Title 12—Banks and Banking--Volume 1
PART 341—REGISTRATION OF SECURITIES TRANSFER AGENTS
§ 341.1   Scope.
This part is issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC) under sections 2, 3(a)(34)(B), 17, 17A and 23(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Act), as amended (15 U.S.C. 78b, 78c(a)(34)(B), 78q, 78q-1 and 78w(a)) and applies to all insured State nonmember banks, insured State savings associations, or subsidiaries of such institutions, that act as transfer agents for securities registered under section 12 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78 l ), or for securities exempt from registration under subsections (g)(2)(B) or (g)(2)(G) of section 12 (15 U.S.C. 78 1 (g)(2)(B) and (G)) (securities of investment companies, including mutual funds, and certain insurance companies). Such securities are qualifying securities for purposes of this part.
§ 341.2   Definitions.
For the purpose of this part, including all forms and instructions promulgated for use in connection herewith, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) The term transfer agent means any person who engages on behalf of an issuer of qualifying securities or on behalf of itself as an issuer of qualifying securities in: (1) Countersigning such securities upon issuance;
(2) Monitoring the issuance of such securities with a view to preventing unauthorized issuance, a function commonly performed by a person called a registrar;
(3) Registering the transfer of such securities;
(4) Exchanging or converting such securities; or
(5) Transferring record ownership of securities by bookkeeping entry without physical issuance of such securities certificates. The term transfer agent includes any person who performs these functions as a co-transfer agent with respect to equity or debt issues, and any person who performs these functions as registrar or co-registrar with respect to debt issued by corporations.
The following examples are illustrative of the kinds of activities engaged in by transfer agents under this part.
1. A transfer agent of stock or shares in a mutual fund maintains the records of shareholders and transfers stock from one shareholder to another by cancellation of the surrendered certificates and issuance of new certificates in the name of the new shareholder. A co-transfer agent also performs these functions.
2. A registrar of stock or shares in a mutual fund monitors the issuance of such securities to prevent over-issuance of shares, affixing its signature of each stock certificate issued to signify its authorized issuance. A co-registrar also performs these functions.
3. A registrar of corporate debt securities maintains the records of ownership of registered bonds; makes changes in such records; issues, transfers, and exchanges such certificates; and monitors the securities to prevent over-issuance of certificates. A co-registrar also performs these functions.
(b) The term Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
(c) The acronym ARA means the appropriate regulatory agency, as defined in section 3(a)(34)(B) of the Act.
(d) The phrase Federal bank regulators means the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
(e) The term Form TA-1 means the form and any attachments to that form, whether filed as a registration or an amendment to a registration.
(f) The term registrant means the entity on whose behalf Form TA-1 is filed.
(g) The acronym SEC means the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(h) The term covered institution means an insured State nonmember bank, an insured State savings association, and any subsidiary of such institutions.
(i) The term qualifying securities means:
(1) Securities registered on a national securities exchange (15 U.S.C. 78 l (b)); or
(2) Securities required to be registered under section 12(g)(1) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78 l (g)(1)), except for securities exempted from registration with the SEC by section 12(g)(2) (C, D, E, F, and H) of the Act.
§ 341.3   Registration as securities transfer agent.
(a) Requirement for registration. Any covered institution that performs any of the functions of a transfer agent as described in § 341.2(a) with respect to qualifying securities shall register with the FDIC in the manner indicated in this section.
(b) Application to register as transfer agent. An application for registration under section 17A(c) of the Act, of a transfer agent for which the FDIC is the appropriate regulatory agency, as defined in section 3(a)(34)(B)(iii) of the Act, shall be filed with the FDIC at its Washington, DC headquarters on Form TA-1, in accordance with the instructions contained therein.
(c) Effective date of registration. Registration shall become effective 30 days after the date an application on Form TA-1 is filed unless the FDIC accelerates, denies, or postpones such registration in accordance with section 17A(c) of the Act. The effective date of such registration may be postponed by order for a period not to exceed 15 days. Postponement of registration for more than 15 days shall be after notice and opportunity for hearing. Form TA-1 may be completed electronically and is available from the FDIC at www.fdic.gov or the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council at www.ffiec.gov, or upon request, from the Director, Division of Risk Management Supervision (RMS), FDIC, Washington, DC 20429.
§ 341.4   Amendments to registration.
(a) Within 60 calendar days following the date which any information reported on Form TA-1 becomes inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete, the registrant shall file an amendment on Form TA-1 correcting the inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete information.
(b) The filing of an amendment to an application for registration as a transfer agent under § 341.3, which registration has not become effective, shall postpone the effective date of the registration for 30 days following the date on which the amendment is filed unless the FDIC accelerates, denies, or postpones the registration in accordance with section 17A(c) of the Act.
§ 341.5   Withdrawal from registration.
(a) Notice of withdrawal from registration. Any transfer agent registered under this part that ceases to engage in the functions of a transfer agent as defined in § 341.2(a) shall file a written notice of withdrawal from registration with the FDIC. A registered transfer agent that ceases to engage in one or more of the functions of transfer agent as defined in § 341.2(a), but continues to engage in another such function, shall not withdraw from registration.
(b) A notice of withdrawal shall be filed with the FDIC at its Washington, DC headquarters. Deregistration shall be effective upon receipt of notice of withdrawal by the FDIC. 

A Request for Deregistration form is available electronically from www.fdic.gov or by request from the Director, Division of Risk Management Supervision (RMS), FDIC, Washington, DC 20429.
(c) If the FDIC finds that any registered transfer agent for which it is the ARA, is no longer in existence or has ceased to do business as a transfer agent, FDIC shall cancel or deny the registration by order of the Board of Directors.
(d) Registration of a transfer agent with another ARA shall cancel registration of the transfer agent with FDIC.
§ 341.6   Reports.
Every registration or amendment filed under this section shall constitute a report or application within the meaning or sections 17, 17A(c), and 32(a) of the Act.