Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11567 

1 Implementation of the Whistleblower Provisions 

of Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 

1934, Release No. 34–64545; File No. S7–33–10 

(adopted May 25, 2011). 

2Public Law 111–203, 922(a), 124 Stat 1841 

(2010). 

3This figure does not include Form WB–APP 

submissions which were facially deficient, 

subsequently withdrawn, or submitted by 

individuals who have been barred by the 

Commission from participation in the 

whistleblower program. 

Dated: February 23, 2021. 

Vanessa A. Countryman, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04049 Filed 2–23–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SEC File No. 270–118, OMB Control No. 

3235–0095] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

Upon Written Request Copies Available 

From: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 

20549–2736 

Extension: 

Rule 236 

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 this 

request for extension of the previously 

approved collection of information 

discussed below. 

Rule 236 (17 CFR 230.236) under the 

Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et 

seq.) (‘‘Securities Act’’) provides an 

exemption from registration under the 

Securities Act for the offering of shares 

of stock or similar securities to provide 

funds to be distributed to security 

holders in lieu of fractional shares, scrip 

certificates or order forms, in 

connection with a stock dividend, stock 

split, reverse stock split, conversion, 

merger or similar transaction. Issuers 

wishing to rely upon the exemption are 

required to furnish specified 

information to the Commission at least 

10 days prior to the offering. The 

information is needed to provide notice 

that the issuer is relying on the 

exemption. Public companies are the 

likely respondents. All information 

provided to the Commission is available 

to the public for review upon request. 

Approximately 10 respondents file the 

information required by Rule 236 at an 

estimated 1.5 hours per response for a 

total annual reporting burden of 15 

hours (1.5 hours per response × 10 

responses). 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid 

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 to (i) www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain and (ii) David Bottom, 

Director/Chief Information Officer, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

c/o Cynthia Roscoe, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an 

email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: February 22, 2021. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03884 Filed 2–24–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SEC File No. 270–625, OMB Control No. 

3235–0686] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

Upon Written Request Copies Available 

From: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 

20549–2736 

Extension: 

Form TCR and Form WB–APP— 

Implementing the Whistleblower 

Provisions of Section 21F of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (‘‘PRA’’), the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments 

on the collection of information 

summarized below. The Commission 

plans to submit an extension for this 

current collection of information to the 

Office of Management and Budget for 

approval. 

In Release No. 34–64545,1 the 

Commission adopted rules (‘‘Rules’’) 

and forms to implement Section 21F of 

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

entitled ‘‘Securities Whistleblower 

Incentives and Protection,’’ which was 

created by Section 922 of the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (‘‘Dodd-Frank Act’’).2

The Rules describe the whistleblower 

program that the Commission has 

established pursuant to the Dodd-Frank 

Act which requires the Commission to 

pay an award, subject to certain 

limitations and conditions, to 

whistleblowers who voluntarily provide 

the Commission with original 

information about a violation of the 

federal securities laws that leads to the 

successful enforcement of a covered 

judicial or administrative action, or of a 

related action. The Rules define certain 

terms critical to the operation of the 

whistleblower program, outline the 

procedures for applying for awards and 

the Commission’s procedures for 

making decisions on claims, and 

generally explain the scope of the 

whistleblower program to the public 

and to potential whistleblowers. 

Form TCR is a form submitted by 

whistleblowers who wish to provide 

information to the Commission and its 

staff regarding potential violations of the 

securities laws. Form TCR is required 

for submission of information under the 

Rules. The Commission estimates that it 

takes a whistleblower, on average, one 

and one-half hours to complete Form 

TCR. Based on the receipt of an average 

of approximately 560 annual Form TCR 

submissions for the past three fiscal 

years, the Commission estimates that 

the annual reporting burden of Form 

TCR is 840 hours. 

Form WB–APP is a form that is 

submitted by whistleblowers filing a 

claim for a whistleblower award. Form 

WB–APP is required for application for 

an award under the Rules. On December 

4, 2020, the Commission approved an 

updated version of the WB–APP in 

conjunction with its newly amended 

rules. The updated WB–APP removes 

the requirement for the filer to submit 

their Social Security Number and 

modified the order of the questions on 

the form. No substantive changes were 

made to the WB–APP. The Commission 

estimates that it takes a whistleblower, 

on average, two hours to complete Form 

WB–APP. The completion time depends 

largely on the complexity of the alleged 

violation and the amount of information 

the whistleblower possesses in support 

of his or her application for an award. 

Based on the receipt of an average of 

approximately 215 3 annual Form WB– 

APP submissions for the past six fiscal 

years, the Commission estimates that 

the annual reporting burden of Form 

WB–APP is 430 hours. 

Estimated annual reporting burden = 

1,270 hours. 

11568 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(4)(ii). 

