Technical Correction to PTE 2016-10, Exemption From Certain Prohibited Transaction Restrictions: Royal Bank of Canada (Together With Its Current and Future Affiliates, RBC or the Applicant), 85931-85932 [2023-27084]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 236 / Monday, December 11, 2023 / Notices
policies of a person other than an
individual.
(f) The term ‘‘Rating Agency’’ or
collectively, ‘‘Rating Agencies’’ means a
credit rating agency that:
(1) Is currently recognized by the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(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 certain underwriter
exemptions (the Underwriter
Exemptions).8
(g) The term ‘‘Applicable Class
Exemption’’ means PTE 75–1, Part III;
PTE 75–1, Part IV; PTE 77–3; PTE 77–
4; PTE 79–13; PTE 86–128; or PTE
2002–12.
Applicability Date: This exemption
will be in effect on the date that this
grant notice is published in the Federal
Register.
Signed at Washington, DC.
George Christopher Cosby,
Director, Office of Exemption Determinations,
Employee Benefits Security Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2023–27082 Filed 12–8–23; 8:45 am]
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P
8 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 2012–08, 78 FR 41090 (July
9, 2013); Exemption Application No. D–11718].
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security
Administration
Technical Correction to PTE 2016–10,
Exemption From Certain Prohibited
Transaction Restrictions: Royal Bank
of Canada (Together With Its Current
and Future Affiliates, RBC or the
Applicant)
Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice of technical correction.
AGENCY:
This document makes a
technical correction to Prohibited
Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2016–10
granted to the Royal Bank of Canada (D–
11868) on October 28, 2016.
DATES:
Issuance date: These technical
corrections are issued on December 11,
2023 without further action or notice.
Exemption Date: PTE 2016–10 will
remain in effect for the period beginning
on the Conviction Date (as corrected
herein) until the earlier of: (1) the date
that is twelve months following the
Conviction Date; or (2) the effective date
of a final agency action made by the
Department in connection with an
application for long-term exemptive
relief for the covered transactions
described in PTE 2016–10.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Joseph Brennan of the Department,
telephone (202) 693–8456. (This is not
a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Background
On October 28, 2016, the Department
published PTE 2016–10 in the Federal
Register.1 PTE 2016–10 is a temporary
administrative exemption that permits
certain entities (the RBC Qualified
Professional Asset Managers (QPAMs))
with specified relationships to Royal
Bank of Canada (Bahamas) Limited
(RBCTC Bahamas) to continue to rely
upon the relief provided by the
Department’s QPAM Exemption 2 for a
one-year period, notwithstanding a
potential judgment of conviction against
RBCTC Bahamas for aiding and abetting
tax fraud.3
1 81
FR 75147 (October 28, 2016).
84–14 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), hereinafter
referred to as PTE 84–14 or the QPAM exemption.
3 Section I(g) of PTE 84–14 prevents an entity that
may otherwise meet the definition of a 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 five percent or more interest in the QPAM has
2 PTE
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
85931
The Department granted PTE 2016–10
to protect Covered Plans 4 from the harm
that may arise if and when RBCTC were
convicted in the District Court of Paris.5
Therefore, PTE 2016–10, as initially
granted, defined the term ‘‘Conviction’’
as ‘‘the potential judgment of conviction
against RBCTC Bahamas for aiding and
abetting tax fraud to be entered in
France in the District Court of Paris,
French Special Prosecutor No.
1120392066, French Investigative Judge
No. JIRSIF/11/12.’’
In January 2017, the trial court in
France acquitted RBCTC of the aiding
and abetting the tax fraud charge, so the
exemptive relief provided in PTE 2016–
01 was unnecessary. However, RBCTC
recently informed the Department that
the French prosecutor has appealed the
lower court’s acquittal and the case is
now being heard de novo as a new trial
by a French appellate court. According
to RBCTC, the alleged crime, the parties,
and the case numbers remain the same
as the District Court of Paris case that is
defined as the ‘‘Conviction’’ in PTE
2016–01. RBCTC has requested
confirmation from the Department that
the relief provided in PTE 2016–10
would be available for one year, if
RBCTC were ultimately convicted by
the French appellate court.
As noted above, PTE 2016–10 is
intended to protect Covered Plans from
harm if RBCTC were convicted for the
alleged crime in France. This same harm
would arise whether RBCTC is
convicted for the same crime, stemming
from the same conduct, in a French
appellate court or ‘‘the District Court of
Paris.’’ Therefore, to ensure that
Covered Plans are protected from any
harm that would arise from the
appellate court’s conviction of RBCTC,
the Department is revising the definition
of ‘‘Conviction’’ in PTE 2016–10 to refer
to ‘‘the potential judgment of conviction
against RBCTC Bahamas for aiding and
abetting tax fraud to be entered in
France in the Court of Appeal, French
within 10 years immediately preceding the
transaction, been either convicted or released from
imprisonment, whichever is later, as a result of
criminal activity described in that section.
