Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Notices 2761 

1Prior to August 25, 2011, the Plan was known 

as the Unitrin, Inc. Pension Plan. 

paper questionnaires to be filled out by 

individual mine workers during offsite 

mining-related training sessions, (2) 

recruitment of miners through use of 

radio and paper advertisements, and (3) 

a mail or phone survey. DOL is 

currently assessing the feasibility of 

each method prior to implementation. 

For example, implementation of a 

phone or mail survey will depend on 

the availability of a valid list of miners. 

A maximum of 125 respondents will be 

surveyed under each collection mode 

for a total of 375 maximum respondents 

for the overall effort. 

2. Desired Focus of Comments 

Currently, the Department of Labor is 

soliciting comments concerning the 

above data collection. Comments are 

requested which: 

• Evaluate 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; 

• Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

• Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

• Minimize the burden of the 

information collection on those who are 

to respond, including the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submissions of responses. 

3. Current Actions 

Pursuant to the PRA implementing 

regulations at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), this 

notice requests comments on the 

proposed information collection request 

discussed above in the Background 

section of this notice. Interested parties 

are encouraged to provide comments to 

the individual list in the ADDRESSES

section above. 

Agency: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Policy. 

Type of Review: New Collection. 

Title of Collection: Miners’ Voice in 

the Workplace Survey. 

OMB Control Number: [Insert OMB 

Control Number]. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

375 (maximum 125 respondents each 

collection mode). 

Estimated Time per Response: 12–15 

minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 94 (based on 375 respondents at 

15 minutes each). 

Estimated Total Annual Other Cost to 

Public: $0. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this request will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval; they will also become a matter 

of public record. 

Signed: at Washington, DC, this 11th day 

of January, 2012. 

Megan Uzzell, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2012–941 Filed 1–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Exemptions From Certain Prohibited 

Transaction Restrictions 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Labor. 

ACTION: Grant of Individual Exemptions. 

SUMMARY: This document contains 

exemptions issued by the Department of 

Labor (the Department) from certain of 

the prohibited transaction restrictions of 

the Employee Retirement Income 

Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) 

and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 

1986 (the Code). This notice includes 

the following: PTE 2012–01, D–11676, 

The Kemper Corporation Pension Plan 

(the Plan); PTE 2012–02, D–11683, First 

Federal Bancshares of Arkansas, Inc. 

Employees’ Savings and Profit Sharing 

Plan (the Plan); PTE 2012–03, L–11647, 

R+L Carriers Shared Services, LLC, et al. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A notice 

was published in the Federal Register of 

the pendency before the Department of 

a proposal to grant such exemption. The 

notice set forth a summary of facts and 

representations contained in the 

application for exemption and referred 

interested persons to the application for 

a complete statement of the facts and 

representations. The application has 

been available for public inspection at 

the Department in Washington, DC. The 

notice also invited interested persons to 

submit comments on the requested 

exemption to the Department. In 

addition the notice stated that any 

interested person might submit a 

written request that a public hearing be 

held (where appropriate). The applicant 

has represented that it has complied 

with the requirements of the notification 

to interested persons. No requests for a 

hearing were received by the 

Department. Public comments were 

received by the Department as described 

in the granted exemption. 

The notice of proposed exemption 

was issued and the exemption is being 

granted solely by the Department 

because, effective December 31, 1978, 

section 102 of Reorganization Plan No. 

4 of 1978, 5 U.S.C. App. 1 (1996), 

transferred the authority of the Secretary 

of the Treasury to issue exemptions of 

the type proposed to the Secretary of 

Labor. 

Statutory Findings 

In accordance with section 408(a) of 

the Act and/or section 4975(c)(2) of the 

Code and the procedures set forth in 29 

CFR part 2570, subpart B (55 FR 32836, 

32847, August 10, 1990) and based upon 

the entire record, the Department makes 

the following findings: 

(a) The exemption is administratively 

feasible; 

(b) The exemption is in the interests 

of the plan and its participants and 

beneficiaries; and 

(c) The exemption is protective of the 

rights of the participants and 

beneficiaries of the plan. 

The Kemper Corporation Pension Plan 

(the Plan) Located in Chicago, Illinois 

[Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2012–01; 

Exemption Application Number D–11676] 

Exemption 

The restrictions of section 

406(a)(1)(A) and (D), and 406(b)(1) and 

(2) of the Act and the sanctions resulting 

from the application of section 4975 of 

the Code, by reason of section 

4975(c)(1)(A), (D) and (E) of the Code, 

shall not apply, effective September 1, 

2011, to the one-time, in-kind 

contribution (the Contribution) of shares 

of the common stock of Intermec, Inc. 

(the Stock) to the Kemper Corporation 

Pension Plan (the Plan) 1 by the Kemper 

Corporation (Kemper or the Applicant), 

a party in interest with respect to the 

Plan, provided that the following 

conditions are satisfied: 

(a) The Applicant makes cash 

contributions to the Plan to the extent 

that the cumulative proceeds from the 

sale of the Stock at each contribution 

due date (determined under section 

303(j) of the Act) are less than the 

cumulative cash contributions the 

Applicant would have been required to 

make to the Plan, in the absence of the 

Contribution. Such cash contributions 

shall be made until all of the Stock 

contributed to the Plan is sold; 

(b) The Applicant contributes to the 

Plan such cash amounts as are needed 

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2762 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Notices 

for the Plan to attain an Adjusted 

Funding Target Attainment Percentage 

(AFTAP) of at least 80% as of January 

1, 2012, as determined by the Plan’s 

actuary (the Actuary), without taking 

into account any unsold Stock as of 

April 1, 2012; 

(c) Solely for purposes of determining 

the Plan’s minimum funding 

requirements, AFTAP and funding 

target attainment percentage, the 

Actuary will not count as a Plan asset 

any Stock that has not been liquidated 

as a contribution to the Plan; 

(d) For purposes of determining Plan 

contribution amounts, the Stock shall be 

considered a contribution only at the 

time it is sold, with the contribution 

amount being the lesser of the proceeds 

from the sale of the Stock, or the value 

of the Stock on the date of the 

Contribution as determined by the 

Independent Fiduciary described below; 

(e) The Stock represents no more than 

20% of the fair market value of the total 

assets of the Plan at the time it is 

contributed to the Plan; 

(f) The Plan pays no commissions, 

costs or other expenses in connection 

with the contribution, holding or 

subsequent sale of the Stock and any 

such expenses paid by the Applicant are 

not treated as a contribution to the Plan; 

(g) The terms of the Contribution 

between the Plan and the Applicant are 

no less favorable to the Plan than terms 

negotiated at arm’s length under similar 

circumstances between unrelated 

parties; 

(h) The Independent Fiduciary 

represents the interests of the Plan, the 

participants and beneficiaries with 

respect to the Contribution; 

(i) The Independent Fiduciary 

determines that the Contribution is in 

the interests of the Plan and of its 

participants and beneficiaries and is 

protective of the rights of participants 

and beneficiaries of the Plan; and 

(j) The Independent Fiduciary 

monitors the transaction on a 

continuing basis and takes all 

appropriate actions to safeguard the 

interests of the Plan to ensure that the 

transaction remains in the interests of 

the Plan, and, if not, takes appropriate 

action available under the 

circumstances. 

For a more complete statement of the 

facts and representations supporting the 

Department’s decision to grant this 

exemption, refer to the notice of 

proposed exemption published on 

September 26, 2011 at 76 FR 59434. 

Effective Date: This exemption is 

effective as of September 1, 2011. 

Written Comments and Hearing 

Requests 

During the comment period, the 

Department received approximately 70 

telephone calls and six written 

comments in response to the notice of 

proposed exemption. None of the 

interested persons who contacted the 

Department requested a hearing. With 

one exception (discussed below), the 

telephone calls and written comments 

raised no substantive issues, but rather 

reflected the commenters’ failure to 

fully understand the notice of proposed 

exemption. The Department provided 

explanations to each of the commenters 

by telephone, and each was satisfied 

with the responses provided by the 

Department. 

One comment letter raised four 

questions and/or substantive issues. The 

Department asked the Applicant and the 

Independent Fiduciary, Fiduciary 

Counselors Inc., to respond to the issues 

and questions raised. 

The commenter first inquired as to 

how Kemper acquired the Stock from its 

affiliate, Trinity Universal Insurance 

Company (Trinity). The Applicant 

responded that Kemper acquired the 

shares of Intermec from Trinity via a 

cash transaction. Trinity received 

approximately $50.8 million in cash for 

the shares of the Stock sold to Kemper. 

The commenter then inquired if there 

were other subsidiaries of Kemper that 

own shares of the Stock. The Applicant 

responded that no other subsidiaries of 

Kemper own any shares of the Stock. 

The third issue raised was that while 

the Independent Fiduciary determined 

that the Contribution is in the best 

interests of the Plan and its participants 

and beneficiaries, the commenter stated 

that there was no detail in the notice of 

proposed exemption to support this 

statement. The Independent Fiduciary 

responded to this by describing the 

protections that were written into the 

proposed exemption as conditions, 

citing in particular conditions (a) 

through (d) of the operative language 

above. 

The Independent Fiduciary then 

confirmed that it performed a financial 

analysis of Intermec and the Stock to 

determine if the Contribution was an 

acceptable investment in the Plan. The 

Independent Fiduciary represents that 

Intermec is a global business that 

designs, develops, integrates sells and 

resells wired and wireless automated 

identification and data collection 

products and related services. Its 

products include mobile computers, bar 

code scanners, printers, label media and 

radio frequency identification products 

and related software. Additionally, due 

to its acquisition of Vocollect in the first 

quarter of 2011, its products now 

include voice data and collection 

terminals. Intermec also offers services 

related to its product offerings such as 

training and repair services. Most of its 

revenue is currently generated through 

sales of mobile computers, barcode 

scanners, printers and repair services. 

Intermec has, according to its 

President and CEO, transformed its 

business in recent years from that of a 

hardware company to a company which 

provides mobile business solutions. The 

Independent Fiduciary states that even 

while Intermec has repositioned itself in 

the market place, its balance sheet 

remains strong. As of December 31, 

2010, assets totaled $749 million, while 

liabilities were only $288 million, with 

stockholders’ equity at $461 million, 

representing about 62% of the assets. As 

of July 3, 2011, assets increased to $870 

million and liabilities totaled $414 

million. Stockholders’ equity of $455 

million was 52% of assets. During the 

quarter, Intermec borrowed $77 million 

under its $100 million credit facility. 

(Intermec had borrowed $97 million to 

fund the acquisition of Vocollect and 

had repaid $20 million as of the end of 

the second quarter.) This $77 million 

represents only 9% of total assets and 

the debt to equity ratio is just 17%. 

The comment letter also asked the 

Independent Fiduciary if it would 

recommend to a pension plan the 

purchase of such a large number of 

shares of a stock that does not pay any 

dividends to that plan. The Independent 

Fiduciary responded that a dividend, or 

lack of a dividend, is not a determinate 

of whether a stock is an acceptable 

investment under ERISA. The letter also 

asked the Independent Fiduciary 

whether a pension plan should have 

13.5% of its assets invested in one stock 

or own more than 10% of any one 

company. The Independent Fiduciary 

responded that it reviewed the Plan’s 

Investment Policy to ensure that the 

Contribution would be an acceptable 

investment for the Plan. The Investment 

Policy permits investments in 

individual stocks. The Independent 

Fiduciary did note that this asset would 

account for a greater percentage of the 

portfolio than is typical for a single 

asset. However, as the proposed 

exemption requires liquidation of the 

Stock over a relatively short time 

period, and the conditions agreed to by 

Kemper provide effective downside 

protection with respect to the 

Contribution, the Independent 

Fiduciary determined that it was 

permissible for the Contribution to 

temporarily overweight the Plan’s 

portfolio. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Notices 2763 

2For purposes of this exemption, references to 

specific provisions of Title I of the Act, unless 

otherwise specified, refer also to the corresponding 

provisions of the Code. 

3The individual related employers comprising 

the R+L Companies are: (1) R+L Carriers Shared 

Services, LLC; (2) Strategic Management, LLC; (3) 

Paramount Transportation Logistics Services, LLC; 

(4) R+L Carriers Payroll, LLC; (5) Paramount Labor 

Leasing Southern, LLC; (6) Paramount Labor 

Leasing Eastern, LLC; (7) Golden Ocala 

Management, Inc.; (8) Royal Resorts, LLC; (9) ABCO 

Transportation, Inc.; (10) Spirit Express Trucking, 

Inc.; (11) Royal Shell Property Management, Inc.; 

(12) Quality Quest Linen Service, Inc.; (13) Royal 

Shell Vacations, Inc.; (14) AFC LS, LLC; and (15) 

AFC Worldwide Express, Inc. The foregoing 

employers, along with the captive insurer, Royal 

Assurance, constitute the applicants requesting an 

individual exemption for the transaction described 

herein. 

4The applicants represent that Mr. Ralph ‘‘Larry’’ 

Roberts, Sr., the founder of the R+L Companies, is 

the owner (either directly, or indirectly through the 

combined voting interests of his spouse and his 

children) of 50 percent or more of the combined 

voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote 

of each of the employers constituting the R+L 

Companies whose employees are covered under the 

Plan. Therefore, according to the applicants, Mr. 

Roberts is a party in interest with respect to the 

Plan for purposes of section 3(14)(E) of the Act. The 

applicants further represent that Mr. Roberts is the 

owner, either directly or indirectly, of 50 percent 

or more of the combined voting power of all classes 

of stock entitled to vote of the captive, Royal 

Assurance; accordingly, the applicants represent 

that Royal Assurance is a party in interest with 

respect to the Plan for purposes of section 3(14)(G) 

of the Act. In this regard, the Department is 

providing no opinion herein as to whether Mr. 

Roberts is a party in interest with respect to the 

Plan for purposes of section 3(14)(E) of the Act; 

similarly, the Department is providing no opinion 

herein as to whether Royal Assurance is a party in 

interest with respect to the Plan for purposes of 

section 3(14)(G) of the Act. 

The final set of questions raised by 

the comment letter concerned whether 

the Applicant would incur all of the 

costs associated with the transaction. 

The Applicant confirmed that one of the 

conditions of the proposed exemption is 

that Kemper will pay all commissions, 

costs or other expenses in connection 

with the Contribution, holding or 

subsequent sale of the Stock. Thus, the 

Plan will not bear any of the costs 

associated with the transaction. 

The commenter also questioned what 

is to be gained by contributing the Stock 

to the Plan, as opposed to having Trinity 

sell the Stock, dividend the proceeds to 

Kemper and have Kemper put cash into 

the Plan. The Applicant responded that 

the participants in the Plan are better off 

having the Stock in the Plan because the 

Contribution is substantially in excess 

of the required minimum contributions. 

The proposed exemption is structured 

so that the Contribution only counts for 

funding purposes once the Stock has 

been liquidated by the Plan. The 

representations made by Kemper, as 

detailed in the proposed exemption, 

effectively eliminate any downside to 

the Plan from the Contribution. If the 

Stock were retained by Trinity, the 

participants would have no guarantee 

that the Plan would receive the 

proceeds from the sale of the Stock. 

The Department has given full 

consideration to the entire record, 

including the comment letter received 

and the responses by the Applicant and 

the Independent Fiduciary thereto. The 

Department has determined to grant the 

exemption as it was proposed. 

For Further Information Contact: Gary 

H. Lefkowitz of the Department, 

telephone (202) 693–8546. (This is not 

a toll-free number.) 

First Federal Bancshares of Arkansas, 

Inc. Employees’ Savings and Profit 

Sharing Plan (the Plan) Located in 

Harrison, Arkansas 

[Application No. D–11683; Prohibited 

Transaction Exemption No. 2012–02] 

Exemption 

Section I: Transactions 

Effective May 10, 2011, the 

restrictions of sections 406(a)(1)(A), 

406(a)(1)(E), 406(a)(2), 406(b)(1), 

406(b)(2), and 407(a)(1)(A) of the Act 

and the sanctions resulting from the 

application of section 4975 of the Code, 

by reason of section 4975(c)(1)(A) and 

4975(c)(1)(E) of the Code,2 shall not 

apply: 

(1) To the acquisition of certain rights 

(the Rights) by the Plan in connection 

with an offering (the Offering) of shares 

of the common stock (the Stock) of First 

Federal Bancshares of Arkansas, Inc. 

(Bancshares) by Bancshares, a party in 

interest with respect to the Plan, and 

(2) To the holding of the Rights 

received by the Plan during the 

subscription period of the Offering; 

provided that the conditions as set forth 

in section II of this exemption were 

satisfied for the duration of the 

acquisition and holding. 

Section II: Conditions 

The relief provided in this exemption 

is conditioned upon adherence to the 

material facts and representations 

described, herein, and as set forth in the 

application file and upon compliance 

with the conditions, as set forth in this 

exemption. 

