of section 406(a)(1)(A) of the Act. Section 406(b)(1) of the 
Act prohibits a fiduciary from dealing with the assets of a plan in his 
own interest or for his own account. Section 406(b)(2) of the Act 
prohibits a

[[Page 70631]]

fiduciary with respect to a plan from acting in any transaction 
involving the plan on behalf of a party, or represent a party, whose 
interests are adverse to the interests of the plan or its participants 
and beneficiaries. In causing the Plan to engage in the Warrants 
Transaction, the Plan fiduciaries may have violated sections 406(b)(1) 
and 406(b)(2) of the Act. Therefore, the Applicants request that the 
Department grant an exemption from the prohibitions of sections 
406(a)(1)(A), 406(a)(1)(E), 406(a)(2), 406(b)(1), 406(b)(2), and 
407(a)(1)(A) of the Act, and the sanctions resulting from the 
application of section 4975 of the Code, by reason of sections 
4975(c)(1)(A) and (E) of the Code, for the Warrants Transaction.
    21. The Applicants state that the acquisition of the Warrants has 
been completed, and although all Accounts that received the Warrants 
could have held the Warrants until exercised for Stock or until the 
Warrants expire, five years from the date that the Offering closed, 
some Plan participants may have already exercised some or all of their 
Accounts' Warrants. The Applicants requested retroactive relief because 
Camco sought to comply with the Consent Order with the FDIC and the 
Ohio Division. Therefore, according to the Applicants, Camco determined 
that it was in the best interest of all its stockholders, including the 
Plan, to issue the Rights as soon as possible after the Securities and 
Exchange Commission approved the Offering documents. Moreover, because 
of the tight time frame, Camco decided not to wait for a granted 
exemption before it completed the Offering.

Statutory Findings

    22. The Applicants represent that the proposed exemption with 
respect to the Warrants is administratively feasible because all 
shareholders of Camco, including the Plan, were, and will be treated in 
the same manner with respect to any acquisition, holding and exercise 
or other disposition of the Warrants.
    23. The Applicants represent that the proposed exemption for the 
acquisition and holding of the Warrants by the Plan is in the interest 
of and beneficial to the Plan and to the participants and beneficiaries 
of the Plan. The Applicants explain that to the extent that the Plan is 
a shareholder, the Offering and subsequent issuance of Warrants was 
designed to: (1) Strengthen the financial condition of Camco by 
improving its capital position; and (2) give shareholders the 
opportunity to limit ownership dilution by buying additional shares of 
the Stock. The Applicants represent that Camco's ability to achieve 
these objectives had significant value to its shareholders, including 
the Plan. Moreover, the Applicants explain that participants and 
beneficiaries whose Accounts received the Warrants have been provided 
with the opportunity to acquire additional equity in Camco at a 
discount and either: (1) Have exercised the Warrants to purchase the 
Stock for less than its fair market value; or (2) have the potential 
opportunity to exercise the Warrants to purchase the Stock for less 
than its fair market value.
    24. The Applicants represent that the proposed exemption is 
protective of the rights of the participants and beneficiaries of the 
Plan because decisions with regard to the acquisition, holding and 
exercise or other disposition of the Warrants were made, and will be 
made, by each Plan participant in accordance with the provisions under 
the Plan for individually-directed accounts.

Summary

    25. In summary, the Applicants state that the proposed exemption 
satisfies the statutory criteria for an exemption under section 408(a) 
of ERISA and section 4975(c)(2) of the Code because:
    (a) The Accounts acquired the Warrants in connection with the 
exercise of the Rights by the Directed Trustee on behalf of Plan 
participants;
    (b) Each stockholder, including each of the Accounts holding Stock 
on behalf of Plan participants, received the same proportionate number 
of Rights based on the number of shares of Stock held as of the Record 
Date and the same proportionate number of Warrants based on the number 
of Rights exercised during the Offering;
    (c) The Plan participant whose Account received the Warrants made 
or will make all decisions with respect to the holding or exercise of 
such Account's Warrants;
    (d) The Plan did not pay, nor will it pay, any brokerage fees, 
commissions, or other fees or expenses to any related broker in 
connection with the acquisition, holding, and/or exercise of the Rights 
or Warrants;
    (e) The acquisition of the Rights by the Accounts resulted from an 
independent corporate act of Camco; and
    (f) The Rights and Warrants were acquired pursuant to and in 
accordance with, provisions under the Plan for individually directed 
investments of the Accounts holding Stock on behalf of Plan 
participants.

Notice to Interested Persons

    The Applicants will provide notice of the proposed exemption to all 
Plan participants within fifteen (15) days of the date of publication 
of the proposed exemption in the Federal Register. The Applicants will 
provide the notice by email to all Plan participants who are actively 
employed by Huntington in accordance with the Department's procedures 
for electronic disclosure to active employees under 29 CFR 520.104b-
1(c). The Applicants will provide notice to all other Plan 
participants, including individuals who were Plan participants at the 
time of the Offering, via first-class mail. In addition to the proposed 
exemption, as published in the Federal Register, the Applicants will 
provide Plan participants with a supplemental statement, as required, 
under 29 CFR 2570.43(a)(2). The supplemental statement will inform the 
Plan participants of their right to comment on and to request a hearing 
with respect to this proposed exemption. The Department must receive 
all written comments and/or requests for a hearing within 45 days of 
the publication of this proposed exemption in the Federal Register. All 
comments will be made available to the public.
    Warning: Do not include any personally identifiable information 
(such as name, address, or other contact information) or confidential 
business information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All 
comments may be posted on the Internet and can be retrieved by most 
Internet search engines.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Erin S. Hesse of the Department, 
telephone (202) 693-8546. (This is not a toll-free number.)

Wells Fargo Company (WFC), Located in San Francisco, California

[Application No. D-11752]

Proposed Exemption

    The Department of Labor (the Department) is considering granting an 
exemption under the authority of section 408(a) of the Act and section 
4975(c)(2) of the Code, as amended, and in accordance with the 
procedures set forth in 29 CFR part 2570, subpart B (76 FR 66637, 
66644, October 27, 2011).\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ For purposes of this proposed exemption references to 
specific provisions of Title I of the Act, unless otherwise 
specified, refer also to the corresponding provisions of the Code.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section I. Covered Transactions
    If the proposed exemption is granted, the restrictions of section 
406(a)(1)(A)

[[Page 70632]]

and (D), and section 406(b) of the Act and the sanctions resulting from 
the application of section 4975 of the Code, by reason of section 
4975(c)(1)(A),(D), (E), and (F) of the Code, shall not apply to the 
purchase of certain securities (the Securities), as defined in Section 
V(j), during the existence of an underwriting or selling syndicate with 
respect to such Securities by an asset management affiliate of WFC (the 
Asset Manager(s)), as defined in Section V(f), from any person other 
than such Asset Manager, where the Asset Manager purchases such 
Securities, as a fiduciary: (1) On behalf of an employee benefit plan 
or employee benefit plans (Client Plan(s)), as defined in Section V(g); 
or (2) on behalf of Client Plans and/or In-House Plan(s), as defined in 
Section V(m), which are invested in a pooled fund or in pooled funds 
(Pooled Fund(s)), as defined in Section V(h), under the following 
circumstances:
    (a) Where a broker-dealer affiliated with WFC (an Affiliated 
Broker-Dealer), as defined in Section V(d), is a manager or member of 
such syndicate (an affiliated underwriter transaction (AUT)); or
    (b) Where an Affiliated Broker-Dealer is a manager or member of 
such syndicate and a servicer affiliated with WFC (an Affiliated 
Servicer), as defined in Section V(n), serves as servicer of a trust 
that issues commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS), as defined in 
Section V(r), including servicing one or more of the commercial 
mortgage backed loans in such trust (an affiliated underwriter and 
affiliated servicer transaction (AUT and AST)); or
    (c) Where an Affiliated Servicer serves as servicer of a trust that 
issues CMBS, including servicing one or more of the commercial mortgage 
backed loans in such trust (AST); or
    (d) Where a trustee affiliated with WFC (an Affiliated Trustee), as 
defined in Section V(o), serves as trustee of a trust that issues the 
Securities (whether or not debt securities) or serves as indenture 
trustee of Securities that are debt securities (an affiliated trustee 
transaction (ATT)); or
    (e) Where an Affiliated Broker-Dealer is a manager or member of 
such syndicate and where an Affiliated Trustee serves as trustee of a 
trust that issues the Securities (whether or not debt securities) or 
serves as an indenture trustee of Securities that are debt Securities 
(an affiliated underwriter and affiliated trustee transaction (AUT and 
ATT).
Section II. Conditions for Transactions Described in Section I(A), (B), 
(D) and (E)
    The transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e) are 
conditioned upon satisfaction of the general conditions, as set forth 
in Section IV, and upon satisfaction of the following requirements:
    (a)(1) In the case of a transaction described in Section I(b), the 
Securities to be purchased are CMBS, as defined in Section V(r). In the 
case of transactions described in Section I(a), (d), and (e) the 
Securities to be purchased are either--
    (i) Part of an issue registered under the Securities Act of 1933 
(the 1933 Act) (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.). If the Securities to be 
purchased are part of an issue that is exempt from such registration 
requirement, such Securities:
    (A) Are issued or guaranteed by the United States or by any person 
controlled or supervised by and acting as an instrumentality of the 
United States pursuant to authority granted by the Congress of the 
United States;
    (B) Are issued by a bank;
    (C) Are exempt from such registration requirement pursuant to a 
federal statute other than the 1933 Act; or
    (D) Are the subject of a distribution and are of a class which is 
required to be registered under section 12 of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (the 1934 Act) (15 U.S.C. 781), and are issued by an issuer 
that has been subject to the reporting requirements of section 13 of 
the 1934 Act (15 U.S.C. 78m) for a period of at least ninety (90) days 
immediately preceding the sale of such Securities and that has filed 
all reports required to be filed thereunder with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission (SEC) during the preceding twelve (12) months; or
    (ii) Part of an issue that is an eligible Rule 144A offering 
(Eligible Rule 144A Offering), as defined in SEC Rule 10f-3 (17 CFR 
270.10f-3(a)(4)).\17\ Where the Eligible Rule 144A Offering of the 
Securities is of equity securities, the offering syndicate shall obtain 
a legal opinion regarding the adequacy of the disclosures in the 
offering memorandum;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ SEC Rule 10f-3(a)(4), 17 CFR 270.10f-3(a)(4), states that 
the term, ``Eligible Rule 144A Offering'' means an offering of 
securities that meets the following conditions:
    (i) The securities are offered or sold in transactions exempt 
from registration under section 4(2) of the 1933 Act [15 U.S.C. 
77d(d)], rule 144A thereunder [Sec.  230.144A of this chapter], or 
rules 501-508 thereunder [Sec. Sec.  230.501-230-508 of this 
chapter];
    (ii) The securities are sold to persons that the seller and any 
person acting on behalf of the seller reasonably believe to include 
qualified institutional buyers, as defined in Sec.  230.144A(a)(1) 
of this chapter; and
    (iii) The seller and any person acting on behalf of the seller 
reasonably believe that the securities are eligible for resale to 
other qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Sec.  230.144A of 
this chapter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (2) The Securities to be purchased are purchased prior to the end 
of the first day on which any sales are made, pursuant to that 
offering, at a price that is not more than the price paid by each other 
purchaser of the Securities in that offering or in any concurrent 
offering of the Securities, except that--
    (i) If such Securities are offered for subscription upon exercise 
of rights, they may be purchased on or before the fourth day preceding 
the day on which the rights offering terminates; or
    (ii) If such Securities are debt securities, they may be purchased 
at a price that is not more than the price paid by each other purchaser 
of the Securities in that offering or in any concurrent offering of the 
Securities and may be purchased on a day subsequent to the end of the 
first day on which any sales are made, pursuant to that offering, 
provided that the interest rates, as of the date of such purchase, on 
comparable debt securities offered to the public subsequent to the end 
of the first day on which any sales are made and prior to the purchase 
date are less than the interest rate of the debt Securities being 
purchased; and
    (3) The Securities to be purchased are offered pursuant to an 
underwriting or selling agreement under which the members of the 
syndicate are committed to purchase all of the Securities being 
offered, except if--
    (i) Such Securities are purchased by others pursuant to a rights 
offering; or
    (ii) Such Securities are offered pursuant to an over-allotment 
option.
    (b) The issuer of the Securities to be purchased must have been in 
continuous operation for not less than three (3) years, including the 
operation of any predecessors, unless the Securities to be purchased--
    (1) Are non-convertible debt securities rated in one of the four 
highest rating categories by a rating agency (a Rating Agency or 
collectively, Rating Agencies), as defined in Section V(q); provided 
that none of the Rating Agencies rates such securities in a category 
lower than the fourth highest rating category; or
    (2) Are debt securities issued or fully guaranteed by the United 
States or by any person controlled or supervised by and acting as an 
instrumentality of the United States pursuant to authority granted by 
the Congress of the United States; or
    (3) Are debt securities which are fully guaranteed by a person (the 
Guarantor)

[[Page 70633]]

that has been in continuous operation for not less than three (3) 
years, including the operation of any predecessors, provided that such 
Guarantor has issued other securities registered under the 1933 Act; or 
if such Guarantor has issued other securities which are exempt from 
such registration requirement, such Guarantor has been in continuous 
operation for not less than three (3) years, including the operation of 
any predecessors, and such Guarantor:
    (i) Is a bank; or
    (ii) Is an issuer of securities which are exempt from such 
registration requirement, pursuant to a Federal statute other than the 
1933 Act; or
    (iii) Is an issuer of securities that are the subject of a 
distribution and are of a class which is required to be registered 
under section 12 of the 1934 Act (15 U.S.C. 781), and are issued by an 
issuer that has been subject to the reporting requirements of section 
13 of the 1934 Act (15 U.S.C. 78m) for a period of at least ninety (90) 
days immediately preceding the sale of such securities and that has 
filed all reports required to be filed hereunder with the SEC during 
the preceding twelve (12) months.
    (c) The aggregate amount of Securities of an issue purchased by the 
Asset Manager with the assets of all Client Plans, and the assets, 
calculated on a pro rata basis, of all Client Plans and In-House Plans 
investing in Pooled Funds managed by the Asset Manager, and the assets 
of plans to which the Asset Manager renders investment advice within 
the meaning of 29 CFR 2510.3-21(c) does not exceed:
    (1) 10 percent (10%) of the total amount of the Securities being 
offered in an issue, if such Securities are equity securities; or
    (2) 35 percent (35%) of the total amount of the Securities being 
offered in an issue, if such Securities are debt securities rated in 
one of the four highest rating categories by at least one of the Rating 
Agencies; provided that none of the Rating Agencies rates such 
Securities in a category lower than the fourth highest rating category; 
and
    (3) The assets of any single Client Plan (and the assets of any 
Client Plans and any In-House Plans investing in Pooled Funds) may not 
be used to purchase any Securities being offered, if such Securities 
are debt securities rated lower than the fourth highest rating category 
by any of the Rating Agencies; and
    (4) Notwithstanding the percentage of Securities of an issue 
permitted to be acquired, as set forth in Section II(c)(1), and (2), 
the amount of Securities in any issue (whether equity or debt 
securities) purchased pursuant to transactions described in Section 
I(a), (b), (d), and (e) by the Asset Manager on behalf of any single 
Client Plan, either individually or through investment, calculated on a 
pro rata basis, in a Pooled Fund may not exceed three percent (3%) of 
the total amount of such Securities being offered in such issue, and;
    (5) If purchased in an Eligible Rule 144A Offering, the total 
amount of the Securities being offered for purposes of determining the 
percentages described in Section II(c)(1),(2) and (4) is the total of:
    (i) The principal amount of the offering of such class of 
Securities sold by underwriters or members of the selling syndicate to 
``qualified institutional buyers'' (QIBs), as defined in SEC Rule 144A 
(17 CFR 230.144A(a)(1)); plus
    (ii) The principal amount of the offering of such class of 
Securities in any concurrent public offering.
    (d) The aggregate amount to be paid by any single Client Plan in 
purchasing any Securities described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), 
including any amounts paid by any Client Plan or In-House Plan in 
purchasing such Securities through a Pooled Fund, calculated on a pro-
rata basis, does not exceed three percent (3%) of the fair market value 
of the net assets of such Client Plan or In-House Plan, as of the last 
day of the most recent fiscal quarter of such Client Plan or In-House 
Plan prior to such transaction.
    (e) If the transaction is an AUT as described in Section I(a), (b), 
and (e), the Affiliated Broker-Dealer does not receive, either 
directly, indirectly, or through designation, any selling concession, 
or other compensation or consideration that is based upon the amount of 
Securities purchased by any single Client Plan, or that is based upon 
the amount of Securities purchased by Client Plans or In-House Plans 
through Pooled Funds, pursuant to this proposed exemption. In this 
regard, the Affiliated Broker-Dealer may not receive, either directly 
or indirectly, any compensation or consideration that is attributable 
to the fixed designations generated by purchases of the Securities by 
the Asset Manager on behalf of any single Client Plan or on behalf of 
any Client Plan or In-House Plan in Pooled Funds.
    (f)(1) If the transaction is an AUT as described in Section I(a), 
(b), and (e), the amount the Affiliated Broker-Dealer receives in 
management, underwriting, or other compensation or consideration is not 
increased through an agreement, arrangement, or understanding for the 
purpose of compensating such Affiliated Broker-Dealer for foregoing any 
selling concessions for those Securities sold. Except as described 
above, nothing in this Section II(f)(1) shall be construed as 
precluding an Affiliated Broker-Dealer from receiving management fees 
for serving as manager of an underwriting or selling syndicate, 
underwriting fees for assuming the responsibilities of an underwriter 
in the underwriting or selling syndicate, or other compensation or 
consideration that is not based upon the amount of Securities purchased 
by the Asset Manager on behalf of any single Client Plan, or on behalf 
of any Client Plan or In-House Plan participating in Pooled Funds; and
    (2) Each Affiliated Broker-Dealer shall provide, on a quarterly 
basis, to the Asset Manager a written certification, signed and dated 
by an officer, as defined in Section V(s), of such Affiliated Broker-
Dealer, stating that the amount that each such Affiliated Broker-Dealer 
received in compensation or consideration during the past quarter, in 
connection with any transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), 
and (e), was not adjusted in a manner inconsistent with Section II(e), 
(f), or Section IV(d).
    (g)(1) The transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and 
(e), are performed under a written authorization executed in advance by 
an Independent Fiduciary of each single Client Plan (the Independent 
Fiduciary), as defined in Section V(i); and
    (2) The authorization described in Section II(g)(1), to engage in 
the transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), may be 
terminated at will by the Independent Fiduciary of a single Client 
Plan, without penalty to such single Client Plan, within five (5) days 
after receipt by the Asset Manager of a written notification from such 
Independent Fiduciary that the authorization to engage, on behalf of 
such single Client Plan, in such transactions is terminated.
    (h) Prior to the execution by an Independent Fiduciary of a single 
Client Plan of the written authorization described in Section II(g)(1), 
the following information and materials (which may be provided 
electronically) must be provided by the Asset Manager to such 
Independent Fiduciary:
    (1) A copy of the Notice of Proposed Exemption (the Notice) and, if 
granted, a copy of the final exemption (the Grant) as published in the 
Federal Register, provided that the Notice and the Grant are supplied 
simultaneously; and
    (2) Any other reasonably available information regarding the 
transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and

[[Page 70634]]

(e), that such Independent Fiduciary requests the Asset Manager to 
provide.
    (i)(1) In the case of an existing employee benefit plan investor 
(or existing In-House Plan investor, as the case may be) in a Pooled 
Fund, such Pooled Fund may not engage in any transactions described in 
Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), unless the Asset Manager provides the 
written information, as described below, and within the time period 
described below in this Section II(i)(2), to the Independent Fiduciary 
of each such plan participating in such Pooled Fund (and to the 
fiduciary of each such In-House Plan participating in such Pooled 
Fund);
    (2) The following information and materials (which may be provided 
electronically) shall be provided by the Asset Manager not less than 45 
days prior to such Asset Manager engaging in the transactions described 
in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e) on behalf of a Pooled Fund, and 
provided further that the information described in this Section 
II(i)(2)(i) and (iii), is supplied simultaneously:
    (i) A notice of the intent of such Pooled Fund to purchase 
Securities, pursuant to this proposed exemption for the transactions 
described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), a copy of this Notice, 
and if granted, a copy of the Grant, as published in the Federal 
Register;
    (ii) Any other reasonably available information regarding the 
transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), that the 
Independent Fiduciary of a plan (or fiduciary of an In-House Plan) 
participating in a Pooled Fund requests the Asset Manager to provide; 
and
    (iii) A termination form (the Termination Form), as defined in 
Section V(p); and
    (3) The Independent Fiduciary of an existing employee benefit plan 
investor (or fiduciary of an In-House Plan) participating in a Pooled 
Fund has an opportunity to withdraw the assets of such plan (or such 
In-House Plan) from a Pooled Fund for a period of no more than thirty 
(30) days after such plan's (or such In-House Plan's) receipt of the 
initial notice of intent described in Section II(i)(2)(i), and to 
terminate such plan's (or In-House Plan's) investment in such Pooled 
Fund without penalty to such plan (or In-House Plan). Failure of the 
Independent Fiduciary of an existing employee benefit plan investor (or 
fiduciary of such In-House Plan) to return the Termination Form to the 
Asset Manager in the case of such plan (or In-House Plan) participating 
in a Pooled Fund within the time period specified in Section V(p), 
shall be deemed to be an approval by such plan (or such In-House Plan) 
of its participation in the transactions described in Section I(a), 
(b), (d), and (e), as an investor in such Pooled Fund.
    (j) In the case of each plan (and in the case of each In-House 
Plan) whose assets are proposed to be invested in a Pooled Fund after 
such Pooled Fund has satisfied the conditions set forth in this 
proposed exemption to engage in the transactions described in Section 
I(a), (b), (d), and (e), the investment by such plan (or by such In-
House Plan) in the Pooled Fund is subject to the prior written 
authorization of an Independent Fiduciary representing such plan (or 
the prior written authorization by the fiduciary of such In-House Plan, 
as the case may be), following the receipt by such Independent 
Fiduciary of such plan (or by the fiduciary of such In-House Plan, as 
the case may be) of the written information described in Section 
II(i)(2)(i) and (ii), provided that the Notice and the Grant described 
in Section II(i)(2)(i) are provided simultaneously.
    (k) At least once every three months, and not later than 45 days 
following the period to which such information relates the Asset 
Manager shall furnish:
    (1) In the case of each single Client Plan that engages in the 
transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), the 
information described in this Section II(k)(3)-(7) to the Independent 
Fiduciary of each such single Client Plan;
    (2) In the case of each Pooled Fund in which a Client Plan (or in 
which an In-House Plan) invests, the information described in this 
Section II(k)(3)-(6) and (8) to the Independent Fiduciary of each such 
Client Plan (and to the fiduciary of each such In-House Plan) invested 
in such Pooled Fund;
    (3) A quarterly report (the Quarterly Report) (which may be 
provided electronically) which discloses all the Securities purchased 
during the period to which such report relates, on behalf of the Client 
Plan, In-House Plan, or Pooled Fund to which such report relates, and 
which discloses the terms of each of the transactions described in such 
report, including:
    (i) The type of Securities (including the rating of any Securities 
which are debt securities) involved in each of the transactions;
    (ii) The price at which the Securities were purchased in each of 
the transactions;
    (iii) The first day on which any sale was made during the offering 
of the Securities;
    (iv) The size of the issue of the Securities involved in each of 
the transactions;
    (v) The number of Securities purchased by the Asset Manager for the 
Client Plan, In-House Plan, or Pooled Fund to which each of the 
transactions relates;
    (vi) The identity of the underwriter from whom the Securities were 
purchased for each of the transactions;
    (vii) In the case of AUTs as described in Section I(a), (b), and 
(e), the underwriting spread in each of the transactions (i.e., the 
difference, between the price at which the underwriter purchases the 
Securities from the issuer and the price at which the Securities are 
sold to the public);
    (viii) In the case of ATTs as described in Section I(d), and (e), 
the basis upon which the Affiliated Trustee is compensated in each of 
the transactions;
    (ix) The price at which any of the Securities purchased during the 
period to which such report relates were sold;
    (x) The market value at the end of the period to which such report 
relates of the Securities purchased during such period and not sold; 
and
    (xi) In the case of an AST as described in Section I(b), the basis 
upon which the Affiliated Servicer is compensated;
    (4) The Quarterly Report contains:
    (i) In the case of AUTs, as described in Section I(a), (b), and 
(e), a representation that the Asset Manager has received a written 
certification signed by an officer, as defined in Section V(s), of the 
Affiliated Broker-Dealer as described in Section II(f)(2), affirming 
that, as to each such AUT during the past quarter, such Affiliated 
Broker-Dealer acted in compliance with Section II(e), (f), and Section 
IV(d);
    (ii) In the case of ATTs as described in Section I(d) and (e), a 
representation by the Asset Manager affirming that, as to each such 
ATT, the transaction was not part of an agreement, arrangement, or 
understanding designed to benefit the Affiliated Trustee;
    (iii) In the case of an AST as described in Section I(b), a 
representation of the Asset Manager affirming that, as to each such 
AST, the transaction was not part of an agreement, arrangement, or 
understanding designed to benefit the Affiliated Servicer; and
    (iv) A representation that copies of such certifications will be 
provided upon request;
    (5) A disclosure in the Quarterly Report that states that any other 
reasonably available information regarding the transactions described 
in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), that an Independent Fiduciary (or 
fiduciary of

[[Page 70635]]

an In-House Plan) requests will be provided, including, but not limited 
to:
    (i) The date on which the Securities were purchased on behalf of 
the Client Plan (or the In-House Plan) to which the disclosure relates 
(including Securities purchased by Pooled Funds in which such Client 
Plan (or such In-House Plan) invests;
    (ii) The percentage of the offering purchased on behalf of all 
Client Plans (and the pro-rata percentage purchased on behalf of Client 
Plans and In-House Plans investing in Pooled Funds); and
    (iii) The identity of all members of the underwriting syndicate;
    (6) The Quarterly Report discloses any instance during the past 
quarter where the Asset Manager was precluded for any period of time 
from selling Securities purchased for the transactions described in 
Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), in that quarter because of its status 
as an affiliate of an Affiliated Broker-Dealer and, as applicable, as 
an affiliate of an Affiliated Trustee, or as an affiliate of an 
Affiliated Servicer and the reason for this restriction;
    (7) Explicit notification, prominently displayed in each Quarterly 
Report sent to the Independent Fiduciary of each single Client Plan 
that engages in any of the transactions described in Section I(a), (b), 
(d), and (e) that the authorization to engage in such covered 
transactions may be terminated, without penalty to such single Client 
Plan, within five (5) days after the date that the Independent 
Fiduciary of such single Client Plan informs the person identified in 
such notification that the authorization to engage in such transactions 
is terminated; and
    (8) Explicit notification, prominently displayed in each Quarterly 
Report sent to the Independent Fiduciary of each Client Plan (and to 
the fiduciary of each In-House Plan) that engages in any of the 
transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e) through a 
Pooled Fund, that the investment in such Pooled Fund may be terminated, 
without penalty to such Client Plan (or such In-House Plan), within 
such time as may be necessary to effect the withdrawal in an orderly 
manner that is equitable to all withdrawing plans and to the non-
withdrawing plans, after the date that that the Independent Fiduciary 
of such Client Plan (or the fiduciary of such In-House Plan, as the 
case may be) informs the person identified in such notification that 
the investment in such Pooled Fund is terminated.
    (l) The Asset Manager, the Affiliated Broker-Dealer, the Affiliated 
Trustee, and the Affiliated Servicer, as applicable, maintain, or cause 
to be maintained, for a period of six (6) years from the date of any of 
the transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), such 
records as are necessary to enable the persons described in Section 
II(m) to determine whether the conditions of this proposed exemption 
have been met, except that--
    (1) No party in interest with respect to a plan which engages in 
any of the transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), 
other than WFC, the Asset Manager, the Affiliated Broker-Dealer, the 
Affiliated Trustee, and the Affiliated Servicer, as applicable, shall 
be subject to a civil penalty under section 502(i) of the Act or the 
taxes imposed by section 4975(a) and (b) of the Code, if such records 
are not maintained, or are not available for examination, as required 
by Section II(m); and
    (2) A separate prohibited transaction shall not be considered to 
have occurred if, due to circumstances beyond the control of WFC, the 
Asset Manager, the Affiliated Broker-Dealer, and the Affiliated 
Trustee, or the Affiliated Servicer, as applicable, such records are 
lost or destroyed prior to the end of the six (6) year period.
    (m)(1) Except as provided in Section II(m)(2), and notwithstanding 
any provisions of subsections (a)(2) and (b) of section 504 of the Act, 
the records referred to in Section II(l) are unconditionally available 
at their customary location for examination during normal business 
hours by--
    (i) Any duly authorized employee or representative of the 
Department, the Internal Revenue Service, or the SEC; or
    (ii) Any fiduciary of any plan that engages in any of the 
transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), or any duly 
authorized employee or representative of such fiduciary; or
    (iii) Any employer of participants and beneficiaries and any 
employee organization whose members are covered by a plan that engages 
in any of the transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and 
(e), or any authorized employee or representative of these entities; or
    (iv) Any participant or beneficiary of a plan that engages in any 
of the transactions described in Section I(a), (b), (d), and (e), or 
duly authorized employee or representative of such participant or 
beneficiary;
    (2) None of the persons described in Section II(m)(1)(ii)--(iv) 
shall be authorized to examine trade secrets of WFC, the Asset Manager, 
the Affiliated Broker-Dealer, the Affiliated Trustee, or the Affiliated 
Servicer, or commercial or financial information which is privileged or 
confidential; and
    (3) Should WFC, the Asset Manager, the Affiliated Broker-Dealer, 
the Affiliated Trustee, or the Affiliated Servicer refuse to disclose 
information on the basis that such information is exempt from 
disclosure, pursuant to Section II(m)(2), the Asset Manager shall, by 
the close of the thirtieth (30th) day following the request, provide a 
written notice advising the person who requested such information of 
the reasons for the refusal and that the Department may request such 
information.
    (o) An indenture trustee whose affiliate has, within the prior 12 
months, underwritten any Securities for an obligor of the indenture 
Securities must resign as indenture trustee, if a default occurs upon 
the indenture Securities, within a reasonable amount of time of such 
default.
Section III. Conditions for Transactions Described In Section I(c)
    The transaction described in Section I(c) is conditioned upon 
satisfaction of the general conditions, as set forth in Section IV and 
upon satisfaction of the following requirements:
    (a) The Securities to be purchased are CMBS, as defined in Section 
V(r).
    (b) The purchase of the CMBS meets the conditions of an applicable 
underwriter exemption (the Underwriter Exemption(s)).\18\
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    \18\ The Underwriter Exemptions are a group of individual 
exemptions granted by the Department to provide relief for the 
origination and operation of certain asset pool investment trusts 
and the acquisition, holding, and disposition by plans of certain 
asset-backed pass-through certificates representing undivided 
interests in those investment trusts. The most recent amendment to 
the Underwriter Exemptions is the Amendment to Prohibited 
Transaction Exemption 2007-05, 72 FR 13130 (March 20, 2007), 
Involving Prudential Securities Incorporated, et. al., To Amend the 
Definition of ``Rating Agency'' (Prohibited Transaction Exemption 
2013-08, 78 FR 41090 (July 9, 2013)).
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    (c)(1) The aggregate amount of CMBS of an issue purchased by the 
Asset Manager with:
    (i) The assets of all Client Plans;
    (ii) The assets, calculated on a pro rata basis, of all Client 
Plans and In-House Plans investing in Pooled Funds managed by the Asset 
Manager; and
    (iii) The assets of plans to which the Asset Manager renders 
investment advice within the meaning of 29 CFR 2510.3-21(c) does not 
exceed 35 percent (35%) of the total amount of the CMBS being offered 
in an issue;
    (2) Notwithstanding the percentage of CMBS of an issue permitted to 
be acquired, as set forth in Section III(c)(1), the amount of CMBS in 
any issue purchased by the Asset Manager on behalf of any single Client 
Plan, either

[[Page 70636]]

individually or through investment, calculated on a pro rata basis, in 
a Pooled Fund may not exceed three percent (3%) of the total amount of 
such CMBS being offered in such issue; and
    (3) If purchased in an Eligible Rule 144A Offering, the total 
amount of the CMBS being offered for purposes of determining the 
percentages described in this Section III(c) is the total of:
    (i) The principal amount of the offering of such class of CMBS sold 
by underwriters or members of the selling syndicate to QIBs; plus
    (ii) The principal amount of the offering of such class of CMBS in 
any concurrent public offering.
    (d) The aggregate amount to be paid by any single Client Plan in 
purchasing any CMBS, including any amounts paid by any Client Plan or 
In-House Plan in purchasing such CMBS through a Pooled Fund, calculated 
on a pro rata basis, does not exceed three percent (3%) of the fair 
market value of the net assets of such Client Plan or In-House Plan, as 
of the last day of the most recent fiscal quarter of such Client Plan 
or In-House Plan prior to such transaction.
    (e)(1) The transaction described in Section I(c) is performed under 
a written authorization executed in advance by an Independent Fiduciary 
of each single Client Plan, as defined in Section V(i); and
    (2) The authorization described in Section III(e)(1) to engage in 
the transaction described in Section I(c) may be terminated at will by 
the Independent Fiduciary of a single Client Plan, without penalty to 
such single Client Plan within five (5) days after receipt by the Asset 
Manager of a written notification from such Independent Fiduciary that 
the authorization to engage, on behalf of such single Client Plan, in 
such transactions is terminated.
    (f) The following information and materials (which may be provided 
electronically) must be provided by the Asset Manager to the 
Independent Fiduciary of a single Client Plan not less than 45 days 
prior to such Asset Manager engaging in the transaction described in 
Section I(c), pursuant to this proposed exemption:
    (1) A notice of the intent of the Asset Manager to purchase CMBS, 
pursuant to Section I(c), a copy of the Notice, and, if granted, a copy 
of the Grant, as published in the Federal Register, provided that the 
Notice and the Grant are supplied simultaneously;
    (2) A notice describing the relationship of the Affiliated Servicer 
to the Asset Manager;
    (3) The basis upon which the Affiliated Servicer is compensated and 
a representation by the Asset Manager affirming that, the transaction 
described in Section I(c) was not part of an agreement, arrangement, or 
understanding designed to benefit the Affiliated Servicer; and
    (4) Any other reasonably available information regarding the 
transaction described in Section I(c) that the Independent Fiduciary of 
such single Client Plan requests the Asset Manager to provide.
    (g)(1) In the case of an existing employee benefit plan investor 
(or existing In-House Plan investor, as the case may be) in a Pooled 
Fund, such Pooled Fund may not engage in a transaction, pursuant to 
Section I(c), unless the Asset Manager provides the written 
information, as described below and within the time period described 
below in this Section III(g)(2), to the Independent Fiduciary of each 
such plan participating in such Pooled Fund (and to the fiduciary of 
each such In-House Plan participating in such Pooled Fund);
    (2) The following information and materials, (which may be provided 
electronically) shall be provided by the Asset Manager not less than 45 
days prior to such Asset Manager engaging in a transaction described in 
Section I(c) on behalf of a Pooled Fund, pursuant to this proposed 
exemption; and provided further that the information described in this 
Section III(g)(2)(i), (ii), (iii), and (v) is supplied simultaneously:
    (i) A notice of the intent of such Pooled Fund to purchase CMBS, 
pursuant to this proposed exemption for a transaction described in 
Section I(c), a copy of this Notice, and a copy of the Grant, as 
published in the Federal Register;
    (ii) A notice describing the relationship of the Affiliated 
Servicer to the Asset Manager;
    (iii) Information on the basis upon which the Affiliated Servicer 
is compensated and a representation by the Asset Manager affirming 
that, such transaction, as described in Section I(c), was not part of 
an agreement, arrangement, or understanding designed to benefit the 
Affiliated Servicer;
    (iv) Any other reasonably available information regarding such 
transaction described in Section I(c) that the Independent Fiduciary of 
a plan (or fiduciary of an In-House Plan) participating in a Pooled 
Fund requests the Asset Manager to provide; and
    (v) A Termination Form, as defined in Section V(p); and
    (3) The Independent Fiduciary of an existing employee benefit plan 
investor (or fiduciary of an In-House Plan) participating in a Pooled 
Fund has an opportunity to withdraw the assets of such plan (or such 
In-House Plan) from a Pooled Fund for a period of no more than thirty 
(30) days after such plan's (or such In-House Plan's) receipt of the 
initial notice of intent described in Section III(g)(2)(i) and to 
terminate such plan's (or In-House Plan's) investment in such Pooled 
Fund without penalty to such plan (or In-House Plan). Failure of the 
Independent Fiduciary of an existing employee benefit plan investor (or 
fiduciary of such In-House Plan) to return the Termination Form to the 
Asset Manager in the case of such plan (or In-House Plan) participating 
in a Pooled Fund within the time period specified in Section V(p), 
shall be deemed to be an approval by such plan (or such In-House Plan) 
of its participation in a transaction described in Section I(c), as an 
investor in such Pooled Fund.
    (h)(1) In the case of each plan (and in the case of each In-House 
Plan) whose assets are proposed to be invested in a Pooled Fund after 
such Pooled Fund has satisfied the conditions set forth in this 
proposed exemption for a transaction described in Section I(c), the 
investment by such plan (or by such In-House Plan) in the Pooled Fund 
is subject to the prior written authorization of an Independent 
Fiduciary representing such plan (or the prior written authorization by 
the fiduciary of such In-House Plan, as the case may be), following the 
receipt by such Independent Fiduciary of the plan (or by the fiduciary 
of the In-House Plan, as the case may be) of the written information 
described in Section III(g)(2); provided that the Notice and, if 
granted, the Grant described in Section III(g)(2)(i) are provided 
simultaneously.
    (i) The requirements of Section IV are met.
Section IV. General Conditions for Transactions Described in Section I
    (a) For purposes of engaging in the transactions described in 
Section I, each Client Plan (and each In-House Plan) shall have total 
net assets with a value of at least $50 million (the $50 Million Net 
Asset Requirement). For purposes of engaging in the transactions 
described in Section I, involving an Eligible Rule 144A Offering, each 
Client Plan (and each In-House Plan) shall have total net assets of at 
least $100 million in securities of issuers that are not affiliated 
with such Client Plan (or such In-House Plan, as the case may be) (the 
$100 Million Net Asset Requirement).
    For purposes of a Pooled Fund engaging in the transactions 
described

[[Page 70637]]

in Section I, each Client Plan (and each In-House Plan) in such Pooled 
Fund shall have total net assets with a value of at least $50 million. 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if each such Client Plan (and each such 
In-House Plan) in such Pooled Fund does not have total net assets with 
a value of at least $50 million, the $50 Million Net Asset Requirement 
will be met, if 50 percent (50%) or more of the units of beneficial 
interest in such Pooled Fund are held by Client Plans (and by In-House 
Plans) each of which has total net assets with a value of at least $50 
million.
    For purposes of a Pooled Fund engaging in the transactions 
described in Section I involving an Eligible Rule 144A Offering, each 
Client Plan (and each In-House Plan) in such Pooled Fund shall have 
total net assets of at least $100 million in securities of issuers that 
are not affiliated with such Client Plan (or such In-House Plan, as the 
case may be). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if each such Client Plan 
(and each such In-House Plan) in such Pooled Fund does not have total 
net assets of at least $100 million in securities of issuers that are 
not affiliated with such Client Plan (or In-House Plan, as the case may 
be), the $100 Million Net Asset Requirement will be met if 50 percent 
(50%) or more of the units of beneficial interest in such Pooled Fund 
are held by Client Plans (and by In-House Plans) each of which have 
total net assets of at least $100 million in securities of issuers that 
are not affiliated with such Client Plan (or such In-House Plan, as the 
case may be), and the Pooled Fund itself qualifies as a QIB, as 
determined pursuant to SEC Rule 144A (17 CFR 230.144A(a)(F)).
    For purposes of the net asset requirements described in Section 
IV(a), where a group of Client Plans is maintained by a single employer 
or controlled group of employers, as defined in section 407(d)(7) of 
the Act, the $50 Million Net Asset Requirement (or in the case of an 
Eligible Rule 144A Offering, the $100 Million Net Asset Requirement) 
may be met by aggregating the assets of such Client Plans, if the 
assets of such Client Plans are pooled for investment purposes in a 
single master trust.
    (b) The Asset Manager is a ``qualified professional asset manager'' 
(QPAM), as that term is defined under Section V(a) of Prohibited 
Transaction Exemption (PTE 84-14),\19\ as amended from time to time, or 
any successor exemption thereto. In addition to satisfying the 
requirements for a QPAM under Section V(a) of PTE 84-14, the Asset 
Manager also must have total client assets under its management and 
control in excess of $5 billion, as of the last day of its most recent 
fiscal year and shareholders' or partners' equity in excess of $1 
million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ 49 FR 9494 (March 13, 1984), as amended at, 75 FR 38837 
(July 6, 2010).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (c) At the time a transaction described in Section I is entered 
into, no more than 20 percent of the assets of a Pooled Fund are 
comprised of assets of In-House Plans for which WFC, the Asset Manager, 
the Affiliated Broker-Dealer, the Affiliated Trustee, the Affiliated 
Servicer, or any affiliate thereof exercises investment discretion.
    (d) The transactions described in Section I are not part of an 
agreement, arrangement, or understanding designed to benefit the Asset 
Manager or any affiliate.
    (e) For purposes of Section II(i), Section II(j), Section III(g) 
and Section III(h), the requirement that the fiduciary responsible for 
the decision to authorize the transactions described in Section I, as 
applicable, for each plan proposing to invest in a Pooled Fund be 
independent of WFC and its affiliates shall not apply in the case of an 
In-House Plan.
    (f) Subsequent to the initial authorization, pursuant to Section 
II(g) and Section III(e), by an Independent Fiduciary of a single 
Client Plan permitting the Asset Manager to engage in transactions 
described in Section I, as applicable, and subsequent to the initial 
authorization, pursuant to Section II(i), Section II(j), Section 
III(g), and Section III(h), by an Independent Fiduciary of a plan (or 
by a fiduciary of an In-House Plan) to invest in a Pooled Fund that 
engages in the transactions described in Section I, as applicable, the 
Asset Manager will continue to be subject to the requirement to provide 
within a reasonable period of time any reasonably available information 
regarding such transactions that the Independent Fiduciary of such 
plan, such Client Plan (or of such In-House Plan, as the case may be) 
requests the Asset Manager to provide.
    (g) The Independent Fiduciary of each Client Plan (and the 
fiduciary of each In-House Plan) that engages in the transactions 
described in Section I through a Pooled Fund may terminate the 
investment in such Pooled Fund, without penalty to such Client Plan (or 
such In-House Plan), within such time as may be necessary to effect the 
withdrawal in an orderly manner that is equitable to all withdrawing 
plans and to the non-withdrawing plans, after the date that that the 
Independent Fiduciary of such Client Plan (or the fiduciary of such In-
House Plan, as the case may be) informs the Asset Manager that the 
investment in such Pooled Fund is terminated.
    (h) The Applicant establishes internal policies that restrict the 
contact and the flow of information between investment management 
personnel and non-investment management personnel in the same or 
affiliated financial service firms.
    (i) The Applicant establishes business separation policies and 
procedures for WFC and its affiliates which are also structured to 
restrict the flow of any information to or from the Asset Manager that 
could limit its flexibility in managing client assets, and of 
information obtained or developed by the Asset Manager that can be used 
by other parts of the organization, to the detriment of the Asset 
Manager's clients.
Section V. Definitions
    (a) The term ``the Applicant'' means WFC.
    (b) The term ``affiliate'' of a person includes:
    (1) Any person directly or indirectly through one or more 
intermediaries, controlling, controlled by, or under common control 
with such person;
    (2) Any officer, director, partner, employee, or relative, as 
defined in section 3(15) of the Act, of such person; and
    (3) Any corporation or partnership of which such person is an 
officer, director, partner, or employee.
    (c) The term ``control'' means the power to exercise a controlling 
influence over the management or policies of a person other than an 
individual.
    (d) The term ``Affiliated Broker-Dealer'' means any broker-dealer 
affiliate, as the term ``affiliate'' is defined in Section V(b)(1), of 
the Applicant, as the term ``Applicant'' is defined in Section V(a), 
that meets the requirements of this proposed exemption. Such Affiliated 
Broker-Dealer may participate in an underwriting or selling syndicate 
as a manager or member.
    (e) The term ``manager'' used in Section V(d) above and Section 
V(f) below, means any member of an underwriting or selling syndicate 
who, either alone or together with other members of the syndicate, is 
authorized to act on behalf of the members of the syndicate in 
connection with the sale and distribution of the Securities, as defined 
in Section V(j), being offered or who receives compensation from the 
members of the syndicate for its services as a manager of the 
syndicate.
    (f) The term ``Asset Manager(s)'' means WFC or an affiliate of WFC, 
as

[[Page 70638]]

the term ``affiliate'' is defined in Section V(b)(1), which entity acts 
as the fiduciary with respect to Client Plan(s), as the term ``Client 
Plan(s)'' is defined in Section V(g), or as the fiduciary with respect 
to Pooled Fund(s), as the term ``Pooled Fund(s)'' is defined in Section 
V(h). For purposes of this proposed exemption, the Asset Manager must 
qualify as a QPAM, as that term is defined under Section V(a) of PTE 
84-14, 49 FR 9494, (March 13, 1984), as amended at, 75 FR 38837, (July 
6, 2010). In addition to satisfying the requirements for a QPAM under 
Section V(a) of PTE 84-14, the Asset Manager must also have total 
client assets under its management and control in excess of $5 billion, 
as of the last day of its most recent fiscal year and shareholders' or 
partners' equity in excess of $1 million.
    (g) The term ``Client Plan(s)'' means an employee benefit plan or 
employee benefit plans that are subject to the Act and/or the Code, and 
for which plan(s) an Asset Manager exercises discretionary authority or 
discretionary control respecting management or disposition of some or 
all of the assets of such plan(s). The term ``Client Plan(s)'' excludes 
In-House Plans, as defined in Section V(m).
    (h) The term ``Pooled Fund(s)'' means a common or collective trust 
fund(s) or a pooled investment fund(s):
    (1) In which employee benefit plan(s) subject to the Act and/or 
Code invest;
    (2) Which is maintained by an Asset Manager, as defined in Section 
V(f); and
    (3) For which such Asset Manager exercises discretionary authority 
or discretionary control respecting the management or disposition of 
the assets of such fund(s).
    (i)(1) The term ``Independent Fiduciary'' means a fiduciary of a 
plan who is unrelated to, and independent of WFC, and is unrelated to, 
and independent of any affiliate of WFC. For purposes of this proposed 
exemption, a fiduciary of a plan will be deemed to be unrelated to, and 
independent of WFC, and unrelated to, and independent of any affiliate 
of WFC, if such fiduciary represents in writing that neither such 
fiduciary, nor any individual responsible for the decision to authorize 
or terminate authorization for the transactions described in Section I 
is an officer, director, or highly compensated employee (within the 
meaning of section 4975(e)(2)(H) of the Code) of WFC, or of any 
affiliate of WFC, and represents that such fiduciary shall advise the 
Asset Manager within a reasonable period of time after any change in 
such facts occur;
    (2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section V(i), 
a fiduciary of a plan is not independent:
    (i) If such fiduciary, directly or indirectly, through one or more 
intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control 
with WFC, or any affiliate of WFC;
    (ii) If such fiduciary directly or indirectly receives any 
compensation or other consideration from WFC, or from any affiliate of 
WFC for his or her own personal account in connection with any 
transaction described in this proposed exemption; and
    (iii) If any officer, director, or highly compensated employee 
(within the meaning of section 4975(e)(2)(H) of the Code) of the Asset 
Manager responsible for the transactions described in Section I is an 
officer, director, or highly compensated employee (within the meaning 
of section 4975(e)(2)(H) of the Code) of the sponsor of a plan or of 
the fiduciary responsible for the decision to authorize or terminate 
authorization for the transactions described in Section I. However, if 
such individual is a director of the sponsor of a plan or of the 
responsible fiduciary, and if he or she abstains from participation in: 
(A) The choice of such plan's investment manager/adviser; and (B) the 
decision to authorize or terminate authorization for the transactions 
described in Section I, then Section V(i)(2)(iii) shall not apply.
    (j) The term ``Securities'' shall have the same meaning as defined 
in section 2(36) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act), 
as amended (15 U.S.C. 80a 2(36)(1996)). For purposes of this proposed 
exemption, mortgage-backed or other asset backed securities rated by 
one of the Rating Agencies, as defined in Section V(q), will be treated 
as debt securities.
    (k) The term ``Eligible Rule 144A Offering'' shall have the same 
meaning as defined in SEC Rule 10f-3(a)(4) (17 CFR 270.10f-
3(a)(4))under the 1940 Act.
    (l) The term ``qualified institutional buyer'' or the term, 
``QIB,'' shall have the same meaning as defined in SEC Rule 144A (17 
CFR 230.144A(a)(1)) under the 1933 Act.
    (m) The term ``In-House Plan(s)'' means an employee benefit plan or 
employee benefit plans that is/are subject to the Act and/or the Code, 
and that is/are sponsored by WFC or by an affiliate of WFC, as the 
term, affiliate is defined in Section V(b)(1), for its own employees.
    (n) The term ``Affiliated Servicer'' means any affiliate of WFC, as 
defined in Section V(b)(1), that serves as a servicer of a trust that 
issues CMBS (including servicing one or more of the commercial mortgage 
loans in such trust).
    (o) The term ``Affiliated Trustee'' means any affiliate of WFC, as 
affiliate is defined in Section V(b)(1), which is a bank or trust 
company that serves as trustee of a trust that issues Securities which 
are asset-backed securities or as indenture trustee of Securities which 
are either asset-backed securities or other debt securities that meet 
the requirements of Section II of this proposed exemption. For purposes 
of this proposed exemption, other than Section II(o), performing 
services as custodian, paying agent, registrar, or similar ministerial 
capacities is, in each case, also considered as serving as trustee or 
indenture trustee.
    (p) The term ``Termination Form'' is a form provided by the Asset 
Manager to the Independent Fiduciary of each such plan participating in 
a Pooled Fund (and to the fiduciary of each such In-House Plan 
participating in such Pooled Fund) which expressly provides an election 
for the Independent Fiduciary of a plan (or fiduciary of an In-House 
Plan) participating in a Pooled Fund to terminate such plan's (or In-
House Plan's) investment in such Pooled Fund without penalty to such 
plan (or In-House Plan). Such form shall include instructions 
specifying how to use the form. Specifically, the instructions must 
explain that such plan (or such In-House Plan) has an opportunity to 
withdraw its assets from a Pooled Fund for a period of no more than 
thirty (30) days after such plan's (or such In-House Plan's) receipt of 
the initial notice of intent described in Section II(i)(2)(i) or in 
Section III(g)(2)(i), as applicable, and that the failure of the 
Independent Fiduciary of such plan (or fiduciary of such In-House Plan) 
to return the Termination Form to the Asset Manager in the case of a 
plan (or In-House Plan) participating in a Pooled Fund within the time 
period, specified in Section II(i)(2)(iii) or in Section 
III(g)(2)(iii), as applicable, shall be deemed to be an approval by 
such plan (or such In-House Plan) of its participation in the 
transactions described in Section I, as applicable, as an investor in 
such Pooled Fund.
    Further, the instructions will identify WFC, the Asset Manager, the 
Affiliated Broker-Dealer, and as applicable, the Affiliated Trustee, or 
the Affiliated Servicer, and will provide the address of the Asset 
Manager. The instructions will state that this proposed exemption will 
not be available, unless the fiduciary of each plan participating in 
any of the transactions described in Section I, as applicable, as an 
investor in a Pooled Fund is, in fact, independent of WFC,

[[Page 70639]]

the Asset Manager, the Affiliated Broker-Dealer, and, as applicable, 
the Affiliated Trustee or the Affiliated Servicer. The instructions 
will also state that the fiduciary of each such plan must advise the 
Asset Manager, in writing, if it is not an ``Independent Fiduciary,'' 
as that term is defined in Section V(i).
    (q) The term ``Rating Agency'' or collectively, ``Rating Agencies'' 
means a credit rating agency that:
    (1) Is currently recognized by the SEC as a nationally recognized 
statistical ratings organization (NRSRO);
    (2) Has indicated on its most recently filed SEC Form NRSRO that it 
rates ``issuers of asset-backed securities;'' and
    (3) Has had, within a period not exceeding twelve (12) months prior 
to the initial issuance of the securities, at least three (3) 
``qualified ratings engagements.'' A ``qualified ratings engagement'' 
is one:
    (i) Requested by an issuer or underwriter of securities in 
connection with the initial offering of the securities;
    (ii) For which the credit rating agency is compensated for 
providing ratings;
    (iii) Which is made public to investors generally; and
    (iv) Which involves the offering of securities of the type that 
would be granted relief by the Underwriter Exemptions.
    (r) The term ``CMBS'' means pass-through certificates or trust 
certificates that represent a beneficial ownership interest in the 
assets of an issuer which is a trust and which entitle the holder to 
payments of principal, interest, and/or other payments made with 
respect to the assets of such trust and the corpus or assets of which 
consist solely of obligations that bear interest or are purchased at a 
discount and which are secured by commercial real property (including 
obligations secured by leasehold interests on commercial real property) 
that are rated in one of the four highest rating categories by the 
Rating Agencies; provided that none of the Rating Agencies rates such 
securities in a category lower than the fourth highest rating category.
    (s) The term ``officer'' means a president, any vice president in 
charge of a principal business unit, division, or function (such as 
sales, administration, or finance), or any other officer who performs a 
policy-making function for WFC or any affiliate thereof.
    The availability of this proposed exemption is subject to the 
express condition that the material facts and representations contained 
in the application for exemption are true and complete and accurately 
describe all material terms of the transactions. In the case of 
continuing transactions, if any of the material facts or 
representations described in the applications change, the exemption 
will cease to apply as of the date of such change. In the event of any 
such change, an application for a new exemption must be made to the 
Department.
    Effective Date:
    If granted, this proposed exemption will be effective as of the 
date the Grant is published in the Federal Register.

Summary of Facts and Representations

    1. WFC (or the Applicant) is headquartered in San Francisco, 
California. WFC is a diversified financial services company organized 
under the laws of Delaware and is registered as a bank holding company 
and financial holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 
1956. WFC engages in banking and a variety of related financial 
services businesses. Subsidiaries of the Applicant manage institutional 
portfolios for mutual funds, corporations, employee benefit plans, 
endowments, foundations, health care organizations, public agencies, 
sovereign organizations, and insurance companies. These affiliates act 
as fiduciaries to employee benefit plans, providing trustee, 
recordkeeping, consulting services, and investment management services. 
The Applicant states that certain affiliates of the Applicant act as 
the fiduciary with respect to Client Plan(s), or as the fiduciary with 
respect to Pooled Fund(s), and qualify as a ``QPAM,'' as that term is 
defined under Section V(a) of PTE 84-14, 49 FR 9494 (March 13, 1984), 
as amended at, 75 FR 38837, (July 6, 2010). In addition to satisfying 
the requirements for a QPAM under Section V(a) of PTE 84-14, such 
affiliates of the Applicant must also have total client assets under 
its management and control in excess of $5 billion, as of the last day 
of its most recent fiscal year and shareholders' or partners' equity in 
excess of $1 million.
    As of March 31, 2013, WFC, through its affiliates, had 
approximately $463 billion in assets under management. The activities 
of WFC and its affiliates are subject to oversight and regulation by 
the SEC, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Office of the Comptroller 
of the Currency.
    2. The proposed exemption involves the transactions described in 
Section I engaged in by single Client Plans (and by Client Plans and 
In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds). In this regard, the Applicant 
represents that there is no feasible manner to identify specific 
information on all such plans.
    3. The Applicant requests an individual administrative exemption 
that would permit the purchase of certain Securities, including Rule 
144A Securities, by an Asset Manager acting as a fiduciary on behalf of 
single Client Plans or acting on behalf of Client Plans and In-House 
Plans which are invested in Pooled Funds, from any person other than 
such Asset Manager or an affiliate, thereof, during the existence of an 
initial offering of such Securities in which an Affiliated Broker-
Dealer is a manager or a member of the underwriting or selling 
syndicate with respect to such Securities. Such a transaction is 
described, herein, as an AUT.
    4. The Applicant also seeks an individual administrative exemption 
for certain transactions arising pursuant to an arrangement whereby an 
Affiliated Broker-Dealer is a manager or member of an underwriting 
syndicate, and an Affiliated Servicer serves as servicer of a trust 
that issues CMBS (including servicing one or more of the commercial 
mortgage backed loans in such trust) which are purchased by an Asset 
Manager, acting as a fiduciary on behalf of single Client Plans (or 
acting on behalf of Client Plans and In-House Plan invested in Pooled 
Funds, as applicable). Such transactions are described herein as an AUT 
and AST.
    5. Further, the Applicant requests an individual administrative 
exemption for certain transactions arising pursuant to an arrangement 
whereby an Affiliated Servicer serves as servicer of a trust that 
issues CMBS where an Affiliated Broker-Dealer is not a manager or 
member of the underwriting syndicate for such securities. Such a 
transaction is described, herein, as an AST.
    6. In addition, the Applicant seeks an individual administrative 
exemption for certain transactions arising from an arrangement whereby 
an Affiliated Trustee serves as trustee of a trust that issues certain 
Securities (whether or not debt securities) or serves as indenture 
trustee of such Securities that are debt securities. Such a transaction 
is described, herein, as an ATT.
    7. Finally, the Applicant has requested an individual 
administrative exemption for certain transactions arising from an 
arrangement whereby an Affiliated Broker-Dealer is a manager or member 
of the underwriting syndicate for Securities and an Affiliated Trustee 
serves as trustee of a trust that issued the Securities (whether or not 
debt securities) or serves as an indenture trustee of Securities that 
are debt Securities and where such Securities are purchased by an Asset 
Manager, acting as a fiduciary on behalf of single Client

[[Page 70640]]

Plans (or acting on behalf of Client Plans and In-House Plan which are 
invested in Pooled Funds). Such transactions are described, herein, as 
an AUT and ATT.
    The Applicant argues that absent an individual administrative 
exemption, Client Plans (and In-House Plans, as applicable) potentially 
could be cut off from primary market participation in a significant 
number of offerings of securities in which affiliates of WFC fill one 
or more of the roles, described above.
    8. When an Asset Manager affiliated with WFC is a fiduciary with 
investment discretion with respect to the assets of single Client Plans 
(or with respect to the assets of Client Plans and In-House Plans 
invested in a Pooled Fund, as applicable), and such Asset Manager 
decides to engage in any of the transactions described in Section I 
above, the fact that WFC has an ownership interest in the Asset 
Manager, the Affiliated Broker-Dealer, and, as applicable, the 
Affiliated Trustee, or the Affiliated Servicer, raises issues under 
section 406(a)(1)(A) and (D) and section 406(b) of the Act, because one 
or more affiliates of such Asset Manager may be receiving compensation 
as a result of the purchase of the Securities involved in such 
transactions by Client Plans (or by In-House Plans, as applicable).

AUTs

    9. In 2007, WFC obtained a Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2007-14 
(PTE 2007-14) \20\ from the Department, which provides relief for AUTs 
only. In connection with this proposed exemption, the Applicant 
requests that PTE 2007-14 be restated, with any updates required and/or 
granted in the interim by the Department. In Section I(a) of this 
proposed exemption, the Department has restated the AUT described in 
PTE 2007-14 and has updated and amended the conditions under which 
relief for such transaction is provided. Further, the Applicant has 
requested, and the Department in this proposed exemption has expanded, 
the relief which was provided in PTE 2007-14. In this regard, this 
proposed exemption also provides relief for the transactions, described 
in Section I(b), (c), (d), and (e), provided certain conditions are 
satisfied.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ 72 FR 51467, September 7, 2007.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    10. The Applicant represents that, in accordance with Prohibited 
Transaction Class Exemption 75-1 (PTE 75-1),\21\ an asset manager 
acting as a fiduciary on behalf of a plan may purchase underwritten 
securities for such plan when an affiliated broker-dealer is a member 
of the underwriting or selling syndicate. In this regard, Part III of 
PTE 75-1 provides limited relief from the prohibited transaction 
provisions of the Act for plan fiduciaries that purchase certain 
securities from an underwriting or selling syndicate where the 
fiduciary or an affiliate is only a member of such syndicate. However, 
such relief is not available if the affiliated broker-dealer is a 
manager of the underwriting or selling syndicate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ 40 FR 50845, October 31, 1975.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    11. Further, the Applicant explains, PTE 75-1 does not provide 
relief for the purchase of unregistered securities. Unregistered 
securities include securities purchased by a broker-dealer for resale 
to a ``qualified institutional buyer'' (QIB), pursuant to the SEC's 
Rule 144A under the 1933 Act. The Applicant explains that Rule 144A is 
commonly utilized in connection with sales of securities issued by 
foreign corporations to investors in the United States that are QIBs. 
Notwithstanding the unregistered status of such securities, the 
Applicant states that syndicates selling Rule 144A Securities are the 
functional equivalent of syndicates selling registered securities.
    12. The Applicant represents that Affiliated Broker-Dealers 
regularly serve as managers of underwriting or selling syndicates for 
registered securities, and as managers or members of underwriting or 
selling syndicates for Rule 144A Securities. The Applicant states that 
an Asset Manager makes its investment decisions on behalf of, or 
renders investment advice to single Client Plans (or to Client Plans 
and In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable), pursuant 
to the governing document of the particular Client Plan or Pooled Fund 
and the investment guidelines and objectives set forth in the 
management or advisory agreement. Because single Client Plans (and In-
House Plans) are covered by Title I of the Act, such investment 
decisions are subject to the fiduciary responsibility provisions of the 
Act.
    13. The Applicant states, therefore, that the decision to invest in 
a particular offering is made on the basis of price, value, and the 
investment criteria of Client Plans (or of In-House Plans, as 
applicable), not on whether the Securities are currently being sold 
through an underwriting or selling syndicate. The Applicant further 
states that, because an Asset Manager's compensation for its services 
is generally based upon assets under management, such Asset Manager has 
little incentive to purchase Securities in an offering in which an 
Affiliated Broker-Dealer is an underwriter, unless such a purchase is 
in the interests of Client Plans (and in the interest of Client Plans 
and In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable). If the 
assets under management do not perform well, the Asset Manager will 
receive less compensation and could lose clients, costs which far 
outweigh any gains from the purchase of underwritten securities. The 
Applicant points out that under the terms of the proposed exemption, an 
Affiliated Broker-Dealer may not receive selling concessions, direct or 
indirect, that are attributable to the amount of Securities purchased 
by the Asset Manager on behalf of Client Plans (and on behalf of Client 
Plans and In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable).
    14. The Applicant states that the Asset Manager generally purchases 
securities in large blocks, because the same investments will be made 
across several accounts. If there are new offerings of an equity or 
fixed income Securities that an Asset Manager wishes to purchase, it 
may be able to purchase such Securities through the offering syndicate 
at a lower price than it would pay in the open market, without 
transaction costs and with reduced market impact, if it is buying a 
relatively large quantity. This is because a large purchase in the open 
market can cause an increase in the market price and, consequently, in 
the cost of the Securities. Purchasing from an offering syndicate can 
thus reduce the costs to Client Plans (and to Client Plans and In-House 
Plans invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable).
    15. The Applicant points out that absent the relief requested in 
this proposed exemption, if an Affiliated Broker-Dealer is a manager of 
a syndicate that is underwriting an offering of Securities, an Asset 
Manager will be foreclosed from purchasing any Securities on behalf of 
Client Plans (or, on behalf of Client Plans and In-House Plans invested 
in Pooled Funds, as applicable) from that underwriting syndicate. In 
this regard, such Asset Manager would have to purchase the same 
Securities in the secondary market. In such a circumstance, Client 
Plans (and Client Plans and In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, as 
applicable) may incur greater costs both because the market price is 
often higher than the offering price, and because there are transaction 
cost and market impact costs. In turn, this will cause the Asset 
Manager to forego other investment opportunities because the purchase 
price of the underwritten Securities in the secondary market exceeds 
the price that the Asset

[[Page 70641]]

Manager would have paid to the selling syndicate.

