13410 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 43 / Monday, March 8, 2021 / Notices 

2Based on a review of Form N–17f–1 filings over 

the last three years the Commission staff estimates 

that an average of 6 funds rely on rule 17f–1 each 

year. 

3This estimate is based on the following 

calculation: (6 respondents × 3.5 hours = 21 hours). 

The annual burden for rule 17f–1 does not include 

time spent preparing Form N–17f–1. The burden for 

Form N–17f–1 is included in a separate collection 

of information. 

4This estimate is based on the following 

calculation: (2 hours of outside counsel time × $489 

= $978). The staff has estimated the average cost of 

outside counsel at $489 per hour, based on 

information received from funds and their counsel. 

5This estimate is based on information received 

from fund representatives estimating the aggregate 

annual cost of an independent public accountant’s 

periodic verification of assets and preparation of the 

certificate of examination. 

6This estimate is based on the following 

calculation: ($978 + $9,050 = $10,028). 

7This estimate is based on the following 

calculation: (6 funds × $10,028 = $60,168). 

1The sixteen options markets are as follows: BOX 

Exchange LLC, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., Cboe C2 

Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc., Cboe 

Exchange, Inc., Miami International Securities 

Exchange LLC, MIAX Emerald, LLC, MIAX PEARL, 

LLC, Nasdaq BX, Inc., Nasdaq GEMX, LLC, Nasdaq 

ISE, LLC, Nasdaq MRX, LLC, Nasdaq PHLX LLC, 

Nasdaq Options Market (NOM), NYSE Arca, Inc., 

and NYSE American LLC. 

2SIFMA did its last annual survey in 2013 and 

will not resume the survey process. Accordingly, 

the $420 figure is based on the 2013 figure ($380) 

adjusted by the inflation rate calculated using the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation Calculator. 

The $380 per hour figure for an Attorney is from 

SIFMA’s Management & Professional Earnings in 

the Securities Industry 2013, modified by 

Commission staff to account for an 1800-hour workyear and multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, 

firm size, employee benefits and overhead. 

3The estimate of 1,020 broker-dealers required to 

comply with Rule 9b–1 is derived from Item 12 of 

the Form BD (OMB Control No. 3235–0012). This 

estimate may be high as it includes broker-dealers 

that engage in only a proprietary business, and as 

a result are not required to deliver an ODD, as well 

as those broker-dealers subject to Rule 9b–1. 

4The $63 figure is based on the 2013 figure ($57) 

adjusted for inflation. See supra note 2. The $57 per 

hour figure for a General Clerk is from SIFMA’s 

Office Salaries in the Securities Industry 2013, 

modified by Commission staff to account for an 

1800-hour work-year and multiplied by 2.93 to 

account for bonuses, firm size, employee benefits 

and overhead. The staff believes that the ODD 

would be mailed or electronically delivered to 

customers by a general clerk of the broker-dealer or 

some other equivalent position. 

annually, with a total of 6 responses.2

Thus, the total annual hour burden for 

rule 17f–1 is approximately 21 hours.3

Funds that rely on rule 17f–1 

generally use outside counsel to prepare 

the custodial contract for the board’s 

review and to transmit the contract to 

the Commission. Commission staff 

estimates the cost of outside counsel to 

perform these tasks for a fund each year 

is $978.4 Funds also must have an 

independent public accountant verify 

the fund’s assets three times each year 

and prepare the certificate of 

examination. Commission staff 

estimates the annual cost for an 

independent public accountant to 

perform this service is $9,050.5

Therefore, the total annual cost burden 

for a fund that relies on rule 17f–1 

would be approximately $10,028.6 As 

noted above, the staff estimates that 6 

funds rely on rule 17f–1 each year, for 

an estimated total annualized cost 

burden of $60,168.7

The estimate of average burden hours 

is made solely for the purposes of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, and is not 

derived from a comprehensive or even 

a representative survey or study of the 

costs of Commission rules. Compliance 

with the collections of information 

required by rule 17f–1 is mandatory for 

funds that place their assets in the 

custody of a national securities 

exchange member. Responses will not 

be kept confidential. 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: March 2, 2021. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04655 Filed 3–5–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SEC File No. 270–429, OMB Control No. 

3235–0480] 

Proposed Collection; 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 9b–1 

Notice is hereby given that pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

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

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments 

on the existing collection of information 

provided for in Rule 9b–1, Options 

Disclosure Document (17 CFR 240.9b– 

1), under the Securities Exchange Act of 

1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.). The 

Commission plans to submit this 

existing collection of information to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(‘‘OMB’’) for extension and approval. 

Rule 9b–1 (17 CFR 240.9b–1) sets 

forth the categories of information 

required to be disclosed in an options 

disclosure document (‘‘ODD’’) and 

requires the options markets to file an 

ODD with the Commission 60 days prior 

to the date it is distributed to investors. 

In addition, Rule 9b–1 provides that the 

ODD must be amended if the 

information in the document becomes 

materially inaccurate or incomplete and 

that amendments must be filed with the 

Commission 30 days prior to the 

distribution to customers. Finally, Rule 

9b–1 requires a broker-dealer to furnish 

to each customer an ODD and any 

amendments prior to accepting an order 

to purchase or sell an option on behalf 

of that customer or when approving a 

customer’s account for options trading. 

