Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

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Federal RegisterJul 22, 2013
78 Fed. Reg. 43944 (Jul. 22, 2013)

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549-0213.

Extension: Rule 302.

SEC File No. 270-453, OMB Control No. 3235-0510.

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”) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) a request for approval of extension of the previously approved collection of information provided for in Rule 302 (17 CFR 242.302) of Regulation ATS (17 CFR 242.300 et seq.) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.).

Regulation ATS sets forth a regulatory regime for “alternative trading systems” (“ATSs”), which are entities that carry out exchange functions but which are not required to register as national securities exchanges under the Act. In lieu of exchange registration, an ATS can instead opt to register with the Commission as a broker-dealer and, as a condition to not having to register as an exchange, must instead comply with Regulation ATS. Rule 302 of Regulation ATS (17 CFR 242.302) describes the recordkeeping requirements for ATSs. Under Rule 302, ATSs are required to make a record of subscribers to the ATS, daily summaries of trading in the ATS, and time-sequenced records of order information in the ATS.

The information required to be collected under Rule 302 should increase the abilities of the Commission, state securities regulatory authorities, and the self-regulatory organizations (“SROs”) to ensure that ATSs are in compliance with Regulation ATS as well as other applicable rules and regulations. If the information is not collected or collected less frequently, the regulators would be limited in their ability to comply with their statutory obligations, provide for the protection of investors, and promote the maintenance of fair and orderly markets.

Respondents consist of ATSs that choose to register as broker-dealers and comply with the requirements of Regulation ATS. There are currently 92 respondents. These respondents will spend approximately 11,960 hours per year (92 respondents at 130 burden hours/respondent) to comply with the recordkeeping requirements of Rule 302. At an average cost per burden hour of $63, the resultant total related cost of compliance for these respondents is $753,480 per year (11,960 burden hours multiplied by $63/hour).

Compliance with Rule 302 is mandatory. The information required by Rule 302 is available only for the examination of the Commission staff, state securities authorities, and the SROs. Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 522 (“FOIA”), and the Commission's rules thereunder (17 CFR 200.80(b)(4)(iii)), the Commission does not generally publish or make available information contained in any reports, summaries, analyses, letters, or memoranda arising out of, in anticipation of, or in connection with an examination or inspection of the books and records of any person or any other investigation.

ATSs are required to preserve, for at least three years, any records made in the process of complying with the requirements set out in Rule 302.

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.

The public may view background documentation for this information collection at the following Web site: www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an email to: Shagufta_Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Thomas Bayer, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street, NE. Washington, DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must be submitted within 30 days of this notice.

Dated: July 16, 2013.

Kevin M. O'Neill,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2013-17473 Filed 7-19-13; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P