Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 22, 2010 / Notices 80561 

4 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

5 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

Section 6(b) 4 of the Act and the rules 

and regulations thereunder, in general, 

and furthers the objectives of Section 

6(b)(5),5 in particular, in that it is 

designed to prevent fraudulent and 

manipulative acts and practices, to 

promote just and equitable principles of 

trade, to foster cooperation and 

coordination with persons engaged in 

facilitating transactions in securities, 

and to remove impediments to and 

perfect the mechanisms of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system, and, in general, to protect 

investors and the public interest. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

CBOE does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will impose any 

burden on competition not necessary or 

appropriate in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

The Exchange neither solicited nor 

received written comments on the 

proposal. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Within 45 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 

90 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 or disapprove 

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. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–CBOE–2010–109 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

Send paper comments in triplicate to 

Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–CBOE–2010–109. 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, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). 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 Web site viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 10 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing 

also will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of the 

CBOE. All comments received will be 

posted without change; the Commission 

does not edit personal identifying 

information from submissions. You 

should submit only information that 

you wish to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–CBOE–2010–109 and 

should be submitted on or before 

January 12, 2011. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.6

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–32067 Filed 12–21–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Community Express Pilot Program 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA). 

ACTION: Notice of short-term extension 

and termination of the Community 

Express Pilot Program. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

termination of the Community Express 

Pilot Program following a four month 

extension to April 30, 2011. As of May 

1, 2011, no new Community Express 

loan applications will be approved. SBA 

is in the process of replacing this pilot 

with two new lending initiatives aimed 

at increasing 7(a) lending in 

underserved communities which 

initiatives are expected to be available 

by April 30, 2011. 

DATES: The Community Express Pilot 

Program is extended through April 30, 

2011, at which time the pilot program 

will terminate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Grady B. Hedgespeth, Office of 

Financial Assistance, U.S. Small 

Business Administration, 409 Third 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20416; 

Telephone (202) 205–6490; 

grady.hedgespeth@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Community Express Pilot Program was 

established in 1999 and was based on 

the Agency’s SBA Express Program. 

Lenders approved for participation in 

Community Express are authorized to 

use the expedited loan processing 

procedures in place for SBA Express for 

lending to distressed or underserved 

markets. In addition, participating 

lenders must arrange and, when 

necessary, pay for appropriate 

management and technical assistance 

for their Community Express borrowers. 

To encourage lenders to make these 

loans, SBA provides its full 75–85 

percent guaranty, rather than the 50 

percent guaranty the Agency provides 

under SBA Express. The maximum loan 

amount under this pilot program is 

$250,000. 

On June 30, 2008, SBA published a 

notice in the Federal Register to extend 

the Community Express Pilot Program 

through September 30, 2008, and to 

notify the public of SBA’s plan to 

significantly restructure the pilot 

program effective October 1, 2008. The 

notice also indicated that the 

restructured pilot program would be 

extended through December 31, 2009 

(73 FR 36950). On January 5, 2010, SBA 

announced that to allow time to better 

evaluate the results of the program 

changes implemented in October 2008, 


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80562 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 22, 2010 / Notices 

the pilot program was extended again 

through December 31, 2010 (75 FR 473). 

SBA has completed its evaluation of 

Community Express and has determined 

that the pilot program is not achieving 

the expected results at a reasonable cost 

to the taxpayers. When measured 

against broad program goals, 

Community Express has had mixed 

outcomes. The Community Express 

product has resulted in loans to new 

businesses, minority businesses and 

other underserved sectors; however, it 

has consistently ranked as SBA’s 

highest loss product, even when 

controlling for loan size, and it has 

never had widespread acceptance by 

SBA lenders or good geographical 

dispersion. 

Throughout its history, Community 

Express has had significantly higher 

default rates (almost 40% of loans 

defaulted in certain cohorts) compared 

with other similarly sized 7(a) loans, 

which also resulted in higher net losses 

because most Community Express loans 

are unsecured. In addition, the difficulty 

of coordinating and ensuring efficient 

access to quality management and 

technical assistance to borrowers 

resulted in large lenders abandoning the 

product a few years after its creation. 

Many commercial lenders may not have 

been willing or able to efficiently meet 

SBA’s technical assistance delivery and 

reporting requirements because the 

provision and reporting of management 

and technical assistance is not normally 

part of their lending model. Eventually, 

less than 5% of SBA’s active lenders 

were using the product and most of the 

activity was concentrated in a handful 

of lenders (three lenders comprised 

approximately 85% of the Community 

Express loan volume in recent years, 

one of which has been taken over by the 

FDIC and is no longer in operation). 

