42958 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Notices 

4This estimate is based on the following 

calculations: (1 hour ÷ 6 years) = 10 minutes per 

year for each fund and conduit fund that is required 

to provide notice under the rule. 10 minutes per 

year × 3 (combined number of affected funds and 

conduit funds) = 30 minutes. 

5This estimate is based on the following 

calculation: $401/hour × 30 minutes = $200.50. The 

estimated hourly wages used in this PRA analysis 

were derived from reports prepared by the 

Securities Industry and Financial Markets 

Association, modified to account for an 1,800-hour 

work year and multiplied by 5.35 to account for 

bonuses, firm size, employee benefits and overhead, 

and adjusted for inflation. 

conduit funds would be approximately 

30 minutes,4 at a cost of $201.5

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 and forms. 

Compliance with the collection of 

information requirements of the rule is 

necessary to obtain the benefit of relying 

on the rule. 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 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 after this 

publication. 

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 21, 2018. 

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18360 Filed 8–23–18; 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 17g–5; SEC File. No. 270–581, OMB 

Control No. 3235–0649 

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’’) the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

has submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) a 

request for approval of extension of the 

previously approved collection of 

information provided for in Rule 17g–5 

(17 CFR 240.17g–5) under the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et 

seq.) (‘‘Exchange Act’’). 

Rule 17g–5 requires the disclosure of 

and establishment of procedures to 

manage certain NRSRO conflicts of 

interest, prohibits certain other NRSRO 

conflicts of interest, and contains 

requirements regarding the disclosure of 

information in the case of the conflict of 

interest of an NRSRO issuing or 

maintaining a credit rating on an assetbacked security that was paid for by the 

issuer, sponsor, or underwriter of the 

security. The Commission previously 

estimated that the total annual burden 

for respondents to comply with Rule 

17g–5 is 261,295 hours. 

The Commission may not conduct or 

sponsor a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. No person shall be 

subject to any penalty for failing to 

comply with a collection of information 

subject to the PRA that does not display 

a valid Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) control number. 

Background documentation for this 

information collection may be viewed at 

the following website: www.reginfo.gov. 

Comments should be directed to: (i) 

Desk Officer for the Securities and 

Exchange Commission, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Room 10102, New Executive Office 

Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by 

sending an email to: Shagufta_Ahmed@

omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Pamela Dyson, 

Director/Chief Information Officer, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, c/ 

o Candace Kenner, 100 F St NE, 

Washington, DC 20549 or send an email 

to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments 

must be submitted to OMB within 30 

days of this notice. 

Dated: August 21, 2018. 

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18359 Filed 8–23–18; 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 17a–12/Form X–17A–5 Part IIB, SEC 

File No. 270–442, OMB Control No. 

3235–0498 

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 17a–12 (17 CFR 

240.17a–12) and Part IIB of Form X– 

17A–5 (17 CFR 249.617) 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 17a–12 is the reporting rule 

tailored specifically for over-the-counter 

(‘‘OTC’’) derivatives dealers registered 

with the Commission, and Part IIB of 

Form X–17A–5, the Financial and 

Operational Combined Uniform Single 

(‘‘FOCUS’’) Report, is the basic 

document for reporting the financial 

and operational condition of OTC 

derivatives dealers. Rule 17a–12 

requires registered OTC derivatives 

dealers to file Part IIB of the FOCUS 

Report quarterly. Rule 17a–12 also 

requires that OTC derivatives dealers 

file audited financial statements 

annually. 

The reports required under Rule 17a– 

12 provide the Commission with 

information used to monitor the 

operations of OTC derivatives dealers 

and to enforce their compliance with 

the Commission’s rules. These reports 

also enable the Commission to review 

the business activities of OTC 

derivatives dealers and to anticipate, 

where possible, how these dealers may 

be affected by significant economic 

events. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Notices 42959 

1Based upon an average of 4 responses per year 

and an average of 20 hours spent preparing each 

response. 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The independence policy of the board of 

directors of the Exchange’s affiliate NYSE is 

substantially the same as the Independence Policy. 

NYSE has submitted substantially the same 

proposed rule change to its independence policy as 

described herein. See SR–NYSE–2018–38. 

4 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

5The proposed text would include the definition 

of ‘‘ICE.’’ Accordingly, the Exchange proposes to 

delete the definition of ICE in ‘‘Independence 

Requirements,’’ category 1. 

There are currently three registered 

OTC derivatives dealers. The staff 

expects that three additional firms will 

register as OTC derivatives dealers 

within the next three years. The staff 

estimates that the average amount of 

time necessary to prepare and file the 

quarterly reports required by the rule is 

eighty hours per OTC derivatives 

dealer 1 and that the average amount of 

time to prepare and file the annual audit 

report is 100 hours per OTC derivatives 

dealer per year, for a total reporting 

burden of 180 hours per OTC 

derivatives dealer annually. Thus the 

staff estimates that the total industrywide reporting burden to comply with 

the requirements of Rule 17a–12 is 

1,080 hours per year (180 × 6). The 

Commission estimates that the average 

annual reporting cost per broker-dealer 

for an independent public accountant to 

examine the financial statements is 

approximately $46,300 per brokerdealer. Thus, the total industry-wide 

annual reporting cost is approximately 

$277,800 ($46,300 × 6). 

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 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information; (c) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information to be 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 

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 21, 2018. 

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18358 Filed 8–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83890; File No. SR– 

NYSEAMER–2018–42] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

American LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the 

Independence Policy of the Board of 

Directors of the Exchange 

August 20, 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 

15, 2018, NYSE American LLC (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NYSE American’’) 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 selfregulatory organization. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Independence Policy of the Board of 

Directors of the Exchange 

(‘‘Independence Policy’’) by (a) 

streamlining references to 

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (‘‘ICE’’) 

subsidiaries that are national securities 

exchanges, (b) removing obsolete 

references, and (c) adding references to 

national securities exchange affiliates of 

the Exchange. The proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

www.nyse.com, at the principal office of 

the Exchange, and at the Commission’s 

Public Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

self-regulatory organization 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 those statements may be examined at 

the places specified in Item IV below. 

The Exchange has prepared summaries, 

set forth in sections A, B, and C below, 

of the most significant parts of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Independence Policy by (a) streamlining 

references to ICE subsidiaries that are 

national securities exchanges, (b) 

removing obsolete references, and (c) 

adding references to national securities 

exchange affiliates of the Exchange. 

Definition of ‘‘Exchange’’ 

The Independence Policy includes 

references to the Exchange and its 

national securities exchange affiliates 

New York Stock Exchange LLC 

(‘‘NYSE’’) and NYSE Arca, Inc. (‘‘NYSE 

Arca’’).3 It does not include references 

to the Exchange’s newest national 

securities exchange affiliates, NYSE 

National, Inc. (‘‘NYSE National’’) and 

Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc. (‘‘CHX’’). 

The Exchange proposes to replace lists 

of individual national securities 

exchange affiliates in the Independence 

Policy with the term ‘‘Exchange,’’ 

defined as any national securities 

exchange registered under Section 6 of 

the Exchange Act 4 and controlled, 

directly or indirectly, by ICE. The 

definition would encompass the 

Exchange, NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE 

National, and CHX (collectively, the 

‘‘SRO Affiliates’’). 

Specifically, the Exchange proposes to 

add a second paragraph under 

‘‘Purpose’’ with the definition of 

‘‘Exchange.’’ 5 In addition, the Exchange 

proposes to make the following changes 

in the section under ‘‘Independence 

Qualifications’’: 

• Replace ‘‘New York Stock Exchange 

LLC, NYSE Arca, Inc. and NYSE 

American LLC’’ with ‘‘an Exchange’’ in 

category 1(b) and (c); 

• Replace ‘‘New York Stock Exchange 

LLC, on NYSE Arca, Inc. or on NYSE 

American LLC’’ with ‘‘an Exchange’’ in 

category 1(d) and category 4; 

• Replace ‘‘New York Stock Exchange 

LLC, and NYSE Arca, Inc. and NYSE 

American LLC exercise’’ with ‘‘each 

Exchange exercises’’ in the final 

paragraph of category 1; 

• Replace ‘‘New York Stock Exchange 

LLC, NYSE Arca, Inc., NYSE Arca 


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