Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 40112-40113 [2019-17236]

Download as PDF jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES 40112 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 13, 2019 / Notices each of these entities must maintain. Rule 31a–2 (17 CFR 270.31a–2) under the Act specifies the time periods that entities must retain certain books and records, including those required to be maintained under rule 31a–1. The retention of records, as required by the rule, is necessary to ensure access to material business and financial information about funds and certain related entities. We periodically inspect the operations of funds to ensure they are in compliance with the Act and regulations under the Act. Due to the limits on our resources, however, each fund may only be inspected at intervals of several years. In addition, the prosecution of persons who have engaged in certain violations of the federal securities laws may not be limited by timing restrictions. For these reasons, we often need information relating to events or transactions that occurred years ago. Without the requirement to preserve books, records, and other documents, our staff would have difficulty determining whether the fund was in compliance with the law in such areas as valuation of its portfolio securities, computation of the prices investors paid, and, when purchasing and selling fund shares, types and amounts of expenses the fund incurred, kinds of investments the fund purchased, actions of affiliated persons, or whether the fund had engaged in any illegal or fraudulent activities. As part of our examinations of funds, our staff also reviews the materials that directors consider in approving the advisory contract. There are 3,160 funds currently operating as of December 31, 2018, all of which are required to comply with rule 31a–2. The Commission staff estimates that, on average, a fund spends 220.4 hours annually to comply with the rule. The Commission therefore estimates the total annual hour burden of the rule’s and form’s paperwork requirements to be 696,464 hours. In addition to the burden hours, the Commission staff estimates that the average yearly cost to each fund that is subject to rule 31a–2 is about $36,510.28. The Commission estimates total annual cost is therefore about $115.4 million. Estimates of average burden hours and costs are made solely for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act and are not derived from a comprehensive or even representative survey or study of the costs of Commission rules and forms. Compliance with the collection of information requirements of the rule is mandatory. Responses to the disclosure requirements will not be kept confidential. An agency may not VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:51 Aug 12, 2019 Jkt 247001 conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission’s estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 days of this publication. Please direct your written comments to Charles Riddle, Acting Director and Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Candace Kenner, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549; or send an email to: PRA_ Mailbox@sec.gov. All submissions should refer to File Number 270–174. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission’s internet website (https://www.sec.gov). All comments received will be posted without change; we do not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. Dated: August 7, 2019. Jill M. Peterson, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2019–17298 Filed 8–12–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [SEC File No. 270–026, OMB Control No. 3235–0033] Proposed Collection; Comment Request Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549–2736 Extension: Rule 17a–3 Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (‘‘PRA’’) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) the Securities and Exchange Commission PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 (‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments on the existing collection of information provided for in Rule 17a–3 (17 CFR 240.17a–3), under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.). The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for extension and approval. Rule 17a–3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 establishes minimum standards with respect to business records that broker-dealers registered with the Commission must make and keep current. These records are maintained by the broker-dealer (in accordance with a separate rule), so they can be used by the broker-dealer and reviewed by Commission examiners, as well as other regulatory authority examiners, during inspections of the broker-dealer. The collections of information included in Rule 17a–3 are necessary to provide Commission, self-regulatory organization (‘‘SRO’’) and state examiners to conduct effective and efficient examinations to determine whether broker-dealers are complying with relevant laws, rules, and regulations. If broker-dealers were not required to create these baseline, standardized records, Commission, SRO and state examiners could be unable to determine whether broker-dealers are in compliance with the Commission’s antifraud and anti-manipulation rules, financial responsibility program, and other Commission, SRO, and State laws, rules, and regulations. As of December 31, 2018 there were 3,764 broker-dealers registered with the Commission. The Commission estimates that these broker-dealer respondents incur a total burden of 2,893,773 hours per year to comply with Rule 17a–3.1 In addition, Rule 17a–3 contains ongoing operation and maintenance costs for broker-dealers, including the cost of postage to provide customers 1 On June 5, 2019, the Commission adopted Rule 151–1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 establishing a standard of conduct for brokerdealers and natural persons who are associated persons of a broker-dealer when making a recommendation of any securities. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 86031 (Jun. 5, 2019), 84 FR 33318 (Jul. 12, 2019). At the same time, the Commission adopted Exchange Act Rule 17a–14 (CFR 240.17a–14) and Form CRS (17 CFR 249.640) under the Exchange Act. See Form CRS Relationship Summary; Amendments to Form ADV Exchange Act Release No. 86032, Advisers Act Release No. 5247, File No. S7–08–18 (June 5, 2019), 84 FR 33492 (July 12, 2019). As part of new Rule 17a–14 and Form CRS, and Regulation Best Interest, the Commission amended Rule 17a–3 by adding new paragraphs (a)(24) and (a)(35). The collections of information and the related burdens associated with these amendments have been separately noticed for comment and are currently under review. E:\FR\FM\13AUN1.SGM 13AUN1 jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 13, 2019 / Notices with account information, and costs for equipment and systems development. The Commission estimates that under Rule 17a–3(a)(17), approximately 45,633,482 customers will need to be provided with information regarding their account on a yearly basis. The Commission estimates that the postage costs associated with providing those customers with copies of their account record information would be approximately $16,321,719 per year (45,633,482 × $0.35).2 The staff estimates that broker-dealers establishing liquidity, credit, and market risk management controls pursuant to Rule 17a–3(a)(23) incur onetime startup costs of $912,000, or $304,000 amortized over a three-year approval period, to hire outside counsel to review the controls. The staff further estimates that the ongoing equipment and systems development costs relating to Rule 17a–3 for the industry would be about $37,446,686 per year. Consequently, the total cost burden associated with Rule 17a–3 would be approximately $54,072,405 per year. Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 days of this publication. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information under the PRA unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please direct your written comments to: Charles Riddle, Acting Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Candace Kenner, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or send an email to: PRA_ Mailbox@sec.gov. 2 Estimates of postage costs are derived from past conversations with industry representatives and have been adjusted to account for inflation and increases in postage costs. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:51 Aug 12, 2019 Jkt 247001 Dated: August 7, 2019. Jill M. Peterson, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2019–17236 Filed 8–12–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [SEC File No. 270–465, OMB Control No. 3235–0528] Proposed Collection; Comment Request Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549–2736 Extension: Rule 237, 60-Day Notice (2019) Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments on the collection of information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for extension and approval. In Canada, as in the United States, individuals can invest a portion of their earnings in tax-deferred retirement savings accounts (‘‘Canadian retirement accounts’’). These accounts, which operate in a manner similar to individual retirement accounts in the United States, encourage retirement savings by permitting savings on a taxdeferred basis. Individuals who establish Canadian retirement accounts while living and working in Canada and who later move to the United States (‘‘Canadian-U.S. Participants’’ or ‘‘participants’’) often continue to hold their retirement assets in their Canadian retirement accounts rather than prematurely withdrawing (or ‘‘cashing out’’) those assets, which would result in immediate taxation in Canada. Once in the United States, however, these participants historically have been unable to manage their Canadian retirement account investments. Most securities that are ‘‘qualified investments’’ for Canadian retirement accounts are not registered under the U.S. securities laws. Those securities, therefore, generally cannot be publicly offered and sold in the United States without violating the registration requirement of the Securities Act of 1933 (‘‘Securities Act’’).1 As a result of 1 15 U.S.C. 77. In addition, the offering and selling of securities of investment companies PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 40113 this registration requirement, CanadianU.S. Participants previously were not able to purchase or exchange securities for their Canadian retirement accounts as needed to meet their changing investment goals or income needs. The Commission issued a rulemaking in 2000 that enabled Canadian-U.S. Participants to manage the assets in their Canadian retirement accounts by providing relief from the U.S. registration requirements for offers of securities of foreign issuers to CanadianU.S. Participants and sales to Canadian retirement accounts.2 Rule 237 under the Securities Act 3 permits securities of foreign issuers, including securities of foreign funds, to be offered to CanadianU.S. Participants and sold to their Canadian retirement accounts without being registered under the Securities Act. Rule 237 requires written offering documents for securities offered and sold in reliance on the rule to disclose prominently that the securities are not registered with the Commission and are exempt from registration under the U.S. securities laws. The burden under the rule associated with adding this disclosure to written offering documents is minimal and is non-recurring. The foreign issuer, underwriter, or brokerdealer can redraft an existing prospectus or other written offering material to add this disclosure statement, or may draft a sticker or supplement containing this disclosure to be added to existing offering materials. In either case, based on discussions with representatives of the Canadian fund industry, the staff estimates that it would take an average of 10 minutes per document to draft the requisite disclosure statement. The Commission understands that there are approximately 2,412 Canadian issuers other than funds that may rely on rule 237 to make an initial public offering of their securities to CanadianU.S. Participants.4 The staff estimates (‘‘funds’’) that are not registered pursuant to the Investment Company Act of 1940 (‘‘Investment Company Act’’) is generally prohibited by U.S. securities laws. 15 U.S.C. 80a. 2 See Offer and Sale of Securities to Canadian Tax-Deferred Retirement Savings Accounts, Release Nos. 33–7860, 34–42905, IC–24491 (June 7, 2000) [65 FR 37672 (June 15, 2000)]. This rulemaking also included new rule 7d–2 under the Investment Company Act, permitting foreign funds to offer securities to Canadian-U.S. Participants and sell securities to Canadian retirement accounts without registering as investment companies under the Investment Company Act. 17 CFR 270.7d–2. 3 17 CFR 230.237. 4 This estimate is based on the following calculation: 2,322 equity issuers + 90 bond issuers = 2,412 total issuers (as of Dec. 2018). See The MiG Report, Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange (Dec. 2018) (providing number of equity and bond issuers on the Toronto Exchange). E:\FR\FM\13AUN1.SGM 13AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40112-40113]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17236]


