Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 51 / Wednesday, March 15, 2000 / Notices 13999

Further information regarding topics

to be discussed, the scheduling of

sessions open to the public, whether the

meeting has been canceled or

rescheduled, the Chairman’s ruling on

requests for the opportunity to present

oral statements, and the time allotted

therefor can be obtained by contacting

the cognizant ACRS staff person, Dr.

John T. Larkins (telephone: 301/415–

7360) between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.

(EST). Persons planning to attend this

meeting are urged to contact the above

named individual one or two working

days prior to the meeting to be advised

of any changes in schedule, etc., that

may have occurred.

Dated: March 9, 2000.

Howard J. Larson,

Acting Associate Director for Technical

Support, ACRS/ACNW.

[FR Doc. 00–6337 Filed 3–14–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Sunshine Act Meeting

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETING: Nuclear

Regulatory Commission.

DATE: Weeks of March 13, 20, 27, April

3, 10, and 17, 2000.

PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference

Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,

Maryland.

STATUS: Public and Closed.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

Week of March 13

There are no meetings scheduled for the

Week of March 13.

Week of March 20—Tentative

Wednesday, March 22

9:25 a.m. Affirmative Session (Public

Meeting) (if needed).

Friday, March 24

9:30 a.m. Briefing on Evaluation of the

Requirement for Licensee to Update Their

Inservice Inspection and Inservice Testing

Program Every 120 Months (Public Meeting)

(Contact: Tom Scarbrough, 301–415–2794).

Week of March 27—Tentative

Thursday, March 30

8:55 a.m. Affirmation/Discussion and

Vote (Public Meeting) (If needed).

9:00 a.m. Briefing on EEO Program

(Public Meeting) (Contact: Irene Little, 301–

415–7380).

Friday, March 31

9:30 a.m. Briefing on Risk-Informed

Regulation Implementation Plan (Public

Meeting) (Contact: Tom King, 301–415–

5790).

Week of April 3—Tentative

There are no meetings scheduled for the

Week of April 3.

Week of April 10—Tentative

There are not meetings scheduled for the

Week of April 10.

Week of April 17—Tentative

There are no meetings scheduled for the

Week of April 17.

*The schedule for Commission meetings is

subject to change on short notice. To verify

the status of meetings call (recording)—(301)

415–1292.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Bill Hill (301) 415–1661.

* * * * *

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: By a vote of 5–

0 on March 8, the Commission

determined pursuant to U.S.C. 552b(e)

and § 9.107(a) of the Commission’s rules

that ‘‘Discussion of the

Intragovernmental Issues’’ (Closed-Ex.

9) be held on March 8, and on less than

one week’s notice to the public.

The NRC Commission Meeting

Schedule can be found on the Internet

at:

http://www.nrc.gov/SECY/smj/

schedule.htm

This notice is distributed by mail to

several hundred subscribers; if you no

longer wish to receive it, or would like

to be added to it, please contact the

Office of the Secretary, Attn: Operations

Branch, Washington, D.C. 20555 (301–

415–1661). In addition, distribution of

this meeting notice over the Internet

system is available. If you are interested

in receiving this Commission meeting

schedule electronically, please send an

electronic message to wmh@nrc.gov or

dkw@nrc.gov.

Dated: March 10, 2000.

William M. Hill, Jr.,

SECY Tracking Officer, Office of the

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–6496 Filed 3–13–00; 11:10 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY

CORPORATION

Interest Assumption for Determining

Variable-Rate Premium; Interest

Assumptions for Multiemployer Plan

Valuations Following Mass Withdrawal

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of interest rates and

assumptions.

SUMMARY: This notice informs the public

of the interest rates and assumptions to

be used under certain Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation regulations. These

rates and assumptions are published

elsewhere (or are derivable from rates

published elsewhere), but are collected

and published in this notice for the

convenience of the public. Interest rates

are also published on the PBGC’s web

site (http://www.pbgc.gov).

DATES: The interest rate for determining

the variable-rate premium under part

4006 applies to premium payment years

beginning in March 2000. The interest

assumptions for performing

multiemployer plan valuations

following mass withdrawal under part

4281 apply to valuation dates occurring

in April 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General

Counsel, Office of the General Counsel,

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation,

1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC

20005, 202–326–4024. (For TTY/TDD

users, call the Federal relay service tollfree at 1–800–877–8339 and ask to be

connected to 202–326–4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Variable-Rate Premiums

Section 4006(a)(3)(E)(iii)(II) of the

Employee Retirement Income Security

Act of 1974 (ERISA) and § 4006.4(b)(1)

of the PBGC’s regulation on Premium

Rates (29 CFR part 4006) prescribe use

of an assumed interest rate in

determining a single-employer plan’s

variable-rate premium. The rate is the

‘‘applicable percentage’’ (currently 85

percent) of the annual yield on 30-year

Treasury securities for the month

preceding the beginning of the plan year

for which premiums are being paid (the

‘‘premium payment year’’). The yield

figure is reported in Federal Reserve

Statistical Releases G.13 and H.15.

The assumed interest rate to be used

in determining variable-rate premiums

for premium payment years beginning

in March 2000 is 5.30 percent (i.e., 85

percent of the 6.23 percent yield figure

for February 2000).

The following table lists the assumed

interest rates to be used in determining

variable-rate premiums for premium

payment years beginning between April

1999 and March 2000.

For premium payment years

beginning in

The assumed

interest rate is

April 1999 ............................. 4.74

May 1999 .............................. 4.72

June 1999 ............................. 4.94

July 1999 .............................. 5.13

August 1999 ......................... 5.08

September 1999 ................... 5.16

October 1999 ........................ 5.16

November 1999 .................... 5.32

December 1999 .................... 5.23

January 2000 ........................ 5.40

February 2000 ...................... 5.64

14000 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 51 / Wednesday, March 15, 2000 / Notices

1Applicants also request that the relief apply to

future transactions in which a terminating

Common/Collective Fund for which Bank of

America Group, acting as trustee or in another

fiduciary capacity, transfers it assets to a registered

open-end management investment company

advised by BAAI, or Bank of America Group, which

investment company has 5% or more ot its

outstanding voting securities owned by a defined

benefit pension plan or other employee benefit

plans (qualified or non-qualified) sponsored by

Bank of America Group, or which employee benefit

plan sponsored by Bank of America Group has a 5%

or more participation in the terminating Common/

Collective Fund (‘‘Future Relief’’). Applicants state

that they will rely on the Future Relief only in

accordance with the terms and conditions in the

application.

2 In the CF Conversion, the assets of the following

Common/Collective Funds will be transferred to

designated series of the Nations Funds: BCA Retail

Fund, Equity Value Fund, Kansas Stock Fund,

Equity Index Fund, Managed Small Cap Fund,

International Equity Fund, and LargeCap Index

Fund.

For premium payment years

beginning in

The assumed

interest rate is

March 2000 ........................... 5.30

Multiemployer Plan Valuations

Following Mass Withdrawal

The PBGC’s regulation on Duties of

Plan Sponsor Following Mass

Withdrawal (29 CFR part 4281)

prescribes the use of interest

assumptions under the PBGC’s

regulation on Allocation of Assets in

Single-employer Plans (29 CFR part

4044). The interest assumptions

applicable to valuation dates in April

2000 under part 4044 are contained in

an amendment to part 4044 published

elsewhere in today’s Federal Register.

Tables showing the assumptions

applicable to prior periods are codified

in appendix B to 29 CFR part 4044.

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 3rd day

of March 2000.

David M. Strauss,

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 00–6313 Filed 3–14–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No.

24335; 812–11442]

Nations Fund Trust, et al.; Notice of

Application

March 9, 2000.

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’).

ACTION: Notice of an application under

sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Investment

Company Act of 1940 (‘‘Act’’) for an

exemption from section 17(a) of the Act.

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION:

Applicants request an order to permit

certain common trust funds and a

collective investment fund to transfer

their assets to certain series of registered

open-end management investment

companies in exchange for shares of the

series.

APPLICANTS: Nations Fund Trust,

Nations Fund, Inc., Nations Reserves,

Bank of America, N.A. (‘‘Bank of

America‘‘) and Banc of America

Advisors, Inc. (’’BAAI’’).

