Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 93 / Friday, May 12, 2000 / Notices 30645

Rule 17g–1’s independent directors’

annual requirements, fidelity bond

content requirements, joint bond

agreement requirement and the required

notices to directors seek to ensure the

safety of fund assets against losses due

to the conduct of persons who may

obtain access to those assets. These

requirements also seek to facilitate

oversight of a fund’s fidelity bond. The

rule’s required filings with the

Commission are designed to assist the

Commission in monitoring funds’

compliance with the fidelity bond

requirements.

The Commission staff estimates that

approximately 3500 funds are subject to

the requirements of rule 17g–1, and that

on average a fund spends approximately

one hour per year complying with the

rule’s paperwork requirements. The

Commission staff therefore estimates the

total annual burden of the rule’s

paperwork requirements to be 3500

hours.

These estimates of average burden

hours are made solely for the purposes

of the Paperwork Reduction Act. These

estimates are not derived from a

comprehensive or even a representative

survey or study of Commission rules.

The collection of information required

by rule 17g–1 is mandatory and 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.

Written comments are requested on:

(a) Whether the collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

Commission, including whether the

information has practical utility; (b) the

accuracy of the Commission’s estimate

of the burden of the 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.

Please direct your written comments

to Michael E. Bartell, Associate

Executive Director, Office of

Information Technology, Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 5th Street,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549.

Dated: May 4, 2000.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–11917 Filed 5–11–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available

From: Securities and Exchange

Commission, Office of Filings and

Information Services, Washington, DC

20549.

Extension: Rule 17Ad–4(b) & (c), SEC File

No. 270–264, OMB Control No. 3235–0341,

Rule 17Ad–15, SEC File No. 270–360,

OMB Control No. 3235–0409.

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 collections of information

summarized below. The Commission

plans to submit these existing

collections of information to the Office

of Management and Budget for

extension and approval.

Rule 17Ad–4(b) & (c) Notices

Regarding Exempt Transfer Agent

Status

Rule 17Ad–4(b) & (c) is used to

document when transfer agents are

exempt, or no longer exempt, from the

minimum performance standards and

certain recordkeeping provisions of the

Commission’s transfer agent rules. Rule

17Ad–4(c) sets forth the conditions

under which a registered transfer agent

loses its exempt status. Once the

conditions for exemption no longer

exist, the transfer agent, to keep the

appropriate regulatory authority

(‘‘ARA’’) apprised of its current status,

must prepare, and file if the ARA for the

transfer agent is the Board of Governors

of the Federal Reserve System

(‘‘BGFRS’’) or the Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation (‘‘FDIC’’), a

notice of loss of exempt status under

paragraph (c). The transfer agent then

cannot claim exempt status under Rule

17Ad–4(b) again until it remains subject

to the minimum performance standards

for non-exempt transfer agents for six

consecutive months. The ARAs use the

information contained in the notice to

determine whether a registered transfer

agent qualifies for the exemption, to

determine when a registered transfer

agent no longer qualifies for the

exemption, and to determine the extent

to which that transfer agent is subject to

regulation.

The BGFRS receives approximately

twelve notices of exempt status and six

notices of loss of exempt status

annually. The FDIC receives

approximately eighteen notices of

exempt status and three notices of loss

of exempt status annually. The

Commission and the Office of the

Comptroller of the Currency (‘‘OCC’’) do

not require transfer agents to file notice

of exempt status or loss of exempt

status. Instead, transfer agents whose

ARA is the Commission or OCC need

only to prepare and maintain these

notices. The Commission estimates that

approximately sixteen notices of exempt

status and loss of exempt status are

prepared annually by transfer agents

whose ARA is the Commission.

Similarly, the OCC estimates that the

transfer agents for which it is the ARA,

prepare and maintain approximately

fifteen notices of exempt status and loss

of exempt status annually. Thus, a total

of approximately seventy notices of

exempt status and loss of exempt status

are prepared and maintained by transfer

agents annually. Of these seventy

notices, approximately forty are filed

with an ARA. Any additional costs

associated with filing such notices

would be limited primarily to postage,

which would be minimal. Since the

Commission estimates that no more

than one-half hour is required to

prepare each notice, the total annual

burden to transfer agents is

approximately thirty-five hours. The

average cost per hours is approximately

$30. Therefore, the total cost of

compliance to the transfer agent

community is $1,050.

Transfer agents should prepare and

maintain in its possession or file with

its ARA notice of exempt status or loss

of exempt status for the period of the

exemption or loss of exemption. When

the transfer agent’s status changes, the

transfer agent should file a notice of

exempt status or loss of exempt status

reflecting that change. The notice

requirement is mandatory to determine

when a registered transfer agent no

longer qualifies for the exemption, and

to determine the extent to which that

transfer agent is subject to regulation.

Notices submitted according to Rule

17Ad–4(b) & (c) will not be kept

confidential.

Rule 17Ad–15 Signature Guarantees

Rule 17Ad–15 requires approximately

1,093 transfer agents to establish written

standards for the acceptance or rejection

of guarantees of securities transfers from

eligible guarantor institutions. Transfer

agents are required to establish

procedures to ensure that those

standards are used by the transfer agent

to determine whether to accept or reject

guarantees from eligible guarantor

institutions. Transfer agents must

maintain, for a period of three years

following the date of a rejection of

transfer, a record of all transfers

rejected, along with the reason for the

30646 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 93 / Friday, May 12, 2000 / Notices

rejection, identification of the guarantor,

and whether the guarantor failed to

meet the transfer agent’s guarantee

standard. These recordkeeping

requirements assist the Commission and

other regulatory agencies with

monitoring transfer agents and ensuring

compliance with the rule.

