Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2004 / Notices 5231

2The Commission has modified the text of the 

summaries prepared by NSCC.

3 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(D).

4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).

5 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).

6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

NSCC included statements concerning 

the purpose of and basis for the 

proposed rule change and discussed any 

comments it received on the proposed 

rule change. The text of these statements 

may be examined at the places specified 

in Item IV below. NSCC has prepared 

summaries, set forth in sections (A), (B), 

and (C) below, of the most significant 

aspects of these statements.2

(A) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

The purpose of the proposed rule 

change is to (i) adjust the fees NSCC 

charges for trade recording, (ii) establish 

fees for the Cost Basis Reporting 

Service, and (iii) eliminate Archival 

Microfiche fees. 

Pursuant to the proposed rule change, 

the fee for trade recording for each side 

of each stock, warrant, or other right 

entered for settlement has been reduced 

from $0.003 to $0.0025 per 100 shares 

with a minimum fee of $0.0075 and a 

maximum fee of $0.15 (reduced from 

$0.009 and $0.18, respectively). In 

addition, the fee for use of the Cost 

Basis Reporting Service, which had 

been operating on a pilot basis during 

which no fee was charged, will be $0.09 

per asset. The Archival Microfiche fees 

have been eliminated because this 

format is no longer provided due to 

more preferred alternative means for 

providing archival reports. Members 

were notified of the proposed 

elimination and the alternative means of 

receiving archival reports in an 

Important Notice (A #5671, P&S #524) 

dated August 29, 2003. These proposed 

fee revisions are consistent with NSCC’s 

overall pricing philosophy to align 

service fees and underlying cost. 

The proposed rule change is 

consistent with Section 17A(b)(3)(D) of 

the Act 3 and the rules and regulations 

thereunder because it allows for the 

equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 

fees, and other charges among NSCC’s 

members.

(B) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

NSCC does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will have an 

impact on or impose a burden on 

competition.

(C) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments relating to the 

proposed rule change have been 

solicited or received. NSCC will notify 

the Commission of any written 

comments received by NSCC. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective upon filing pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act 4 and Rule 19b–

4(f)(2) 5 thereunder because the 

proposed rule establishes or changes a 

due, fee, or other charge. At any time 

within sixty days of the filing of such 

rule change, the Commission may 

summarily abrogate such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act.

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Persons making written submissions 

should file six copies thereof with the 

Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20549–0609. 

Comments may also be submitted 

electronically at the following e-mail 

address: rule-comments@sec.gov. All 

comment letters should refer to File No. 

SR–NSCC–2003–23. This file number 

should be included on the subject line 

if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, comments 

should be sent in hardcopy or by e-mail 

but not by both methods. Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for inspection and copying in 

the Commission’s Public Reference 

Section, 450 Fifth Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20549–0609. Copies of 

such filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of NSCC and on NSCC’s Web site 

at www.NSCC.com/legal/. All 

submissions should refer to File No. 

SR–NSCC–2003–23 and should be 

submitted by February 24, 2004.

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated 

authority.6

Jill M. Peterson, 

Assistant Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–2091 Filed 2–2–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–U

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–49123; File No. SR–NSCC–

2003–11] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

National Securities Clearing 

Corporation; Notice of Filing of 

Proposed Rule Change To Amend the 

Criteria Used To Place Members on 

Surveillance Status and To Eliminate 

Member and Applicant Financial 

Responsibility and Operational 

Capability Questionnaires 

January 23, 2004. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’),1 notice is hereby given that on 

May 27, 2003, the National Securities 

Clearing Corporation (‘‘NSCC’’) filed 

with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) and on 

June 17, 2003, and September 15, 2003, 

amended the proposed rule change 

described in Items I, II, and III below, 

which items have been prepared 

primarily by NSCC. The Commission is 

publishing this notice to solicit 

comments on the proposed rule change 

from interested parties.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

NSCC is seeking to amend the criteria 

it uses to place members on surveillance 

status and to eliminate member and 

applicant financial responsibility and 

operational capability questionnaires. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

NSCC included statements concerning 

the purpose of and basis for the 

proposed rule change and discussed any 

comments it received on the proposed 

rule change. The text of these statements 

5232 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2004 / Notices 

2The Commission has modified the text of the 

summaries prepared by NSCC.

3NSCC’s approach to the analysis of members 

will be based on a thorough quantitative analysis. 

A broker-dealer member’s rating on the Matrix will 

be based on factors including size (i.e. total excess 

net capital), capital, leverage, liquidity, and 

profitability. Banks will be reviewed based on size, 

capital, asset quality, earnings, and liquidity.

4Members will also be evaluated based on their 

compliance with certain ‘‘parameter breaks’’ which 

will be determined based on applicable monthly 

and/or quarterly exception reports generated by 

Credit Risk staff. A member may be placed on the 

Watch List for failure to fall within, for example, 

prescribed excess net capital, excess liquid capital, 

aggregate indebtedness, leverage ratio, or financial 

membership requirement parameters. 5 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. 6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

may be examined at the places specified 

in Item IV below. NSCC has prepared 

summaries, set forth in sections (A), (B), 

and (C) below, of the most significant 

aspects of these statements.2

(A) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

Under the current NSCC rules, 

management has the ability to place on 

surveillance status a member that is 

experiencing conditions which may 

have an adverse financial or operational 

impact on NSCC. Once placed on 

surveillance status, NSCC closely 

monitors the member’s condition. The 

current criteria for placing members on 

surveillance status are broadly written 

and capture many NSCC members that 

pose minimal financial or operational 

risk to NSCC. This creates 

administrative burdens for NSCC staff 

who must more closely monitor these 

members who pose minimal risk. 

To remedy this problem, NSCC has 

developed new criteria for placing 

members on surveillance. Specifically, 

all full service firms for which NSCC 

guarantees their trades will be assigned 

a rating that is generated by entering 

financial data of the member into a 

matrix (‘‘Matrix’’) developed by Credit 

Risk staff.3 Those members with a 

‘‘weak’’ rating, which are deemed to 

pose a relatively higher degree of risk to 

NSCC, will be placed on an internal 

‘‘Watch List’’ and will be monitored 

more closely by Credit Risk staff.4

Members placed on the Watch List may 

be required to submit additional 

financial reports and data and/or make 

additional Clearing Fund deposits.

Currently, Addendums B, I, Q, and R 

(Standards of Financial Responsibility 

and Operational Capability for Settling, 

Fund, Insurance Carrier, and Third 

Party Administrator members and 

applicants, respectively) include 

questionnaires that members and 

applicants are required to complete and 

return to NSCC. NSCC Rule 15, Section 

2 also provides that NSCC has the 

authority to examine the financial 

responsibility and operational capability 

of members and applicants. In 

conducting such examinations, NSCC 

may require a member or applicant to 

furnish such information as deemed 

sufficient by NSCC to demonstrate its 

financial responsibility and operational 

capability. 

NSCC has determined to rely on its 

ability under Rule 15, Section 2 to 

obtain pertinent information for 

members and applicants rather than 

require responses to specific 

questionnaires. NSCC will solicit such 

information in such form and within 

such timeframes as it may require from 

time to time. 

NSCC believes that the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the 

requirements of Section 17A of the Act 5

and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to NSCC because 

it will facilitate the safeguarding of 

securities and funds which are in its 

custody or control or for which it is 

responsible and in general will protect 

investors and the public interest by 

improving NSCC’s member surveillance 

process.

(B) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

NSCC does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will have an 

impact on or impose a burden on 

competition. 

(C) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants or Others 

No written comments relating to the 

proposed rule change have been 

solicited or received. NSCC will notify 

the Commission of any written 

comments received by NSCC. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Within thirty-five days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period (i) 

as the Commission may designate up to 

ninety days of such date if it finds such 

longer period to be appropriate and 

publishes its reasons for so finding or 

(ii) as to which the self-regulatory 

organization consents, the Commission 

will: 

(A) By order approve such proposed 

rule change or 

(B) Institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule change 

should be disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Persons making written submissions 

should file six copies thereof with the 

Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20549–0609. 

Comments may also be submitted 

electronically at the following e-mail 

address: rule-comments@sec.gov. All 

comment letters should refer to File No. 

SR–NSCC–2003–11. This file number 

should be included on the subject line 

if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, comments 

should be sent in hardcopy or by e-mail 

but not by both methods. 

Copies of the submission, all 

subsequent amendments, all written 

statements with respect to the proposed 

rule change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for inspection and copying in 

the Commission’s Public Reference 

Section, 450 Fifth Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20549. Copies of such 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of NSCC and on NSCC’s Web site 

at www.nscc.com/legal/.

All submissions should refer to File 

No. SR–NSCC–2003–11 and should be 

submitted by February 24, 2004.

For the Commission by the Division of 

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated 

authority.6

Jill M. Peterson, 

Assistant Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–2143 Filed 2–2–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 4602] 

Request for Proposals: Program for 

Research and Training on Eastern 

Europe and the Independent States of 

the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII)

SUMMARY: The Department of State 

invites organizations with substantial 

experience in conducting research and 

training to serve as intermediaries 

administering nationwide competitive