40610 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 158 / Wednesday, August 15, 2018 / Notices 

26 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

27 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 28 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

exchanges, and to encourage liquidity 

and should enable the Exchange to 

continue to attract and compete for 

order flow with other exchanges. The 

Exchange notes that it operates in a 

highly competitive market in which 

market participants can readily favor 

competing venues if they deem fee 

levels at a particular venue to be 

excessive. In such an environment, the 

Exchange must continually adjust its 

rebates and fees to remain competitive 

with other exchanges and to attract 

order flow. The Exchange believes that 

the proposed rule changes reflect this 

competitive environment because they 

modify the Exchange’s fees in a manner 

that encourages market participants to 

continue to provide liquidity and to 

send order flow to the Exchange. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,26 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(2) 27 thereunder. At any time 

within 60 days of the filing of the 

proposed rule change, the Commission 

summarily may temporarily suspend 

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. If the Commission 

takes such action, the Commission shall 

institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule should be 

approved or 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 email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

PEARL–2018–17 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–PEARL–2018–17. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email 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 website (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 website 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 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. All comments 

received will be posted without change. 

Persons submitting comments are 

cautioned that we do not redact or edit 

personal identifying information from 

comment submissions. You should 

submit only information that you wish 

to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–PEARL–2018–17, and 

should be submitted on or before 

September 5, 2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.28

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17495 Filed 8–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

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 17f–1(c) and Form X–17F–1A. SEC 

File No. 270–29, OMB Control No. 3235– 

0037. 

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 17f–1(c) and Form 

X–17F–1A (17 CFR 249.100) 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 17f–1(c) requires approximately 

10,100 entities in the securities industry 

to report lost, stolen, missing, or 

counterfeit securities certificates to the 

Commission or its designee, to a 

registered transfer agent for the issue, 

and, when criminal activity is 

suspected, to the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation. Such entities are required 

to use Form X–17F–1A to make such 

reports. Filing these reports fulfills a 

statutory requirement that reporting 

institutions report and inquire about 

missing, lost, counterfeit, or stolen 

securities. Since these reports are 

compiled in a central database, the rule 

facilitates reporting institutions to 

access the database that stores 

information for the Lost and Stolen 

Securities Program. 

We estimate that 10,100 reporting 

institutions will report that securities 

are either missing, lost, counterfeit, or 

stolen annually and that each reporting 

institution will submit this report 30 

times each year. The staff estimates that 

the average amount of time necessary to 

comply with Rule 17f–1(c) and Form X– 

17F–1A is five minutes. The total 

burden is approximately 25,250 hours 

annually for respondents (10,100 times 

30 times 5 divided by 60). 

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 shall have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the proposed collection 

of information; (c) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information on respondents; 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 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 158 / Wednesday, August 15, 2018 / Notices 40611 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Terms not defined herein are defined in the EPN 

Rules, available at http://www.dtcc.com/legal/rulesand-procedures. 

4See Article II, EPN Rule 2, Sec. 5, supra note 

3. 

5The reference to ‘‘T2’’ does not relate to the two 

business days settlement cycle for broker-dealer 

securities transactions, known as ‘‘T+2.’’ 

6MBSD maintains two sets of rulebooks. The EPN 

Rules govern MBSD’s EPN Service, and the MBSD 

Clearing Rules (the ‘‘MBSD Rules’’) govern MBSD’s 

clearance and settlement service. The MBSD Rules 

are available at http://www.dtcc.com/legal/rulesand-procedures. Pursuant to the MBSD Rules, the 

term ‘‘Clearing System’’ means the (i) system of 

services provided by MBSD to persons that are 

Clearing Members thereof, including trade 

comparison, to-be-announced netting, pool 

comparison, pool netting, and settlement, as 

applicable, and (ii) operations carried out by MBSD 

in the course of providing such services, as 

provided in the MBSD Rules. See MBSD Rule 1, 

Definitions. 

writing within 60 days of this 

publication. 

Rule 17f–1(c) is a reporting rule and 

does not specify a retention period. The 

rule requires an incident-based 

reporting requirement by the reporting 

institutions when securities certificates 

are discovered to be missing, lost, 

counterfeit, or stolen. Registering under 

Rule 17f–1(c) is mandatory to obtain the 

benefit of a central database that stores 

information about missing, lost, 

counterfeit, or stolen securities for the 

Lost and Stolen Securities Program. 