SBA’s Office of Inspector General 

(OIG) conducted a thorough review of 

the Community Express Pilot Program 

over the span of 14 months resulting in 

an audit report issued on August 25, 

2010. The OIG identified significant 

issues with the pilot program, including 

the following: (1) Community Express 

has not been as effective as other 7(a) 

loan programs in increasing loans to 

underserved markets; (2) Community 

Express has a high cost, which is 

expected to significantly increase the 

overall 7(a) program subsidy rate; and 

(3) the credit scoring practices of the 

two most active Community Express 

Lenders have increased program risk. 

Based on the issues identified above, the 

central recommendation of the OIG 

report was that SBA not extend the 

Community Express Pilot Loan Program 

in its current form. 

For the reasons discussed above, SBA 

is proposing to replace Community 

Express with two new 7(a) lending 

initiatives designed to reach 

underserved markets more efficiently 

and effectively and at a lower cost to the 

taxpayer. Extending Community 

Express four months will permit SBA 

time to roll out the new pilot program. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 636(a)(25); 13 CFR 

120.3. 

Dated: December 16, 2010. 

Karen G. Mills, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2010–32095 Filed 12–21–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Council on Underserved Communities, 

Establishment of and Request for 

Nominations 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA). 

ACTION: Notice of creation of Council on 

Underserved Communities and request 

for nominations. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act and its 

implementing regulations, SBA is 

issuing this notice to announce the 

creation of its Council on Underserved 

Communities. This advisory committee 

is being established to help the agency 

identify and address needs of small 

businesses in underserved urban and 

rural communities. With this notice 

SBA is also requesting nominations for 

members of this Council. 

DATES: Submit nominations on or before 

5 p.m. EST January 31, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the Council on 

Underserved Communities may be 

directed to Dan Jones, telephone (202) 

205–7583, fax (202) 481–6536, e-mail 

dan.jones@sba.gov or mail, U.S. Small 

Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, 

SW. 7th Floor, Washington DC 20416. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to its authority in section 8(b)(13) of the 

Small Business Act, (15 U.S.C. 637(b)), 

SBA is establishing the Council on 

Underserved Communities. This 

discretionary committee is being 

established in accordance with the 

provisions of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 

App.). 

The Council will provide advice, 

ideas and opinions on SBA programs 

and services and issues of interest to 

small businesses in underserved 

communities. Its members provide an 

essential connection between SBA and 

small businesses in inner city and rural 

communities. The Council’s scope of 

activities includes reviewing SBA 

current programs and policies, while 

working towards creating new and 

insightful place-based initiatives to spur 

economic growth, job creation, 

competiveness, and sustainability. 

Council members will bring a number 

of important points of views to the 

Council: an understanding of the 

barriers to success for small business 

owners in underserved communities; 

experience working in and operating 

businesses in urban and rural 

underserved communities; challenges 

regarding access to capital; knowledge 

and experience in training and 

counseling entrepreneurs in 

underserved communities; and 

associations representing owners of 

small business in underserved 

communities. 

The Council will have a total of 

twenty (20) members, 19 members-atlarge and one Chair. Members may 

consist of current or former small 

business owners, community leaders, 

officials from small business trade 

associations, and academic institutions. 

Members shall represent the interests of 

underserved communities across the 

country, both rural and urban. 

Request for Nominations 

SBA is requesting nominations for the 

Council on Underserved Communities 

and encourages all qualified candidates 

to apply. Candidates may self nominate 

or be nominated by another source. SBA 

will be accepting nominations for 

membership through January 31, 2011. 

Please e-mail contact information and a 

resume or bio to 

underservedcouncil@sba.gov. 

Qualifications 

SBA is asking for nominations to fill 

the 19 at-large Council members. 

Members must represent at least one of 

the following constituencies: current or 

former small business owners; 

community leaders; small business 

trade associations; or academic 

institutions. SBA seeks candidates 

representing both urban and rural 

underserved communities. 

Status 

All members serve at the pleasure of 

the SBA Administrator and will be 

considered representatives. Members 

will not be paid for participation 

however, the Agency will pay travel and 

per diem expenses while members are 

attending required meetings. Council 

members are expected to attend all 

required meetings. Some meetings may 

be held via conference call. Initially, 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES