[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 29 (Monday, February 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9908-9909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02822]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Comment Request; Uniform Interagency Transfer Agent 
Registration and Deregistration Forms

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden, invites comment on a continuing information 
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). 
In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct 
or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an 
information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting 
comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled, 
``Uniform Interagency Transfer Agent Registration and Deregistration 
Forms.''

DATES: Comments must be received by April 12, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if 
possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5c5c7d4dcdbd3daf5dad6d69bc1c7d0d4c69bd2dac3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b2b293a32353d341b343838752f293e3a28753c342d">[email protected]</span></a>.
    <bullet> Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment 
Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-
0124, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, 
Washington, DC 20219.
    <bullet> Fax: (571) 293-4835.
    Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and 
``1557-0124'' in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish 
comments on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or 
personal information provided, such as name and address information, 
email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including 
attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public 
record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information 
in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential 
or inappropriate for public disclosure.
    Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, the OCC 
will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period. You may 
review comments and other related materials that pertain to this 
information collection beginning on the date of publication of the 
second notice for this collection by the method set forth in the next 
bullet.
    <bullet> Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. 
Hover over the ``Information Collection Review'' tab and click on 
``Information Collection Review'' from the drop-down menu. From the 
``Currently under Review'' drop-down menu, select ``Department of 
Treasury'' and then click ``submit.'' This information collection can 
be located by searching OMB control number ``1557-0124'' or ``Uniform 
Interagency Transfer Agent Registration and Deregistration Forms.'' 
Upon finding the appropriate information collection, click on the 
related ``ICR Reference Number.'' On the next screen, select ``View 
Supporting Statement and Other Documents'' and then click on the link 
to any comment listed at the bottom of the screen.
    <bullet> For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please 
contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482-7340.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, Clearance Officer, 
(202) 649-5490, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of 
the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, 
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to 
access telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 
Federal agencies must obtain approval from the OMB for each collection 
of information that they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of 
information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to 
include agency requests or requirements that members of the public 
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 
Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 generally requires Federal agencies 
to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each 
proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension 
of an existing collection of information, before submitting the 
collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the 
OCC is publishing notice of the renewal of this collection.
    Title: Uniform Interagency Transfer Agent Registration and 
Deregistration Forms.
    Form Numbers: Form TA-1 & TA-W.
    Estimated Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Affected Public: National banks and their subsidiaries, Federal 
savings associations and their subsidiaries.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0124.
    Type of Review: Regular.

Form TA-1

    Estimated Number of Respondents: Registrations: 1; Amendments: 17.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: Registrations: 1.25 hours; 
Amendments: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4 hours.

Form TA-W

    Estimated Number of Respondents: Deregistrations: 5.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: Deregistrations: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2.5 hours.
    Section 17A(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Act) 
requires all transfer agents for qualifying securities registered under 
section 12 of the Act, as well as for securities that

[[Page 9909]]

would be required to be registered except for the exemption from 
registration provided by section 12(g)(2)(B) or section 12(g)(2)(G), to 
file with the appropriate regulatory agency (ARA) an application for 
registration in such form and containing such information and documents 
as such appropriate regulatory agency may prescribe as necessary or 
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of this section.\1\ In 
general, an entity performing transfer agent functions for a qualifying 
security is required to register with its appropriate regulatory 
agency. The OCC's regulations at 12 CFR 9.20 implement these provisions 
of the Act.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(c).
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    To accomplish the registration of transfer agents, Form TA-1 was 
developed in 1975 as an interagency effort by the Securities and 
Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal banking agencies (the OCC, 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation). The agencies primarily use the data 
collected on Form TA-1 to determine whether an application for 
registration should be approved, denied, accelerated, or postponed, and 
they use the data in connection with their supervisory 
responsibilities. In addition, when a national bank or Federal savings 
association no longer acts as a transfer agent for qualifying 
securities or when the national bank or Federal savings association is 
no longer supervised by the OCC, i.e., liquidates or converts to 
another form of financial institution, the national bank or Federal 
savings association must file Form TA-W with the OCC, requesting 
withdrawal from registration as a transfer agent.
    Forms TA-1 and TA-W are mandatory, and their collection is 
authorized by sections 17A(c), 17(a)(3), and 23(a)(1) of the Act, as 
amended (15 U.S.C. 78q-1(c), 78q(a)(3), and 78w(a)(1)). Additionally, 
section 3(a)(34)(B)(i) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(34)(B)(i)) provides 
that the OCC is the ARA in the case of a national banks and Federal 
savings associations and subsidiaries of such institutions. The 
registrations are public filings and are not considered confidential. 
The OCC needs the information contained in this collection to fulfill 
its statutory responsibilities. Section 17A(c)(2) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 
78q-1(c)(2)), as amended, provides that all those authorized to 
transfer securities registered under section 12 of the Act (transfer 
agents) shall register by filing with the appropriate regulatory agency 
an application for registration in such form and containing such 
information and documents as such appropriate regulatory agency may 
prescribe to be necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes 
of this section.

Request for Comment

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will become 
a matter of public record. Comments are invited on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the OCC, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information;
    (c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology; and
    (e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

Theodore J. Dowd,
Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2024-02822 Filed 2-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P


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