Reporting institutions required to 

register under Rule 17f–1(c) will not be 

kept confidential; however, the Lost and 

Stolen Securities Program database will 

be kept confidential. 

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: Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o Candace 

Kenner, 100 F Street NE, Washington 

DC 20549, or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: August 9, 2018. 

Eduardo A. Aleman. 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17487 Filed 8–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83808; File No. SR–FICC– 

2018–007] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed 

Income Clearing Corporation; Notice of 

Filing of Proposed Rule Change To 

Correct Certain References, Provide 

Transparency to Existing Processes 

and Amend Existing Practices in 

Connection With the Mortgage-Backed 

Securities Division Electronic Pool 

Notification Rules 

August 9, 2018. 

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 August 3, 

2018, Fixed Income Clearing 

Corporation (‘‘FICC’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I, II and III 

below, which Items have been prepared 

by the clearing agency. 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 proposed rule change consists of 

amendments to the FICC MortgageBacked Securities Division (‘‘MBSD’’) 

electronic pool notification (‘‘EPN’’) 

Rules (the ‘‘EPN Rules’’) 3 as described 

below. 

FICC is proposing to correct the EPN 

Rules by (i) deleting references to the 

term ‘‘EPN Procedures,’’ (ii) amending 

the definition of the term ‘‘Interested 

Person’’ to delete the reference to 

‘‘Comparison Only System,’’ (iii) 

deleting the defined term for ‘‘Par 

Amount,’’ (iv) replacing references to 

the term ‘‘Vice President’’ with the term 

‘‘Executive Director,’’ (v) amending Sec. 

3 (Agreements of EPN User) in EPN Rule 

1 (Requirements Applicable to EPN 

Users) of Article III (EPN Users) to 

clarify an EPN User’s obligation to 

process Messages through the EPN 

system during a system disruption, and 

(vi) amending EPN Rule 4 (Admission to 

Premises of Corporation; Power of 

Attorney) of Article III (EPN Users) to 

replace a reference to ‘‘he’’ with ‘‘such 

person.’’ 

FICC is proposing to amend various 

sections in the EPN Rules to provide 

transparency to FICC’s existing 

processes. Specifically, FICC is 

proposing to amend EPN Rule 1 

(Definitions) of Article I (Definitions and 

General Provisions); Section 2 

(Limitations) in EPN Rule 1 (Accounts) 

and Section 1 (Availability of Reports), 

Section 2 (Message Detail Report), 

Section 3 (Message Summary Report), 

and Section 5 (Good Delivery; Time 

Stamps) in EPN Rule 2 (Reports) of 

Article II (Messages Processed by the 

Corporation); and EPN Rule 5 (Use of 

EPN Service) of Article III (EPN Users). 

FICC is also proposing to amend its 

existing practice in connection with an 

EPN User’s submission of a cancel and 

correct Message.4 Specifically, FICC is 

proposing to establish one good delivery 

time stamp (referred to as the ‘‘T2’’ 5

time stamp) that reflects the same 

processing time on the pool seller’s and 

the pool buyer’s cancel and correct 

Message, respectively. The proposed 

change would not affect FICC’s 

guarantee and novation of transactions 

submitted by Clearing Members through 

MBSD’s Clearing System.6

II. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

clearing agency 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. The 

clearing agency 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 

1. Purpose 

FICC is proposing to correct the EPN 

Rules by (i) deleting references to the 

term ‘‘EPN Procedures’’ because FICC 

does not maintain EPN Procedures, (ii) 

amending the definition of the term 

‘‘Interested Person’’ to delete the 

reference to ‘‘Comparison Only System’’ 

because MBSD does not maintain a 

Comparison Only System, (iii) deleting 

the defined term for ‘‘Par Amount’’ 

because this term is not used in the EPN 

Rules, (iv) replacing references to the 

term ‘‘Vice President’’ with the term 

‘‘Executive Director’’ because FICC no 

longer utilizes the Vice President title, 

(v) amending Sec. 3 (Agreements of EPN 

User) in EPN Rule 1 (Requirements 

Applicable to EPN Users) of Article III 

(EPN Users) to clarify an EPN User’s 

obligation to process Messages through 

the EPN system during a system 

disruption because this change would 

be an accurate reflection of FICC’s 

existing practice, and (vi) amending 

EPN Rule 4 (Admission to Premises of 

Corporation; Power of Attorney) of 

Article III (EPN User) to replace a 

reference to ‘‘he’’ with ‘‘such person’’ 

because the reference to ‘‘such person’’ 

would be gender neutral. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES