[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 53 (Friday, March 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15002-15003]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6313]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: U.S. Securities and 
Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, 
Washington, DC 20549-0213.
Extension:
    Rule 611; SEC File No. 270-540; OMB Control No. 3235-0600.

    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'') is soliciting comments on the collection of 
information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit this 
existing collection of information to the Office of Management and 
Budget for extension and approval for Rule 611 (17 CFR 242.611)--Order 
Protection Rule.
    On June 9, 2005, effective August 29, 2005 (see 70 FR 37496, June 
29, 2005), the Commission adopted Rule 611 of Regulation NMS under the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et

[[Page 15003]]

seq.) to require any national securities exchange, national securities 
association, alternative trading system, exchange market maker, over-
the-counter market maker and any other broker-dealer that executes 
orders internally by trading as principal or crossing orders as agent, 
to establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures 
reasonably designed to prevent the execution of a transaction in its 
market at a price that is inferior to a bid or offer displayed in 
another market at the time of execution (a ``trade-though''), absent an 
applicable exception and, if relying on an exception, that are 
reasonably designed to assure compliance with the terms of the 
exception. Without this collection of information, respondents would 
not have a means to enforce compliance with the Commission's intention 
to prevent trade-throughs pursuant to the rule.
    There are approximately 658 respondents \1\ per year that will 
require an aggregate total of 39,480 hours to comply with this rule.\2\ 
It is anticipated that each respondent will continue to expend 
approximately 60 hours annually: two hours per month of internal legal 
time and three hours per month of internal compliance time to ensure 
that its written policies and procedures are up-to-date and remain in 
compliance with Rule 611. The estimated cost for an in-house attorney 
is $354 per hour and the estimated cost for an assistant compliance 
director in the securities industry is $320 per hour. Therefore the 
estimated total cost of compliance for the annual hour burden is as 
follows: [(2 legal hours x 12 months x $354) x 658] + [(3 compliance 
hours x 12 months x $320) x 658] = $13,170,528.\3\ There are no longer 
start-up costs associated with Rule 611.
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    \1\ This estimate includes thirteen national securities 
exchanges and one national securities association that trade NMS 
stocks. The estimate also includes the approximately 601 firms that 
were registered equity market makers or specialists at year-end 
2009, as well as 43 alternative trading systems that operate trading 
systems that trade NMS stocks.
    \2\ The one-time hour burden associated with developing the 
required policies and procedures is no longer applicable.
    \3\ The total cost of compliance for the annual hour burden has 
been revised to reflect updated estimated cost figures for an in-
house attorney and an assistant compliance director. These figures 
are from SIFMA's Management & Professional Earnings in the 
Securities Industry 2010, modified by Commission staff to account 
for an 1800-hour work-year and multiplied by 5.35 to account for 
bonuses, firm size, employee benefits and overhead.
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    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Commission, including whether the information 
shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's 
estimates of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted in 
writing within 60 days of this publication.
    The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No 
person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a 
collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a 
valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
    Please direct your written comments to: Thomas Bayer, Chief 
Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi 
Pavlik-Simon, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312 or 
send an e-mail to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dc8c8e9d8391bdb5b0beb3a49cafb9bff2bbb3aa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0d5d5f4c52406c64616f62754d7e686e236a627b">[email protected]</span></a>.

     Dated: March 14, 2011.
Cathy H. Ahn,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-6313 Filed 3-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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