4 A ‘‘Covered Plan’’ is a plan subject to part 4 of
title 1 of ERISA (‘‘ERISA-covered plan’’) or a plan
subject to Section 4975 of the Code (‘‘IRA’’), with
respect to which an RBC QPAM relies on PTE 84–
14, or with respect to which an RBC QPAM (or any
RBC affiliate) has expressly represented that the
manager qualifies as a QPAM or relies on the
QPAM class exemption. A Covered Plan does not
include an ERISA-covered Plan or IRA to the extent
the RBC QPAM has expressly disclaimed reliance
on QPAM status or PTE 84–14 in entering into its
contract, arrangement, or agreement with the
ERISA-covered plan or IRA.
5 RBC’s exemption request (D–11868) is available
by contacting EBSA’s Public Disclosure Room at
(202) 693–8673.
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85932
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 236 / Monday, December 11, 2023 / Notices
Special Prosecutor No. 1120392066,
French Investigative Judge No. JIRSIF/
11/12 or another court of competent
jurisdiction.’’
RBC represents to the Department that
to the best of RBC’s knowledge, there
have been no material changes since
September 2, 2015, the date of RBC’s
application for PTE 2016–10, that are
relevant to that application or the
technical corrections set forth herein,
other than changes in RBC’s number of
clients and assets under management
RBC makes these representations with
the caveat that, as a large global
financial institution, it has been subject
to a variety of legal proceedings,
including civil claims and lawsuits,
regulatory examinations, investigations,
audits, and requests for information. To
the best of its knowledge at this time,
however, RBC does not believe that the
outcome of any current investigation or
other such proceeding would cause the
exemption to be unavailable. Moreover,
no affiliate of RBC has been convicted
of any crime described in section I(g) of
the QPAM Exemption and, to the best
of RBC’s knowledge, neither RBC nor
any affiliate has entered into a deferred
prosecution or non-prosecution
agreement since September 2, 2015.
The Department notes that it is
making this technical correction based
upon RBC’s certified representation that
since September 2, 2015: (1) there have
in fact been no material changes other
than those changes noted above; (2) no
affiliate of RBC has been convicted of
any crime described in section I(g) of
the QPAM Exemption, other than the
conviction covered under PTE 2016–10;
and (3) neither RBC nor any affiliate of
RBC has entered into a deferred
prosecution or non-prosecution
agreement. If, at any time, RBC
discovers any of these representations is
no longer true, RBC must immediately
contact the Department and submit a
written statement that provides the
Department with the complete details
on the circumstances discovered.
The Department is not taking a
position regarding whether the outcome
of any proceedings will cause the
exemption to be unavailable and also
notes that the availability of PTE 2016–
10 is conditioned upon RBC’s
compliance with all of the conditions
included therein, including the
condition that expressly states: ‘‘During
the effective period of this temporary
exemption, RBC: (1) Immediately
discloses to the Department any
Deferred Prosecution Agreement (a
DPA) or Non-Prosecution Agreement (an
NPA) that RBC or an affiliate enters into
with the U.S Department of Justice, to
the extent such DPA or NPA involves
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:35 Dec 08, 2023
Jkt 262001
conduct described in Section I(g) of PTE
84–14 or section 411 of ERISA.’’ As
noted in the preceding paragraph, if
RBC discovers that RBC or any RBC
affiliate has entered into a DPA or NPA
at any time since September 2, 2015,
RBC must inform the Department
promptly upon RBC or its affiliates’
discovery of such fact.
Technical Correction
Section II(a) of PTE 2016–10 is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) The term ‘‘Conviction’’ means the
potential judgment of conviction against
RBCTC Bahamas for aiding and abetting tax
fraud to be entered in France in the Court of
Appeal, French Special Prosecutor No.
1120392066, French Investigative Judge No.
JIRSIF/11/12 or another court of competent
jurisdiction’’
Signed at Washington, DC, this 5th day of
December 2023.
George Christopher Cosby,
Director, Office of Exemption Determinations
Employee Benefits Security Administration
U.S. Department of Labor.
The Board is comprised of the
following Administrative Judges:
Michael M. Gibson, Chair, Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board Panel,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001
Nicholas G. Trikouros, Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board Panel, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001
Dr. Gary S. Arnold, Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001
All correspondence, documents, and
other materials shall be filed in
accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule.