There are approximately 1,093

registered transfer agents. Of the 1,093

registered transfer agents, proximately

120 will receive fewer than 100 items

for transfer. The staff expects that most

small transfer agents will have few, if

any, rejections. The staff estimates that

every transfer agent will spend about 40

hours annually to comply with Rule

17Ad–15. The total annual burden for

all transfer agents is 43,720 hours. The

average cost per hour is approximately

$30. Therefore, the total cost of

compliance for all transfer agents is

$1,311,600.

Please note that 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.

Written comments are invited on: (a)

Whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the 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.

Please direct your written comments

to Michael E. Bartell, Associate

Executive Director, Office of

Information Technology, Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 5th Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20549.

Dated: May 1, 2000.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–11918 Filed 5–11–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Rel. No. IC–24447: File No. 812–12006]

Allianz Life Insurance Company of

North America, et al.; Notice of

Application

May 8, 2000.

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’).

ACTION: Notice of application for an

order under Section 6(c) of the

Investment Company Act of 1940, as

amended (the ‘‘1940 Act’’ or ‘‘Act’’)

granting exemptions from the provisions

of Sections 2(a)(32), 22(c), and

27(i)(2)(A) of the 1940 Act and Rule

22c–1 thereunder to permit the

recapture of bonus amounts applied to

purchase payments made under certain

deferred variable annuity contracts.

Summary of Application. Applicants

seek an order under Section 6(c) of the

Act to the extent necessary to permit the

issuance and, under specified

circumstances, the subsequent recapture

of unvested bonuses applied to

purchase payment made under (i)

certain deferred variable annuity

contracts that Allianz Life Insurance

Company of North America (‘‘Allianz

Life’’) will issue through Allianz Life

Variable Account B (‘‘Variable Account

B’’) (the contracts, including certain

contract data pages, endorsements and

riders, are collectively referred to herein

as the ‘‘Contracts’’), and (ii) contracts

that Allianz Life may issue in the future

through Variable Account B or any

Future Accounts that are substantially

similar in all material respects to the

Contracts (the ‘‘Future Contracts’’).

Applicants also request that the order

being sought extend to any other

National Association of Securities

Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’) member brokerdealer controlling or controlled by, or

under common control with, Allianz

Life, whether existing or created in the

future, that serves as a distributor or

principal underwriter for the Contracts

or Future Contracts (collectively

‘‘Allianz Life Broker-Dealers’’).

Applicants: Allianz Life Insurance

Company of North America, Allianz Life

Variable Account B, any other separate

account established by Allianz Life in

the future to support certain deferred

variable annuity contracts issued by

Allianz Life (‘‘Future Accounts’’) and

USAllianz Investor Services, LLC

(‘‘USAIS’’) (collectively, ‘‘Applicants’’).

Filing Date: The application was filed

on February 29, 2000.

Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An

order granting the application will be

issued unless the SEC orders a hearing.

Interested persons may request a

hearing by writing to the SEC’s

Secretary and serving Applicants with a

copy of the request, in person or by

mail. Hearing requests should be

received by the SEC by 5:30 p.m. on

June 2, 2000, and should be

accompanied by proof of service on the

Applicants, in the form of an affidavit

or, for lawyers, a certificate of service.

Hearing requests should state the nature

of the writer’s interest, the reason for the

request, and the issues contested.

Persons who wish to be notified of a

hearing may request notification by

writing to the Secretary of the SEC.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20549–0609.

Applicants, c/o Lynn Stone, Esq.,

Blazzard, Grodd & Hasenauer, P.C., 943

Post Road East, Westport, CT 06880.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Keith A. O’Connell, Senior Counsel, or

Keith E. Carpenter, Branch Chief, Office

of Insurance Products, Division of

Investment Management, at (202) 942–

0670.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

following is a summary of the

application. The complete application is

available for a fee from the SEC’s Public

Reference Branch, 450 Fifth St., NW,

Washington, DC 20549–0102 (tel. (202)

942–8090).

Applicant’s Representations

1. Allianz Life was organized under

the laws of the state of Minnesota in

1896. Allianz Life offers fixed and

variable life insurance and annuities

and group life, accident and health

insurance. Allianz Life is licensed to do

business in 49 states and the District of

Columbia. Allianz Life is a whollyowned subsidiary of Allianz

Verischerungs-AG Holding. Allianz Life

serves as depositor for Variable Account

B. Allianz Life may in the future

establish one or more Future Accounts

for which it will serve as depositor.

Variable Account B is a segregated

asset account of Allianz Life. Variable

Account B is registered with the

Commission as a unit investment trust

under the Act. Variable Account B filed

a Form N–8A Notification of

Registration under the 1940 Act on July

13, 1988. Variable Account B will fund

the variable benefits available under the

Contracts funded through it. Units of

interest in Variable Account B will be

registered under the Securities Act of

1933 (the ‘‘1933 Act’’). In that regard,

Variable Account B filed a Form N–4

Registration Statement on January 31,

2000 under the 1933 Act relating to the

Contracts. Allianz Life may in the future