There are 16 options markets 1 that 

must comply with Rule 9b–1. These 

respondents work together to prepare a 

single ODD covering options traded on 

each market, as well as amendments to 

the ODD. These respondents file 

approximately 3 amendments per year. 

The staff calculates that the preparation 

and filing of amendments should take 

no more than eight hours per options 

market. Thus, the total time burden for 

options markets per year is 

approximately 384 hours (16 options 

markets × 8 hours per amendment × 3 

amendments). The estimated cost for an 

in-house attorney is $420 per hour,2

resulting in a total internal cost of 

compliance for these respondents of 

approximately $161,280 per year (384 

hours at $420 per hour). 

In addition, approximately 1,020 

broker-dealers 3 must comply with Rule 

9b–1. Each of these respondents will 

process an average of 3 new customers 

for options each week and, therefore, 

will have to furnish approximately 156 

ODDs per year. The postal mailing or 

electronic delivery of the ODD takes 

respondents no more than 30 seconds to 

complete for an annual time burden for 

each of these respondents of 

approximately 78 minutes or 1.3 hours. 

Thus, the total time burden per year for 

broker-dealers is approximately 1,326 

hours (1,020 broker-dealers × 1.3 hours). 

The estimated cost for a general clerk of 

a broker-dealer is $63 per hour,4


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 43 / Monday, March 8, 2021 / Notices 13411 

1 27 responses per year × 1 hour per response = 

27 hours per year. 

resulting in a total internal cost of 

compliance for these respondents of 

approximately $83,538 per year (1,326 

hours at $63 per hour). 

The total time burden for all 

respondents under this rule (both 

options markets and broker-dealers) is 

approximately 1,710 hours per year (384 

+ 1,326), and the total internal cost of 

compliance is approximately $244,818 

per year ($161,280 + $83,538). 

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 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. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

under the PRA unless it displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

Please direct your written comments 

to: David Bottom, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o Cynthia 

Roscoe, 100 F Street NE, Washington, 

DC 20549, or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: March 2, 2021. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04657 Filed 3–5–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–91190A; File No. S7–24– 

89] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice 

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness 

of the Fiftieth Amendment to the Joint 

Self-Regulatory Organization Plan 

Governing the Collection, 

Consolidation and Dissemination of 

Quotation and Transaction Information 

for Nasdaq-Listed Securities Traded on 

Exchanges on an Unlisted Trading 

Privileges Basis; Correction 

March 3, 2021. 

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice; correction. 

SUMMARY: The Securities and Exchange 

Commission published a document in 

the Federal Register on March 1, 2021, 

concerning a Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of the Fiftieth 

Amendment to the Joint Self-Regulatory 

Organization Plan. The document 

header contained a typographical error. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mia 

Zur, Division of Trading and Markets, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, 

(202) 551–3088. 

Correction 

In the Federal Register of March 1, 

2021 in FR Doc. 2021–04089, on page 

12045, in the heading ‘‘Joint Industry 

Plan; Notice of Filing and Immediate 

Effectiveness of the Fiftieth Amendment 

to the Joint Self-Regulatory Organization 

Plan Governing the Collection, 

Consolidation and Dissemination of 

Quotation and Transaction Information 

to Nasdaq-Listed Securities Traded on 

Exchanges on an Unlisted Trading 

Privileges Basis’’ remove ‘‘and 

Immediate Effectiveness’’ from the 

heading. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04712 Filed 3–5–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SEC File No. 270–361, OMB Control No. 

3235–0411] 

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 489 and Form F–N 

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (‘‘Paperwork 

Reduction Act’’), the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (the 

‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(‘‘OMB’’) a request for extension of the 

previously approved collection of 

information discussed below. 

Rule 489 (17 CFR 230.489) under the 

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

seq.) requires foreign banks and foreign 

insurance companies and holding 

companies and finance subsidiaries of 

foreign banks and foreign insurance 

companies that are exempted from the 

definition of ‘‘investment company’’ by 

virtue of rules 3a–1 (17 CFR 270.3a–1), 

3a–5 (17 CFR 270.3a–5), and 3a–6 (17 

CFR 270.3a–6) under the Investment 

Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–1 

et seq.) to file Form F–N (17 CFR 

239.43) to appoint an agent for service 

of process when making a public 

offering of securities in the United 

States. The information is collected so 

that the Commission and private 

plaintiffs may serve process on foreign 

entities in actions and administrative 

proceedings arising out of or based on 

the offer or sales of securities in the 

United States by such foreign entities. 

The Commission received an average 

of 27 Form F–N filings from 18 unique 

filers each year for the last three years 

(2017–2019). The Commission has 

previously estimated that the total 

annual burden associated with 

information collection and Form F–N 

preparation and submission is one hour 

per filing. Based on the Commission’s 

experience with disclosure documents 

generally, the Commission continues to 

believe that this estimate is appropriate. 

Thus the estimated total annual burden 

for rule 489 and Form F–N is 27 hours.1

Estimates of the average burden hours 

are made solely for the purposes of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act and are not 

derived from a comprehensive or even 

a representative survey or study of the 

costs of Commission rules and forms. 

Compliance with the collection of 

information requirements of rule 489 

and Form F–N is mandatory to obtain 

the benefit of the exemption. Responses 

to the collection of information will not 

be kept confidential. An agency may not 

conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 

required to respond to, a collection of 


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