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

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-026, OMB Control No. 3235-0033]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 
20549-2736

Extension:
    Rule 17a-3

    Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (``PRA'') (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the existing 
collection of information provided for in Rule 17a-3 (17 CFR 240.17a-
3), under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.). 
The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information 
to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for extension and 
approval.
    Rule 17a-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 establishes 
minimum standards with respect to business records that broker-dealers 
registered with the Commission must make and keep current. These 
records are maintained by the broker-dealer (in accordance with a 
separate rule), so they can be used by the broker-dealer and reviewed 
by Commission examiners, as well as other regulatory authority 
examiners, during inspections of the broker-dealer.
    The collections of information included in Rule 17a-3 are necessary 
to provide Commission, self-regulatory organization (``SRO'') and state 
examiners to conduct effective and efficient examinations to determine 
whether broker-dealers are complying with relevant laws, rules, and 
regulations. If broker-dealers were not required to create these 
baseline, standardized records, Commission, SRO and state examiners 
could be unable to determine whether broker-dealers are in compliance 
with the Commission's antifraud and anti-manipulation rules, financial 
responsibility program, and other Commission, SRO, and State laws, 
rules, and regulations.
    As of December 31, 2018 there were 3,764 broker-dealers registered 
with the Commission. The Commission estimates that these broker-dealer 
respondents incur a total burden of 2,893,773 hours per year to comply 
with Rule 17a-3.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ On June 5, 2019, the Commission adopted Rule 151-1 under the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 establishing a standard of conduct 
for broker-dealers and natural persons who are associated persons of 
a broker-dealer when making a recommendation of any securities. See 
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 86031 (Jun. 5, 2019), 84 FR 
33318 (Jul. 12, 2019). At the same time, the Commission adopted 
Exchange Act Rule 17a-14 (CFR 240.17a-14) and Form CRS (17 CFR 
249.640) under the Exchange Act. See Form CRS Relationship Summary; 
Amendments to Form ADV Exchange Act Release No. 86032, Advisers Act 
Release No. 5247, File No. S7-08-18 (June 5, 2019), 84 FR 33492 
(July 12, 2019). As part of new Rule 17a-14 and Form CRS, and 
Regulation Best Interest, the Commission amended Rule 17a-3 by 
adding new paragraphs (a)(24) and (a)(35). The collections of 
information and the related burdens associated with these amendments 
have been separately noticed for comment and are currently under 
review.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, Rule 17a-3 contains ongoing operation and maintenance 
costs for broker-dealers, including the cost of postage to provide 
customers

[[Page 40113]]

with account information, and costs for equipment and systems 
development. The Commission estimates that under Rule 17a-3(a)(17), 
approximately 45,633,482 customers will need to be provided with 
information regarding their account on a yearly basis. The Commission 
estimates that the postage costs associated with providing those 
customers with copies of their account record information would be 
approximately $16,321,719 per year (45,633,482 x $0.35).\2\ The staff 
estimates that broker-dealers establishing liquidity, credit, and 
market risk management controls pursuant to Rule 17a-3(a)(23) incur 
one-time startup costs of $912,000, or $304,000 amortized over a three-
year approval period, to hire outside counsel to review the controls. 
The staff further estimates that the ongoing equipment and systems 
development costs relating to Rule 17a-3 for the industry would be 
about $37,446,686 per year. Consequently, the total cost burden 
associated with Rule 17a-3 would be approximately $54,072,405 per year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Estimates of postage costs are derived from past 
conversations with industry representatives and have been adjusted 
to account for inflation and increases in postage costs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Commission, including whether the information 
shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's 
estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted in 
writing within 60 days of this publication.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information under the PRA unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    Please direct your written comments to: Charles Riddle, Acting 
Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, 
c/o Candace Kenner, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or send an 
email to: [email protected].

    Dated: August 7, 2019.
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-17236 Filed 8-12-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.