5Capitalized terms used but not defined herein 

have the meanings specified in the ICE Clear 

Europe Clearing Rules (the ‘‘Rules’’). 

6 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. 

7 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

8 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

9 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(10). 

10 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(10). 

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 to (i) www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain and (ii) David Bottom, 

Director/Chief Information Officer, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

c/o Cynthia Roscoe, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an 

email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: February 22, 2021. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03883 Filed 2–24–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–91166; File No. SR–ICEEU– 

2021–005] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE 

Clear Europe Limited; Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change Relating to 

Amendments to Part BB of the ICE 

Clear Europe Delivery Procedures 

February 19, 2021. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on February 

12, 2021, ICE Clear Europe Limited 

(‘‘ICE Clear Europe’’ or the ‘‘Clearing 

House’’) filed with the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

the proposed rule changes described in 

Items I, II and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by ICE Clear 

Europe. ICE Clear Europe filed the 

proposed rule change pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 3 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(4)(ii) 4 thereunder, such that 

the proposed rule change was 

immediately effective upon filing with 

the Commission. The Commission is 

publishing this notice to solicit 

comments on the proposed rule change 

from interested persons. 

I. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Terms of Substance of the Proposed 

Rule Change 

The principal purpose of the 

proposed amendments is for ICE Clear 

Europe to make certain amendments to 

Part BB of its Delivery Procedures to 

clarify the delivery specifications 

relating to Containerised White Sugar 

futures contracts in order to facilitate 

identification of sugar eligible for 

delivery under the contract.5

II. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

In its filing with the Commission, ICE 

Clear Europe 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. ICE 

Clear Europe has prepared summaries, 

set forth in sections (A), (B), and (C) 

below, of the most significant aspects of 

such statements. 

(A) Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

(a) Purpose 

ICE Clear Europe is proposing to 

amend Part BB of its Delivery 

Procedures to clarify the delivery 

specifications relating to Containerised 

White Sugar contracts. The proposed 

amendments would provide that such 

contracts relate to specified sugar of any 

origin of the crop or production current 

on the first day of the delivery period 

(instead of referencing the crop at the 

time of delivery). The change would 

facilitate identification of sugar eligible 

for delivery under the contract. 

(b) Statutory Basis 

ICE Clear Europe believes that the 

proposed amendments to Part BB of the 

Delivery Procedures are consistent with 

the requirements of Section 17A of the 

Act 6 and the regulations thereunder 

applicable to it. In particular, Section 

17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act 7 requires, among 

other things, that the rules of a clearing 

agency be designed to promote the 

prompt and accurate clearance and 

settlement of securities transactions 

and, to the extent applicable, derivative 

agreements, contracts, and transactions, 

the safeguarding of securities and funds 

in the custody or control of the clearing 

agency or for which it is responsible, 

and the protection of investors and the 

public interest. The proposed changes to 

the Delivery Procedures are designed to 

strengthen ICE Clear Europe’s 

arrangements and delivery procedures 

relating to Containerised White Sugar 

contracts. The amendments would 

clarify that Containerised White Sugar 

contracts relate to specified sugar of any 

origin of the crop or production current 

on the first day of the delivery period 

(rather than at the time of delivery). The 

amendments do not otherwise change 

the terms and conditions of the 

contracts, and the contracts will 

continue to be cleared by ICE Clear 

Europe in the same manner as they are 

currently. In ICE Clear Europe’s view, 

the amendments are thus consistent 

with the prompt and accurate clearance 

and settlement of cleared contracts and 

the protection of investors and the 

public interest. (ICE Clear Europe would 

not expect the amendments to affect the 

safeguarding of securities and funds in 

ICE Clear Europe’s custody or control or 

for which it is responsible). 

Accordingly, the amendments satisfy 

the requirements of Section 

17A(b)(3)(F).8

In addition, Rule 17Ad–22(e)(10) 9

requires that each covered clearing 

agency ‘‘establish and maintain 

transparent written standards that state 

its obligations with respect to the 

delivery of physical instruments, and 

establish and maintain operational 

practices that identify, monitor and 

manage the risks associated with such 

physical deliveries.’’ As discussed 

above, the amendments would clarify 

the delivery specifications for 

Containerised White Sugar contracts to 

facilitate identification of sugar eligible 

for delivery under the contracts. The 

amendments would not otherwise 

change the manner in which the 

contracts are cleared or in which 

delivery is made, as supported by ICE 

Clear Europe’s existing financial 

resources, risk management, systems 

and operational arrangements. The 

amendments thus clarify the role and 

responsibilities of the Clearing House 

and Clearing Members with respect to 

physical delivery. As a result, ICE Clear 

Europe believes the amendments are 

consistent with the requirements of Rule 

17Ad–22(e)(10).10

(B) Clearing Agency’s Statement on 

Burden on Competition 

ICE Clear Europe does not believe the 

proposed amendments would have any