ATTs

    16. With respect to ATTs and the types of trustees that would be 
covered by the proposed exemption, the Applicant states that in 
transactions involving asset-backed securities, there is generally a 
trustee who is the legal owner of the receivables held by the trust. In 
more traditional public debt offerings, there is generally only an 
indenture trustee, who holds the debt obligation of the obligor, holds 
any assets pledged as collateral to secure payment of the debt 
obligation, makes required payments, keeps records, and in the event of 
a default, acts for the note holders. The Applicant represents that the 
functions and obligations of an indenture trustee are aligned with the 
interests of the note holders, because such a trustee is generally 
appointed only to perform ministerial functions (i.e., hold collateral, 
maintain records, and make payments when due). In this regard, the 
proposed exemption would also cover situations where the affiliate of 
the Asset Manager serves as a custodian, paying agent, registrar or 
other similar ministerial capacities.
    17. The Applicant states that the Affiliated Broker-Dealer is 
frequently involved in underwriting offerings of asset backed 
securities and other securities where an affiliate of the Asset Manager 
serves as a trustee for the trust which issues such securities. The 
inability of the Asset Manager to purchase asset backed securities or 
other securities for its Client Plans (and for Client Plans and In-
House Plans invested in Pooled Funds) in such cases can be detrimental 
to those accounts, because the accounts can lose important fixed income 
investment opportunities that are relatively less expensive or 
qualitatively better than other available opportunities in such 
securities.
    18. The Applicant states that the trustee in a structured finance 
transaction for asset backed securities, while involved in complex 
calculations and reporting, typically does not perform any 
discretionary functions. Such a trustee operates as a stakeholder and 
strictly in accordance with the explicit terms of the governing 
agreements, so that the intent of the crafters of the transaction may 
be honored. These functions are essentially ministerial and include 
establishing accounts, receiving funds, making payments, and issuing 
reports, all in a predetermined manner. Unlike trustees for corporate 
or municipal debt, trustees in structured finance transactions for 
asset backed securities do not take on discretionary responsibility to 
protect the interests of debt holders in the event of default or 
bankruptcy, because responsibility for collections with respect to the 
underlying assets which serve as the source of payment on the debt is 
in the hands of the unaffiliated asset servicer. The Applicant 
represents that there is no ``issuer'' outside the structured 
transaction to pursue for repayment of the debt. The trustee's role is 
defined by a contract-explicit structure that outlines the actions to 
be taken upon the happening of specified events. The Applicant states 
that there is no opportunity (or incentive) for the trustee in a 
structured finance transaction, by reason of its affiliation with an 
underwriter, asset manager, or otherwise, to take or not to take 
actions that might benefit the underwriter or asset manager to the 
detriment of plan investors.
    With respect to offerings of more traditional public debt 
securities that are not part of a structured finance transaction, the 
Applicant states that an indenture trustee may have more discretion 
when the issuer of the securities is not bankruptcy remote.\22\ In such 
instances, indenture trustees generally exercise meaningful discretion 
only in the context of a default, at which time the indenture trustee 
has the duty to act for the bondholders, in a manner consistent with 
the interests of investing plans (and other investors) and not with the 
interests of the issuer. In such situations, an indenture trustee may 
be an affiliate of an underwriter for the securities. In the event of a 
default, the duty of an indenture trustee in pursuing the bondholders' 
rights against the issuer might conflict with the indenture trustee's 
other business interests. However, the Applicant represents that under 
the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (the Trust Indenture Act), which 
applies to many, but not all, trust debt offerings,\23\ an indenture 
trustee whose affiliate has, within the prior twelve (12) months, 
underwritten any securities for an obligor of the indenture securities 
generally must resign as indenture trustee, if a default occurs upon 
the indenture securities. Thus, the Applicant maintains that this 
requirement and other provisions of the Trust Indenture Act are 
designed to protect bondholders from conflicts of interest to which an 
indenture trustee may be subject.
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    \22\ The Applicant represents that the amount of discretion 
possessed by an indenture trustee will depend on the terms of the 
particular indenture, and factual issues, such as whether a default 
has occurred.
    \23\ In connection with the applicability of the Trust Indenture 
Act to trust debt offerings, the Applicant further represents that 
market practice with respect to certain types of non-registered 
securities offerings is to structure the offering to include both an 
indenture and an indenture trustee, despite the fact that such 
offerings are not required to use the indenture structure mandated 
by the Trust Indenture Act. In such instances, the Applicant 
represents, it is typically the case that the various requirements 
of the Trust Indenture Act (including the default provision 
referenced in Representation 18) will be incorporated (either 
expressly or by reference) in the trust indenture.
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    19. According to the Applicant, the role of the underwriter in a 
structured financing for a series of asset backed securities involves, 
among other things, assisting the sponsor or originator of the 
applicable receivables or other assets in structuring the contemplated 
transaction. The trustee becomes involved later in the process, after 
the principal parties have agreed on the essential components, to 
review the proposed transaction from the limited standpoints of 
technical workability and potential trustee liability. After the 
issuance of securities to plan investors in a structured financing, 
while the trustee performs its role as trustee over the life of the 
transaction, the underwriter of the securities has no further role in 
the transaction (unless it is a continuous offering, such as for a 
commercial paper conduit).\24\ In addition, the trustee has no 
opportunity to take or not take action, or to use information in ways 
that might advantage the underwriter to the detriment of plan 
investors. The Applicant states that an underwriter, in order to 
protect its reputation, clearly wants the transaction to succeed as it 
was structured, which includes the trustee performing in a manner 
independent of the underwriter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ The Applicant further represents that, in a limited number 
of situations where the offering of the security is ongoing or 
continuous, the underwriter will have a continuing role in selling 
the additional securities that are sold over time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    20. The Applicant represents that, in some offerings of asset 
backed securities or other securities, the trustee's fee is a fixed 
dollar amount that does not depend on the size of the offering. In such 
cases, the Asset Manager has no conflict of interest, because it cannot 
increase the trustee's fee by causing plans to participate in the 
offering. Where the trustee's fee is a portion of the principal amount 
of outstanding securities to be offered, the Asset Manager could 
conceivably cause plans to participate to affect the size of the 
offering and thus the trustee's fee.\25\

[[Page 70642]]

However, in virtually all circumstances, the size of the offering is 
determined before any sales to plans are discussed, so that the risk of 
this situation occurring is very small. The Applicant further 
represents that the protective conditions of the requested exemption 
(e.g., the requirement of advance approval by an Independent Fiduciary 
and reporting of the basis for the trustee's fee) render this 
possibility remote.
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    \25\ The Applicant represents that this theoretical conflict is 
directly addressed by the protective conditions in the so-called 
``Underwriter Exemptions.'' In this regard, the Applicant states 
that the proposed exemption, if granted, will apply only to firm 
commitment underwriters, where, by definition, the entire issue of 
Securities will be purchased, either by the public or the 
underwriters. Thus, where the trustee's fee would be a fixed 
percentage of the total dollar amount of the Securities issued in 
the offering, the amount of the trustee's fee would be, in fact, a 
fixed dollar amount that would be known to plan investors as part of 
disclosures made relating to the offering (e.g., the prospectus or 
private placement memorandum). In this connection the Department 
notes that plan fiduciaries would have a duty to adequately review, 
and effectively monitor, all fees paid to service providers, 
including those paid to parties affiliated with an Asset Manager.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In this regard, the Applicant states that the conditions of the 
proposed exemption, which are based on the prior individual exemptions 
granted by the Department for AUT, impose adequate safeguards as well 
for ATT in order to prevent possible abuse. First, there are 
significant limitations on the quantity of securities that an Asset 
Manager may acquire for Client Plans (and for Client Plans and In-House 
Plans invested in Pooled Funds), meaning not only that there will be 
significant limitations on the ability of the Asset Manager to affect 
the fees of its affiliate, but also insuring that significant numbers 
of independent investors also decided that the securities were an 
appropriate purchase. Second, the Asset Manager must obtain the consent 
of an independent fiduciary to engage in these transactions. Third, 
regular reporting of the subject transactions to an Independent 
Fiduciary will take place. Fourth, an Independent Fiduciary must be 
provided information on how securities purchased actually performed. 
Finally, the consent of the Independent Fiduciary may be revoked if, 
for example, it suspects that purchases by the Asset Manager have been 
motivated by a desire to generate fees for its affiliate.

ASTs

    21. With regard to ASTs, the Applicant has requested relief for the 
purchase by a Client Plan (and by Client Plans and In-House Plans 
invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable) of CMBS issued by a trust 
where an Affiliated Servicer originates or services the trust, 
including servicing one or more commercial mortgage loans in such 
trust. Specifically, the Applicant asserts that the timing of events 
relating to the formation of the trust and the marketing of the 
securities is such that a purchaser (a Client Plan and/or Client Plans 
and In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable) could not 
provide additional income or otherwise confer any additional benefit on 
WFC or the Affiliated Servicer for the origination or servicing of the 
loan. The Applicant observes that ASTs can arise in situations that 
happen to need an AUT exemption (i.e., where the Asset Manager is 
related to a managing underwriter or member of the syndicate and to a 
servicer of the trust that issues the CMBS), or where the Asset Manager 
is only related to a servicer of the trust that issued the CMBS, 
including servicing one or more commercial mortgage loans in such 
trust.

Registered Securities Offerings

    22. The Applicant represents that Affiliated Broker-Dealers 
currently manage and participate in firm commitment underwriting 
syndicates for registered offerings of both equity and debt securities. 
While equity and debt underwritings may operate differently with regard 
to the actual sales process, the basic structures are the same. In a 
firm commitment underwriting, the underwriting syndicate purchases the 
securities from the issuer and then resells the securities to 
investors.
    23. The Applicant represents that while, as a legal matter, a 
selling syndicate assumes the risk that the underwritten securities 
might not be fully sold, as a practical matter, this risk is reduced in 
marketed deals, through ``building a book'' (i.e., taking indications 
of interest from potential purchasers) prior to pricing the securities. 
Accordingly, there is generally no incentive for the underwriters to 
use their discretionary accounts (or the discretionary accounts of 
their affiliates) to buy up the securities as a way to avoid 
underwriting obligations.
    24. It is represented that if more than one underwriter is involved 
in a selling syndicate, the lead manager and the underwriters enter 
into an ``Agreement among Underwriters'' in the form designated by one 
of the lead managers selected by the issuer. Most lead managers have a 
standing form of agreement. This master agreement is then commonly 
supplemented for the particular deal by sending an ``invitation wire'' 
or ``terms telex'' that sets forth particular terms to the other 
underwriters.
    25. The arrangement between the syndicate and the issuer of the 
underwritten securities is embodied in an underwriting agreement, which 
is signed on behalf of the underwriters by one or more of the managers. 
In a firm commitment underwriting, the underwriting agreement provides, 
subject to certain closing conditions, that the underwriters are 
obligated to purchase all of the underwritten securities from the 
issuer in accordance with their respective commitments, if any 
securities are not purchased. This obligation is met by using the 
proceeds received from investors purchasing securities in the offering, 
although there is a risk that the underwriters will have to pay for a 
portion of the securities in the event that not all of the securities 
are sold or an investor defaults on its obligation.
    26. The Applicant represents that, generally, it is unlikely that 
in marketed deals that all offered securities will not be sold. In 
marketed deals, the underwriting agreement is not executed until after 
the underwriters have obtained sufficient indications of interest to 
purchase the securities from a sufficient number of investors to assure 
that all the securities being offered will be acquired by investors. 
Once the underwriting agreement is executed, the underwriters promptly 
begin contacting the investors to confirm the sales, at first by oral 
communication and then by written confirmation. Sales may be finalized 
within hours and sometimes minutes, but in any event prior to the 
opening of the market for trading the next day. In registered 
transactions, the underwriters have a strong interest in completing the 
sales as soon as possible because, until they ``break syndicate,'' they 
cannot recommence normal trading activity, which includes buying and 
selling the securities for their customers or own account.
    27. The Applicant represents that the process of ``building a 
book'' or soliciting indications of interest occurs in a registered 
equity offering, after a registration statement is filed with the SEC. 
While it is under review by the SEC staff, representatives of the 
issuer of the securities and the selling syndicate managers conduct 
meetings with potential investors, who learn about the company and the 
underwritten securities. Potential investors also receive a preliminary 
prospectus. The underwriters cannot make any firm sales until the 
registration statement is declared effective by the SEC. Prior to the 
effective date, while the investors cannot become legally obligated to 
make a purchase, such investors indicate

[[Page 70643]]

whether they have an interest in buying, and the lead managers compile 
a ``book'' of investors who are willing to ``circle'' a particular 
portion of the issue. Although investors cannot be legally bound to buy 
the securities until the registration statement is effective, investors 
generally follow through on their indications of interest.
    28. Assuming that the marketing efforts have produced sufficient 
indications of interest, the Applicant represents that the issuer of 
the securities, after consultation with the lead manager, will set the 
price of the securities upon being declared effective by the SEC. After 
the registration statement has been declared effective by the SEC and 
the underwriting agreement is executed, the underwriters contact those 
investors that have indicated an interest in purchasing securities in 
the offering to execute the sales. The Applicant represents that 
offerings are often oversubscribed, and many have an over-allotment 
option that the underwriters can exercise to acquire additional shares 
from the issuer. Where an offering is oversubscribed, the underwriters 
decide how to allocate the securities among the potential purchasers. 
However, if the offering is an initial public offering of an equity 
security, then the underwriters may not sell the securities to (among 
others) any person that is a broker-dealer, an associated person of a 
broker-dealer, a portfolio manager, or an owner of a broker-dealer. 
Additionally, underwriters may not withhold for their own account any 
initial public offering of an equity security.
    29. The Applicant represents that debt offerings and certain equity 
offerings may be ``negotiated'' offerings, ``competitive bid'' 
offerings, or ``bought deals.'' ``Negotiated'' offerings are conducted 
in the same manner as marketed equity offerings with regard to when the 
underwriting agreement is executed and how the securities are offered. 
``Competitive bid'' offerings, in which the issuer determines the price 
for the securities through competitive bidding, rather than negotiating 
the price with the underwriting syndicate, are often performed under 
``shelf'' registration statements pursuant to the SEC's Rule 415 under 
the 1933 Act (Rule 415) (17 CFR 230.415).\26\
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    \26\ The Applicant maintains that Rule 415 permits an issuer to 
sell debt as well as equity securities under an effective 
registration statement previously filed with the SEC by filing a 
post-effective amendment or supplemental prospectus.
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    30. In a competitive bid offering, prospective lead underwriters 
will bid against one another to purchase debt securities, based upon 
their determinations of the degree of investor interest in the 
securities. Depending on the level of investor interest and the size of 
the offering, a bidding lead underwriter may bring in co-managers to 
assist in the sales process. Most of the securities are frequently sold 
within hours, or sometimes even less than an hour, after the securities 
are made available for purchase.
    31. It is represented that because of market forces and the 
requirements of Rule 415, the competitive bid process is generally, 
though not exclusively, available only to issuers who have been subject 
to the reporting requirements of the 1934 Act for at least one (1) 
year.
    32. Occasionally, underwriters ``buy'' the entire deal off of a 
``shelf registration'' or in a Rule 144A offering before obtaining 
indications of interest. These ``bought'' deals involve issuers whose 
securities enjoy a deep and liquid secondary market, such that an 
underwriter has confidence without pre-marketing that it can identify 
purchasers for the securities.

Information Barriers

    33. The Applicant represents that there are internal policies in 
place that restrict contact and the flow of information between 
investment management personnel and non-investment management personnel 
in the same or affiliated financial service firms. These policies are 
designed to protect against ``insider trading'' (i.e., trading on 
information not available to the general public that may affect the 
market price of the securities.) Diversified financial services firms 
must be concerned about insider trading problems because one part of 
the firm (e.g., the mergers and acquisitions group) could come into 
possession of non-public information regarding an upcoming transaction 
involving a particular issuer, while another part of the firm (e.g., 
the investment management group) could be trading in the securities of 
that issuer for its clients.
    34. Further, the applicant represents business separation policies 
and procedures of WFC and its affiliates are also structured to 
restrict the flow of any information to or from the Asset Manager that 
could limit its flexibility in managing client assets, and of 
information obtained or developed by the Asset Manager that could be 
used by other parts of the organization, to the detriment of the Asset 
Manager's clients.
    35. The Applicant represents that major clients of WFC and its 
affiliates include investment management firms that are competitors of 
the Asset Manager. Similarly, an Asset Manager deals on a regular basis 
with broker-dealers that compete with Affiliated Broker-Dealers. If 
special consideration was shown to an Affiliated Broker-Dealer, such 
conduct would likely have an adverse effect on the relationships of the 
Affiliated Broker-Dealer and of the Asset Manager with firms that 
compete with such affiliate. Therefore, it is represented that a goal 
of the Applicant's business separation policies is to avoid any 
possible perception of improper flows of information between the 
Affiliated Broker-Dealer and the Asset Manager in order to prevent any 
adverse impact on client and business relationships.

Underwriting Compensation

    36. The Applicant represents that the underwriters are compensated 
through the ``spread,'' or difference, between the price at which the 
underwriters purchase the securities from the issuer and the price at 
which the securities are sold to the public. The spread is divided into 
three components.
    37. The first component includes the management fee, which 
generally represents an agreed upon percentage of the overall spread 
and is allocated among the lead manager and co-managers. Where there is 
more than one managing underwriter, the way the management fee will be 
allocated among the managers is generally agreed upon between the 
managers and the issuer prior to soliciting indications of interest. 
Thus, the allocation of the management fee is not reflective of the 
amount of securities that a particular manager sells in an offering.
    38. The second component is the underwriting fee, which represents 
compensation to the underwriters (including the non-managers, if any) 
for the risks they assume in connection with the offering and for the 
use of their capital. This component of the spread is also used to 
cover the expenses of the underwriting that are not otherwise 
reimbursed by the issuer of the securities.
    39. The first and second components of the ``spread'' are received 
without regard to how the underwritten securities are allocated for 
sales purposes or to whom the securities are sold. The third component 
of the spread is the selling concession, which generally constitutes 60 
percent (60%) or more of the spread. The selling concession compensates 
the underwriters for their actual selling efforts. The allocation of 
selling concessions among the underwriters generally follows the 
allocation of the securities for sales purposes. However,

[[Page 70644]]

a buyer of the underwritten securities may designate other broker-
dealers (who may be other underwriters, as well as broker-dealers 
outside the syndicate) to receive the selling concessions arising from 
the securities they purchase.
    40. Securities are allocated for sales purposes into two 
categories. The first and larger category is the ``institutional pot,'' 
which is the pot of securities from which sales are made to 
institutional investors. Selling concessions for securities sold from 
the institutional pot are generally designated by the purchaser to go 
to particular underwriters or other broker-dealers. If securities are 
sold from the institutional pot, the selling syndicate managers 
sometimes receive a portion of the selling concessions, referred to as 
a ``fixed designation'' or an ``auto pot split'' attributable to 
securities sold in this category, without regard to who sold the 
securities or to whom they were sold. However, for securities covered 
by this proposed exemption, an Affiliated Broker-Dealer may not 
receive, either directly or indirectly, any compensation or 
consideration that is attributable to the fixed designation generated 
by purchases of securities by an Asset Manager on behalf of its Client 
Plans (or on behalf of Client Plan and In-House Plan in Pooled Funds, 
if applicable).
    41. The second category of allocated securities is ``private 
client'' or ``retail,'' which are the securities retained by the 
underwriters for sale to their customers. The underwriters receive the 
selling concessions from their respective retail retention allocations. 
Securities may be shifted between the two categories based upon whether 
either category is oversold or undersold during the course of the 
offering.
    42. The Applicant represents that the inability of an Affiliated 
Broker-Dealer to receive any selling concessions, or any compensation 
attributable to the fixed designations generated by purchases of 
securities by an Asset Manager on behalf of Client Plans (or on behalf 
of Client Plans and In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, if 
applicable), removes the primary economic incentive for an Asset 
Manager to make purchases that are not in the interests of such Client 
Plans (and Client Plans and In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, if 
applicable) from offerings for which an Affiliated Broker-Dealer is an 
underwriter. The reason is that the Affiliated Broker-Dealer will not 
receive any additional fees as a result of such purchases by the Asset 
Manager.

Rule 144A Securities

    43. The Applicant represents that a number of the offerings of Rule 
144A Securities in which an Affiliated Broker-Dealer participates 
represent good investment opportunities for the Asset Manager's Client 
Plans (and for Client Plans and In-House Plans invested in Pooled 
Funds, as applicable). Particularly with respect to foreign securities, 
a Rule 144A offering may provide the least expensive and most 
accessible means for obtaining these securities. However, as discussed 
above, PTE 75-1, Part III, does not cover Rule 144A Securities. 
Therefore, absent an exemption, the Asset Manager is foreclosed from 
purchasing such securities for its Client Plans (and for Client Plans 
and In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, if applicable) in 
offerings in which an Affiliated Broker-Dealer participates.
    44. The Applicant states that Rule 144A acts as a ``safe harbor'' 
exemption from the registration provisions of the 1933 Act for re-sales 
of certain types of securities to QIBs. QIBs include several types of 
institutional entities, such as employee benefit plans and commingled 
trust funds holding assets of such plans, which own and invest on a 
discretionary basis at least $100 million in securities of unaffiliated 
issuers.
    45. Any securities may be sold pursuant to Rule 144A except for 
those of the same class or similar to a class that is publicly traded 
in the United States, or certain types of investment company 
securities. This limitation is designed to prevent side-by-side public 
and private markets developing for the same class of securities and is 
the reason that Rule 144A transactions are generally limited to debt 
securities.
    46. Buyers of Rule 144A Securities must be able to obtain, upon 
request, basic information concerning the business of the issuer and 
the issuer's financial statements, much of which is the same 
information as would be furnished if the offering were registered. This 
condition does not apply, however, to an issuer filing reports with the 
SEC under the 1934 Act, for which reports are publicly available. The 
condition also does not apply to a ``foreign private issuer'' for whom 
reports are furnished to the SEC under Rule 12g3-2(b) of the 1934 Act 
(17 CFR 240.12g3-2(b)), or to issuers who are foreign governments or 
political subdivisions thereof and are eligible to use Schedule B under 
the 1933 Act (which describes the information and documents required to 
be contained in a registration statement filed by such issuers).
    47. Sales under Rule 144A, like sales in a registered offering, 
remain subject to the protections of the anti-fraud rules of federal 
and state securities laws. These provisions include Section 10(b) of 
the 1934 Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder (17 CFR 240.10b-5) and Section 
17(a) of the 1933 Act (15 U.S.C. 77a). Through these and other 
provisions, the SEC may use its full range of enforcement powers to 
exercise its regulatory authority over the market for Rule 144A 
Securities, in the event that it detects improper practices.
    48. The Applicant represents that this potential liability for 
fraud provides a considerable incentive to the issuer of the securities 
and the members of the selling syndicate to insure that the information 
contained in a Rule 144A offering memorandum is complete and accurate 
in all material respects. Among other things, the lead manager 
typically obtains an opinion from a law firm, commonly referred to as a 
``10b-5'' opinion, stating that the law firm has no reason to believe 
that the offering memorandum contains any untrue statement of material 
fact or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make sure 
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they 
were made, are not misleading.
    49. The Applicant represents that Rule 144A offerings generally are 
structured in the same manner as underwritten registered offerings. 
They may be ``negotiated'' offerings, ``competitive bid'' offerings or 
``bought deals.'' One difference is that a Rule 144A offering uses an 
offering memorandum rather than a prospectus that is filed with the 
SEC. The marketing process is substantially similar, except that the 
selling efforts are limited to contacting QIBs and there are no general 
solicitations for buyers (e.g., no general advertising). In addition, 
contracts for sale may be entered into with investors and securities 
may be priced before a selling agreement is executed (and this is 
typically the case with respect to sales of asset backed securities). 
The role of Affiliated Broker-Dealer in these offerings is typically 
that of a lead or co-manager. Further, generally, there are no non-
manager members in a Rule 144A selling syndicate. The Applicant 
nonetheless requests that the relief offered by the proposed exemption 
extend to authorization for situations where an Affiliated Broker-
Dealer acts as manager or as a member.
    50. The proposed exemption is administratively feasible, because 
the exemption involves easily identified transactions which will 
require limited ongoing monitoring by the Department.

[[Page 70645]]

In this regard, compliance with the terms and conditions of the 
proposed exemption will be verifiable and subject to audit.
    51. The Applicant represents that the proposed exemption is in the 
interest of participants and beneficiaries of Client Plans that engage 
in the covered transactions. In this regard, it is represented that the 
proposed exemption will enable the Asset Manager to cause Client Plans 
(and Client Plans and In-House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, as 
applicable) to participate in desirable investment opportunities by 
purchasing Securities under circumstances described in Section I, where 
such purchases are determined to be appropriate for and in the best 
interest of such Client Plans (and Client Plans and In-House Plans 
invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable).
    52. The Applicant represents that the proposed exemption is 
protective of the rights of participants and beneficiaries of affected 
Client Plans (and Client Plans and In-House Plans invested in Pooled 
Funds, as applicable). In this regard, the notification provisions and 
other requirements in the proposed exemption are similar to the 
conditions, including consent and the imposition of volume and quality 
restrictions, set forth in other exemptions published by the Department 
in similar circumstances.
    53. In summary, it is represented that the proposed transactions 
meet the statutory criteria for an exemption under section 408(a) of 
the Act because:
    (a) Client Plans (and Client Plans and In-House Plans invested in 
Pooled Funds, as applicable) will gain access to desirable investment 
opportunities;
    (b) In each offering, an Asset Manager will purchase the Securities 
for single Client Plans (and for Client Plans and In-House Plans 
invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable) from an underwriter or broker-
dealer other than the Asset Manager or an affiliate thereof;
    (c) Conditions similar to those found in PTE 75-1, Part III, will 
restrict the types of Securities that may be purchased, the types of 
underwriting or selling syndicates and issuers involved, and the price 
and timing of the purchases;
    (d) The amount of Securities that an Asset Manager may purchase on 
behalf of single Client Plans (and on behalf of Client Plans and In-
House Plans invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable) will be subject to 
percentage limitations;
    (e) An Affiliated Broker-Dealer will not be permitted to receive, 
either directly, indirectly or through designation, any selling 
concession with respect to the Securities sold to an Asset Manager on 
behalf of a single Client Plans (or Client Plans and In-House Plans 
invested in Pooled Funds, as applicable);
    (f) Prior to any purchase of Securities, an Asset Manager will make 
the required disclosures to an Independent Fiduciary of each single 
Client Plan (and the fiduciary of each Client Plan invested in Pooled 
Funds, as applicable) and obtain authorization to engage in the covered 
transactions in accordance with the procedures set forth in this 
proposed exemption;
    (g) The Asset Manager will provide regular reporting to the 
Independent Fiduciary of each single Client Plan (and the fiduciary of 
each Client Plan and In-House Plan invested in Pooled Funds, as 
applicable) with respect to all Securities purchased in accordance with 
the procedures set forth in this proposed exemption;
    (h) Each single Client Plan (and each Client Plan and In-House Plan 
invested in Pooled Funds) will be subject to net asset requirements, 
with certain exceptions for Client Plans and In-House Plans invested in 
Pooled Funds; and
    (i) An Asset Manager must have total assets under management in 
excess of $5 billion and shareholders' or partners' equity in excess of 
$1 million, in addition to qualifying as a QPAM, pursuant to Part V(a) 
of PTE 84-14.

Notice to Interested Persons

    WFC represents that the class of persons interested in this 
proposed exemption is comprised of the relevant Independent Fiduciary 
of each existing single Client Plan (and the Independent Fiduciary of 
each existing Client Plan and fiduciary of each existing In-House Plan 
the assets of which are invested in Pooled Funds) of the Asset 
Manager(s) that intend(s) to rely upon the proposed exemption, if 
granted. In this regard, it is represented that WFC shall provide 
notification of the publication of the Notice of Proposed Exemption 
(the Notice) in the Federal Register to all such interested persons via 
first class mail to each such interested person's most recent address 
maintained in the records of the administrator of the relevant Client 
Plans and In-House Plans. Such notification will contain a copy of the 
Notice, as it appears in the Federal Register on the date of 
publication, plus a copy of the Supplemental Statement, as required 
pursuant to 29 CFR 2570.43(a)(2) which will advise all such interested 
persons of their right to comment and to request a hearing. WFC will 
provide such notification to all such interested persons within fifteen 
(15) days of the date of publication of the Notice in the Federal 
Register. All written comments and/or requests for a hearing must be 
received by the Department from such interested persons no later than 
45 days after publication of the Notice in the Federal Register.
    All comments will be made available to the public.
    Warning: Do not include any personally identifiable information 
(such as name, address, or other contact information) or confidential 
business information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All 
comments may be posted on the Internet and can be retrieved by most 
Internet search engines.

For Further Information Contact: Angelena C. Le Blanc of the 
Department, telephone (202) 693-8540. (This is not a toll-free number.)

Craftsman Independent Union Local #1 Health, Welfare & Hospitalization 
Trust Fund (the Plan) Cape Girardeau, Missouri

[Application No. L-11775]

Proposed Exemption

    The Department is considering granting an exemption under the 
authority of section 408(a) of the Act and in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 29 CFR part 2570, subpart B (76 FR 66637, 
66644, October 27, 2011). If the proposed exemption is granted, the 
restrictions of section 406(a)(1)(A) and (D) of the Act shall not apply 
to the sale by the Plan of a parcel of improved real property (the 
Property) to the Craftsman Independent Union Local #1 (the Union), a 
party in interest with respect to the Plan; provided that the following 
conditions are satisfied:
    (a) The sale is a one-time transaction for cash;
    (b) The sales price for the Property is the greater of either: (1) 
$250,000; or (2) the fair market value of the Property as established 
by qualified independent appraisers (the Appraisers) in an appraisal of 
the Property that is updated on the date of the sale;
    (c) RMI, as the qualified independent fiduciary (the I/F), reviews 
and approves the methodology used by the Appraisers to ensure that such 
methodology is properly applied in determining the fair market value of 
the Property, and determines that it is prudent to go forward with the 
sale;
    (d) RMI represents the interests of the Plan at the time the sale 
is consummated;
    (e) The Plan pays no real estate fees or commissions in connection 
with the sale;

[[Page 70646]]

    (f) The Union reimburses the Plan for 50% of the costs of the 
exemption application and pays all recording charges, attorney's fees, 
title insurance premiums, and any transfer fees or taxes; and
    (g) The terms of the sale are no less favorable to the Plan than 
the terms the Plan would receive under similar circumstances in an 
arm's length transaction with an unrelated party.

Summary of Facts and Representations

    1. RMI (or the Applicant), which is located in Brentwood, 
Tennessee, acts as and provides support services to court-appointed 
independent fiduciaries or court-appointed receivers of: Federally-
regulated pension plans, and health and welfare benefit funds; state 
regulated insurance companies; health maintenance organizations and 
workers compensation trusts; state regulated trust companies; state 
regulated finance companies; and securities companies. On June 20, 
2011, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of 
Missouri (the Court) appointed RMI to serve as the I/F of the Plan.
    2. The Union is located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The Union 
represents certain workers in the construction and skilled trades 
industries, generally in Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Arkansas. 
Bilfinger Industrial Services Inc. (Bilfinger), which is headquartered 
in Ballwin, Missouri, is the Union's sole contributing employer. 
Bilfinger provides construction and engineering services to five 
primary markets: Consumer Products, Pulp and Paper, Chemical and 
Petrochemical, Food and Beverage, and Power, Energy and Utilities.
    3. Members of the Union are eligible to participate in the Plan. 
The Plan is a self-funded health plan that provides health benefits to 
the eligible employees of contributing employers pursuant to the 
employers' collective bargaining agreements with the Union. The Plan 
began its operations in 1984 in Missouri and presently has offices in 
Cape Girardeau, Missouri. As of May 31, 2014, the Plan covered 57 
participants and 65 beneficiaries. Also, as of May 31, 2014, the Plan 
had total net assets of $2,074,545.39.
    The Plan does not currently have any trustees. As explained in 
Representation 6, the Plan trustees were removed in 2011 by judicial 
order. RMI, as independent fiduciary of the Plan, is authorized to 
exercise full authority and control over the management and disposition 
of the Plan's assets.
    4. In 1987, the Plan purchased the Property, located at 2709 
Bloomfield Road in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, from Marshall Maxwell and 
Marion Maxwell, unrelated third parties, for a purchase price of 
$76,000. The Plan's former trustees made the original decision to 
purchase the Property as a long-term growth investment for the Plan. 
The Property consists of a 2,000 square foot office building with a 
2,000 square foot full basement, and 11,600 square feet of concrete and 
asphalt paved driveways and parking spaces. The Applicant represents 
that no parties in interest with respect to the Plan own or lease any 
property adjacent to the Property.
    5. On May 21, 1999, the Plan began leasing office space in the 
Property to the Union for a monthly rental charge of $775. Also on this 
date, the Craftsman International Union (the International Union) \27\ 
began leasing office space in the Property from the Plan for a monthly 
rental charge of $355. The Union currently pays the Plan $900 per month 
under its amended lease, and the International Union still pays the 
Plan $355 per month under its lease. A total of 3,000 square feet of 
leased office space is occupied by these tenants. The Plan uses the 
remainder of the Property for its own office space. The Plan trustees, 
some of whom were officers of both Unions, approved the specific terms 
of each lease. Both leases contain automatic renewal provisions.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \27\ The Applicant represents that officers and members of the 
International Union are not eligible to participate in the Plan. 
However, it is possible for an individual to be a member or an 
officer of both the Union and the International Union, and that such 
individual could become eligible for coverage under the Plan by 
reason of his or her status with the Union. Therefore, the 
International Union would be considered a party in interest with 
respect to the Plan.
    \28\ According to the Applicant, the leases have always complied 
with the terms and conditions of PTE 76-1 (41 FR 12740, March 26, 
1976, as corrected at 41 FR 16620 (April 20, 1976)), and PTE 77-10 
(42 FR 33918, July 1, 1977). Part C of PTE 76-1 provides exemptive 
relief from the prohibited transaction provisions of sections 406(a) 
and 407(a) of the Act for the leasing of office space, or the 
provision of administrative services, or the sale or leasing of 
goods by a multiple employer plan to a participating employee 
organization, participating employer or another multiple employer 
plan. PTE 77-10, which complements PTE 76-1, provides exemptive 
relief from the prohibited transaction provisions of section 
406(b)(2) of the Act with respect to the sharing of office space, 
administrative services or goods, or the leasing of office space, or 
the provision of administrative services or the sale or leasing of 
goods.
    Notwithstanding the Applicant's assertion that the past and 
continued leasing arrangements of the Property by the Plan and the 
Union and the Plan and the International Union are covered by PTEs 
76-1 and 77-10, the Department notes that such leasing has resulted 
in violations of section 406(b)(1) of the Act because some of the 
Plan trustees are officers of both Unions. PTEs 76-1 and 77-10 do 
not cover such violations, however, pursuant to the Consent 
Judgment, described in Representation 6, the Department, the Plan, 
the Union, the International Union, and other parties expressly 
agreed to waive any and all claims of any nature that each may have 
against the other.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    6. In 2011, William Kitchen, Jerry Dewrock and Terrance Kelley were 
removed as trustees of the Plan by a judicial order. As stated above, 
on June 20, 2011, the Court appointed RMI to serve as the independent 
fiduciary of the Plan. According to the Consent Judgment issued by the 
Court, RMI is authorized to exercise full authority and control with 
respect to the management or disposition of the assets of the Plan. 
Pursuant to the Consent Judgment, RMI also has the authority to 
liquidate Plan assets, effectuate the termination of the Plan, identify 
all legitimate claimants of the Plan and pay the amount of their 
claims, distribute the Plan's assets for the benefit of eligible 
participants and to pay service providers. The principal individuals 
responsible for the actions of RMI are Ms. Jeanne Barnes Bryant and Mr. 
Robert E. Moore, Jr.
    7. Aside from paying the $76,000 purchase price for the Property, 
excluding interest payments made under the loan from the Cape County 
Bank, the Plan has incurred certain holding costs of approximately 
$173,674.76, since it has owned the Property, through April 1, 2014. 
These costs include property taxes ($25,636.47), utilities 
($71,535.59), insurance ($25,037.27), property maintenance expenses 
($23,020.29), building repairs ($16,885.84), and labor repairs 
($11,559.30). During that same time period, the Applicant represents 
that the Plan has received rents totaling $246,350.00.
    The Applicant represents that the above expense amounts are gross 
expenses (i.e., the amounts attributable to the Plan's usage of the 
Property are included in the above expenses). If the Plan's prorated 
share of the expenses (25% or $43,418.59) is subtracted from the above 
expenses ($173,674.76), the Plan's expenses are $130,256.17. Thus, the 
Plan's estimated acquisition and holding costs associated with the 
Property are $206,256.17 ($76,000 + $130,256.17). Because the Plan 
earned rental income totaling $246,350, it has received a projected net 
profit of $40,093.83 ($246,350-$206,256.17) as of April 2014.
    8. The Plan now seeks to sell the Property. In this regard, RMI 
believes that the Property's value has plateaued, and that it would be 
prudent for the Plan to dispose of illiquid assets such as the 
Property. The Applicant represents that the most expeditious way to 
sell the Property is to offer it to the Union, given the slow real 
estate market conditions in

[[Page 70647]]

Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The Applicant further maintains that selling 
the Property to an unrelated third party might result in the Plan 
having to relocate its offices, which would result in additional costs. 
Therefore, the Applicant requests an administrative exemption from the 
Department with respect to the proposed sale.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ In conjunction with the sale, the Plan proposes to lease 
office space in the Property from the Union. The Applicant states 
that the leaseback will comply with section 408(b)(2) of the Act, 
and the regulations that have been promulgated thereunder. Section 
408(b)(2) of the Act provides statutory exemptive relief from 
section 406(a) of the Act for contracting or making reasonable 
arrangements with a party in interest for office space, or legal, 
accounting, or other services necessary for the establishment or 
operation of the plan, if no more than reasonable compensation is 
paid. The Department expresses no opinion herein on whether the 
requirements of section 408(b)(2) of the Act will be satisfied with 
respect to the leasing of the Property by the Union to the Plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    9. The proposed sale violates section 406(a)(1)(A) and (D) of the 
Act. In this regard, section 406(a)(1)(A) and (D) of the Act provides, 
in relevant part, that a fiduciary with respect to a plan shall not 
cause the plan to engage in a transaction, if he knows or should know 
that such transaction constitutes a direct or indirect sale or transfer 
to, or use by or for the benefit of a party in interest of any assets 
of the plan. The term ``party in interest'' is defined under section 
3(14)(D) of the Act to include, among other things, an employee 
organization any of whose employees or members are covered by such 
plan, such as the Union.
    10. In connection with the sale, the Union will pay the Plan the 
greater of $250,000 or the fair market value of the Property, as 
determined by the Appraisers (see Representations 11-13) in an 
appraisal that is updated at closing. The consideration will be paid in 
cash. Thus, the sales price for the Property will represent 
approximately 12% of the Plan's assets. The existing lease between the 
Plan and the Union will expire by operation of law once the sale is 
consummated.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \30\ Similarly, the existing lease between the Plan and the 
International Union will terminate by operation of law.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Both the Union and the Plan will be required to pay 50% of the 
escrow agent's fees and 50% of the costs of preparing and obtaining an 
individual prohibited transaction exemption from the Department for the 
proposed transaction. However, the Union will reimburse the Plan for 
50% of the Plan's costs in preparing and obtaining an exemption. The 
Union will also be required to pay all recording charges, attorney 
fees, title insurance premiums, and any transfer fees or taxes. 
Finally, the Plan will pay all of RMI's fees.
    11. RMI retained Mr. John M. Karnes and Ms. Holly L. Schneider of 
Dockins Valuation Company (DVC) to serve as the Appraisers and, in such 
capacity, to prepare the appraisal of the Property. The Appraisers are 
both Certified General Real Estate Appraisers in Missouri. The 
Appraisers' gross revenues received from parties in interest with 
respect to the Plan, including the appraisal report, represent less 
than 1% of their 2014 gross revenues.
    12. In an appraisal report (the Appraisal Report) dated August 11, 
2014, the Appraisers describe the Property as an irregularly-shaped 
site having frontage of 163.24 feet along Bloomfield Road and 
containing approximately 0.80 acres. The Appraisers further explain 
that the site is improved with a 2,000 square foot brick office 
building with a full basement of 2,000 square feet and approximately 
11,600 square feet of concrete and asphalt paved driveways and parking 
spaces.
    13. According to the Appraisers, the Cost Approach to valuation is 
a good indicator of value if the property being appraised is new or 
relatively new and the improvements represent the highest and best use 
of the land. However, in this appraisal, the Appraisers noted a sizable 
amount of depreciation. For this reason, the Cost Approach value was 
not developed for the Property.
    The Appraisers also considered the Income Approach in their 
valuation of the Property. The income stream, according to the 
Appraisers, is often the primary decision-making tool for investment 
decisions involving income-producing property, such as the Property. 
Thus, it is the Appraisers' opinion that the Income Approach is a 
strong indicator of value of the Property. Using this approach, the 
Appraisers placed the fair market value of the Property at $240,000.
    Finally, the Appraisers considered the Sales Comparison Approach in 
their valuation of the Property. According to the Appraisers, this 
approach is based upon a comparison between the subject Property and 
similar properties, which have sold. The Appraisers state that sales of 
similar properties within the subject's market area were available for 
comparison with a reasonable degree of comparability to subject. Thus, 
the Sales Comparison Approach was also considered a strong indicator of 
value in this appraisal to the Appraisers. Under this approach, the 
Appraisers placed the fair market value of the Property at $265,000.
    In the Appraisers' opinion, the value of the subject Property lay 
somewhere between the Income Approach and the Sales Comparison 
Approach. Therefore, based on their analysis and conclusions as to the 
market value, the Appraisers placed the fair market value of the 
Property, in fee simple, at $250,000 as of July 7, 2014.
    14. RMI represents that it has the appropriate training, 
experience, and facilities to act on behalf of the Plan regarding the 
proposed transaction in accordance with the fiduciary duties and 
responsibilities prescribed by the Act. RMI further represents that it 
has not, and does not, expect to receive any revenues from any party in 
interest of the Plan for the current or immediately prior federal 
income tax year. RMI also represents that it has no relationship with 
any other party in interest with respect to the Plan.
    As the Plan's independent fiduciary, RMI will review and approve 
the methodology used by the Appraisers, ensure that such methodology is 
properly applied in determining the fair market value of the Property, 
and determine whether it is prudent to go forward with the proposed 
transaction. In addition, RMI will represent the interests of the Plan 
at the time the proposed transaction is consummated.
    15. RMI represents that the exemption request is administratively 
feasible because the proposed transaction will be a one-time 
transaction that will alleviate the administrative burdens that come 
with the annual valuation and holding of an illiquid asset. RMI also 
represents that the requested exemption is in the interest of Plan 
participants and beneficiaries because the sale of the Property will 
enable the Plan to have more liquid assets and diversify its reserve 
investments. Further, RMI states that the exemption request is 
protective of the rights of the Plan's participants and beneficiaries 
because the proposed transaction will enhance the Plan's ability to 
continue to provide benefits to its members and their beneficiaries. 
Finally, RMI notes that the Union will reimburse the Plan for 50% of 
the costs associated with this exemption application and the proposed 
transaction.
    16. RMI asserts that the Plan's need for liquidity is real and 
immediate. If the proposed transaction is not approved, the Plan will 
continue to have the burden of paying real estate taxes and utility and 
other expenses to maintain the Property, including obtaining and paying 
for an annual valuation of the Property for financial reporting 
purposes. Finally, RMI represents that that Plan will be forced

[[Page 70648]]

to continue to hold a relatively illiquid investment, with no assurance 
that it can ever be sold to an unrelated third party.
    17. In summary, RMI represents that the proposed transaction will 
satisfy the statutory requirements for an exemption under section 
408(a) of the Act because:
    (a) The sale will be a one-time transaction for cash;
    (b) The sales price for the Property will be the greater of either: 
(1) $250,000; or (2) the fair market value of the Property as 
established by the Appraisers in an appraisal of the Property that is 
updated on the date of the sale;
    (c) RMI will review and approve the methodology used by the 
Appraisers to ensure that such methodology is properly applied in 
determining the fair market value of the Property, and will determine 
that it is prudent to go forward with the sale;
    (d) RMI will represent the interests of the Plan at the time the 
sale is consummated;
    (e) The Plan will pay no real estate fees or commissions in 
connection with the sale;
    (f) The Union will reimburse the Plan for 50% of the costs of the 
exemption application and pay all recording charges, attorney's fees, 
title insurance premiums, and any transfer fees or taxes; and
    (g) The terms of the sale will be no less favorable to the Plan 
than the terms the Plan would receive under similar circumstances in an 
arm's length transaction with an unrelated party.

Notice to Interested Persons

    Notice of the proposed exemption will be given to interested 
persons within 10 days of the publication of the notice of proposed 
exemption in the Federal Register. The notice will be given to 
interested persons by first class mail, with postage prepaid. Such 
notice will contain a copy of the notice of proposed exemption, as 
published in the Federal Register, and a supplemental statement, as 
required pursuant to 29 CFR 2570.43(b)(2). The supplemental statement 
will inform interested persons of their right to comment on and/or to 
request a hearing with respect to the pending exemption. Written 
comments and hearing requests are due within 40 days of the publication 
of the notice of proposed exemption in the Federal Register.
    All comments will be made available to the public.
    Warning: Do not include any personally identifiable information 
(such as name, address, or other contact information) or confidential 
business information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All 
comments may be posted on the Internet and can be retrieved by most 
Internet search engines.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Mrs. Blessed Chuksorji-Keefe of the 
Department, telephone (202) 693-8567. (This is not a toll-free number.)

Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated Located in: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

[Application No. D-11782]

Proposed Exemption

    The Department is considering granting an exemption under the 
authority of section 408(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA or the Act), and section 4975(c)(2) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and in 
accordance with the procedures set forth in 29 CFR part 2570, subpart B 
(76 FR 66637, 66644, October 27, 2011).\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \31\ For purposes of this proposed exemption, references to the 
provisions of Title I of the Act, unless otherwise specified, refer 
also to the corresponding provisions of the Code.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section I: Transactions
    If the proposed exemption is granted, the restrictions of sections 
406(a)(1)(D) and 406(b) of the Act, and the sanctions resulting from 
the application of section 4975 of the Code, by reason of sections 
4975(c)(1)(D), (E), and (F) of the Code, shall not apply to:
    (a) The acquisition, sale or exchange by an Account of shares of an 
open-end investment company (the Fund) registered under the Investment 
Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act), the investment adviser for which is 
also a fiduciary with respect to the Account (or an affiliate of such 
fiduciary) (hereinafter, Robert W. Baird and all its affiliates will be 
referred to as Investment Adviser),
    (b) the in-kind redemptions of shares or acquisitions of shares of 
the Fund in exchange for Account assets transferred in-kind from an 
Account,
    (c) the receipt of fees for acting as an investment adviser for 
such Funds, in connection with the investment by the Accounts in shares 
of the Funds, and
    (d) the receipt of fees for providing Secondary Services to the 
Funds in connection with the investment by the Accounts in shares of 
the Funds, provided that the applicable conditions set forth in 
Sections II and III are met.
Section II: General Conditions
    (a) The Account does not pay a sales commission or other similar 
fees to the Investment Adviser or its affiliates in connection with 
such acquisition, sale, or exchange;
    (b) The Account does not pay a purchase, redemption or similar fee 
to the Investment Adviser in connection with the acquisition of shares 
by the Account or the sale by the Account to the Fund of such shares.
    (c) The Account may pay a purchase or redemption fee to the Fund in 
connection with an acquisition or sale of shares by the Account, that 
is fully disclosed in the Fund's prospectus in effect at all times. 
Furthermore, any purchase fee paid by the Account to the Fund (1) is 
intended to approximate the difference between ``bid'' and ``asked'' 
prices on the fixed income securities that the Fund will purchase using 
the proceeds from the sale of Fund shares to the Account; and (2) is 
not charged on any assets transferred in-kind to the Fund;
    (d) The Account does not pay an investment management, investment 
advisory or similar fee with respect to Account assets invested in Fund 
shares for the entire period of such investment. This condition does 
not preclude the payment of investment advisory fees by the Fund under 
the terms of its investment advisory agreement adopted in accordance 
with section 15 of the 1940 Act. This condition also does not preclude 
payment of an investment advisory fee by the Account under the 
following circumstances:
    (1) For Accounts billed in arrears, an investment advisory fee may 
be paid based on total Account assets from which a credit has been 
subtracted representing the Account's pro rata share of investment 
advisory fees paid by the Fund;
    (2) For Accounts billed in advance, the Investment Adviser must 
employ a reasonably designed method to ensure that the amount of the 
prepaid fee that constitutes the fee with respect to the Account assets 
invested in the Fund shares:
    (A) Is anticipated and subtracted from the prepaid fee at the time 
of payment of such fee, and
    (B) Is returned to the Account no later than during the immediately 
following fee period, or
    (C) Is offset against the prepaid fee for the immediately following 
fee period or for the fee period immediately following thereafter. For 
purposes of this paragraph, a fee shall be deemed to be prepaid for any 
fee period if the amount of such fee is calculated as of a date not 
later than the first day of such period; or
    (3) An investment advisory fee may be paid by an Account based on 
the total

[[Page 70649]]

assets of the Account, if the Account will receive a cash rebate of 
such Account's proportionate share of all fees charged to the Fund by 
the Investment Adviser for investment management, investment advisory 
or similar services no later than one business day after the receipt of 
such fees by the Investment Adviser;
    (e) The crediting, offsetting or rebating of any fees in Section 
II(d) is audited at least annually by the Investment Adviser through a 
system of internal controls to verify the accuracy of the fee mechanism 
adopted by the Investment Adviser under Section II(d). Instances of 
non-compliance must be corrected and identified, in writing, in a 
separate disclosure to affected Accounts within 30 days of such audit;
    (f) The combined total of all fees received by the Investment 
Adviser for the provision of services to an Account, and for the 
provision of any services to a Fund in which an Account may invest, is 
not in excess of ``reasonable compensation'' within the meaning of 
section 408(b)(2) of the Act;
    (g) The Investment Adviser and its affiliates do not receive any 
fees payable pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act in connection 
with the transactions covered by this exemption, if granted.
    (h) In advance of any initial investment by a Separately Managed 
Account in a Fund or by a new Plan investor in a Pooled Fund, a Second 
Fiduciary with respect to that Plan, who is independent of and 
unrelated to the Investment Adviser or any affiliate thereof, receives 
in written or in electronic form, full and detailed written disclosure 
of information concerning such Fund(s). The disclosure described in 
this Section II(h) includes, but is not limited to:
    (1) A current prospectus issued by each of the Fund(s);
    (2) A statement describing the fees for investment advisory or 
similar services, any Secondary Services, and all other fees to be 
charged to or paid by the Account and by the Fund(s), including the 
nature and extent of any differential between the rates of such fees;
    (3) The reasons why the Investment Adviser may consider such 
investment to be appropriate for the Account;
    (4) A statement describing whether there are any limitations 
applicable to the Investment Adviser with respect to which Account 
assets may be invested in shares of the Fund(s) and, if so, the nature 
of such limitations; and
    (5) A copy of this proposed exemption and the final exemption, if 
granted, and any other reasonably available information regarding the 
transaction described herein that the Second Fiduciary requests, 
provided that the notice of proposed exemption and notice of grant of 
exemption may be given within 15 calendar days after the date that the 
final exemption is published in the Federal Register, in the event that 
the initial investment in a Fund by a Separately Managed Account or by 
a new Plan investor in a Pooled Fund has occurred prior to such date.
    (i) After receipt and consideration of the information referenced 
in Section II(h), the Second Fiduciary of the Separately Managed 
Account or the new Plan investing in a Pooled Fund approves in writing 
the investment of Plan assets in each particular Fund and the fees to 
be paid by a Fund to the Investment Adviser.
    (j)(1) In the case of existing Plan investors in a Pooled Fund, 
such Pooled Fund may not engage in any covered transactions pursuant to 
this exemption, if granted, unless the Second Fiduciary receives in 
written or in electronic form, the information described in 
subparagraph (2) of this Section II(j) not less than 30 days prior to 
the Investment Adviser's engaging in the covered transactions on behalf 
of the Pooled Fund pursuant to this exemption, if granted;
    (2) The information referred to in subparagraph (1) of this Section 
II(j) includes:
    (A) A notice of the Pooled Fund's intent to engage in the covered 
transactions described herein, and a copy of the notice of proposed 
exemption, and a copy of the final exemption, if granted, provided that 
the notice of the proposed exemption and notice of grant of exemption 
may be given within 15 calendar days after the date that the final 
exemption is granted and published in the Federal Register, in the 
event that the Investment Advisor engaged in the covered transactions 
on behalf of the Pooled Fund prior to such date.
    (B) Any other reasonably available information regarding the 
covered transactions that a Second Fiduciary requests, and
    (C) A ``Termination Form,'' within the meaning of Section II(k). 
Approval to engage in any covered transactions pursuant to this 
exemption may be presumed notwithstanding that the Investment Adviser 
does not receive any response from a Second Fiduciary.
    (k) All authorizations made by a Second Fiduciary regarding 
investments in a Fund and the fees paid to the Investment Adviser will 
be subject to an annual reauthorization wherein any such prior 
authorization shall be terminable at will by an Account, without 
penalty to the Account, upon receipt by the Investment Adviser of 
written notice of termination. A form expressly providing an election 
to terminate the authorization (the Termination Form) with instructions 
on the use of the form will be supplied to the Second Fiduciary no less 
than annually, in written or in electronic form. The instructions for 
the Termination Form will include the following information:
    (1) The authorization is terminable at will by the Account, without 
penalty to the Account, upon receipt by the Investment Adviser of 
written notice from the Second Fiduciary. Such termination will be 
effected by the Investment Adviser by selling the shares of the Fund 
held by the affected Account within one business day following receipt 
by the Investment Adviser of the Termination Form or any other written 
notice of termination; provided that if, due to circumstances beyond 
the control of the Investment Adviser, the sale cannot be executed 
within one business day, the Investment Adviser shall have one 
additional business day to complete such sale; and provided further 
that, where a Plan's interest in a Pooled Fund cannot be sold within 
this timeframe, the Plan's interest will be sold as soon as 
administratively practicable;
    (2) Failure of the Second Fiduciary to return the Termination Form 
or provide any other written notice of termination will result in 
continued authorization of the Investment Adviser to engage in the 
covered transactions on behalf of an Account; and
    (3) The identity of Baird, the asset management affiliate of Baird, 
the affiliated investment advisers, and the address of the asset 
management affiliate of Baird. The instructions will state that the 
exemption, if granted, is not available, unless the fiduciary of each 
Plan participating in the covered transactions as an investor in a 
Pooled Fund is, in fact, independent of the Investment Adviser. The 
instructions will also state that the fiduciary of each such Plan must 
advise the asset management affiliate of Baird, in writing, if it is 
not a ``Second Fiduciary,'' as that term is defined, below, in Section 
IV(h).
    However, if the Termination Form has been provided to the Second 
Fiduciary pursuant to this Section II(k) or Sections II(j), (l), or 
(m), the Termination Form need not be provided again for an annual 
reauthorization pursuant to this paragraph unless at least six months 
has elapsed since the form was previously provided.
    (l) In situations where the Fund-level fee is neither rebated nor 
credited

[[Page 70650]]

against the Account-level fee, the Second Fiduciary of each Account 
invested in a particular Fund will receive full disclosure, in written 
or in electronic form, in a statement, which is separate from the Fund 
prospectus, of any proposed increases in the rates of fees for 
investment advisory or similar services, and any Secondary Services, at 
least 30 days prior to the implementation of such increase in fees, 
accompanied by a Termination Form. In situations where the Fund-level 
fee is rebated or credited against the Account-level fee, the Second 
Fiduciary will receive full disclosure, in a Fund prospectus or 
otherwise, in the same time and manner set forth above, of any 
increases in the rates of fees to be charged by the Investment Adviser 
to the Fund for investment advisory services. Failure to return the 
Termination Form will be deemed an approval of the increase and will 
result in the continued authorization of the Investment Adviser to 
engage in the covered transactions on behalf of an Account.
    (m) In the event that the Investment Adviser provides an additional 
Secondary Service to a Fund for which a fee is charged or there is an 
increase in the rate of any fees paid by the Funds to the Investment 
Adviser for any Secondary Services resulting from either an increase in 
the rate of such fee or from a decrease in the number or kind of 
services provided by the Investment Adviser for such fees over an 
existing rate for such Secondary Service in connection with a 
previously authorized Secondary Service, the Second Fiduciary will 
receive notice, at least 30 days in advance of the implementation of 
such additional service or fee increase, in written or in electronic 
form, explaining the nature and the amount of such services or of the 
effective increase in fees of the affected Fund. Such notice shall be 
accompanied by a Termination Form. Failure to return the Termination 
Form will be deemed an approval of the Secondary Service and will 
result in continued authorization of the Investment Adviser to engage 
in the covered transactions on behalf of the Account.
    (n) On an annual basis, the Second Fiduciary of an Account 
investing in a Fund, will receive, in written or in electronic form:
    (1) A copy of the current prospectus for the Fund and, upon such 
fiduciary's request, a copy of the Statement of Additional Information 
for such Fund, which contains a description of all fees paid by the 
Fund to the Investment Adviser;
    (2) A copy of the annual financial disclosure report of the Fund in 
which such Account is invested, which includes information about the 
Fund portfolios as well as audit findings of an independent auditor of 
the Fund, within 60 days of the preparation of the report; and
    (3) With respect to each of the Funds in which an Account invests, 
in the event such Fund places brokerage transactions with the 
Investment Adviser, the Investment Adviser will provide the Second 
Fiduciary of such Account, in the same manner described above, at least 
annually with a statement specifying the following (and responses to 
oral or written inquiries of the Second Fiduciary as they arise):
    (A) The total, expressed in dollars, brokerage commissions of each 
Fund's investment portfolio that are paid to the Investment Adviser by 
such Fund,
    (B) The total, expressed in dollars, of brokerage commissions of 
each Fund's investment portfolio that are paid by such Fund to 
brokerage firms unrelated to the Investment Adviser,
    (C) The average brokerage commissions per share, expressed as cents 
per share, paid to the Investment Adviser by each portfolio of a Fund, 
and
    (D) The average brokerage commissions per share, expressed as cents 
per share, paid by each portfolio of a Fund to brokerage firms 
unrelated to the Investment Adviser.
    (o) In all instances in which the Investment Adviser provides 
electronic distribution of information to Second Fiduciaries who have 
provided electronic mail addresses, such electronic disclosure will be 
provided in a manner similar to the procedures described in 29 CFR 
2520.104b-1(c).
    (p) No Separately Managed Account holds assets of a Plan sponsored 
by the Investment Adviser or an affiliate. If a Pooled Fund holds 
assets of a Plan or Plans sponsored by the Investment Adviser or an 
affiliate, the total assets of all such Plans shall not exceed 15% of 
the total assets of such Pooled Fund.
    (q) All of the Accounts' other dealings with the Funds, the 
Investment Adviser, or any person affiliated thereto, are on terms that 
are no less favorable to the Account than such dealings are with other 
shareholders of the Funds.
    (r) Baird and its affiliates, as applicable, maintain, or cause to 
be maintained, for a period of six (6) years from the date of any 
covered transaction such records as are necessary to enable the 
persons, described, below, in Section II(s), to determine whether the 
conditions of this exemption have been met, except that--
    (1) No party in interest with respect to a Plan which engages in 
the covered transactions, other than Baird, and its affiliates, as 
applicable, shall be subject to a civil penalty under section 502(i) of 
the Act or the taxes imposed by section 4975(a) and (b) of the Code, if 
such records are not maintained, or not available for examination, as 
required, below, by Section II(s); and
    (2) A separate prohibited transaction shall not be considered to 
have occurred solely because, due to circumstances beyond the control 
of Baird or its affiliate, as applicable, such records are lost or 
destroyed prior to the end of the six-year period.
    (s)(1) Except as provided, below, in Section II(s)(2), and 
notwithstanding any provisions of subsections (a)(2) and (b) of section 
504 of the Act, the records referred to, above, in Section II(r) are 
unconditionally available at their customary location for examination 
during normal business hours by--
    (A) Any duly authorized employee or representative of the 
Department, the Internal Revenue Service, or the SEC, or
    (B) Any fiduciary of any Plan that engages in the covered 
transactions, or any duly authorized employee or representative of such 
fiduciary, or
    (C) Any employer of participants and beneficiaries and any employee 
organization whose members are covered by a Plan that engages in the 
covered transactions, or any authorized employee or representative of 
these entities, or
    (D) Any participant or beneficiary of a Plan that engages in the 
covered transactions, or duly authorized employee or representative of 
such participant or beneficiary;
    (2) None of the persons described, above, in Section II(s)(1)(B)-
(D) shall be authorized to examine trade secrets of the Investment 
Adviser, or commercial or financial information which is privileged or 
confidential; and
    (3) Should the Investment Adviser refuse to disclose information on 
the basis that such information is exempt from disclosure, the 
Investment Adviser shall, by the close of the thirtieth (30th) day 
following the request, provide a written notice advising that person of 
the reasons for the refusal and that the Department may request such 
information.
Section III: Additional Conditions for In-Kind Transactions
    (a) In-kind transactions with an Account shall only involve: (1) 
Publically-traded securities for which market quotations are readily 
available, as determined pursuant to procedures established by the 
Funds under Rule

[[Page 70651]]

2a-4 of the 1940 Act; (2) securities that are deemed to be liquid and 
that are valued based upon prices obtained from a reliable well-
established third-party pricing service that is independent of the 
Investment Adviser (e.g., Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data, 
LLC) pursuant to then-existing procedures established by the Board of 
Directors or Trustees of the Funds under the 1940 Act and applicable 
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, regulations and 
guidance thereunder (SEC Guidance); and (3) cash in the event that the 
aforementioned securities are odd lot securities, fractional shares, or 
accruals on such securities. Securities for which prices cannot be 
obtained from a third-party pricing service will not be transferred in-
kind. Furthermore, in-kind transfers of securities will not include:
    (1) Securities that, if publicly offered or sold, would require 
registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 
Act), other than securities issued under Rule 144A of the 1933 Act;
    (2) Securities issued by entities in countries that (A) restrict or 
prohibit the holding of securities by non-nationals other than through 
qualified investment vehicles, such as the Funds, or (B) permit 
transfers of ownership of securities to be effected only by 
transactions conducted on a local stock exchange;
    (3) Certain portfolio positions (such as forward foreign currency 
contracts, futures and options contracts, swap transactions, 
certificates of deposit and repurchase agreements), that, although 
liquid and marketable, involve the assumption of contractual 
obligations, require special trading facilities, or can be traded only 
with the counter-party to the transaction to effect a change in 
beneficial ownership;
    (4) Cash equivalents (such as certificates of deposit, commercial 
paper, and repurchase agreements);
    (5) Other assets that are not readily distributable (including 
receivables and prepaid expenses), net of all liabilities (including 
accounts payable); and
    (6) Securities subject to ``stop transfer'' instructions or similar 
contractual restrictions on transfer; provided however that the 
foregoing restrictions shall not apply to securities eligible for 
resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, or commercial paper or 
other short-term instruments issued pursuant to Section 4(2) of the 
1933 Act so long as such securities are deemed to be liquid and are 
valued based upon prices obtained from a reliable, well-established 
third-party pricing service that is independent of the Investment 
Adviser pursuant to then-existing procedures established by the Board 
of Directors or Trustees of the Funds under the 1940 Act and applicable 
SEC Guidance.
    (b) Subject to the exceptions described in Section III(a) above, in 
the case of an in-kind exchange of assets (in-kind redemptions and in-
kind transfers of Plan assets) between an Account and a Fund, the 
Account will receive its pro rata portion of the securities of the Fund 
equal in value to that of the number of shares redeemed, or the Fund 
shares having a total net asset value (NAV) equal to the value of the 
assets transferred on the date of the transfer, as determined in a 
single valuation, using sources independent of the Investment Adviser, 
performed in the same manner as it would for any other person or entity 
at the close of the same business day in accordance with the procedures 
established by the Fund pursuant to Rule 2a-4 under the 1940 Act, and 
the then-existing valuation procedures established by its Board of 
Directors or Trustees, as applicable for the valuation of such assets, 
that are in compliance with the rules administered by the SEC. In 
connection with a redemption of Fund shares, the value of the 
securities and any cash received by the Account for each redeemed Fund 
share equals the NAV of such shares at the time of the transaction. In 
the case of any other in-kind exchange, the value of the Fund shares 
received by the Account equals the NAV of the transferred securities 
and any cash on the date of the transfer.
    (c) The Investment Adviser shall provide the Second Fiduciary with 
a written confirmation containing information necessary to perform a 
post-transaction review of any in-kind transaction so that the material 
aspects of such transaction, including pricing, can be reviewed. Such 
information must be furnished no later than thirty (30) business days 
after the completion of the in-kind transaction. In the case of a 
Pooled Fund, the Investment Adviser can satisfy the requirement with a 
single aggregate report furnished to the Second Fiduciary containing 
the required information for each in-kind transaction taking place 
during a month. This aggregate report must be furnished to the Second 
Fiduciary no later than thirty (30) business days after the end of that 
month. The information to be provided pursuant to this Section III(c) 
shall include:
    (1) With respect to securities either transferred or received by an 
Account in-kind in exchange for Fund shares,
    (A) the identity of each security either received by the Account 
pursuant to the redemption, or transferred to the Fund by the Account, 
and the related aggregate dollar value of all such securities 
determined in accordance with Rule 2a-4 under the 1940 Act and the 
then-existing procedures established by the Board of Directors or 
Trustees of the Fund (using sources independent of the Investment 
Adviser), and
    (B) the current market price of each security transferred or 
received in-kind by the Account as of the date of the in-kind transfer;
    (2) With respect to Fund shares either transferred or received by 
an Account in-kind in exchange for securities,
    (A) the number of Fund shares held by the Account immediately 
before the redemption and the related per share net asset value and the 
total dollar value of such Fund shares, determined in accordance with 
Rule 2a-4 under the 1940 Act, using sources independent of the 
Investment Adviser, or
    (B) the number of Fund shares held by the Account immediately after 
the in-kind transfer and the related per share net asset value of the 
Fund shares received and the total dollar value of such Fund shares, 
determined in accordance with Rule 2a-4 under the 1940 Act using 
sources independent of the Investment Adviser; and
    (3) The identity of each pricing service or market-maker consulted 
in determining the value of the securities.
    (d) Prior to the consummation of an in-kind exchange, the 
Investment Adviser must document in writing and determine that such 
transaction is fair to the Account and comparable to, and no less 
favorable than, terms obtainable at arm's-length between unaffiliated 
parties, and that the in-kind transaction is in the best interests of 
the Account and the participants and beneficiaries of the participating 
Plans.
Section IV. Definitions
    (a) The term ``Account'' means either a Separately Managed Account 
or a Pooled Fund in which investments are made by Plans.
    (b) An ``affiliate'' of a person includes any person directly or 
indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controlling, controlled 
by, or under common control with the person; any officer of, director 
of, highly compensated employee (within the meaning of section 
4975(e)(2)(H) of the Code) of, or partner in any such person; and any 
corporation or partnership of which such person is an officer, 
director, partner or owner, or highly compensated employee (within the 
meaning of section 4975(e)(2)(H) of the Code).

[[Page 70652]]

    (c) The term ``control'' means the power to exercise a controlling 
influence over the management or policies of a person other than an 
individual.
    (d) The term ``Fund'' means any open end investment company 
registered under the 1940 Act.
    (e) The term ``Investment Adviser'' means Robert W. Baird or any of 
its current or future affiliates.
    (f) The term ``Plan'' means a plan described in section 3(3) of the 
Act and a plan described in section 4975(e)(1) of the Code.
    (g) The term ``Pooled Fund'' means any commingled fund sponsored, 
maintained, advised or trusteed by the Investment Adviser, which fund 
holds Plan assets.
    (h) The term ``Second Fiduciary'' means a fiduciary of a Plan who 
is independent of and unrelated to the Investment Adviser. For purposes 
of this exemption, the Second Fiduciary will not be deemed to be 
independent of and unrelated to the Investment Adviser if:
    (1) Such fiduciary directly or indirectly controls, is controlled 
by, or is under common control with the Investment Adviser;
    (2) Such fiduciary, or any officer, director, partner, or employee 
of the fiduciary is an officer, director, partner, employee or 
affiliate of the Investment Adviser; or
    (3) Such fiduciary directly or indirectly receives any compensation 
or other consideration for his or her own personal account in 
connection with any transaction described in this exemption. If an 
officer, director, partner, affiliate or employee of the Investment 
Adviser is a director of such Second Fiduciary, and if he or she 
abstains from participation in (A) the choice of the Plan's investment 
adviser, (B) the approval for the acquisition, sale, holding, and/or 
exchange of Fund shares by such Plan, and (C) the approval of any 
increase in fees charged to or paid by the Plan in connection with any 
of the transactions described herein, then subparagraph (2) above shall 
not apply.
    (i) The term ``Secondary Service'' means a service other than an 
investment management, investment advisory or similar service which is 
provided by the Investment Adviser to the Funds, including but not 
limited to custodial, accounting, brokerage, administrative or any 
other similar service.
    (j) The term ``Separately Managed Account'' means any Account other 
than a Pooled Fund, and includes single-employer Plans.
    Effective Date: If granted, this proposed exemption will be 
effective as of April 1, 2014.

Summary of Facts and Representations

Background

    1. Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated (Baird or the Applicant) is 
an employee-owned wealth management, capital markets, asset management 
and private equity firm. Baird is headquartered in Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, and has offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Baird 
is a registered broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(the 1934 Act) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority. Baird is also a federally-registered investment advisor. It 
provides trade execution, custody and other standard brokerage 
services, as well as investment advice and asset management services, 
to individual, trust, institutional, corporate and other clients, 
including pension, profit-sharing and retirement plans and accounts 
(Plans) described in section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974, as amended (the Act) and/or section 4975(e)(1) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code).
    2. Baird represents that it provides investment management services 
to institutional clients including defined benefit Plans seeking to 
address the volatility and interest rate sensitivity that have made 
maintenance of these Plans problematic since the interest rate 
sensitivity and resulting volatility can significantly affect a Plan's 
funded status and the sponsoring organization's operating results. 
According to the Applicant, the strategy Baird utilizes to support 
these Plans, often called ``liability-driven investing'' or ``LDI,'' 
seeks to reduce the interest rate sensitivity ``gap'' between a Plan's 
assets and its pension liabilities, which in turn will reduce the 
variability of the funded status of the Plan and dampen the swings in 
the Plan's minimum annual funding requirements. Specifically, Baird's 
LDI strategy utilizes a separate account structure that invests in long 
maturity (duration) U.S. dollar-denominated, investment-grade quality 
bonds that are primarily issued by the U.S. Government or corporate 
entities.
    3. The Applicant represents that all current Plan clients invested 
in Baird's LDI strategy are mid to large sized Plans able to achieve 
the necessary portfolio diversification through a separate account 
structure. According to Baird, a separately managed account is not 
always the optimum vehicle for smaller defined benefit Plan sponsors 
who wish to maintain their Plans and implement the LDI strategy. In 
this regard, the Applicant states that the size of the long-dated 
corporate bond portion of a small to mid-sized Plan's LDI portfolio 
does not permit it to obtain optimum diversification and ``round lot'' 
transaction cost efficiencies through the purchase of individual bonds 
by such a Plan's separate account. Baird explains that corporate bonds 
are typically traded in ``round lots'' of $1 million par value or 
higher and best price execution is achieved at these amounts. Anything 
smaller is considered an ``odd lot'' which can carry additional 
premiums when buying and discounts when trying to sell, thus widening 
the ``bid/ask spread'' for odd lot position sizes and increasing 
transaction costs. The Applicant notes that a separate account 
structure is only effective if the client has sufficient assets to 
achieve proper diversification and advantageous pricing in purchasing 
round lot positions of long-dated corporate bonds in a separate 
account. To resolve this issue, Baird intends to establish an open-end 
mutual fund (the Fund), registered under the Investment Company Act of 
1940 (the 1940 Act), which would hold the long-dated investment grade 
corporate bonds as part of the LDI strategy.
    4. The Applicant represents that these smaller Plans would benefit 
by investing in the Fund, because of efficiencies and economies of 
scale inherent in a pooled investment vehicle. In this regard, 
according to Baird, the Fund can readily purchase long-dated corporate 
bonds in round lots, thus reducing costs, and achieve greater issuer 
diversification given the larger pool of assets to invest. Investments 
in U.S. Government bonds and futures would continue to be effected in 
separate accounts for each Plan and not in the Fund.
    At this time, the Applicant represents that it desires to launch 
one Fund, but states that Baird may create additional Funds in the 
future with different bond exposures, but still consistent with an LDI 
strategy, to better meet the needs of certain defined benefit Plans. 
The Applicant notes, for example, that some Plans may want a higher 
quality long dated corporate bond strategy, and a potential additional 
Fund would address this by investing only in A-rated or better bonds.
    5. The Applicant notes that, even though LDI strategies have been 
the focus of discussion for traditional pension plans over the last 
several years, most small to mid-sized plans have not started 
implementing their LDI de-risking strategy for various reasons.

[[Page 70653]]

According to Baird, one reason they have delayed the implementation has 
been the lack of customized solutions that can accommodate the smaller 
asset size of their Plans and still offer adequate corporate bond 
diversification and attractive pricing of the product. The Applicant 
suggests that the few smaller Plans that have started implementing LDI 
strategies have implemented a separate account structure that generates 
a less-than-adequately diversified corporate bond strategy, coupled 
with higher-than-average transaction costs because they cannot achieve 
the round lot efficiencies. Other Plans that have attempted to avoid 
these issues chose to use whatever pooled vehicle they could find that 
invested in long maturity bonds, even though the solution wasn't 
necessarily an LDI-focused strategy. The Applicant contends further 
that, due to these sub-optimal choices, many Plans have chosen to delay 
implementing an LDI strategy, and many smaller Plans that have begun 
such a strategy have a less than optimum diversification of the bonds 
they hold.

Purchase Fee

    6. The Applicant states that, in order to avoid adverse economic 
effects on existing Plan investors in the Fund from the transaction 
costs of investing the cash investments, the Fund would have a fully 
disclosed purchase fee paid to the Fund, rather than a redemption fee 
paid to the Fund. The Applicant represents that the purchase fee is not 
a commission, trailer or other type of sales charge, and neither the 
advisor nor its affiliates will receive this fee. Baird explains that, 
like a redemption fee, the purchase fee is paid directly to the Fund 
and is intended to protect the existing Plan shareholders in the Fund 
from the transaction costs incurred when a new Plan invests in the Fund 
and the Fund is required to purchase additional long-dated corporate 
bonds.
    7. According to Baird, the SEC has stated that ``a purchase fee 
differs from, and is not considered to be, a front-end sales load 
because a purchase fee is paid to the fund (not to a broker) and is 
typically imposed to defray some of the fund's costs associated with 
the purchase.'' The SEC requires mutual funds that have a purchase fee 
to disclose that fee in the Fees and Expenses section of the prospectus 
under a category that is separate from a sales charge or distribution 
(12b-1) fee.\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \32\ See the SEC's Web site at https://www.sec.gov/answers/mffees.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    8. The Applicant represents that purchase fees are helpful because 
of the transaction costs associated with fixed-income investments. 
According to the Applicant, when bonds are purchased in a separate 
account or a mutual fund, the account pays the ask (offered) price to 
the broker/dealer which represents the price at which the broker/dealer 
is willing to sell and is higher than the bid price which represents 
the price at which the broker/dealer is willing to buy the bonds. Baird 
states further that this ``bid/ask spread'' is the mark-up paid to 
broker/dealers for trading bonds and represents the transaction costs 
incurred when bonds are traded. However, according to the Applicant, as 
is commonly the case with mutual funds, the Fund will value its 
portfolio of fixed income securities at their closing bid prices each 
day because those prices more accurately reflect the prices at which 
the portfolio securities could be sold by the Fund in the ordinary 
course of business. Therefore, when a Plan invests in the Fund, the 
Fund will have to use the proceeds to purchase bonds at or near the 
higher ``ask'' price and immediately at the close of business that day 
those newly purchased bonds will be valued at the lower ``bid'' price. 
The Applicant states that this will cause an immediate decline in the 
value of those securities that will impact the existing Plan 
shareholders in the Fund through a small reduction in the Fund's net 
asset value (NAV). Thus, the Applicant represents that the purchase fee 
is intended to cover the transaction costs incurred by this ``ask price 
to bid price reversion'' that occurs on all bond purchases.
    9. Baird represents that the ask price to bid price reversion is 
more pronounced for long-dated corporate bonds than for Treasury 
securities or shorter-term fixed income securities, and long-dated 
corporate bonds constitute the LDI investment strategy adopted for the 
Fund by Baird. The purchase fee represents the estimated costs to the 
current shareholders of the Fund of the likely difference between the 
prices paid by the Fund for corporate bonds using a Plan's cash 
investment in the fund and the prices at which those bonds are valued 
for purposes of calculating the Fund's net asset value. Baird 
represents that, effectively, by utilizing a purchase fee paid to the 
Fund, the Plan investing in the Fund is appropriately allocated the 
transaction costs required to purchase long-dated corporate bonds so 
that existing shareholders do not bear those costs.

Request for Exemptive Relief

    10. Baird requests relief from section 406(a)(1)(D) and 406(b) of 
the Act for its investment managers to cause a Plan's acquisition, sale 
or exchange of shares of the Fund through a separately managed account 
or a pooled fund in which Plans could invest (each, an Account), in 
cash or in kind, including publically traded securities and securities 
sold in reliance on Rule 144A (Rule 144A Securities) under the 
Securities Act of 1933 (the 1933 Act), and to receive an advisory fee 
and certain other fees from the Fund that constitute fees for 
``secondary services.''
    The Applicant states that section 406(a)(1)(D) of the Act prohibits 
a fiduciary with respect to a plan from causing such plan to engage in 
a transaction, if he knows or should know, that such transaction 
constitutes a transfer to, or use by or for the benefit of, a party in 
interest, of any assets of such plan. Sections 3(14)(A) and (B) of the 
Act define the term ``party in interest'' to include, respectively, any 
fiduciary of a plan and any person providing services to a plan. Under 
section 3(21)(A)(i) of the Act, a person is a fiduciary with respect to 
a plan, to the extent such person exercises authority or control with 
respect to the management or disposition of the assets of a plan. 
Additionally, under section 3(21)(A)(ii) a person is a fiduciary with 
respect to a plan to the extent such person renders investment advice 
for a fee or other compensation, direct or indirect, with respect to 
any moneys or other property of a plan or has any authority or 
responsibility to do so.
    Furthermore, the Applicant notes that under 406(b) of the Act, a 
fiduciary with respect to a plan may not: (1) Deal with the assets of a 
plan in his own interest or for his own account, (2) in his individual 
or in any other capacity act in any transaction involving a plan on 
behalf of a party (or represent a party) whose interests are adverse to 
the interests of such plan or the interests of its participants or 
beneficiaries, or (3) receive any consideration for his own personal 
account from any party dealing with a plan in connection with a 
transaction involving the assets of such plan.
    The Applicant represents that Baird entities may currently serve, 
and may in the future serve, as investment advisors, investment 
managers, or other fiduciaries with respect to their client Plans 
(Client Plans). Accordingly, the Applicant and various other Baird 
affiliates may currently be, or may in the future be parties in 
interest with respect to Client Plans which engage in the

[[Page 70654]]

proposed transactions. In this regard, the investment of assets of a 
Client Plan in a Fund advised by Baird, in cash or in kind, including 
Rule 144A Securities, may raise issues under sections 406(a)(1)(D), 
406(b)(1), 406(b)(2), and 406(b)(3) of the Act, and the corresponding 
provisions of the Code, unless an exemption is available, for the 
transactions themselves and for the receipt of fees from the Fund.

Fees

    11. The Applicant represents that investment management fees 
related to investment in the Fund would be offset, credited or waived 
at the Account level, as provided for in Class Prohibited Transaction 
Exemption (PTE) 77-4 \33\ and other similar individual exemptions based 
on PTE 77-4 (the Similar Exemptions).\34\ The Applicant represents that 
the billing systems and processes at Baird have been designed to 
correctly rebate or credit the advisory fees from the Fund against the 
Plan level fees or credit the Plan level fees against the advisory 
fees. According to the Applicant, these processes and systems are part 
of the billing systems of Baird, and they have been tested over the 
years to ensure compliance with the conditions for exemptive relief in 
connection with Baird's reliance on PTE 77-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \33\ See 42 FR 18732, April 8, 1977.
    \34\ See, e.g., Barclays Global Investors, N.A. (BGI) and its 
Investment Advisory Affiliates, including Barclays Global Fund 
Advisors (BGFA, together, the Applicants), PTE 2008-01, 73 FR 3274, 
January 17, 2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure and Consent

    12. The Applicant states that the proposed exemption contains 
disclosure and consent requirements that are based upon PTE 77-4 and 
the Similar Exemptions.\35\ In this regard, the Applicant represents 
that often, where Plans are invested in a pooled investment vehicle 
that invests in the Fund, the rules in PTE 77-4 that relate to 
disclosure and consent are expensive to administer, impractical, time 
consuming and burdensome. In particular, Baird represents that it is 
difficult for many pooled investment vehicles to comply with the 
written consent requirements described above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \35\ The Applicant notes that PTE 77-4 requires that each Plan 
investor provide advance written consent to the investment in the 
Fund and provide advance written consent to any change in fees. In 
this regard, PTE 77-4 requires that a second fiduciary with respect 
to the Plan, who is independent of and unrelated to the fiduciary/
investment advisor or its affiliates, receives a current prospectus 
issued by the Fund, and full and written detailed disclosure of the 
investment advisory and other fees charged to or paid by the Plan 
and the Fund, including the nature and extent of any differential 
between the rates of such fees, the reasons why the fiduciary/
investment adviser may consider such purchases to be appropriate for 
the Plan, and whether there are limitations on the fiduciary/
investment adviser with respect to which Plan assets may be invested 
in shares of the Fund and, if so, the nature of such limitations. 
Furthermore, PTE 77-4 requires that, on the basis of such prospectus 
and disclosure, a second fiduciary, who is independent of and 
unrelated to the fiduciary/investment adviser or affiliate, approves 
purchases and sales consistent with the responsibilities contained 
within Part 4 of Title I of the Act and such approval must be 
either: (1) set forth in the Plan documents or in the investment 
management agreement between the Plan and the fiduciary/investment 
adviser, (2) indicated in writing prior to each purchase or sale, or 
(3) indicated in writing prior to the commencement of a specified 
purchase or sale program in the shares of the Fund. Additionally, 
PTE 77-4 requires that the second fiduciary, or any successor 
thereto, is notified of any changes in the rates of fees and 
approves in writing the continuation of purchases and sales, and the 
continued holding of any shares of the Fund acquired by the Plan, 
and such approval may be limited to the investment advisory and 
other fees paid by the Fund in relation to the fees paid by the 
Plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    13. Currently, the Applicant represents that there is no intention 
to create a pooled fund in which Plans could invest which would hold 
shares of the Fund, but that strategy could be employed in the future 
if small clients preferred to hold interests in a pooled fund rather 
than hold the shares of the Fund directly. Consequently, Baird requests 
that the proposed exemption would require the Applicant to provide all 
of the disclosures currently required by PTE 77-4 to the fiduciaries of 
a Plan, prior to investing in the Fund, but rather than require written 
consent, the proposed exemption would permit ``deemed consent'' or 
negative consent to occur where Baird receives no response to such 
disclosures. In addition, the proposed exemption contains disclosure 
and consent procedures which would apply with respect to existing 
investors in a pooled fund. In addition, the proposed exemption 
contains a requirement that a plan fiduciary receive an Annual 
Termination Form, similar to the requirements contained in Similar 
Exemptions.
    14. The proposed exemption would also allow disclosures to be 
provided in written or in electronic form. Nevertheless, a Second 
Fiduciary may request a non-electronic copy of any required disclosure. 
Moreover, the Applicant states that in all instances in which Baird 
provides electronic distribution of information to Second Fiduciaries 
who have provided electronic mail addresses, such electronic disclosure 
will be provided in a manner similar to the procedures described in 29 
CFR 2520.104b-1(c) \36\ to ensure that the Baird's system of providing 
electronic disclosures results in actual receipt by the intended 
recipient.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ 29 CFR 2520.104b-1(c) sets forth conditions under which a 
Plan administrator furnishing documents through electronic media 
(e.g., email) will be deemed to satisfy the requirements of 29 CFR 
2520.104b-1(b)(1), which provides that disclosures required under 
Title I of ERISA must be furnished using ``measures reasonably 
calculated to ensure actual receipt of the material by [P]lan 
participants, beneficiaries and other specified individuals.''
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In-Kind Exchanges

    15. The Applicant represents that if a Plan currently holds 
securities which are appropriate for the Fund, and an investment in the 
Fund is consistent with the investment guidelines of the Plan, 
acquisition of Fund shares may be made in cash or in kind. According to 
the Applicant, an asset manager's ability to hold and transfer in-kind 
securities for its client Plans can be helpful to those accounts 
because the accounts will gain important investment opportunities and 
avoid significant transaction costs. When a Plan invests in the Fund 
in-kind, no purchase fee would be charged.
    According to the Applicant, the transfers in-kind would comply with 
Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act, including with respect to Rule 144A 
Securities.\37\ The Applicant represents

[[Page 70655]]

that Rule 17a-7 is relevant to the proposed transactions for which 
relief has been requested because securities, including Rule 144A 
Securities, may be contributed in kind from client Plans in exchange 
for shares of the Fund. The Applicant states that the SEC, through a 
series of no-action letters, permits mutual funds to effect purchase 
and sale transactions with affiliated persons on an ``in-kind'' basis 
rather than for cash in reliance on Rule 17a-7.\38\ In addition, the 
Applicant states that in many other instances, e.g. PTE 97-41, the 
Department has relied on the protective conditions of the Rule to make 
a finding that the exemption is protective of participants.
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    \37\ The Applicant explains that Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act 
provides a safe harbor from the general prohibitions contained in 
section 17(a) of the Investment Company Act against certain 
transactions between a mutual fund and affiliated persons, including 
accounts managed by the investment adviser to the fund. Such 
transactions include a purchase or sale of securities by a mutual 
fund from or to an affiliated person. Without Rule 17a-7, section 
17(a) would prohibit an investment adviser to both a mutual fund and 
a separate client account from causing the client to make an in-kind 
transfer of securities in the client's account to the mutual fund. 
Rule 17a-7 permits such in-kind transfers, provided that certain 
conditions are met.
    Specifically, the Applicant states that Rule 17a-7 provides that 
a purchase or sale transaction between registered investment 
companies, or separate series of registered investment companies, 
which are affiliated persons, or affiliated persons of affiliated 
persons, of each other, between separate series of a registered 
investment company or between a registered investment company or a 
separate series of a registered investment company, and a person 
which is an affiliated person of such registered investment company 
(or an affiliated person of such person) solely by reason of having 
a common investment adviser or investment advisers which are 
affiliated persons of each other, common directors, and/or common 
officers, is exempt from section 17(a) of the Act, provided that:
     The transaction is a purchase or sale, for no 
consideration other than cash payment against prompt delivery of a 
security for which market quotations are readily available;
     The transaction is effected at the independent current 
market price of the security;
     The transaction is consistent with the policy of each 
registered investment company and separate series of a registered 
investment company participating in the transaction, as recited in 
its registration statement and reports filed under the 1940 Act;
     No brokerage commission, fee (except for customary 
transfer fees) or other remuneration is paid in connection with the 
transaction;
     The board of directors of the investment company, 
including a majority of the directors who are not interested persons 
of the investment company, adopts procedures pursuant to which such 
purchase or sale transactions may be effected for the investment 
company and determines no less frequently than quarterly that all 
such purchases or sales made during the preceding quarter were 
effected in compliance with such procedures;
     The board of directors of the investment company 
satisfies the fund governance standards defined in 14 CFR 270.0-
1(a)(7); and
     The investment company maintains and preserves a 
written copy of the procedures and a record of each such purchase 
and sale transaction for the period of six years, the first two 
years in an easily accessible place.
    \38\ According to the Applicant, while Rule 17a-7 on its face 
only appears to permit mutual funds to buy or sell securities from 
or to affiliated persons for no consideration other than cash, the 
SEC no-action letters allow for in-kind transfers of securities. The 
Applicant represents that, in these no-action letters, the SEC staff 
stated that in-kind transfers of securities by affiliated persons to 
a mutual fund in exchange for mutual fund shares instead of cash 
would be permitted so long as the securities being transferred are 
valued in accordance with the mutual fund's valuation methods used 
to calculate net asset value and are consistent with how securities 
need to be valued under Rule 17a-7; the mutual fund shares being 
issued in exchange for the securities transferred in-kind are valued 
at their net asset value; the securities being transferred in-kind 
are consistent with the fund's investment objectives and principal 
strategies; the transfer does not involve payment of any brokerage 
commission, fee or other remuneration; the investment adviser and 
its affiliates do not have a beneficial interest in the account that 
is transferring the securities in-kind; and the mutual fund complies 
with Rule 17a-7(e) and (f) in that the fund's board of directors has 
adopted procedures related to the transactions and satisfies 
applicable corporate governance standards. See DFA Investment Trust 
SEC No-Action Letter (March 21, 1996); Federated Investors SEC No-
Action Letter (April 21, 1994); First National Bank of Chicago SEC 
No-Action Letter (September 22, 1992); and American Medical 
Association SEC No-Action Letter (January 15, 1987).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Applicant represents that many fixed income offerings of Rule 
144A Securities represent good investment opportunities for the asset 
manager's client Plans. Particularly with respect to long-dated 
corporate bonds, an offering of Rule 144A Securities may provide the 
least expensive and efficient way for issuers to sell such securities, 
and as QIBs, the Applicant's clients are able to participate in this 
market.
    16. According to Baird, reliance on Rule 144A has become a common 
way in which corporate bonds are issued and traded. The Applicant 
states that Rule 144A, which was adopted in 1990, acts as a ``safe 
harbor'' exemption from the registration provisions of the 1933 Act for 
sales of certain types of securities to Qualified Institutional Buyers 
(QIBs). QIBs include several types of institutional entities, such as 
Plans and commingled trust funds holding assets of such Plans, which 
own and invest on a discretionary basis at least $100 million in 
securities of unaffiliated issuers. Any securities may be sold pursuant 
to Rule 144A except for those of the same class or similar to a class 
that is publicly traded in the United States, or certain types of 
investment company securities. The Applicant explains that this 
limitation is designed to prevent side-by-side public and private 
markets developing for the same class of securities. Furthermore, the 
Applicant represents that buyers of Rule 144A securities must be able 
to obtain, upon request, basic information concerning the business of 
the issuer and the issuer's financial statements, much of the same 
information as would be furnished if the offering were registered.\39\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \39\ The Applicant notes that this condition does not apply, 
however, to an issuer filing reports with the SEC under the 1934 
Act, for which reports are publicly available, to a ``foreign 
private issuer'' for whom reports are furnished to the SEC under 
Rule 12g3-2(b) of the 1934 Act (17 CFR 240.12g3-2(b)), or to issuers 
who are foreign governments or political subdivisions thereof.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    17. The Applicant represents further that sales under Rule 144A, 
like sales in a registered offering, remain subject to the protections 
of the anti-fraud rules of federal and state securities laws.\40\ 
Through these and other provisions, the Applicant explains, the SEC may 
use its full range of enforcement powers to exercise its regulatory 
authority over the market for Rule 144A Securities, in the event that 
it detects improper practices. According to Baird, this potential 
liability for fraud provides a considerable incentive to the issuer and 
offering syndicate to ensure that the information contained in a Rule 
144A offering memorandum is complete and accurate in all material 
respects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \40\ The Applicant states that these rules include Section 10(b) 
of the 1934 Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder (17 CFR 240.10b-5) and 
Section 17(a) of the 1933 Act (15 U.S.C. 77a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    18. The Applicant represents further that Rule 144A offerings 
generally are structured in the same manner as underwritten registered 
offerings. According to Baird, the major difference is that a Rule 144A 
offering uses an offering memorandum rather than a prospectus that is 
filed with the SEC. Furthermore, the marketing process is the same in 
most respects, except that the selling efforts are generally limited to 
QIBs and no general advertisements or general solicitations are used.
    19. The Applicant represents that although Rule 144A corporate 
bonds are traded by QIBs, the market for Rule 144A corporate bonds is 
liquid and mutual funds are able to treat Rule 144A Securities as 
liquid securities under the 1940 Act. As such, the Applicant states 
that syndicates selling Rule 144A Securities are functionally 
equivalent to syndicates selling securities in registered 
offerings.\41\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ The Applicant notes that the Rule 144A debt market has 
significant economic importance to firms raising capital and 
investors looking to participate in the market. According to the 
Applicant, in 2010 alone, firms issued over $1 trillion in 
registered and Rule 144A bonds with over half of that debt, $582 
billion, issued through the 144A market. The Applicant states 
further that this represents approximately three times the $201 
billion raised by initial public offerings and secondary offerings 
in the same year. Accordingly, the Applicant contends that the 144A 
market is a viable and primary means for firms to raise capital and 
research on Rule 144A bonds can further the understanding of a 
market responsible for a significant source of capital and avenue of 
investment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valuation

    20. The proposed exemption also contains valuation requirements 
which apply to any in-kind exchange between a Plan and a Fund. In 
general, according to the Applicant, the condition requires that the 
value of Fund shares received by a Plan with respect to an in-kind 
exchange with a Fund will be determined based on the same valuation 
principles which govern valuation of the underlying securities held by 
the Fund, and will use the same pricing sources used by the Fund with 
respect to its assets. In this regard, the Applicant states that the 
Fund's valuation policies are consistent with the requirements of the 
1940 Act, and transfers in-kind will be effected in accordance with 
Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act, described above. Specifically, the 
Applicant represents that the Fund will value Rule 144A Securities at 
their evaluated bid prices obtained through a well-established third 
party pricing service (Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data, 
LLC). Any securities for which prices cannot be obtained from a third 
party pricing service will not be transferred in-kind.

[[Page 70656]]

    21. The Applicant states that the Fund must also value its assets 
pursuant to procedures established by the Fund's Board of Directors or 
Trustees, as applicable, and as required by the 1940 Act. The Applicant 
represents that Fund investors, including the Plans, will receive 
notice of any material changes to the Fund's valuation policies. 
According to Baird, the Plan fiduciary could, if it disagreed with the 
change, instruct the investment manager to sell the shares, which are 
freely redeemable on any day in which the markets are open.

Secondary Services

    22. The Applicant states that they will receive from the Fund 
various fees and expenses for providing or arranging for the provision 
of administrative, recordkeeping, accounting, custody, transfer agency, 
shareholder and similar services. The Applicant represents that all 
such services are ``Secondary Services'' under the 1940 Act and under 
the exemptions that the Department has granted seeking similar relief 
to that requested here. According to the Applicant, under Similar 
Exemptions granted by the Department, ``Secondary Services'' has been 
defined to mean a service other than an investment management service, 
an investment advisory service, and any similar service, which is 
provided to a Fund by the investment adviser to that Fund, including 
but not limited to custodial, accounting, administrative, 
recordkeeping, transfer agency, shareholder, and other services. All 
fees for Secondary Services received by Baird are paid to Baird 
directly by the Fund. The Applicant requests relief from the 
prohibitions of section 406(b)(1)-(3) for those payments. According to 
the Applicant, no relief is required from section 406(a) because the 
services are provided by Baird to the Fund, which does not hold plan 
assets.

Statutory Findings

    23. Baird represents that the proposed exemption is 
administratively feasible because it does not require review by the 
Department. Furthermore, the Applicant states that compliance with its 
terms can be measured against market quotations and can be readily 
audited, because the Plan fiduciary will have received substantial 
disclosure and a copy of the mutual Fund prospectus to guide its 
decision making. Finally, Baird represents that the fee offset 
provisions are easily administered.
    24. The Applicant represents that the proposed exemption is in the 
interest of Plans and their participants and beneficiaries, because the 
LDI strategy and economies of scale offered by an investment in the 
Fund serve as a hedge against interest rate fluctuations that could 
make Plans significantly underfunded and endanger the pension benefits 
of participants and beneficiaries. Moreover, an investment in the Fund 
will allow smaller Plans to hold a more diversified array of bonds, 
including long-dated corporate bonds, and the in-kind exchange 
provisions will avoid the transaction and execution costs inherent in 
requiring a cash investment in the Funds. In addition, according to the 
Applicant, no sales commissions or similar fees will be paid by the 
Plans to Baird or its affiliates in connection with a purchase, sale or 
exchange of Fund shares, with the exception of the purchase fee, which 
will be paid to the Fund (not Baird), in order to protect Plans that 
are invested in the Fund from paying the transaction costs of other 
investors in the Fund.
    Moreover, the Applicant represents that that it is important to be 
able to transfer Rule 144A Securities in kind because Plans being 
managed in separate accounts will have purchased such bonds as an 
important component of an LDI strategy for their accounts. Baird 
represents that, if a Plan had to sell its Rule 144A Securities before 
investing in the Fund, rather than transferring them in kind, it would 
incur transaction costs and execution costs in selling the Rule 144A 
Securities. In addition, according to Baird, the Fund would incur 
similar transaction costs and execution costs in using the cash 
transferred from the investing plan to reinvest in these same 
securities, causing unnecessary costs for all Plan investors in the 
Fund.
    25. The Applicant represents that the proposed exemption is 
protective of the rights of participants and beneficiaries of the Plans 
because it is conditioned on several requirements that ensure that 
Plans are being treated fairly and at arm's length, using conditions 
that have been found to be protective in class exemptions and in the 
Similar Exemptions. In this regard, among other conditions, Baird 
states that prior to the initial investment of Plan assets in the Fund, 
the Second Fiduciary of each Plan will receive full disclosure 
regarding the proposed investment and the fees to be received by the 
Applicant, and has the opportunity to approve or disapprove the 
investment. Additionally, Baird represents that no plan sponsored by 
the Investment Adviser will engage in the proposed transactions.
    The Applicant represents that neither Baird and nor its affiliates 
will receive any fees payable pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act 
in connection with the transactions described herein, and there will be 
no double payment of investment management, investment advisory and 
similar fees to the Applicant by the Plan.
    According to the Applicant, the Plan will pay no redemption or 
similar fees to the Applicant in connection with the sales by the Plan 
of Fund shares. In addition, the Applicant represents that the Plans 
will not be paying a purchase fee on assets transferred in kind. 
Furthermore, Baird states that the combined total of all fees received 
by the Applicant for the provision of services to a Plan, and in 
connection with the provision of any services to the Fund in which a 
Plan may invest, will not be in excess of ``reasonable compensation'' 
within the meaning of section 408(b)(2) of the Act.
    26. The Applicant states that in-kind transactions with a plan will 
only involve securities which are publicly-traded and for which market 
quotations are readily available or Rule 144A Securities that are 
valued based on prices obtained from a reliable third-party pricing 
service. Additionally, the Applicant represents that the Fund will only 
allow in-kind transfers of securities in compliance with the 1940 Act 
that meet the Fund's stated investment objective and principal 
investment strategies disclosed in the Fund's prospectus.
    As represented by the Applicant, the Baird portfolio management 
team will review the securities proposed to be exchanged in-kind to 
ensure they are in compliance with the Fund's stated investment 
objective and principal investment strategies as defined in the Fund's 
prospectus filed with the SEC. In addition, the Applicant states that 
the Fund's Board of Directors must review and approve all in-kind 
transfers into and out of the Fund. A component of this review is to 
ensure securities coming into the Fund via an in-kind transfer are 
appropriate Fund investments and comply with the Fund's stated 
investment objective and principal investment strategies, as detailed 
in the Fund's prospectus.
    27. Finally, the Applicant notes that the market for Rule 144A 
Securities is active and liquid, and trades for Rule 144A Securities 
are reported through the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) 
system administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority 
(FINRA), thus enabling a third party pricing service to value the 
securities using objective trade data.

[[Page 70657]]

Summary

    In summary, the Applicant represents that the criteria of section 
408(a) of the Act are satisfied for the following reasons:
    (a) The Account does not pay a sales commission or other similar 
fees to the Investment Adviser or its affiliates in connection with the 
acquisition, sale, or exchange of shares of the Fund.
    (b) The Account does not pay a purchase, redemption or similar fee 
to the Investment Adviser in connection with the acquisition of shares 
by the Account or the sale by the Account to the Fund of such shares.
    (c) The Account may pay a purchase or redemption fee to the Fund in 
connection with an acquisition or sale of shares by the Account, that 
is fully disclosed in the Fund's prospectus in effect at all times. 
Furthermore, any purchase fee paid by the Account to the Fund (1) is 
intended to approximate the difference between ``bid'' and ``asked'' 
prices on the fixed income securities that the Fund will purchase using 
the proceeds from the sale of Fund shares to the Account; and (2) is 
not charged on any assets transferred in-kind to the Fund.
    (d) The Account does not pay an investment management, investment 
advisory or similar fee with respect to Account assets invested in Fund 
shares for the entire period of such investment provided the investment 
advisory fees may be paid if the payment of such fees complies with the 
rebating, crediting, or offsetting requirements of Section II(d) of the 
exemption.
    (e) The crediting, offsetting or rebating of any fees in Section 
II(d) of the exemption is audited at least annually by the Investment 
Adviser through a system of internal controls to verify the accuracy of 
the fee mechanism adopted by the Investment Adviser.
    (f) The combined total of all fees received by the Investment 
Adviser for the provision of services to an Account, and for the 
provision of any services to a Fund in which an Account may invest, is 
not in excess of ``reasonable compensation'' within the meaning of 
section 408(b)(2) of the Act.
    (g) The Investment Adviser and its affiliates do not receive any 
fees payable pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act in connection 
with the transactions covered by this exemption.
    (h) Baird will comply with the disclosure and authorization 
requirements set forth in Section II(h)-(o) of the exemption.
    (i) No separately managed account investing in the Fund holds 
assets of a Plan sponsored by Baird or its affiliate. If a pooled fund 
holds assets of a Plan or Plans sponsored by Baird or its affiliate, 
the total assets of all such Plans shall not exceed 15% of the total 
assets of such pooled fund.
    (j) In-kind transactions with an Account shall only involve 
publically-traded securities for which market quotations are readily 
available, securities that are deemed to be liquid and that are valued 
based upon prices obtained from a reliable well-established third-party 
pricing service that is independent of Baird pursuant to then-existing 
procedures established by the Board of Directors or Trustees of the 
Funds under the 1940 Act and applicable SEC rules, regulations and 
guidance, and cash in the event that the aforementioned securities are 
odd lot securities, fractional shares, or accruals on such securities. 
Securities for which prices cannot be obtained from a third-party 
pricing service will not be transferred in-kind, nor will any 
securities specified in Section III(a)(1)-(6) of the exemption.
    (k) Subject to the exceptions described in Section III(a) of the 
exemption, in the case of an in-kind exchange of assets between an 
Account and the Fund, the Account will receive its pro rata portion of 
the securities of the Fund equal in value to that of the number of 
shares redeemed, or the Fund shares having a total net asset value 
(NAV) equal to the value of the assets transferred on the date of the 
transfer, as determined in a single valuation, using sources 
independent of the Investment Adviser, performed in the same manner as 
it would for any other person or entity at the close of the same 
business day in accordance with the procedures established by the Fund 
pursuant to Rule 2a-4 under the 1940 Act, and the then-existing 
valuation procedures established by its Board of Directors or Trustees, 
as applicable for the valuation of such assets, that are in compliance 
with the rules administered by the SEC. In connection with a redemption 
of Fund shares, the value of the securities and any cash received by 
the Account for each redeemed Fund share equals the NAV of such shares 
at the time of the transaction. In the case of any other in-kind 
exchange, the value of the Fund shares received by the Account equals 
the NAV of the transferred securities and any cash on the date of the 
transfer.
    (l) Baird will comply with the disclosure requirements of Section 
III(c) in order to facilitate a post-transaction review of any in-kind 
transaction so that the material aspects of such transaction, including 
pricing, can be reviewed.
    (m) Prior to the consummation of an in-kind exchange, Baird must 
document in writing and determine that such transaction is fair to the 
Account and comparable to, and no less favorable than, terms obtainable 
at arm's-length between unaffiliated parties, and that the in-kind 
transaction is in the best interests of the Account and the 
participants and beneficiaries of the participating Plans.
    (n) All of the Accounts' other dealings with the Funds, Baird, or 
any person affiliated thereto, are on terms that are no less favorable 
to the Account than such dealings are with other shareholders of the 
Funds.
    (o) Baird and its affiliates, as applicable, will comply with the 
record-keeping and retention requirements specified in the exemption.

Notice to Interested Persons

    The persons who may be interested in the publication in the Federal 
Register of the notice of proposed exemption (the Notice) include all 
separate account investment management client Plans that may be 
interested in investing in the Fund.
    It is represented that all such interested persons will be notified 
of the publication of the Notice by electronic delivery within fifteen 
(15) days of publication of the Notice in the Federal Register. The 
notification will contain a copy of the Notice, as it appears in the 
Federal Register on the date of publication, plus a copy of the 
Supplemental Statement, as required, pursuant to 29 CFR 2570.43(a)(2), 
which will advise all interested persons of their right to comment and 
to request a hearing.
    All written comments and/or requests for a hearing must be received 
by the Department from interested persons within 45 days of the 
publication of this proposed exemption in the Federal Register.
    All comments will be made available to the public.
    Warning: Do not include any personally identifiable information 
(such as name, address, or other contact information) or confidential 
business information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All 
comments may be posted on the Internet and can be retrieved by most 
Internet search engines.

For Further Information Contact: Ms. Jennifer Erin Brown of the 
Department at (202) 693-8352. (This is not a toll-free number.)

[[Page 70658]]

First Security Group, Inc. 401(k) and Employee Stock Ownership Plan 
(the Plan) Located in Chattanooga, TN

[Application No. D-11826]

Proposed Exemption

    The Department is considering granting an exemption under the 
authority of section 408(a) of the Act and section 4975(c)(2) of the 
Code and in accordance with the procedures set forth in 29 CFR part 
2570, subpart B (76 FR 66637, 66644, October 27, 2011).
Section I: Transactions
    If the proposed exemption is granted, effective for the period 
beginning August 21, 2013, and ending on September 20, 2013, the 
restrictions of sections 406(a)(1)(E), 406(a)(2), 406(b)(1), 406(b)(2), 
and 407(a)(1)(A) of the Act and the sanctions resulting from the 
application of section 4975 of the Code, by reason of section 
4975(c)(1)(E) of the Code,\42\ shall not apply:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \42\ For purposes of this proposed exemption, references to 
specific provisions of Title I of the Act, unless otherwise 
specified, refer also to the corresponding provisions of the Code.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (a) To the acquisition of certain subscription right(s) (the Right 
or Rights) by the individually-directed account(s) (the Account or 
Accounts) of certain participant(s) in the Plan (the Invested 
Participant(s)) in connection with an offering (the Offering) by First 
Security Group, Inc. (FSG), of shares of common stock (the Common 
Stock) of FSG, the sponsor of the Plan and a party in interest with 
respect to the Plan; and
    (b) To the holding of the Rights received by the Accounts of 
Invested Participants during the subscription period (the Subscription 
Period) of the Offering; provided that the conditions set forth in 
Section II of this proposed exemption were satisfied for the duration 
of the acquisition and holding.

Section II: Conditions

    (a) The receipt of the Rights by the Accounts of Invested 
Participants occurred in connection with the Offering, and the Rights 
were made available by FSG on the same material terms to all 
shareholders of record of the Common Stock of FSG, including the 
Accounts of Invested Participants;
    (b) The acquisition of the Rights by the Accounts of Invested 
Participants resulted from an independent corporate act of FSG;
    (c) Each shareholder of the Common Stock, including each of the 
Accounts of Invested Participants, received the same proportionate 
number of Rights, and this proportionate number of Rights was based on 
the number of shares of Common Stock held by each such shareholder;
    (d) The Rights were acquired pursuant to, and in accordance with, 
provisions under the Plan for individually-directed investment of the 
Accounts by the Invested Participants, all or a portion of whose 
Accounts in the Plan held the Common Stock;
    (e) The decision with regard to the holding and the exercise of the 
Rights by an Account was made by the Invested Participant whose Account 
received the Rights;
    (f) No commissions, no fees and no expenses were paid by the Plan 
or by the Accounts of Invested Participants to any related broker in 
connection with the exercise of any of the Rights or with regard to the 
acquisition of the Common Stock through the exercise of such Rights, 
and no brokerage fees, no commissions, no subscription fees, and no 
other charges were paid by the Plan or by the Accounts of Invested 
Participants with respect to the acquisition and holding of the Rights;
    (g) FSG did not influence any Invested Participant's decision to 
exercise the Rights or influence an Invested Participant's decision to 
allow such Rights to expire; and
    (h) The terms of the Offering were described to the Invested 
Participants in clearly written communications, including but not 
limited to the prospectus for the Rights Offering.
    Effective Date: This proposed exemption, if granted, will be 
effective for the period beginning on August 21, 2013, the commencement 
date of the Offering, and ending on September 20, 2013, the closing 
date of the Offering.

Summary of Facts and Representations

Background

    1. The Plan, established on August 1, 1999, is tax-qualified under 
section 401(a) of the Code. The Plan contains a cash or deferred 
arrangement under section 401(k) of the Code, and is designed to 
qualify as a leveraged employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), pursuant 
to section 4975(e)(7) of the Code. FSGBank, National Association 
(FSGBank) serves as the trustee of the Plan.
    The Plan provides for participants to self-direct the investment of 
their Accounts and is intended to operate in accordance with section 
404(c) of the Act. The participants in the Plan are the only persons 
who have investment discretion over the assets in the Accounts involved 
in the subject transactions.
    In addition to investment in certain mutual funds and a collective 
trust fund, Plan participants may invest amounts held in their Accounts 
in the common stock of FSG (Common Stock) through the ESOP portion of 
the Plan. Investment in Common Stock by Plan participants is voluntary. 
The Common Stock held in Plan Accounts is no different from the Common 
Stock held by other FSG shareholders.
    Of the shares of Common Stock issued, as of April 10, 2013 (the 
Record Date), the Accounts in the Plan held 102,501.746735 shares. As 
of August 21, 2013, the commencement of the Offering, there were 237 
participants in the Plan of which 152 were active participants and 85 
were terminated participants. Of these 237 participants, the Accounts 
of 56 participants in the Plan, four (4) of which were terminated 
participants, held approximately 46,039 shares of Common Stock 
(approximately 0.073% of the outstanding shares) with a value of 
$111,875, based on the closing price of such Common Stock on NASDAQ of 
$2.43 per share, as of the commencement date of the Offering. As of the 
same date, the Plan's assets totaled approximately $11,187,500 of which 
the value of the Common Stock ($111,875) constituted approximately 
1.0%.
    2. As stated above, FSG (or the Applicant) sponsors the Plan for 
the benefit of the current and former employees of FSG and its 
subsidiaries, and for the beneficiaries of such employees or 
alternative payees. Incorporated in 1999 as a Tennessee corporation, 
FSG is a bank holding company headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 
FSG is regulated and supervised by the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System. As of December 31, 2013, FSG had total assets 
of approximately $977.6 million, total deposits of approximately $857 
million, and stockholders' equity of approximately $83.6 million.
    FSG operates thirty (30) full-service banking offices through its 
wholly-owned bank subsidiary, FSGBank. FSG and FSGBank serve the 
banking and financial needs of various communities in eastern and 
middle Tennessee, as well as northern Georgia.

The Common Stock

    3. As of August 20, 2013, 63,270,867 shares of Common Stock were 
issued and outstanding, 2,276,890 shares of Common Stock were issuable 
upon exercise of outstanding stock options, and approximately 3,226,775 
shares of Common Stock were reserved for future issuance under FSG's 
stock option plan. As of June 27, 2014, the authorized capital stock of 
FSG consisted of 150,000,000 shares of Common Stock,

[[Page 70659]]

and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock (the Preferred Stock). As of 
the same date, no shares of Preferred Stock were issued or outstanding. 
The Common Stock is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the 
symbol ``FSGI.'' The Common Stock is a ``qualifying employer 
security,'' as defined under section 407(d)(5) of the Act.

The Recapitalization

    4. On February 25, 2013, FSG entered into an exchange agreement 
(the Exchange Agreement) with the United States Department of the 
Treasury (Treasury). On the same date, FSG entered into a stock 
purchase agreement (the Stock Purchase Agreement) with certain 
institutional investors, including affiliates of EJF Capital, GF 
Financial II, LLC, MFP Partners, L.F., and Ulysses Partners, L.P. 
(collectively and individually, the Investor(s)). Both the Exchange 
Agreement and the Stock Purchase Agreement (together, the Agreements) 
were entered in connection with a $91,100,000 recapitalization of FSG 
(the Recapitalization). Pursuant to these Agreements, FSG was required 
to issue and sell in a private placement (the Private Placement), 
approximately 60,735,000 shares of Common Stock at a price per share of 
$1.50. The closing of the Private Placement took place over two days. 
In this regard, on April 11, 2013, pursuant to the Exchange Agreement 
with Treasury, FSG issued 9,941,908 shares of Common Stock to Treasury 
in exchange for 33,000 shares of FSG's Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual 
Preferred Stock (the TARP Preferred Stock), and all accrued but unpaid 
dividends on the TARP Preferred Stock, and a warrant to purchase 82,363 
shares of the Common Stock.
    Immediately following such exchange, on April 11, 2013, Treasury 
sold the 9,941,908 shares of Common Stock to the Investors. Pursuant to 
the Stock Purchase Agreement, FSG could direct each of the Investors to 
purchase all or a part of each such Investor's committed investment 
from Treasury. On April 12, 2013, the Investors purchased 50,793,092 
shares of Common Stock that remained from their committed investment 
directly from FSG. In the aggregate, the Investors agreed to purchase 
approximately $91.1 million of the Common Stock at $1.50 per share.

The Offering

    5. Under the Stock Purchase Agreement, FSG was required to enter 
into the offering (the Offering) to provide to shareholders of Common 
Stock as of the Record Date, the rights (the Rights) to purchase up to 
$5 million worth of Common Stock at a purchase price per share equal to 
the Recapitalization purchase price ($1.50 per share.) The Offering 
permitted FSG to issue up to 3,329,234 shares of Common Stock with a 
par value of $0.01.
    The Plan participants whose Accounts held Common Stock (the 
Invested Participants) received a special notice that described the 
Offering in non-technical language, a prospectus, documentation of the 
number of Rights allocated to their respective Plan Accounts, 
instructions on how to exercise such Rights, and an ESOP Non-
Transferable Subscription Rights Elections Form. The prospectus 
contained more detailed information regarding the Offering, including 
the reasons for the Offering, the terms of the Offering, and the 
investment risks associated with exercise of the Rights and the 
purchase of Common Stock.
    FSG distributed the Rights, at no charge, to the shareholders of 
Common Stock in FSG, including the Accounts of the Invested 
Participants, as of 5:00 p.m. EST on the Record Date, April 10, 2013. 
Each shareholder of record received one Right for each share of Common 
Stock held by such shareholder. Each Right entitled the recipient to 
purchase two (2) shares of Common Stock at a subscription price (the 
Subscription Price) of $1.50 per share (the Basic Subscription 
Privilege). The Subscription Price was the same price at which 
Investors purchased Common Stock as part of the Recapitalization.
    The Rights could not be sold, transferred, or assigned. The Rights 
were not listed for trading on the NASDAQ or any other exchange or 
over-the-counter market. Further, the Rights were non-transferrable in 
order to permit only those shareholders who owned Stock, as of the 
Record Date, the opportunity to purchase additional shares of Common 
Stock to help offset the dilution of such shareholders interest in FSG 
that occurred as part of the Recapitalization.
    6. If a shareholder purchased all of the Common Stock available to 
the shareholder through the Basic Subscription Privilege, such 
shareholder could also choose to purchase a portion of Common Stock in 
the Offering that was not purchased by the other shareholders through 
the exercise of their Rights (the Over-Subscription Privilege). FSG 
honored the requests received pursuant to the Over-Subscription 
Privilege by multiplying the number of shares of Common Stock requested 
by each shareholder through the exercise of their Over-Subscription 
Privilege by a fraction that equaled (x) the number of shares of Common 
Stock available to be issued through the Over-Subscription Privilege 
divided by (y) the total number of Common Stock requested by all 
subscribers through the exercise of their Over-Subscription Privilege.
    Shareholders sought to exercise their Over-Subscription Privilege 
for 3,590,434 shares of Stock, which exceeded the number of shares 
available for the Over-Subscription Privilege. Approximately 1,607,608 
shares of Common Stock were issued as part of the exercise of the Basic 
Subscription Privilege and approximately 1,721,626 shares of Common 
Stock were issued as part of the exercise of the Over-Subscription 
Privilege.

Exercise of the Rights

    7. The Invested Participants chose whether to exercise their Rights 
in order to purchase shares of Common Stock or to allow the Rights to 
expire.\43\ Any election to exercise the Rights could not be revoked, 
once made. Any unexercised Rights expired upon the conclusion of the 
Subscription Period.
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    \43\ It is represented that FSG did not request an 
administrative exemption from the prohibited transaction provisions 
of the Act or Code for the exercise of the Rights by the Accounts of 
the Invested Participants. Instead, FSG relied on the relief 
provided by the statutory exemption, pursuant to section 408(e) of 
the Act for the exercise of the Rights. Accordingly, the Department 
is not providing any relief herein from such prohibited transaction 
provisions with respect to such exercise of the Rights. In addition, 
the Department is offering no view on whether the statutory 
exemption provided in section 408(e) of the Act and the Department's 
regulations, pursuant to 29 CFR Sec.  2550.408(e), are applicable to 
the exercise of the Rights. Further, the Department is not offering 
a view on whether FSG satisfied the conditions of such statutory 
exemption.
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    In order to exercise their Rights, the Invested Participants were 
required to submit their election forms to Registrar and Transfer 
Company (the Tabulator) by September 13, 2013, seven (7) business days 
earlier than the subscription date (September 20, 2013) set for the 
elections of other shareholders. It is represented that the earlier 
deadline for the Plan Accounts was appropriate to help facilitate the 
tabulation of the elections of all the Invested Participants by the 
Tabulator and to allow time to provide such information to FSGBank. A 
total of 41 Invested Participants exercised their Rights to purchase 
shares of the Common Stock. The Plan was issued 138,260 shares of 
Common Stock under the Basic Subscription Privilege and 205,008 shares 
of Common Stock under the Over-Subscription Privilege, for a

[[Page 70660]]

total of 343,268 shares of Common Stock.
    To facilitate the exercise of the Rights, Invested Participants 
transferred money into their Plan money market accounts from other 
investment funds in the Plan. The applicable money market funds were 
frozen effective as of the close of the NASDAQ Capital Market one (1) 
business day prior to the Subscription Date (i.e., September 19, 2013) 
through September 26, 2013, and no additional transfers were permitted 
into or out of such money market funds during that time. If two (2) 
business days prior to the Subscription Date, an Invested Participant 
had insufficient funds in his money market account to cover the 
aggregate cost of acquiring Common Stock upon the exercise of the 
Rights, then FSGBank did not process such Invested Participant's 
election. It is represented that this procedure varied from that 
employed for other shareholders under similar circumstances, in that 
other shareholders were issued Common Stock in the amount of the 
payment made, rather than having the election to exercise their Rights 
rejected. It is represented that this discrepancy is due to the fact 
that the record-keeper for the Plan could not implement a partial 
acceptance procedure for the Invested Participants. It is represented 
that none of the shareholders, including the Accounts of Invested 
Participants, were issued shares of Common Stock in an amount less than 
the amount exercised under the Basic Subscription Privilege, as all 
Rights exercised by such shareholders were fully paid under that 
privilege.
    The Invested Participants submitted their elections to the 
Tabulator who then provided such information to FSGBank. FSGBank 
exercised the Rights based on the information provided by the Tabulator 
and did not have any discretion as to the number of shares that an 
Invested Participant elected to be acquired through the exercise of the 
Rights. However, if the Common Stock traded at a price less than $1.50 
per share, FSGBank was not permitted to process the Invested 
Participants' elections to exercise the Rights. The actual market price 
per share on the date of placing the offers (i.e., September 20, 2013) 
was $2.25 per share, and therefore no Invested Participant elections 
were denied based on the share price.
    A portion of the Accounts of Invested Participants which was 
already invested in Common Stock was frozen from noon EST on the 
Subscription Date until September 28, 2013 (i.e., the date which was 
one business day following the date on which FSG Bank received the 
newly-offered shares of Common Stock on behalf of such Invested 
Participants). This restriction was applied to ensure that no Invested 
Participant was able to sell such shares until the Common Stock had 
been received by FSGBank and allocated to the Accounts of such Invested 
Participants.

Request for Exemptive Relief

    8. The transactions for which the FSG has requested retroactive 
exemptive relief include: (a) The acquisition of the Rights by the 
Accounts of Invested Participants in connection with the Offering of 
Rights by FSG; and (b) the holding of the Rights by the Accounts of 
Invested Participants during the Subscription Period of the Offering.
    Section 406(a)(1)(E) of the Act prohibits the acquisition on behalf 
of the plan of any ``employer security'' in violation of section 
407(a). Section 406(a)(2) of the Act prohibits a fiduciary who has 
authority or discretion to control or manage the assets of the plan to 
permit such plan to hold any ``employer security'' if he knows or 
should know that the holding of such security violates section 407(a) 
of the Act. Section 407(a) of the Act prohibits a plan from acquiring 
or holding employer securities that are not ``qualifying employer 
securities.''
    It is represented that the Rights acquired by the Accounts of 
Invested Participants satisfy the definition of ``employer 
securities,'' pursuant to section 407(d)(1) of the Act. However, as the 
Rights were not stock or marketable obligations, such Rights do not 
meet the definition of ``qualifying employer securities,'' as set forth 
in section 407(d)(5) of the Act. Accordingly, the subject transactions 
constitute an acquisition and holding on behalf of the Accounts of 
Invested Participants, of employer securities which are not qualifying 
employer securities, in violation of sections 406(a)(1)(E), 406(a)(2), 
and 407(a)(1)(A) of the Act.
    FSG has also requested relief from the prohibitions of section 
406(b)(1) and 406(b)(2) of the Act for self-dealing and conflicts of 
interest, respectively, which arose as a result of the acquisition and 
holding of the Rights by the Accounts of Invested Participants in the 
Plan.
    Section 406(b)(1) of the Act prohibits a fiduciary from dealing 
with the assets of a plan in his own interest or for his own account. 
Section 406(b)(2) of the Act prohibits a fiduciary from engaging in his 
individual or any other capacity to act in any transaction involving 
the plan on behalf of a party (or represent a party) whose interest are 
adverse to the interest of the plan or the interests of its 
participants or beneficiaries.
    As employers any of whose employees are covered by the Plan, FSG 
and its subsidiaries are parties in interest with respect to the Plan 
pursuant to section 3(14)(C) of the Act. As Plan trustee, FSGBank is a 
party in interest with respect to the Plan, as a fiduciary service 
provider, pursuant to section 3(14)(A) and (B) of the Act. FSGBank, as 
a wholly-owned subsidiary of FSG, the Plan sponsor, is also a party in 
interest with respect to the Plan, pursuant to section 3(14)(G) of the 
Act. Accordingly, the acquisition and holding by the Accounts of 
Invested Participants of the Rights issued by FSG, a party in interest 
with respect to the Plan would involve self-dealing and conflicts of 
interest for which relief is needed and has been requested by FSG.
    9. It is represented that the subject transactions have already 
been consummated. In this regard, the Subscription Period began on 
August 21, 2013, and ended on September 20, 2013. The Accounts of 
Invested Participants in the Plan acquired the Rights pursuant to the 
Offering on August 21, 2013, and held such Rights pending the closing 
of the Offering when such Rights either were exercised or expired. The 
Applicant represents that there was insufficient time to apply for and 
be granted an exemption between the dates when the Accounts of Invested 
Participants acquired the Rights and when such Rights were exercised or 
expired. Therefore, FSG is seeking a retroactive administrative 
exemption to be granted, effective from August 21, 2013, the date that 
such Accounts acquired the Rights, and September 20, 2013, the closing 
date of the Offering.
    10. The Applicant represents that the proposed exemption is 
administratively feasible. In this regard, the acquisition and holding 
of the Rights by the Accounts of Invested Participants were one-time 
transactions that involved an automatic distribution of the Rights to 
all shareholders. All shareholders of the Common Stock, including the 
Accounts of Invested Participants were treated in the same manner in 
all material terms with respect to the acquisition and holding of the 
Rights.
    11. The Applicant represents that the transactions which are the 
subject of this proposed exemption are in the interest of the Accounts 
of Invested Participants, because such Accounts received, at no cost, 
Rights with a potential for an immediate financial gain. In this 
regard, for the Accounts of those Invested Participants who elected to 
exercise their Rights, such Accounts

[[Page 70661]]

acquired a valuable opportunity to purchase the Stock at a price of 
$1.50 per share which price was at or below the then market price 
($2.25 per share) for such Stock. Further, it is represented that the 
Accounts of Invested Participants who exercised the Rights avoided the 
dilution of their interests in FSG that resulted from the Offering and 
the Recapitalization.

Safeguards of Exemption

    12. The Applicant believes that the proposed exemption provides 
sufficient safeguards for the protection of the Accounts of Invested 
Participants and the beneficiaries of such Accounts, in that the 
acquisition of the Rights by the Accounts of Invested Participants 
resulted from an independent corporate act of FSG. FSG made the Rights 
available on the same material terms to all shareholders of the Common 
Stock, including the Accounts. Each shareholder of the Common Stock, 
including each of the Accounts, received the same proportionate number 
of Rights, and this proportionate number of Rights was based on the 
number of shares of Common Stock held by each such shareholder.
    The Applicant represents that the Accounts of Invested Participants 
were adequately protected, in that participation in the Offering by 
such Accounts was voluntary. The Applicant represents that FSG did not 
influence any Invested Participant's decision to exercise the Rights or 
influence an Invested Participant's decision to allow such Rights to 
expire. In this regard, the Invested Participants were under no 
obligation to exercise the Rights.
    The Applicant represents that Invested Participants received 
sufficient disclosures with respect to the Offering. It is represented 
that the terms of the Offering were described to the Invested 
Participants in clearly written communications, including but not 
limited to the prospectus for the Rights Offering.
    The Applicant represents that the Accounts of Invested Participants 
were protected against economic loss by exercising the Rights. FSGBank, 
as trustee, was instructed to not execute an Invested Participant's 
election to exercise the Rights, if the fair market value of the Common 
Stock was less than the strike price or if the Account of such Invested 
Participant did not have sufficient funds to cover the aggregate 
subscription price. In this regard, it is represented that the price of 
the Common Stock on September 20, 2013, the date of placing the offers 
was $2.25 per share, which price was in excess of the strike price of 
$1.50 per share.
    It is represented that neither the Plan nor the Accounts of 
Invested Participants paid any commissions, fees, or expenses to any 
related broker in connection with the exercise of any of the Rights or 
with regard to the acquisition of the Common Stock through the exercise 
of such Rights. It is further represented that no brokerage fees, no 
commissions, no subscription fees, and no other charges were paid by 
the Plan or by the Accounts of Invested Participants with respect to 
the acquisition and holding of the Rights.

Summary

    13. In summary, FSG represents that the subject transactions 
satisfy the statutory criteria of section 408(a) of the Act because:
    (a) The receipt of the Rights by the Invested Participants' 
Accounts occurred in connection with the Offering, and the Rights were 
made available by FSG to all shareholders of the Common Stock of FSG, 
including the Invested Participants' Accounts;
    (b) The acquisition of the Rights by the Accounts of Invested 
Participants resulted from an independent corporate act of FSG;
    (c) Each shareholder of the Common Stock, including each of the 
Accounts, received the same proportionate number of Rights, and this 
proportionate number of Rights was based on the number of shares of 
Common Stock held by such shareholder;
    (d) The Rights were acquired pursuant to, and in accordance with, 
provisions under the Plan for individually-directed investment of the 
Accounts by the Invested Participants, all or a portion of whose 
Accounts in the Plan held the Common Stock;
    (e) The decision with regard to the holding and the exercise of the 
Rights by an Account was made by the Invested Participant whose Account 
received the Rights;
    (f) No commissions, no fees, and no expenses were paid by the Plan 
or by the Accounts of Invested Participants to any related broker in 
connection with the exercise of any of the Rights or with regard to the 
acquisition of the Common Stock through the exercise of such Rights, 
and no brokerage fees, no commissions, no subscription fees, and no 
other charges were paid by the Plan or by the Accounts with respect to 
the acquisition and holding of the Rights;
    (g) FSG did not influence any Invested Participant's decision to 
exercise the Rights or influence an Invested Participant's decision to 
allow such Rights to expire; and
    (h) The terms of the Offering were described to the Invested 
Participants in clearly written communications, including but not 
limited to the prospectus for the Rights Offering.

Notice to Interested Persons

    The persons who may be interested in the publication in the Federal 
Register of the Notice of Proposed Exemption (the Notice) include all 
Invested Participants whose Accounts in the Plan were invested in the 
Common Stock at the time of the Offering.
    It is represented that all such interested persons will be notified 
of the publication of the Notice by first class mail, to each such 
interested person's last known address within fifteen (15) days 
following the publication of the Notice in the Federal Register. Such 
mailing will contain a copy of the Notice, as it appears in the Federal 
Register on the date of publication, plus a copy of the Supplemental 
Statement, as required, pursuant to 29 CFR 2570.43(a)(2), which will 
advise all interested persons of their right to comment and to request 
a hearing. All written comments and/or requests for a hearing must be 
received by the Department from interested persons within forty-five 
(45) days of the publication of this proposed exemption in the Federal 
Register.
    All comments will be made available to the public. Warning: Do not 
include any personally identifiable information (such as name, address, 
or other contact information) or confidential business information that 
you do not want publicly disclosed. All comments may be posted on the 
Internet and can be retrieved by most Internet search engines.

For Further Information Contact:  Ms. Angelena C. Le Blanc of the 
Department, telephone (202) 693-8540. (This is not a toll-free number.

BNP Paribas, S.A. (BNP or the Applicant) Located in Paris, France

[Application No. D-11827]

Proposed Exemption

    Based on the foregoing facts and representations submitted by the 
Applicant, the Department is considering granting an exemption under 
the authority of section 408(a) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), and section 4975(c)(2) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and in accordance 
with the procedures set forth in 29 CFR

[[Page 70662]]

part 2570, subpart B (76 FR 66637, 66644, October 27, 2011).\44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \44\ For purposes of this proposed exemption, references to 
section 406 of ERISA should be read to refer as well to the 
corresponding provisions of section 4975 of the Code.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section I: Covered Transactions
    If the proposed exemption is granted, the BNP Affiliated QPAMs and 
the BNP Related QPAMs shall not be precluded from relying on the relief 
provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 84-14 \45\ 
notwithstanding the Convictions (as defined in Section II(c)),\46\ 
provided the following conditions are satisfied:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \45\ 49 FR 9494 (March 13, 1984), as corrected at 50 FR 41430 
(October 10, 1985), as amended at 70 FR 49305 (August 23, 2005), and 
as amended at 75 FR 38837 (July 6, 2010).
    \46\ Section I(g) generally provides that ``[n]either the QPAM 
nor any affiliate thereof . . . nor any owner . . . of a 5 percent 
or more interest in the QPAM is a person who within the 10 years 
immediately preceding the transaction has been either convicted or 
released from imprisonment, whichever is later, as a result of'' 
certain felonies including income tax evasion and conspiracy or 
attempt to commit income tax evasion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (a) Any failure of the BNP Affiliated QPAMs or the BNP Related 
QPAMs to satisfy Section I(g) of PTE 84-14 arose solely from the 
Convictions;
    (b) The BNP Affiliated QPAMs and the BNP Related QPAMs (including 
officers, directors, agents other than BNP, and employees of such 
QPAMs) did not participate in the criminal conduct of BNP that is the 
subject of the Convictions;
    (c) The BNP Affiliated QPAMs and the BNP Related QPAMs did not 
directly receive compensation in connection with the criminal conduct 
of BNP that is the subject of the Convictions;
    (d) The criminal conduct of BNP that is the subject of the 
Convictions did not directly or indirectly involve the assets of any 
plan subject to Part 4 of Title I of ERISA (an ERISA-covered plan) or 
section 4975 of the Code (an IRA);
    (e) A BNP Affiliated QPAM will not use its authority or influence 
to direct an ``investment fund'' (as defined in Section VI(b) of PTE 
84-14) that is subject to ERISA and managed by such BNP Affiliated QPAM 
to enter into any transaction with BNP or engage BNP to provide 
additional services to such investment fund, for a direct or indirect 
fee borne by such investment fund regardless of whether such 
transactions or services may otherwise be within the scope of relief 
provided by an administrative or statutory exemption;
    (f) Each BNP Affiliated QPAM will ensure that none of its employees 
or agents, if any, that were involved in the criminal conduct that 
underlies the Convictions will engage in transactions on behalf of any 
``investment fund'' (as defined in Section VI(b) of PTE 84-14) subject 
to ERISA and managed by such BNP Affiliated QPAM;
    (g)(1) Each BNP Affiliated QPAM immediately develops, implements, 
maintains, and follows written policies (the Policies) requiring and 
reasonably designed to ensure that: (i) The asset management decisions 
of the BNP Affiliated QPAM are conducted independently of BNP's 
management and business activities; (ii) the BNP Affiliated QPAM fully 
complies with ERISA's fiduciary duties and ERISA and the Code's 
prohibited transaction provisions and does not knowingly participate in 
any violations of these duties and provisions with respect to ERISA-
covered plans and IRAs; (iii) the BNP Affiliated QPAM does not 
knowingly participate in any other person's violation of ERISA or the 
Code with respect to ERISA-covered plans and IRAs; (iv) any filings or 
statements made by the BNP Affiliated QPAM to regulators, including but 
not limited to, the Department of Labor, the Department of the 
Treasury, the Department of Justice, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation, on behalf of ERISA-covered plans or IRAs are materially 
accurate and complete, to the best of such QPAM's knowledge at that 
time; (v) the BNP Affiliated QPAM does not make material 
misrepresentations or omit material information in its communications 
with such regulators with respect to ERISA-covered plans or IRAs, or 
make material misrepresentations or omit material information in its 
communications with ERISA-covered plan and IRA clients; (vi) the BNP 
Affiliated QPAM complies with the terms of this exemption, if granted; 
and (vii) any violations of or failure to comply with items (ii) 
through (vi) are corrected promptly upon discovery and any such 
violations or compliance failures not promptly corrected are reported, 
upon discovering the failure to promptly correct, in writing to 
appropriate corporate officers, the head of Compliance and the General 
Counsel of the relevant BNP Affiliated QPAM, the independent auditor 
responsible for reviewing compliance with the Policies, and a fiduciary 
of any affected ERISA-covered plan or IRA where such fiduciary is 
independent of BNP; however, with respect to any ERISA-covered plan or 
IRA sponsored by an ``affiliate'' (as defined in Section VI(d) of PTE 
84-14) of BNP or beneficially owned by an employee of BNP or its 
affiliates, such fiduciary does not need to be independent of BNP; BNP 
Affiliated QPAMs will not be treated as having failed to develop, 
implement, maintain, or follow the Policies, provided that they correct 
any instances of noncompliance promptly when discovered or when they 
reasonably should have known of the noncompliance (whichever is 
earlier), and provided that they adhere to the reporting requirements 
set forth in this item (vii);
    (2) Each Affiliated QPAM immediately develops and implements a 
program of training (the Training), conducted at least annually for 
relevant BNP Affiliated QPAM asset management, legal, compliance, and 
internal audit personnel; the Training shall be set forth in the 
Policies and, at a minimum, covers the Policies, ERISA and Code 
compliance (including applicable fiduciary duties and the prohibited 
transaction provisions) and ethical conduct, the consequences for not 
complying with the conditions of this proposed exemption, if granted, 
(including the loss of the exemptive relief provided herein), and 
prompt reporting of wrongdoing;
    (h)(1) Each BNP Affiliated QPAM submits to an audit conducted 
annually by an independent auditor, who has been prudently selected and 
who has appropriate technical training and proficiency with ERISA to 
evaluate the adequacy of, and compliance with, the Policies and 
Training described herein; the audit requirement must be incorporated 
in the Policies and the first of the audits must be completed no later 
than twelve (12) months after the earlier of the Convictions and must 
cover the first six-month period that begins on the date of the earlier 
of the Convictions; all subsequent audits must cover the following 
corresponding twelve-month periods and be completed no later than six 
(6) months after the period to which the audit applies;
    (2) The auditor's engagement shall specifically require the auditor 
to determine whether each BNP Affiliated QPAM has developed, 
implemented, maintained, and followed Policies in accordance with the 
conditions of this proposed exemption and developed and implemented the 
Training, as required herein;
    (3) The auditor's engagement shall specifically require the auditor 
to test each BNP Affiliated QPAM's operational compliance with the 
Policies and Training;
    (4) For each audit, the auditor shall issue a written report (the 
Audit Report) to BNP and the BNP Affiliated QPAM to which the audit 
applies that describes the steps performed by the auditor during the 
course of its examination.

[[Page 70663]]

The Audit Report shall include the auditor's specific determinations 
regarding the adequacy of the Policies and Training; the auditor's 
recommendations (if any) with respect to strengthening such Policies 
and Training; and any instances of the respective BNP Affiliated QPAM's 
noncompliance with the written Policies and Training described in 
paragraph (g) above. Any determinations made by the auditor regarding 
the adequacy of the Policies and Training and the auditor's 
recommendations (if any) with respect to strengthening the Policies and 
Training of the respective BNP Affiliated QPAM shall be promptly 
addressed by such BNP Affiliated QPAM, and any actions taken by such 
BNP Affiliated QPAM to address such recommendations shall be included 
in an addendum to the Audit Report. Any determinations by the auditor 
that the respective BNP Affiliated QPAM has implemented, maintained, 
and followed sufficient Policies and Training shall not be based solely 
or in substantial part on an absence of evidence indicating 
noncompliance;
    (5) The auditor shall notify the respective BNP Affiliated QPAM of 
any instances of noncompliance identified by the auditor within five 
(5) business days after such noncompliance is identified by the 
auditor, regardless of whether the audit has been completed as of that 
date. Upon request, the auditor shall provide OED with all of the 
relevant workpapers reflecting any instances of noncompliance. The 
workpapers shall include an explanation of any corrective or remedial 
actions taken by the respective BNP Affiliated QPAM;
    (6) With respect to each Audit Report, an executive officer of the 
BNP Affiliated QPAM to which the Audit Report applies certifies in 
writing, under penalty of perjury, that the officer has reviewed the 
Audit Report and this exemption, if granted; addressed, corrected, or 
remediated any inadequacies identified in the Audit Report; and 
determined that the Policies and Training in effect at the time of 
signing are adequate to ensure compliance with the conditions of this 
exemption and with the applicable provisions of ERISA and the Code;
    (7) An executive officer of BNP reviews the Audit Report for each 
BNP Affiliated QPAM and certifies in writing, under penalty of perjury, 
that such officer has reviewed each Audit Report;
    (8) Each BNP Affiliated QPAM provides its certified Audit Report to 
the Department's Office of Exemption Determinations (OED), Room N-5700, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, no later than 30 
days following its completion, and each BNP Affiliated QPAM makes its 
Audit Report unconditionally available for examination by any duly 
authorized employee or representative of the Department, other relevant 
regulators, and any fiduciary of an ERISA-covered plan or IRA, the 
assets of which are managed by such BNP Affiliated QPAM;
    (i) The BNP Affiliated QPAMs comply with each condition of PTE 84-
14, as amended, with the only exceptions being the violations of 
Section I(g) that are attributable to the Convictions;
    (j) Effective from the date of publication of any granted exemption 
in the Federal Register, with respect to each ERISA-covered plan or IRA 
for which a BNP Affiliated QPAM provides asset management or other 
discretionary fiduciary services, each BNP Affiliated QPAM agrees: (1) 
To comply with ERISA and the Code, as applicable to the particular 
ERISA-covered plan or IRA, and refrain from engaging in prohibited 
transactions; (2) not to waive, limit, or qualify the liability of the 
BNP Affiliated QPAM for violating ERISA or the Code or engaging in 
prohibited transactions; (3) not to require the ERISA-covered plan or 
IRA (or sponsor of such ERISA-covered plan or beneficial owner of such 
IRA) to indemnify the BNP Affiliated QPAM for violating ERISA or 
engaging in prohibited transactions, except for violations or 
prohibited transactions caused by an error, misrepresentation, or 
misconduct of a plan fiduciary or other party hired by the plan 
fiduciary who is independent of BNP; (4) not to restrict the ability of 
such ERISA-covered plan or IRA to terminate or withdraw from its 
arrangement with the BNP Affiliated QPAM; and (5) not to impose any 
fees, penalties, or charges for such termination or withdrawal with the 
exception of reasonable fees, appropriately disclosed in advance, that 
are specifically designed to prevent generally recognized abusive 
investment practices or specifically designed to ensure equitable 
treatment of all investors in a pooled fund in the event such 
withdrawal or termination may have adverse consequences for all other 
investors, provided that such fees are applied consistently and in like 
manner to all such investors. Within six (6) months of the date of 
publication of a granted exemption in the Federal Register, each BNP 
Affiliated QPAM will provide a notice to such effect to each ERISA-
covered plan or IRA for which a BNP Affiliated QPAM provides asset 
management or other discretionary fiduciary services;
    (k) If a final exemption is granted in the Federal Register, each 
BNP Affiliated QPAM will maintain records necessary to demonstrate that 
the conditions of this exemption have been met for six (6) years 
following the date of any transaction for which such BNP Affiliated 
QPAM relies upon the relief in the exemption;
    (l) The BNP Affiliated QPAMs will provide to: (1) Each sponsor of 
an ERISA-covered plan and each beneficial owner of an IRA invested in 
an investment fund managed by a BNP Affiliated QPAM, or the sponsor of 
an investment fund in any case where a BNP Affiliated QPAM acts only as 
a sub-advisor to the investment fund; (2) each entity that may be a BNP 
Related QPAM; and (3) with respect to ERISA-covered plan and IRA 
investors in the Income Plus Fund, the identity of which is unknown, 
each distribution agent of the fund with a request that such 
distribution agent forward to its clients, a notice of the proposed 
exemption along with a separate summary describing the facts that led 
to the Convictions, which has been submitted to the Department, and a 
prominently displayed statement that the Convictions result in a 
failure to meet a condition in PTE 84-14;
    (m) A BNP Affiliated QPAM will not fail to meet the terms of this 
proposed exemption, if granted, solely because a BNP Related QPAM or a 
different BNP Affiliated QPAM fails to satisfy a condition for relief 
under this exemption. A BNP Related QPAM will not fail to meet the 
terms of this proposed exemption, if granted, solely because BNP, a BNP 
Affiliated QPAM, or a different BNP Related QPAM fails to satisfy a 
condition for relief under this exemption.
Section II: Definitions
    (a) The term ``BNP Affiliated QPAM'' means a ``qualified 
professional asset manager'' (as defined in Section VI(a) \47\ of PTE 
84-14) that relies on the relief provided by PTE 84-14 and with respect 
to which BNP is a current or future ``affiliate'' (as defined in 
Section VI(d) of PTE 84-14). The term ``BNP Affiliated QPAM'' excludes 
the parent entity, BNP.
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    \47\ In general terms, a QPAM is an independent fiduciary that 
is a bank, savings and loan association, insurance company, or 
investment adviser that meets certain equity or net worth 
requirements and other licensure requirements and that has 
acknowledged in a written management agreement that it is a 
fiduciary with respect to each plan that has retained the QPAM.

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[[Page 70664]]

    (b) The term ``BNP Related QPAM'' means any current or future 
``qualified professional asset manager'' (as defined in Section VI(a) 
of PTE 84-14) that relies on the relief provided by PTE 84-14, and with 
respect to which BNP owns a direct or indirect five percent or more 
interest, but with respect to which BNP is not an ``affiliate'' (as 
defined in Section VI(d) of PTE 84-14).
    (c) The term ``Convictions'' means the judgments of conviction 
against BNP in: (1) Case Number 14-cr-00460 (LGS) in the District Court 
for the Southern District of New York for conspiracy to commit an 
offense against the United States in violation of Title 18, United 
States Code, Section 371, by conspiring to violate the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act, codified at Title 50, United States 
Code, Section 1701 et seq., and regulations issued thereunder, and the 
Trading with the Enemy Act, codified at Title 50, United States Code 
Appendix, Section 1 et seq., and regulations issued thereunder; and (2) 
Case Number 2014 NY 051231 in the Supreme Court of the State of New 
York, County of New York for falsifying business records in the first 
degree, in violation of Penal Law Sec.  175.10, and conspiracy in the 
fifth degree, in violation of Penal Law Sec.  105.05(1).
    Effective Date: If granted, this proposed exemption will be 
effective as of the earliest date a judgment of conviction against BNP 
is entered in either: (1) Case Number 14-cr-00460 (LGS) in the District 
Court for the Southern District of New York; or (2) Case Number 2014 NY 
051231 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New 
York.

Summary of Facts and Representations \48\
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    \48\ The Summary of Facts and Representations is based on the 
Applicant's representations and does not reflect the views of the 
Department, unless indicated otherwise.
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Background

    1. BNP Paribas, S.A. (BNP) is a publicly-held French bank. BNP 
maintains its principal offices in Paris, France. BNP operates in major 
banking and securities markets worldwide. As of December 31, 2013, BNP 
had consolidated assets of $2.4 trillion, stockholders equity of $120.4 
billion, and a market capitalization of over $97 billion.
    2. The rules set forth in section 406 of the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) and section 4975(c) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code) proscribe 
certain ``prohibited transactions'' between plans and related parties 
with respect to those plans, known as ``parties in interest.'' \49\ 
Under section 3(14) of ERISA, parties in interest with respect to a 
plan include, among others, the plan fiduciary, a sponsoring employer 
of the plan, a union whose members are covered by the plan, service 
providers with respect to the plan, and certain of their affiliates. 
The prohibited transaction provisions under section 406(a) of ERISA 
prohibit, in relevant part, sales, leases, loans or the provision of 
services between a party in interest and a plan (or an entity whose 
assets are deemed to constitute the assets of a plan), as well as the 
use of plan assets by or for the benefit of, or a transfer of plan 
assets to, a party in interest.\50\
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    \49\ For purposes of the Summary of Facts and Representations, 
references to specific provisions of Title I of ERISA, unless 
otherwise specified, refer also to the corresponding provisions of 
the Code.
    \50\ The prohibited transaction provisions also include certain 
fiduciary prohibited transactions under section 406(b) of ERISA, 
which do not necessitate a transaction between a plan and a party in 
interest. These include transactions involving fiduciary self-
dealing; fiduciary conflicts of interest, and kickbacks to 
fiduciaries.
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    3. The broad reach of the prohibited transaction rules was intended 
to capture all transactions falling under the definition of a 
``prohibited transaction,'' regardless of whether such transaction was 
actually necessary for the operation of a plan or beneficial to a plan. 
Thus, certain transactions that are actually in the interest of a plan 
and its participants and beneficiaries may be unavailable to plans. In 
recognition of this problem, ERISA authorizes certain statutory and 
administrative exemptions that may allow certain transactions to take 
place if there is an applicable exemption and the conditions for such 
exemption are met.
    4. One of these exemptions, Class Prohibited Transaction Exemption 
84-14 (PTE 84-14) \51\ exempts certain prohibited transactions between 
a party in interest and an ``investment fund'' (as defined in Section 
VI(b)) \52\ in which a plan has an interest, if the investment manager 
satisfies the definition of ``qualified professional asset manager'' 
(QPAM) and satisfies additional conditions for the exemption. In this 
regard, PTE 84-14 was developed and granted based on the essential 
premise that broad relief could be afforded for all types of 
transactions in which a plan engages only if the commitments and the 
investments of plan assets and the negotiations leading thereto are the 
sole responsibility of an independent, discretionary, manager.\53\ 
Section I(a) of PTE 84-14 provides that, in order for a transaction to 
be exempt under PTE 84-14, at the time of the transaction (as defined 
in Section VI(i)) the party in interest, or its ``affiliate'' (as 
defined in Section VI(c)), cannot have the authority to appoint or 
terminate the QPAM as a manager of the plan assets involved in the 
transaction or negotiate, on behalf of the plan, the terms of the 
management agreement with the QPAM (including renewals or modifications 
thereof) with respect to the plan assets involved in the transaction. 
Based on its experience in considering applications for individual and 
class exemptions, and in dealing with instances of abusive violations 
of the fiduciary responsibility rules of ERISA, the Department believes 
that, as a general matter, transactions entered into on behalf of plans 
with parties in interest are most likely to conform to ERISA's general 
fiduciary standards where the decision to enter into the transaction is 
made by an independent fiduciary.\54\
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    \51\ 49 FR 9494 (March 13, 1984), as corrected at 50 FR 41430 
(October 10, 1985), as amended at 70 FR 49305 (August 23, 2005), and 
as amended at 75 FR 38837 (July 6, 2010).
    \52\ An ``investment fund'' includes single customer and pooled 
separate accounts maintained by an insurance company, individual 
trusts and common, collective or group trusts maintained by a bank, 
and any other account or fund to the extent that the disposition of 
its assets (whether or not in the custody of the QPAM) is subject to 
the discretionary authority of the QPAM.
    \53\ See 75 FR 38837, 38839 (July 6, 2010).
    \54\ See 47 FR 56945, 56946 (December 21, 1982).
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    5. PTE 84-14 contains an anti-criminal provision. In this regard, 
Section I(g) of PTE 84-14 prevents an entity that may otherwise meet 
the definition of QPAM from utilizing the exemptive relief provided by 
PTE 84-14, for itself and its client plans, if that entity or an 
affiliate thereof or any owner, direct or indirect, of a 5 percent or 
more interest in the QPAM has, within 10 years immediately preceding 
the transaction, been either convicted or released from imprisonment, 
whichever is later, as a result of certain specified criminal activity 
described in that section. Section I(g) was included in PTE 84-14, in 
part, based on the expectation that a QPAM, and those who may be in a 
position to influence its policies, maintain a high standard of 
integrity.\55\
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    \55\ See 47 FR 56945, 56947 (December 21, 1982).
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    6. The Applicant represents that BNP has corporate relationships 
with a wide range of entities that utilize the exemptive relief 
provided in PTE 84-14. In this regard, the Applicant represents that 
BNP is an ``affiliate'' (as defined in Section VI(d) of PTE 84-14) of 
20 specialist investment managers and other asset management 
subsidiaries which are under the ``control'' of BNP (as that term is 
defined in Section VI(e)

[[Page 70665]]

of PTE 84-14) and that may act as QPAMs (collectively, the BNP 
Affiliated QPAMs).\56\ According to the Applicant, the BNP Affiliated 
QPAMs include Fisher Francis Trees and Watt, Inc., BNP Paribas 
Investment Partners Trust Company, BNP Paribas Asset Management, Inc., 
BancWest Investment Services, and Bishop Street Capital Management 
which are subsidiaries of Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, 
respectively, which themselves provide fiduciary services to ERISA-
covered plans and IRAs. The Applicant represents that each of the 
above-named entities are third tier affiliates of BNP, and BNP owns all 
or substantially all interests, directly or indirectly, in such 
entities. In total, the BNP Affiliated QPAMs manage about $3 billion of 
assets owned by ERISA-covered plans and IRAs. According to the 
Applicant, BNP Affiliated QPAMs do not provide non-fiduciary services 
to ERISA-covered plans and IRAs, except in the case of First Hawaiian 
Bank (which provides custody services to ERISA-covered plans and IRAs) 
and Banc West Investment Services (which is a U.S. registered broker-
dealer).
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    \56\ Section VI(d) of PTE 84-14 defines an ``affiliate'' of a 
person, for purposes of Section I(g), as: (1) Any person directly or 
indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controlling, 
controlled by, or under common control with the person, (2) Any 
director of, relative of, or partner in, any such person, (3) Any 
corporation, partnership, trust or unincorporated enterprise of 
which such person is an officer, director, or a 5 percent or more 
partner or owner, and (4) Any employee or officer of the person 
who--(A) Is a highly compensated employee (as defined in section 
4975(e)(2)(H) of the Code) or officer (earning 10 percent or more of 
the yearly wages of such person), or (B) Has direct or indirect 
authority, responsibility or control regarding the custody, 
management or disposition of plan assets.
    Section VI(e) of PTE 84-14 defines the term ``control'' as the 
power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or 
policies of a person other than an individual.
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    7. The Applicant represents that BNP also owns a five percent or 
more interest in over 20 other entities (the BNP Related QPAMs) that 
may act as QPAMS but that are not ``affiliates'' (as defined in Section 
VI(d) of PTE 84-14) of BNP because BNP does not have ``control'' (as 
defined in Section VI(e) of PTE 84-14) over such entities. The 
Applicant represents that BNP's relationships to many of the entities 
that may be considered BNP Related QPAMs is so minimal that BNP does 
not know, nor is it legally responsible for knowing, if such entities 
are acting as QPAMs in reliance on the relief in PTE 84-14. 
Furthermore, the Applicant represents that any such BNP Related QPAMs 
maintain their own information and technology infrastructure and do not 
share office space or employees with BNP. According to the Applicant, 
such BNP Related QPAMs are entirely separate and distinct from BNP. 
Furthermore, the Applicant states that no employee of BNP sits on the 
board of directors of any BNP Related QPAM.
    8. The Applicant notes that BNP is expected to be convicted of 
certain crimes in the near future (the Convictions). In this regard, on 
June 30, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of the 
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (collectively, the 
DOJ) filed a notice of intent to file a one-count criminal information 
(the DOJ Information) in the District Court for the Southern District 
of New York (the District Court), and the New York County District 
Attorney's Office (the DANY) filed a two-count criminal information 
(the DANY Information) in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, 
County of New York (the New York Supreme Court), respectively, against 
BNP. The DOJ Information charged BNP with conspiracy to commit an 
offense against the United States in violation of Title 18, United 
States Code, Section 371, by conspiring to violate the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), codified at Title 50, United 
States Code, Section 1701 et seq., and regulations issued thereunder, 
and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA), codified at Title 50, United 
States Code Appendix, Section 1 et seq., and regulations issued 
thereunder. The DANY Information charged BNP with the crime of 
falsifying business records in the first degree, in violation of Penal 
Law Sec.  175.10, and conspiracy in the fifth degree, in violation of 
Penal Law Sec.  105.05(1). In connection with the DOJ Information and 
DANY Information, the DOJ filed a Statement of Facts and the DANY filed 
a Factual Statement (collectively, the Factual Statements) \57\ that 
details the underlying conduct that serves as the basis for the 
criminal charges and impending Convictions. The Factual Statements 
explain that from at least 2004 up through 2012, BNP, the defendant, 
conspired with banks and other entities located in or controlled by 
countries subject to U.S. sanctions, including Sudan, Iran, and Cuba 
(Sanctioned Entities), other financial institutions located in 
countries not subject to U.S. sanctions, and others known and unknown, 
to knowingly, intentionally and willfully move at least $8,833,600,000 
through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Sanctioned Entities in 
violation of U.S. sanctions laws, including transactions totaling at 
least $4.3 billion that involved Specially Designated Nationals 
(SDNs).\58\ In carrying out these illicit transactions, BNP's agents 
and employees were acting, at least in part, to benefit BNP.
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    \57\ The Applicant notes that the Statement of Facts is 
essentially identical to the Factual Statement.
    \58\ An SDN appears on a list of individuals, groups, and 
entities subject to economic sanctions by OFAC. SDNs are individuals 
and companies specifically designated as having their assets blocked 
from the U.S. financial system by virtue of being owned or 
controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries, as 
well as individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and 
narcotics traffickers, designated under sanctions programs that are 
not country-specific.
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    9. Pursuant to U.S. law, financial institutions, including BNP, are 
prohibited from participating in certain financial transactions 
involving persons, entities, and countries subject to U.S. economic 
sanctions. The United States Department of the Treasury's Office of 
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) promulgates regulations to administer and 
enforce U.S. laws governing economic sanctions, including regulations 
for sanctions related to specific countries, as well as sanctions 
related to SDNs.
    10. The Applicant notes that although the applicable prohibitions 
vary among sanction programs, the prohibitions described above 
generally apply to ``U.S. persons.'' \59\ To the extent a payment is 
not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, such as a payment 
in Euro that is settled totally outside of the United States with no 
involvement of a U.S. person, non-U.S. persons would not be liable 
under OFAC-administered sanctions if such a payment involved an SDN or 
Sanctioned Entity. Therefore, non-U.S. persons, including non-U.S. 
financial institutions, are generally not subject to the prohibitions 
of the OFAC-administered sanctions when they are doing business outside 
of the United States, but there are a number of important exceptions. 
Relevant here, non-U.S. financial institutions may also be required to 
comply with the OFAC-administered sanctions if a transaction in which 
they are engaged is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. 
For example, if a transaction that takes place

[[Page 70666]]

outside the United States between non-U.S. persons calls for payment in 
U.S. dollars, those payments typically will be cleared through the U.S. 
dollar settlement system in the United States, which in turn typically 
would involve a U.S. financial institution inside the United States 
debiting and crediting accounts held on the books of a U.S. bank or a 
branch of a non-U.S. bank located in the United States. In this way, 
the transaction and the participants involved can become subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States and subject to compliance with the 
OFAC-administered sanctions with respect to that transaction. 
Accordingly, if a payment that has a link to a sanctioned jurisdiction 
or other target is made in U.S. dollars and cleared through the United 
States as described above, then the non-U.S. bank presenting the 
payment for clearing through its correspondent account could be at risk 
of violating the OFAC-administered sanctions, as well as causing a 
violation by the U.S. clearing bank.
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    \59\ U.S. persons include U.S. citizens, permanent resident 
aliens (i.e., ``green card'' holders), entities organized under the 
laws of the United States and persons and entities physically 
present in the United States (regardless of nationality or 
jurisdiction under which the entity was organized). Financial 
institutions that are U.S. persons, including any financial 
institution organized under the laws of the United States or any 
branch of a foreign financial institution located in the United 
States, are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with 
Sanctioned Entities and SDNs, regardless of the currency in which 
such a transaction is denominated. For example, a London branch of a 
U.S. financial institution is prohibited from transacting with an 
SDN in any currency.
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    11. According to the Factual Statements, BNP and its co-
conspirators carried out the misconduct in the following ways: (a) BNP 
intentionally used a non-transparent method of payment messages, known 
as cover payments, to conceal the involvement of Sanctioned Entities in 
U.S. dollar transactions processed through BNP New York and other 
financial institutions in the United States; (b) BNP worked with other 
financial institutions to structure payments in highly complicated 
ways, with no legitimate business purpose, to conceal the involvement 
of Sanctioned Entities in order to prevent the illicit transactions 
from being blocked when transmitted through the United States; (c) BNP 
instructed other co-conspirator financial institutions not to mention 
the names of Sanctioned Entities in U.S. dollar payment messages sent 
to BNP New York and other financial institutions in the United States; 
(d) BNP followed instructions from co-conspirator Sanctioned Entities 
not to mention their names in U.S. dollar payment messages sent to BNP 
New York and other financial institutions in the United States; and (e) 
BNP removed information identifying Sanctioned Entities from U.S. 
dollar payment messages in order to conceal the involvement of 
Sanctioned Entities from BNP New York and other financial institutions 
in the United States.
    12. The Factual Statements further explain that BNP was on notice 
of law enforcement concerns regarding its conduct as early as December 
2009,\60\ when it was contacted by the DANY. In a subsequent meeting, 
in early 2010 between BNP, the DOJ, and the DANY, BNP agreed to conduct 
an internal investigation into business conducted at a number of its 
subsidiaries and branches (including in Paris, London, Milan, Rome and 
Geneva), from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2009, with 
countries subject to U.S. sanctions and covering the time period. The 
review was expanded after BNP discovered instances in which its illicit 
conduct continued past the original agreed-upon review period. Despite 
receiving legal opinions in 2006 that identified potential sanctions-
violative conduct, receiving notice of the same from law enforcement in 
late 2009, and beginning its internal investigation in early 2010, BNP 
failed to provide the DOJ and DANY with meaningful materials from BNP 
Geneva until May 2013, and the materials were heavily redacted due to 
bank secrecy laws in Switzerland. BNP's delay in producing these 
materials significantly impacted the DOJ's and the DANY's ability to 
bring charges against responsible individuals, Sudanese Sanctioned 
Entities, and the satellite banks.
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    \60\ In May 2007, senior officials at OFAC met with executives 
at BNP New York and expressed concern that BNP Geneva was conducting 
U.S. dollar business with Sudan in violation of U.S. sanctions. 
Shortly after this meeting, OFAC requested that BNP conduct an 
internal investigation into transactions with Sudan initiated by BNP 
Geneva that may have violated U.S. sanctions, and asked that BNP 
report its findings to OFAC. It was not until this intervention by 
OFAC that BNP made the decision, in June 2007, to stop its U.S. 
dollar business with Sudan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    13. Nevertheless, the Statement of Facts indicates that in other 
respects, BNP has provided substantial cooperation to the DOJ and the 
DANY by conducting an extensive transaction review; identifying 
potentially violative transactions; responding to numerous inquiries 
and multiple requests for information; providing voluminous relevant 
records from foreign jurisdictions; signing tolling agreements with the 
DOJ and/or DANY and agreeing to extend such tolling agreements on 
multiple occasions; conducting interviews with dozens of current and 
former employees in Paris, London, New York, Geneva, Rome and Milan; 
and working with the DOJ and the DANY to obtain assistance via a mutual 
legal assistance treaty with France, among other things. BNP also has 
taken several corrective measures to enhance its sanctions compliance.
    14. As noted above, BNP has agreed to resolve the actions brought 
by the DANY and the DOJ through the Plea Agreements, under which BNP 
will plead guilty to the charges set out in the DOJ Information and the 
DANY Information. The Applicants expect that the District Court and the 
New York State Supreme Court will enter the Convictions against BNP 
that will require remedies that are materially the same as set forth in 
the Plea Agreements. In particular, the Applicant notes that BNP has 
agreed to lawfully undertake the following pursuant to the Plea 
Agreements: (a) Pay a monetary penalty in the amount of $8,833,600,000; 
(b) submit every report produced by any compliance consultant or 
monitor imposed by the Federal Reserve or the New York State Department 
of Financial Services (DFS) to each of the Federal Reserve, the DFS, 
and DANY; (c) enhance its compliance policies and procedures with 
regard to U.S. sanctions laws and regulations; (d) abide by additional 
orders with the Federal Reserve, the French Autorit[eacute] de 
Contr[ocirc]le Prudentiel et de R[eacute]solution, and the DFS; and (e) 
truthfully and completely disclose any information requested and 
completely and fully cooperate with the DANY, the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and 
any other governmental agency designated by the DOJ or the DANY.
    15. Once either of the Convictions is entered, the BNP Affiliated 
QPAMs and the BNP Related QPAMs, as well as their client plans that are 
subject to Part 4 of Title I of ERISA (ERISA-covered plans) or section 
4975 of the Code (IRAs), will no longer be able to rely on PTE 84-14, 
pursuant to the anti-criminal rule set forth in section I(g) of the 
class exemption, absent an individual exemption. The Applicant is 
seeking an individual exemption that would permit the BNP Affiliated 
QPAMs, the BNP Related QPAMs, and their ERISA-covered plan and IRA 
clients to continue to utilize the relief in PTE 84-14, notwithstanding 
the anticipated Convictions, provided that such QPAMs satisfy the 
additional conditions imposed by the Department in the proposed 
exemption herein.

Past Compliance

    16. Before the Department will consider proposing such exemptive 
relief, the Applicant must demonstrate past legal compliance with 
respect to those entities that have acted as QPAMs and independence of 
operations between those entities acting as QPAMs and the convicted 
entity. The Applicant explains that each of the BNP Affiliated QPAMs 
have, at the business level, separate systems, separate infrastructure, 
separate management,

[[Page 70667]]

separate financial statements, separate payrolls, dedicated risk and 
compliance officers, and separate legal coverage from BNP. These 
managers maintain policies and procedures and engage in training 
designed to ensure that the QPAMs and the assets of the ERISA-covered 
plans and IRAs they manage are not affected by: (a) The business 
activities of BNP and/or (b) the conduct that is the subject of the 
Plea Agreements. Generally, such policies and procedures create 
information barriers between affiliates that prevent employees of the 
BNP Affiliated QPAMs from gaining access to insider information that an 
affiliate may have acquired or developed in connection with CIB 
activities. These policies and procedures, and corresponding 
information barriers, apply to employees, officers, and directors at 
the BNP Affiliated QPAMs and were in effect during the time frame 
covered by the facts that form the basis of the Plea Agreements. 
Additionally, the Applicant represents that BNP employees are not 
involved in the trading decisions and investment strategy of BNP 
Affiliated QPAMs for their ERISA-covered or IRA clients, nor do the BNP 
Affiliated QPAMs consult with BNP employees prior to making investment 
decisions on behalf of their ERISA-covered or IRA clients. According to 
the Applicant, BNP does not control the asset management decisions of 
the BNP Affiliated QPAMs or the BNP Related QPAMs, as such decisions 
are independent of BNP. Furthermore, the Applicant stresses that BNP 
Affiliated QPAMs and BNP Related QPAMs do not need the consent of BNP 
to make investment decisions for their clients, for making corrections 
if errors are made, or for adopting policies, procedures, or training 
for their staffs.

Statutory Findings--In the Interest of Affected Plans and IRAs

    17. The Applicant submits that the requested exemption would be in 
the interest of affected ERISA-covered plans and IRAs. In this regard, 
the Applicant states that the exemption would allow ERISA-covered plans 
and IRAs managed by the BNP Affiliated QPAMs and BNP Related QPAMs to 
avoid the costs or losses that would arise if these QPAMs were 
immediately unable to rely on the relief afforded by PTE 84-14 as of 
the date of the earliest of the Convictions. Moreover, the Applicant 
notes that the transaction costs of changing managers would be 
significant, especially in some of the strategies employed by the BNP 
investment managers. In support of this, the Applicant points out that 
the cost of liquidation, identifying and selecting new managers, and 
reinvesting the assets would be borne by the ERISA-covered plans and 
IRAs, with a cost that could exceed several basis points, depending on 
the strategy.\61\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \61\ The Applicant represents that the cost of liquidating an 
investment is generally the difference between the bid price and the 
ask price for any particular investment. Furthermore, some 
investments are more liquid than others (e.g., Treasury bonds are 
more liquid than foreign sovereign bonds and equities are more 
liquid than swaps). Some of the strategies followed by the Applicant 
tend to be less liquid than others and thus, the costs of a 
transition would be higher than liquidating, for example, a large 
equity portfolio.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    18. BNP additionally suggests that any ERISA-covered plans or IRAs 
that remain with BNP's asset management affiliates might be prohibited 
from engaging in certain transactions that are beneficial to such 
plans, such as the purchase and sale from a party in interest of a 
derivative without a readily ascertainable fair market value, because 
counterparties are far more comfortable with PTE 84-14 than any other 
exemption, and if other exemptions were required to be utilized, the 
cost of the transaction might increase to reflect that lack of comfort. 
Finally, according to the Applicant, BNP has entered into contracts on 
behalf of ERISA-covered plans for certain outstanding transactions, 
including swaps, which require BNP to maintain its eligibility for the 
relief in PTE 84-14. The Applicant asserts that counterparties to those 
transactions could seek to terminate their contracts, resulting in 
significant losses to their ERISA-covered plan clients. Moreover, 
certain derivatives transactions will automatically and immediately be 
terminated without notice or action if BNP no longer qualifies for the 
relief in PTE 84-14.
    19. The Applicant explains, for example, that Fisher Francis Trees 
and Watt, Inc. (FFTW), a BNP Affiliated QPAM, manages fixed income and 
currency strategies utilizing the following derivative instruments, 
among others: Foreign exchange forwards, credit linked notes, 
structured notes, and swaps. The Applicant adds that many of FFTW's 
pension plan accounts, especially those that are governed by ERISA, are 
dependent upon PTE 84-14 for such instruments. Without such 
instruments, the Applicant represents that FFTW would be unable to 
fulfill its mandate to such plans, which could affect approximately 
$1.67 billion in assets ($1.58 billion in ERISA assets plus $90 million 
in assets subject to ERISA by contract).\62\ The Applicant believes 
that the cost of the related liquidation would be approximately $2.1 
million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \62\ The Applicant notes that many public pension plans hold 
their investment managers to ERISA-like standards by the terms of 
their contract.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    20. The Applicant goes on to explain that another BNP Affiliated 
QPAM, BNP Paribas Investment Partners Trust Company, is the trustee for 
a $1.3 billion stable value fund that holds the assets of more than 
2,000 plans. The Applicant represents that FFTW acts as the asset 
manager for the fund under an investment management agreement requiring 
FFTW to qualify for the relief in PTE 84-14. Furthermore, the Applicant 
explains that as of June 30, 2014, the fund is wrapped in part by one 
or more contracts requiring the application of PTE 84-14. The Applicant 
submits that a default would trigger termination of such contracts and 
cause the plans to forfeit payment by the issuer of any difference 
between book and market value, which could be substantial. 
Additionally, the Applicant adds that the cost of replacing an older 
legacy wrap contract with a new one would be significant (e.g., wrap 
fees have increased 100-200 percent since the recent global financial 
crisis) and entirely borne by the plans, assuming replacement could be 
found at all in the current market.
    21. The Applicant explains that additional losses could be 
experienced in connection with other BNP Affiliated QPAMs, such as BNP 
Paribas Asset Management, Inc. (BNP AM), the BancWest group's Hawaiian 
affiliates (principally First Hawaiian Bank (FHB) and Bishop Street 
Capital Management (Bishop), and Bank of the West and its subsidiary 
BancWest Investment Services (BWIS). The Applicant represents that BNP 
AM currently advises two accounts with approximately $7.9 billion, as 
of June 30, 2014, in both advisory and managed plan assets. The 
Applicant notes, to the extent that the loss of the relief under PTE 
84-14 would cause the managed accounts to lose confidence in BNP AM, 
there would be additional liquidation costs. The Applicant adds that 
FHB, Bishop, and other BankWest affiliates manage 205 ERISA-covered 
plans and IRAs with about $1.1 billion in assets, and the loss of the 
relief under PTE 84-14 would cause estimated transaction and 
liquidation costs, assuming a loss of 5.5 basis points from the market 
value of the affected plans, of approximately $550,000. Finally, the 
Applicant notes that Bank of the West and BWIS manage approximately 
2,117 ERISA-covered plans and IRAs with approximately $800 million in 
assets. The Applicant explains that if these ERISA-covered plan and IRA 
clients chose to leave due to the loss of relief under PTE 84-14,

[[Page 70668]]

estimated liquidation costs, again assuming a loss of 5.5 basis points 
from the market value of the affected plans, would be approximately 
$400,000, not including the additional costs to reinvest such assets.
    22. The Applicant further emphasizes that the proposed exemption 
would enable ERISA-covered plans and IRAs managed by the BNP Affiliated 
QPAMs and BNP Related QPAMs to continue with the current investment 
strategies of their chosen QPAM. The Applicant suggests that any ERISA-
covered plan or IRA that is forced to move to a new investment manager 
could incur transition costs, in addition to the direct costs, as 
described above, such as the cost of issuing RFPs, finding other 
managers, and other costs associated with reinvesting the assets.

Statutory Findings--Protective of Affected Plans and IRAs

    23. The Applicant submits that the proposed exemption, if granted, 
would be protective of affected ERISA-covered plans and IRAs. The 
Applicant represents that if this proposed exemption is granted, BNP 
Affiliated QPAMs will not use their authority or influence to direct an 
investment fund that is subject to ERISA and managed by a BNP 
Affiliated QPAM to enter into any transaction with BNP or engage BNP to 
provide additional services, for a fee borne by such investment fund 
regardless of whether such transactions or services may otherwise be 
within the scope of relief provided by an administrative or statutory 
exemption. Furthermore, each BNP Affiliated QPAM will ensure that no 
employee involved in the criminal conduct that underlies the 
Convictions will engage in transactions on behalf of any ``investment 
fund'' (as defined in Section VI(b) of PTE 84-14) subject to ERISA and 
managed by such BNP Affiliated QPAM.
    24. The Department notes that the proposed exemption, if granted, 
provides additional protection to affected ERISA-covered plans and IRAs 
because it requires a prudently selected, independent auditor, who has 
appropriate technical training and proficiency with Title I of ERISA, 
to evaluate the adequacy of and compliance with the Policies and 
Training by conducting an annual audit. The first of the audits must be 
completed no later than twelve (12) months after a final exemption for 
the covered transactions is granted in the Federal Register and must 
cover the first six-month period that begins on the date a final 
exemption is granted in the Federal Register; all subsequent audits 
must cover the following corresponding twelve-month periods and be 
completed no later than six (6) months after the period to which it 
applies. Specifically, the auditor shall determine whether each BNP 
Affiliated QPAM has developed, implemented, and maintained written 
policies (the Policies) requiring and designed to ensure that: (a) The 
asset management decisions of the BNP Affiliated QPAM is conducted 
independently of BNP's management and business activities; (b) the BNP 
Affiliated QPAM fully complies with ERISA's fiduciary duties and ERISA 
and the Code's prohibited transaction provisions (including any 
appropriate corrective or remedial measures) and does not knowingly 
participate in any violations of these duties and provisions with 
respect to ERISA-covered plans and IRAs; (c) the BNP Affiliated QPAM 
does not knowingly participate in any other person's violation of ERISA 
or the Code with respect to ERISA-covered plans and IRAs; (d) any 
filings or statements made by the BNP Affiliated QPAM to relevant 
regulators, including but not limited to, the Department of Labor, the 
Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice, and the Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation on behalf of ERISA-covered plans or IRAs 
are materially accurate and complete, to the best of such QPAM's 
knowledge at that time; (e) the BNP Affiliated QPAM does not make 
material misrepresentations or omit material information in its 
communications with such regulators with respect to ERISA-covered plans 
or IRAs, or make material misrepresentations or omit material 
information in its communications with its ERISA-covered plan and IRA 
clients; (f) the BNP Affiliated QPAM complies with the terms of this 
exemption, if granted; and (g) any violations of, or failure to comply 
with, items (b) through (f) are corrected pursuant to appropriate 
corrective or remedial measures outlined in the Policies and any such 
violations or compliance failures not corrected in accordance with the 
Policies are promptly reported, upon discovery, in writing to 
appropriate corporate officers, the head of Compliance and the General 
Counsel of the relevant BNP Affiliated QPAM, the independent auditor 
responsible for reviewing compliance with the Policies, and a fiduciary 
of any affected ERISA-covered plan or IRA where such fiduciary is 
independent of BNP; however, with respect to any ERISA-covered plans or 
IRAs sponsored by an ``affiliate'' (as defined in Section VI(d) of PTE 
84-14) of BNP or beneficially owned by an employee of BNP or its 
affiliates, such fiduciary does not need to be independent of BNP.
    25. The independent auditor shall also determine whether each BNP 
Affiliated QPAM has developed a training program (the Training) for 
such BNP Affiliated QPAM's personnel covering, at a minimum, the 
Policies, ERISA and Code compliance (including applicable fiduciary 
duties and the prohibited transaction provisions) and ethical conduct, 
the consequences for not complying with the conditions of this proposed 
exemption, if granted, (including the loss of the exemptive relief 
provided herein), and prompt reporting of wrongdoing. The auditor shall 
also determine whether each BNP Affiliated QPAM is operationally 
compliant with the Policies and Training.
    26. The auditor shall provide a written report (the Audit Report), 
upon completion of each audit that it conducts, to BNP and the BNP 
Affiliated QPAM to which such Audit Report applies that describes the 
auditor's determinations as required under this proposed exemption, if 
granted, and the steps performed by the auditor during the course of 
the auditor's examinations. The Audit Report will also include the 
auditor's determinations with regards to the adequacy of the Policies 
and the Training and any recommendations with respect to strengthening 
the Policies and Training, and any instances of a BNP Affiliated QPAM's 
noncompliance with developing, implementing, and maintaining the 
Policies and Training. Any determinations made by the auditor regarding 
the adequacy of the Policies and Training and the auditor's 
recommendations (if any) with respect to strengthening the Policies and 
Training shall be promptly addressed by the respective BNP Affiliated 
QPAM to which the Audit Report applies, and any actions taken by such 
BNP Affiliated QPAM to address such recommendations shall be included 
in an addendum to the Audit Report.
    27. The auditor shall notify the respective BNP Affiliated QPAM of 
any instances of noncompliance identified by the auditor within five 
(5) business days after such noncompliance is identified by the 
auditor, regardless of whether the audit has been completed as of that 
date. Upon request, the auditor shall provide OED with all of the 
relevant workpapers reflecting any instances of noncompliance. The 
workpapers shall include an explanation of any corrective or remedial 
actions taken by the respective BNP Affiliated QPAM.

[[Page 70669]]

    28. With respect to each Audit Report, an executive officer of the 
BNP Affiliated QPAM to which the audit applies will certify in writing, 
under penalty of perjury, that such officer has reviewed the Audit 
Report and this exemption, if granted; addressed, corrected, or 
remediated any inadequacies identified in the Audit Report; and 
determined that the Policies and Training in effect at the time of 
signing are adequate to ensure compliance with the conditions of this 
exemption and with the applicable provisions of ERISA and the Code. 
Additionally, an executive officer of BNP will review and certify in 
writing, under penalty of perjury, that such officer has reviewed each 
Audit Report. Finally, each BNP Affiliated QPAM will provide its Audit 
Report to OED no later than 30 days following its completion and each 
BNP Affiliated QPAM must make its Audit Report unconditionally 
available for examination by any duly authorized employee or 
representative of the Department, other relevant regulators, and any 
fiduciary of an ERISA-covered plan or IRA, the assets of which are 
managed by such BNP Affiliated QPAM.
    29. The Department notes that the proposed exemption will be 
protective of plans because each ERISA-covered plan and IRA will have 
the discretion to retain a BNP Affiliated QPAM as its asset manager or 
move to a new asset manager without being exposed to unnecessary fees 
and charges. In this regard, and in order to further protect ERISA-
covered plans and IRAs, the proposed exemption requires that each BNP 
Affiliated QPAM agrees: (a) To comply with ERISA and the Code, as 
applicable to the particular ERISA-covered plan or IRA, and refrain 
from engaging in prohibited transactions; (b) not to waive, limit, or 
qualify the liability of the BNP Affiliated QPAM for knowingly 
violating ERISA or the Code or engaging in prohibited transactions; (c) 
not to require an ERISA-covered plan or IRA (or sponsor of such ERISA-
covered plan or beneficial owner of such IRA) to indemnify the BNP 
Affiliated QPAM for violating ERISA or engaging in prohibited 
transactions, except for violations or prohibited transactions caused 
by an error, misrepresentation, or misconduct of a plan fiduciary or 
other party hired by the plan fiduciary who is independent of BNP; (d) 
not to restrict the ability of such ERISA-covered plan or IRA to 
terminate or withdraw from their arrangement with the BNP Affiliated 
QPAM; and (e) not to impose any fees, penalties, or charges for such 
termination or withdrawal with the exception of reasonable fees, 
appropriately disclosed in advance, that are specifically designed to 
prevent generally recognized abusive investment practices or 
specifically designed to ensure equitable treatment of all investors in 
a pooled fund in the event such withdrawal or termination may have 
adverse consequences for all other investors, provided that such fees 
are applied consistently and in like manner to all such investors. This 
requirement will become effective immediately upon the granting of an 
exemption and each BNP Affiliated QPAM must provide notice of this 
requirement to its ERISA-covered plan and IRA clients within six (6) 
months of publication of a final granted exemption in the Federal 
Register.
    30. The Department notes that a BNP Affiliated QPAM will not fail 
to meet the terms of this proposed exemption, if granted, solely 
because a BNP Related QPAM or a different BNP Affiliated QPAM fails to 
satisfy a condition for relief under this exemption. Additionally, a 
BNP Related QPAM will not fail to meet the terms of this proposed 
exemption solely because BNP, a BNP Affiliated QPAM, or a different BNP 
Related QPAM fails to satisfy a condition for relief under this 
proposed exemption.
    31. The Applicant represents that if a final granted exemption is 
published in the Federal Register, each BNP Affiliated QPAM will 
maintain records necessary to demonstrate that the conditions of this 
exemption have been met for six (6) years following the date of any 
transactions for which such BNP Affiliated QPAM relies upon the relief 
in the exemption.
    32. The Applicant represents further that BNP will provide to: (a) 
Each sponsor of an ERISA-covered plan and each beneficial owner of an 
IRA invested in an investment fund managed by a BNP Affiliated QPAM, or 
the sponsor of an investment fund in any case where a BNP Affiliated 
QPAM acts only as a sub-advisor to the investment fund; (b) each entity 
that may be a BNP Related QPAM; and (c) with respect to ERISA-covered 
plan and IRA investors in the Income Plus Fund, the identity of which 
is unknown, each distribution agent of such fund with a request that 
such distribution agent forward to its clients, a notice of the 
proposed exemption, along with a separate summary of the facts that led 
to the Convictions, which has been submitted to the Department, and a 
prominently displayed statement that the Convictions result in a 
failure to meet a condition in PTE 84-14. For avoidance of doubt, in 
the event that BNP has knowledge of the identity of an ERISA-covered 
plan or IRA investor in the Income Plus Fund, BNP will ensure that such 
investor receives the notice(s) contemplated under this paragraph.
    33. Finally, the Applicant represents that the proposed exemption 
will protect the interests of affected ERISA-covered Plans and IRAs 
because it would allow the BNP Affiliated QPAMs to engage in 
transactions described in PTE 84-14 only to the extent that all of the 
longstanding conditions set forth in PTE 84-14 (except for Section 
I(g), as a result of the Convictions) are fully met for the particular 
transaction at issue. Furthermore, the exemptive relief available under 
this proposed exemption, if granted, will not be available to the 
parent entity that is the subject of the Convictions, BNP.

Statutory Findings--Administratively Feasible

    34. The Applicant represents that the requested exemption is 
administratively feasible because it does not require any monitoring by 
the Department but relies on an independent auditor to determine that 
the BNP Affiliated QPAMs' compliance policies, and the conditions for 
the exemption, are being followed. Furthermore, compliance with other 
sections of PTE 84-14 has been determined to be administratively 
feasible by the Department in many other similar cases.

Summary

    35. In summary, the covered transactions satisfy the statutory 
requirements for an exemption under section 408(a) of ERISA because:
    (a) Any failure of the BNP Affiliated QPAMs or the BNP Related 
QPAMs to satisfy Section I(g) of PTE 84-14 arose solely from the 
Convictions;
    (b) The BNP Affiliated QPAMs and the BNP Related QPAMs (including 
officers, directors, agents other than BNP, and employees of such 
QPAMs) did not participate in the criminal conduct of BNP that is the 
subject of the Convictions;
    (c) The BNP Affiliated QPAMs and the BNP Related QPAMs did not 
directly receive compensation in connection with the criminal conduct 
of BNP that is the subject of the Convictions;
    (d) The criminal conduct of BNP that is the subject of the 
Convictions did not directly or indirectly involve the assets of any 
ERISA-covered plan or IRA;
    (e) A BNP Affiliated QPAM may not use its authority or influence to 
direct an ``investment fund'' (as defined in Section VI(b) of PTE 84-
14) that is

[[Page 70670]]

subject to ERISA and managed by such BNP Affiliated QPAM to enter into 
any transaction with BNP or engage BNP to provide additional services 
to such investment fund, for a direct or indirect fee borne by such 
investment fund regardless of whether such transactions or services may 
otherwise be within the scope of relief provided by an administrative 
or statutory exemption;
    (f) Each BNP Affiliated QPAM will ensure that none of its employees 
or agents, if any, that were involved in the criminal conduct that 
underlies the Convictions will engage in transactions on behalf of any 
``investment fund'' (as defined in Section VI(b) of PTE 84-14) subject 
to ERISA and managed by such BNP Affiliated QPAM;
    (g)(1) Each BNP Affiliated QPAM immediately develops, implements, 
maintains, and follows written Policies requiring and reasonably 
designed to ensure that: (i) The asset management decisions of the BNP 
Affiliated QPAM are conducted independently of BNP's management and 
business activities; (ii) the BNP Affiliated QPAM fully complies with 
ERISA's fiduciary duties and ERISA and the Code's prohibited 
transaction provisions and does not knowingly participate in any 
violations of these duties and provisions with respect to ERISA-covered 
plans and IRAs; (iii) the BNP Affiliated QPAM does not knowingly 
participate in any other person's violation of ERISA or the Code with 
respect to ERISA-covered plans and IRAs; (iv) any filings or statements 
made by the BNP Affiliated QPAM to relevant regulators, on behalf of 
ERISA-covered plans or IRAs, are materially accurate and complete, to 
the best of such QPAM's knowledge at that time; (v) the BNP Affiliated 
QPAM does not make material misrepresentations or omit material 
information in its communications with such regulators with respect to 
ERISA-covered plans or IRAs, or make material misrepresentations or 
omit material information in its communications with ERISA-covered plan 
and IRA clients; (vi) the BNP Affiliated QPAM complies with the terms 
of this exemption, if granted; and (vii) any violations of or failure 
to comply with items (ii) through (vi) are corrected promptly upon 
discovery and any such violations or compliance failures not promptly 
corrected are reported, upon discovering the failure to promptly 
correct, in writing to appropriate corporate officers, the head of 
Compliance and the General Counsel of the relevant BNP Affiliated QPAM, 
the independent auditor responsible for reviewing compliance with the 
Policies, and a fiduciary of any affected ERISA-covered plan or IRA 
where such fiduciary is independent of BNP; although, with respect to 
any ERISA-covered plan or IRA sponsored by an ``affiliate'' (as defined 
in Section VI(d) of PTE 84-14) of BNP or beneficially owned by an 
employee of BNP or its affiliates, such fiduciary does not need to be 
independent of BNP;
    (2) Each Affiliated QPAM immediately develops and implements 
Training, conducted at least annually for relevant BNP Affiliated QPAM 
asset management, legal, compliance, and internal audit personnel; the 
Training shall be set forth in the Policies and, at a minimum, covers 
the Policies, ERISA and Code compliance (including applicable fiduciary 
duties and the prohibited transaction provisions) and ethical conduct, 
the consequences for not complying with the conditions of this proposed 
exemption, if granted, (including the loss of the exemptive relief 
provided herein), and prompt reporting of wrongdoing;
    (h)(1) Each BNP Affiliated QPAM submits to an audit conducted 
annually by an independent auditor, who has been prudently selected and 
who has appropriate technical training and proficiency with ERISA to 
evaluate the adequacy of, and compliance with, the Policies and 
Training;
    (2) For each audit, the auditor shall issue an Audit Report to BNP 
and the BNP Affiliated QPAM to which the audit applies that describes 
the steps performed by the auditor during the course of its 
examination;
    (3) An executive officer of the BNP Affiliated QPAM to which the 
Audit Report applies must certify in writing, under penalty of perjury, 
that the officer has reviewed the Audit Report and this exemption, if 
granted; addressed, corrected, or remediated any inadequacies 
identified in the Audit Report; and determined that the Policies and 
Training in effect at the time of signing are adequate to ensure 
compliance with the conditions of this exemption and with the 
applicable provisions of ERISA and the Code;
    (7) An executive officer of BNP must review the Audit Report for 
each BNP Affiliated QPAM and certify in writing, under penalty of 
perjury, that such officer has reviewed each Audit Report;
    (8) Each BNP Affiliated QPAM must provide its certified Audit 
Report to the Department's Office of Exemption Determinations no later 
than 30 days following its completion, and each BNP Affiliated QPAM 
must make its Audit Report unconditionally available for examination by 
any duly authorized employee or representative of the Department, other 
relevant regulators, and any fiduciary of an ERISA-covered plan or IRA, 
the assets of which are managed by such BNP Affiliated QPAM;
    (i) The BNP Affiliated QPAMs must comply with each condition of PTE 
84-14, as amended, with the only exceptions being the violations of 
Section I(g) that are attributable to the Convictions;
    (j) Effective from the date of publication of any granted exemption 
in the Federal Register, with respect to each ERISA-covered plan or IRA 
for which a BNP Affiliated QPAM provides asset management or other 
discretionary fiduciary services, each BNP Affiliated QPAM agrees: (1) 
To comply with ERISA and the Code, as applicable to the particular 
ERISA-covered plan or IRA, and refrain from engaging in prohibited 
transactions; (2) not to waive, limit, or qualify the liability of the 
BNP Affiliated QPAM for violating ERISA or the Code or engaging in 
prohibited transactions; (3) not to require the ERISA-covered plan or 
IRA (or sponsor of such ERISA-covered plan or beneficial owner of such 
IRA) to indemnify the BNP Affiliated QPAM for violating ERISA or 
engaging in prohibited transactions, except for violations or 
prohibited transactions caused by an error, misrepresentation, or 
misconduct of a plan fiduciary or other party hired by the plan 
fiduciary who is independent of BNP; (4) not to restrict the ability of 
such ERISA-covered plan or IRA to terminate or withdraw from its 
arrangement with the BNP Affiliated QPAM; and (5) not to impose any 
fees, penalties, or charges for such termination or withdrawal with the 
exception of reasonable fees, appropriately disclosed in advance, that 
are specifically designed to prevent generally recognized abusive 
investment practices or specifically designed to ensure equitable 
treatment of all investors in a pooled fund in the event such 
withdrawal or termination may have adverse consequences for all other 
investors, provided that such fees are applied consistently and in like 
manner to all such investors. Within six (6) months of the date of 
publication of a granted exemption in the Federal Register, each BNP 
Affiliated QPAM must provide a notice to such effect to each ERISA-
covered plan or IRA for which a BNP Affiliated QPAM provides asset 
management or other discretionary fiduciary services;
    (k) If a final exemption is granted in the Federal Register, each 
BNP Affiliated QPAM must maintain records necessary to demonstrate that 
the conditions of this exemption have been met for six (6) years 
following the date of any transaction for which such BNP

[[Page 70671]]

Affiliated QPAM relies upon the relief in the exemption;
    (l) The BNP Affiliated QPAMs must provide to: (1) Each sponsor of 
an ERISA-covered plan and each beneficial owner of an IRA invested in 
an investment fund managed by a BNP Affiliated QPAM, or the sponsor of 
an investment fund in any case where a BNP Affiliated QPAM acts only as 
a sub-advisor to the investment fund; (2) each entity that may be a BNP 
Related QPAM; and (3) with respect to ERISA-covered plan and IRA 
investors in the Income Plus Fund, the identity of which is unknown, 
each distribution agent of the fund with a request that such 
distribution agent forward to its clients, a notice of the proposed 
exemption along with a separate summary describing the facts that led 
to the Convictions, which has been submitted to the Department, and a 
prominently displayed statement that the Convictions result in a 
failure to meet a condition in PTE 84-14;
    (m) A BNP Affiliated QPAM will not fail to meet the terms of this 
proposed exemption, if granted, solely because a BNP Related QPAM or a 
different BNP Affiliated QPAM fails to satisfy a condition for relief 
under this exemption. A BNP Related QPAM will not fail to meet the 
terms of this proposed exemption, if granted, solely because BNP, a BNP 
Affiliated QPAM, or a different BNP Related QPAM fails to satisfy a 
condition for relief under this exemption.

Notice to Interested Persons

    Notice of the proposed exemption (the Notice) will be provided to 
all interested persons within fifteen (15) days of publication of the 
Notice in the Federal Register. Notice will be provided to all 
interested persons in the manner agreed upon by the Applicant and the 
Department. Such notification will contain a copy of the Notice, as 
published in the Federal Register, and a supplemental statement, as 
required, pursuant to 29 CFR 2570.43(a)(2). The supplemental statement 
will inform all interested persons of their right to comment on and to 
request a hearing with respect to the pending exemption. All written 
comments and/or requests for a hearing must be received by the 
Department within forty-five (45) days of the publication of the Notice 
in the Federal Register.
    All comments will be made available to the public.
    Warning: If you submit a comment, EBSA recommends that you include 
your name and other contact information in the body of your comment, 
but do not submit information that you consider to be confidential, or 
otherwise protected (such as Social Security number or an unlisted 
phone number) or confidential business information that you do not want 
publicly disclosed. All comments may be posted on the Internet and can 
be retrieved by most Internet search engines.

For Further Information Contact:  Erin S. Hesse, telephone (202) 693-
8546, or Scott Ness, telephone (202) 693-8561, Office of Exemption 
Determinations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor (these are not toll-free numbers).

General Information

    The attention of interested persons is directed to the following:
    (1) The fact that a transaction is the subject of an exemption 
under section 408(a) of the Act and/or section 4975(c)(2) of the Code 
does not relieve a fiduciary or other party in interest or disqualified 
person from certain other provisions of the Act and/or the Code, 
including any prohibited transaction provisions to which the exemption 
does not apply and the general fiduciary responsibility provisions of 
section 404 of the Act, which, among other things, require a fiduciary 
to discharge his duties respecting the plan solely in the interest of 
the participants and beneficiaries of the plan and in a prudent fashion 
in accordance with section 404(a)(1)(b) of the Act; nor does it affect 
the requirement of section 401(a) of the Code that the plan must 
operate for the exclusive benefit of the employees of the employer 
maintaining the plan and their beneficiaries;
    (2) Before an exemption may be granted under section 408(a) of the 
Act and/or section 4975(c)(2) of the Code, the Department must find 
that the exemption is administratively feasible, in the interests of 
the plan and of its participants and beneficiaries, and protective of 
the rights of participants and beneficiaries of the plan;
    (3) The proposed exemptions, if granted, will be supplemental to, 
and not in derogation of, any other provisions of the Act and/or the 
Code, including statutory or administrative exemptions and transitional 
rules. Furthermore, the fact that a transaction is subject to an 
administrative or statutory exemption is not dispositive of whether the 
transaction is in fact a prohibited transaction; and
    (4) The proposed exemptions, if granted, will be subject to the 
express condition that the material facts and representations contained 
in each application are true and complete, and that each application 
accurately describes all material terms of the transaction which is the 
subject of the exemption.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 20th day of November, 2014.
Lyssa E. Hall,
Director, Office of Exemption Determinations, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2014-27935 Filed 11-25-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P