FILING DATES: The application was filed

on December 23, 1998, and amended on

December 23, 1999. Applicants have

agreed to file an amendment during the

notice period, the substance of which is

reflected in this notice.

HEARING OR NOTIFICATION OF HEARING: An

order granting the application will be

issued unless the SEC orders a hearing.

Interested persons may request a

hearing by writing to the SEC’s

Secretary and serving applicants with a

copy of the request, personally or by

mail. Hearing requests should be

received by the SEC by 5:30 p.m. on

March 30, 2000, and should be

accompanied by proof of service on

applicants in the form of an affidavit or,

for lawyers, a certificate of service.

Hearing requests should state the nature

of the writer’s interest, the reason for the

request, and the issues contested.

Persons who wish to be notified of a

hearing may request notification by

writing to the SEC’s Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, SEC, 450 Fifth

Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549–

0609. Applicants, One Bank of America

Plaza, 101 South Tryon Street,

Charlotte, NC 28255.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bruce R. MacNeil, Staff Attorney at

(202) 942–0634, or George J. Zornada,

Branch Chief at (202) 942–0564; Office

of Investment Company Regulation,

Division of Investment Management.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

following is a summary of the

application. The complete application

may be obtained for a fee at the SEC’s

Public Reference Branch, 450 Fifth

Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549–

0102 (tel. (202) 942–8090).

Applicants’ Representations

1. Nations Fund Trust, Nations Fund,

Inc., and Nations Reserves (the ‘‘Nations

Funds‘‘) are registered under the Act as

open-end management investment

companies. BAAI is an investment

adviser registered under the Investment

Advisers Act of 1940, and serves as the

investment adviser to each series of the

Nations Funds. BAAI is a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Bank of America, which is

in turn a wholly-owned subsidiary of

Bank of America Corporation (‘‘BAC‘‘),

a publicly-held bank holding company.

Certain employee benefit plans

maintained for the benefit of employees

of BAC and entities controlling,

controlled by, or under common control

with BAC (collectively, ‘‘Bank of

America Group‘‘) (the ‘‘Benefit Plans‘‘)

hold five percent or more of the

outstanding voting shares of certain

series of the Nations Funds.

2. Bank of America acts as trustee for

a number of common trust funds, as

defined in section 584(a) of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986, as amended

(‘‘Code’’) (the ‘‘CTFs’’). Bank of America

also acts as trustee for a collective

investment fund sponsored by Bank of

America as an investment vehicle for

employment benefit retirement plans

qualified under section 401 of the Code

(the ‘‘CIF,’’ and together with the CTFs,

the ‘‘Common/Collective Funds’’). The

CTFs and the CIF are excluded from the

definition of ‘‘investment company’’

under section 3(c)(3) and section

3(c)(11), respectively, of the Act.1

3. Applicants propose that

substantially all of the assets of each

Common/Collective Fund be transferred

in-kind to a designated series of the

Nations Funds in exchange for Primary

A Shares of that series, which will have

at the time of the transfer an aggregate

net asset value equal to the value of the

assets transferred by the corresponding

Common/Collective Fund (the ‘‘CF

Conversion’’).2 The investment

objectives and policies of each of the

Common/Collective Funds and its

corresponding series of the Nations

Funds are generally similar. The

Common/Collective Fund assets to be

transferred will be valued in accordance

with the provisions of rule 17a–7(b) and

the shares of the Nations Funds

exchanged in the CF conversion will be

credited to the account of each

participant in the Common/Collective

Funds (‘‘Participant’’), pro rata,

according to the Participant’s interest in

the relevant Common/Collective Fund

immediately prior to the CF Conversion.

Following the CF Conversion, the CTFs

will be terminated. The CIF may be

terminated following the conversion.

Applicants state that the CF Conversion

is expected to commence on or about

March 31, 2000. BAAI will pay all

expenses incurred in connection with

the CF Conversion.

Applicants’ Legal Analysis

1. Section 17(a) of the Act, in relevant

part, prohibits an affiliated person of a

registered investment company, or any