See 10 CFR 2.302.
Rockville, Maryland.
Dated: December 5, 2023.
Edward R. Hawkens,
Chief Administrative Judge, Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board Panel.
[FR Doc. 2023–27041 Filed 12–8–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
[FR Doc. 2023–27084 Filed 12–8–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2023–0072]
[Docket No. 50–440–LR; ASLBP No. 24–
982–01–LR–BD01]
Establishment of Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board (Amended); 1 Energy
Harbor Nuclear Corp.
Pursuant to the Commission’s
regulations, see, e.g., 10 CFR 2.104,
2.105, 2.300, 2.309, 2.313, 2.318, 2.321,
notice is hereby given that an Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board (Board) is
being established to preside over the
following proceeding:
Energy Harbor Nuclear Corp. (Perry
Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1)
This proceeding involves an
application seeking a twenty-year
license renewal of Facility Operating
License NPF–58 to authorize Energy
Harbor Nuclear Corp. to operate Perry
Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 until
November 7, 2046. In response to a
notice published in the Federal Register
announcing the opportunity to request a
hearing, see 88 FR 67373 (Sept. 29,
2023), a hearing request was filed on
November 28, 2023, on behalf of Ohio
Nuclear-Free Network and Beyond
Nuclear.
1 This Board Establishment Notice amends the
December 4, 2023 Board Establishment Notice to
correct the spelling of Judge Nicholas G. Trikouros’
name.
PO 00000
Frm 00067
Fmt 4703
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Information Collection: Grants and
Cooperative Agreement Provisions
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
AGENCY:
Notice of submission to the
Office of Management and Budget;
request for comment.
ACTION:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has recently
submitted a request for renewal of an
existing collection of information to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review. The information
collection is entitled, ‘‘Grants and
Cooperative Agreement Provisions.’’
SUMMARY:
Submit comments by January 10,
2024. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do
so, but the Commission is able to ensure
consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
DATES:
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under Review—
Open for Public Comments’’ or by using
the search function.
ADDRESSES:
E:\FR\FM\11DEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 236 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85931-85932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27084]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Technical Correction to PTE 2016-10, Exemption From Certain
Prohibited Transaction Restrictions: Royal Bank of Canada (Together
With Its Current and Future Affiliates, RBC or the Applicant)
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice of technical correction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document makes a technical correction to Prohibited
Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2016-10 granted to the Royal Bank of Canada
(D-11868) on October 28, 2016.
DATES:
Issuance date: These technical corrections are issued on December
11, 2023 without further action or notice.
Exemption Date: PTE 2016-10 will remain in effect for the period
beginning on the Conviction Date (as corrected herein) until the
earlier of: (1) the date that is twelve months following the Conviction
Date; or (2) the effective date of a final agency action made by the
Department in connection with an application for long-term exemptive
relief for the covered transactions described in PTE 2016-10.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Joseph Brennan of the Department,
telephone (202) 693-8456. (This is not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 28, 2016, the Department published PTE 2016-10 in the
Federal Register.\1\ PTE 2016-10 is a temporary administrative
exemption that permits certain entities (the RBC Qualified Professional
Asset Managers (QPAMs)) with specified relationships to Royal Bank of
Canada (Bahamas) Limited (RBCTC Bahamas) to continue to rely upon the
relief provided by the Department's QPAM Exemption \2\ for a one-year
period, notwithstanding a potential judgment of conviction against
RBCTC Bahamas for aiding and abetting tax fraud.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 81 FR 75147 (October 28, 2016).
\2\ PTE 84-14 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), hereinafter
referred to as PTE 84-14 or the QPAM exemption.
\3\ Section I(g) of PTE 84-14 prevents an entity that may
otherwise meet the definition of a 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 five 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 criminal activity described in that section.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Department granted PTE 2016-10 to protect Covered Plans \4\
from the harm that may arise if and when RBCTC were convicted in the
District Court of Paris.\5\ Therefore, PTE 2016-10, as initially
granted, defined the term ``Conviction'' as ``the potential judgment of
conviction against RBCTC Bahamas for aiding and abetting tax fraud to
be entered in France in the District Court of Paris, French Special
Prosecutor No. 1120392066, French Investigative Judge No. JIRSIF/11/
12.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ A ``Covered Plan'' is a plan subject to part 4 of title 1 of
ERISA (``ERISA-covered plan'') or a plan subject to Section 4975 of
the Code (``IRA''), with respect to which an RBC QPAM relies on PTE
84-14, or with respect to which an RBC QPAM (or any RBC affiliate)
has expressly represented that the manager qualifies as a QPAM or
relies on the QPAM class exemption. A Covered Plan does not include
an ERISA-covered Plan or IRA to the extent the RBC QPAM has
expressly disclaimed reliance on QPAM status or PTE 84-14 in
entering into its contract, arrangement, or agreement with the
ERISA-covered plan or IRA.
\5\ RBC's exemption request (D-11868) is available by contacting
EBSA's Public Disclosure Room at (202) 693-8673.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In January 2017, the trial court in France acquitted RBCTC of the
aiding and abetting the tax fraud charge, so the exemptive relief
provided in PTE 2016-01 was unnecessary. However, RBCTC recently
informed the Department that the French prosecutor has appealed the
lower court's acquittal and the case is now being heard de novo as a
new trial by a French appellate court. According to RBCTC, the alleged
crime, the parties, and the case numbers remain the same as the
District Court of Paris case that is defined as the ``Conviction'' in
PTE 2016-01. RBCTC has requested confirmation from the Department that
the relief provided in PTE 2016-10 would be available for one year, if
RBCTC were ultimately convicted by the French appellate court.
As noted above, PTE 2016-10 is intended to protect Covered Plans
from harm if RBCTC were convicted for the alleged crime in France. This
same harm would arise whether RBCTC is convicted for the same crime,
stemming from the same conduct, in a French appellate court or ``the
District Court of Paris.'' Therefore, to ensure that Covered Plans are
protected from any harm that would arise from the appellate court's
conviction of RBCTC, the Department is revising the definition of
``Conviction'' in PTE 2016-10 to refer to ``the potential judgment of
conviction against RBCTC Bahamas for aiding and abetting tax fraud to
be entered in France in the Court of Appeal, French
[[Page 85932]]
Special Prosecutor No. 1120392066, French Investigative Judge No.
JIRSIF/11/12 or another court of competent jurisdiction.''
RBC represents to the Department that to the best of RBC's
knowledge, there have been no material changes since September 2, 2015,
the date of RBC's application for PTE 2016-10, that are relevant to
that application or the technical corrections set forth herein, other
than changes in RBC's number of clients and assets under management RBC
makes these representations with the caveat that, as a large global
financial institution, it has been subject to a variety of legal
proceedings, including civil claims and lawsuits, regulatory
examinations, investigations, audits, and requests for information. To
the best of its knowledge at this time, however, RBC does not believe
that the outcome of any current investigation or other such proceeding
would cause the exemption to be unavailable. Moreover, no affiliate of
RBC has been convicted of any crime described in section I(g) of the
QPAM Exemption and, to the best of RBC's knowledge, neither RBC nor any
affiliate has entered into a deferred prosecution or non-prosecution
agreement since September 2, 2015.
The Department notes that it is making this technical correction
based upon RBC's certified representation that since September 2, 2015:
(1) there have in fact been no material changes other than those
changes noted above; (2) no affiliate of RBC has been convicted of any
crime described in section I(g) of the QPAM Exemption, other than the
conviction covered under PTE 2016-10; and (3) neither RBC nor any
affiliate of RBC has entered into a deferred prosecution or non-
prosecution agreement. If, at any time, RBC discovers any of these
representations is no longer true, RBC must immediately contact the
Department and submit a written statement that provides the Department
with the complete details on the circumstances discovered.
The Department is not taking a position regarding whether the
outcome of any proceedings will cause the exemption to be unavailable
and also notes that the availability of PTE 2016-10 is conditioned upon
RBC's compliance with all of the conditions included therein, including
the condition that expressly states: ``During the effective period of
this temporary exemption, RBC: (1) Immediately discloses to the
Department any Deferred Prosecution Agreement (a DPA) or Non-
Prosecution Agreement (an NPA) that RBC or an affiliate enters into
with the U.S Department of Justice, to the extent such DPA or NPA
involves conduct described in Section I(g) of PTE 84-14 or section 411
of ERISA.'' As noted in the preceding paragraph, if RBC discovers that
RBC or any RBC affiliate has entered into a DPA or NPA at any time
since September 2, 2015, RBC must inform the Department promptly upon
RBC or its affiliates' discovery of such fact.
Technical Correction
Section II(a) of PTE 2016-10 is amended to read as follows:
``(a) The term ``Conviction'' means the potential judgment of
conviction against RBCTC Bahamas for aiding and abetting tax fraud
to be entered in France in the Court of Appeal, French Special
Prosecutor No. 1120392066, French Investigative Judge No. JIRSIF/11/
12 or another court of competent jurisdiction''
Signed at Washington, DC, this 5th day of December 2023.
George Christopher Cosby,
Director, Office of Exemption Determinations Employee Benefits Security
Administration U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2023-27084 Filed 12-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
