Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17Ad-4(b) & (c)

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

Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (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 17Ad-4(b) & (c) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) (“Exchange Act”).

Rule 17Ad-4(b) & (c) (17 CFR 240.17Ad-4) is used to document when transfer agents are exempt, or no longer exempt, from the minimum performance standards and certain recordkeeping provisions of the Commission's transfer agent rules. Pursuant to Rule 17Ad-4(b), if the Commission or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) is the appropriate regulatory agency (“ARA”) for an exempt transfer agent, that transfer agent is required to prepare and maintain in its possession a notice certifying that it is exempt from certain performance standards and recordkeeping and record retention provisions of the Commission's transfer agent rules. This notice need not be filed with the Commission or OCC. If the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Fed”) or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) is the transfer agent's ARA, that transfer agent must prepare a notice and file it with the Fed or FDIC.

Rule 17Ad-4(c) sets forth the conditions under which a registered transfer agent loses its exempt status. Once the conditions for exemption no longer exist, the transfer agent, to keep the appropriate ARA apprised of its current status, must prepare, and file if the ARA for the transfer agent is the Fed or the FDIC, a notice of loss of exempt status under paragraph (c). The transfer agent then cannot claim exempt status under Rule 17Ad-4(b) again until it remains subject to the minimum performance standards for non-exempt transfer agents for six consecutive months.

ARAs use the information contained in the notices required by Rules 17Ad-4(b) and 17Ad-4(c) to determine whether a registered transfer agent qualifies for the exemption, to determine when a registered transfer agent no longer qualifies for the exemption, and to determine the extent to which that transfer agent is subject to regulation.

The Commission estimates that approximately 10 registered transfer agents each year prepare or file notices in compliance with Rules 17Ad-4(b) and 17Ad-4(c). The Commission estimates that each such registered transfer agent spends approximately 1.5 hours to prepare or file such notices for an aggregate total annual burden of 15 hours (1.5 hours times 10 transfer agents). The Commission staff estimates that compliance staff work at registered transfer agents results in an internal cost of compliance, at an estimated hourly wage of $319, of $478.50 per year per transfer agent (1.5 hours × $319 per hour = $478.50 per year). Therefore, the aggregate annual internal cost of compliance for the approximate 10 transfer agents annually preparing or filing notices pursuant to Rules 17Ad-4(b) and 17Ad-4(c) is approximately $4,785 ($478.50 × 10 = $4,785). This reflects an increase in the aggregate annual internal cost of compliance of $540 due to the increase in the hourly wage of transfer agents from $283 to $319.

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 website: www.reginfo.gov. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice by December 5, 2024 to (i) www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or MBX.OMB.OIRA.SEC_desk_officer@omb.eop.gov, and (ii) Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

[FR Doc. 2024-25670 Filed 11-4-24; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P