(1) The receipt of the Rights by the 

Plan occurred in connection with the 

Offering and was made available by 

Bancshares on the same terms to all 

shareholders of the Stock of Bancshares; 

(2) The acquisition of the Rights by 

the Plan resulted from an independent 

act of Bancshares, as a corporate entity, 

and all holders of the Rights, including 

the Plan, were treated in the same 

manner with respect to the acquisition 

of such Rights; 

(3) Each shareholder of the Stock, 

including the Plan, received the same 

proportionate number of Rights based 

on the number of shares of Stock of 

Bancshares held by such shareholder; 

(4) The Rights were acquired pursuant 

to provisions under the Plan for 

individually directed investments of the 

accounts of the individual participants 

(the Invested Participants), all or a 

portion of whose accounts in the Plan 

hold the Stock; 

(5) The decisions with regard to the 

holding and disposition of the Rights by 

the Plan were made by each of the 

Invested Participants in accordance 

with the provisions under the Plan for 

individually-directed accounts; and 

(6) No brokerage fees, no 

commissions, no subscription fees, and 

no other charges were paid by the Plan 

with respect to the Offering, and no 

brokerage fees, no commissions, and no 

other monies were paid by the Plan to 

any broker in connection with the 

exercise of the Rights. 

Effective Date: This exemption is 

effective, May 10, 2011, the 

commencement date of the Offering. 

For a more complete statement of the 

facts and representations supporting the 

Department’s decision to grant this 

exemption refer to the Notice of 

Proposed Exemption published on 

November 14, 2011, at 76 FR 70505. 

For Further Information Contact: Ms. 

Angelena C. Le Blanc of the Department, 

telephone (202) 693–8540. (This is not 

a toll-free number.) 

R+L Carriers Shared Services, LLC, 

Located in Wilmington, Ohio 

[Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2012–03; 

Exemption Application No. L–11647] 

Exemption 

The restrictions of sections 406(a) and 

(b) of the Act shall not apply to the 

reinsurance of risks, and receipt of 

premiums related therefrom, by Royal 

Assurance, Inc. (Royal Assurance), in 

connection with insurance contracts 

sold by Unum Life Insurance Company 

of America (Unum), or any successor 

insurance company to Unum which is 

unrelated, to the R+L Carriers Shared 

Services, LLC to provide group life, 

short-term disability (STD), long-term 

disability (LTD), and Accidental Death 

and Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance 

benefits to employees of the R+L 

Companies 3 under an employee welfare 

benefit plan (the Plan) 4 sponsored by 

the R+L Carriers Shared Services, LLC, 

provided the following conditions are 

met: 

(a) Royal Assurance— 

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2764 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Notices 

(1) Is a party in interest with respect 

to the Plan by reason of a stock or 

partnership affiliation with R+L Carriers 

Shared Services LLC that is described in 

section 3(14)(E) or (G) of the Act; 

(2) Is licensed to sell insurance or 

conduct reinsurance operations in at 

least one State as defined in section 

3(10) of the Act; 

(3) Has obtained a Certificate of 

Authority from the Director of the 

Department of Insurance of its 

domiciliary state which has neither 

been revoked nor suspended; 

(4)(A) Has undergone and shall 

continue to undergo an examination by 

an independent certified public 

accountant for its last completed taxable 

year immediately prior to the taxable 

year of the reinsurance transaction; or 

(B) Has undergone a financial 

examination (within the meaning of the 

law of its domiciliary State, Arizona) by 

the Director of the Arizona Department 

of Insurance within 5 years prior to the 

end of the year preceding the year in 

which the reinsurance transaction 

occurred; and 

(5) Is licensed to conduct reinsurance 

transactions by a State whose law 

requires that an actuarial review of 

reserves be conducted annually by an 

independent firm of actuaries and 

reported to the appropriate regulatory 

authority; 

(b) The Plan pays no more than 

adequate consideration for the 

insurance contracts; 

(c) No commissions are paid by the 

Plan with respect to the reinsurance of 

such contracts; 

(d) In the initial year of any contract 

involving Royal Assurance, there will be 

an immediate and objectively 

determined benefit to the Plan’s 

participants and beneficiaries in the 

form of increased benefits; 

(e) In subsequent years, the formula 

used to calculate premiums by Unum or 

any successor insurer will be similar to 

formulae used by other insurers 

providing comparable coverage under 

similar programs. Furthermore, the 

premium charge calculated in 

accordance with the formula will be 

reasonable and will be comparable to 

the premium charged by the insurer and 

its competitors with the same or a better 

rating providing the same coverage 

under comparable programs; 

(f) The Plan only contracts with 

insurers with a financial strength rating 

of ‘‘A’’ or better from A. M. Best 

Company (A. M. Best). The reinsurance 

arrangement between the insurer and 

Royal Assurance will be indemnity 

insurance only, i.e., the insurer will not 

be relieved of liability to the Plan 

should Royal Assurance be unable or 

unwilling to cover any liability arising 

from the reinsurance arrangement; 

(g) The Plan retains an independent 

fiduciary to analyze the transaction and 

render an opinion that the requirements 

of sections (a) through (f) have been 

satisfied. For purposes of the 

exemption, the independent fiduciary is 

a person who: 

(1) Is not directly or indirectly, 

through one or more intermediaries, 

controlling, controlled by, or under 

common control with an applicant (this 

relationship hereinafter referred to as an 

affiliate); 

(2) Is not an officer, director, 

employee of, or partner in, Royal 

Assurance or any other applicant (or an 

affiliate of either); 

(3) Is not a corporation or partnership 

in which Royal Assurance or any other 

applicant has an ownership interest or 

is a partner; 

(4) Does not have an ownership 

interest in Royal Assurance, or any of 

the other applicants, or their Affiliates; 

(5) Is not a fiduciary with respect to 

the Plan prior to the appointment; and 

(6) Has acknowledged in writing 

acceptance of fiduciary responsibility 

and has agreed not to participate in any 

decision with respect to any transaction 

in which the independent Fiduciary has 

an interest that might affect its best 

judgment as a fiduciary. 

For purposes of this definition of an 

‘‘independent fiduciary,’’ no 

organization or individual may serve as 

an independent fiduciary for any fiscal 

year if the gross income received by 

such organization or individual (or 

partnership or corporation of which 

such individual is an officer, director, or 

10 percent or more partner or 

shareholder) from Royal Assurance, any 

other applicant, or their affiliates 

(including amounts received for services 

as independent fiduciary under any 

prohibited transaction exception 

granted by the Department) for that 

fiscal year exceeds one percent of that 

organization or individual’s annual 

gross income from all sources for the 

prior fiscal year. 

In addition, no organization or 

individual who is an independent 

fiduciary, and no partnership or 

corporation of which such organization 

or individual is an officer, director, or 

10 percent or more partner or 

shareholder, may acquire any property 

from, sell any property to, or borrow 

funds from Royal Assurance, any other 

applicant, or their affiliates during the 

period that such organization or 

individual serves as independent 

fiduciary, and continuing for a period of 

six months after such organization or 

individual ceases to be an independent 

fiduciary, or negotiates any such 

transaction during the period that such 

organization or individual serves as 

independent fiduciary. 

For a more complete statement of the 

facts and representations supporting the 

Department’s decision to grant this 

exemption, refer to the notice of 

proposed exemption published on 

September 26, 2011 at 76 FR 59441. 

For Further Information Contact: Mr. 

Gary Lefkowitz of the Department at 

(202) 693–8546. This is not a toll-free 

number. 

General Information 

The attention of interested persons is 

directed to the following: 

(1) The fact that a transaction is the 

subject of an exemption under section 

408(a) of the Act and/or section 

4975(c)(2) of the Code does not relieve 

a fiduciary or other party in interest or 

disqualified person from certain other 

provisions to which the exemption does 

not apply and the general fiduciary 

responsibility provisions of section 404 

of the Act, which among other things 

require a fiduciary to discharge his 

duties respecting the plan solely in the 

interest of the participants and 

beneficiaries of the plan and in a 

prudent fashion in accordance with 

section 404(a)(1)(B) of the Act; nor does 

it affect the requirement of section 

401(a) of the Code that the plan must 

operate for the exclusive benefit of the 

employees of the employer maintaining 

the plan and their beneficiaries; 

(2) This exemption is supplemental to 

and not in derogation of, any other 

provisions of the Act and/or the Code, 

including statutory or administrative 

exemptions and transactional rules. 

Furthermore, the fact that a transaction 

is subject to an administrative or 

statutory exemption is not dispositive of 

whether the transaction is in fact a 

prohibited transaction; and 

(3) The availability of this exemption 

is subject to the express condition that 

the material facts and representations 

contained in the application accurately 

describes all material terms of the 

transaction which is the subject of the 

exemption. 

Signed at Washington, DC, this 13th day of 

January, 2012. 

Ivan Strasfeld, 

Director of Exemption Determinations, 

Employee Benefits Security Administration, 

U.S. Department of Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2012–930 Filed 1–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 

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