Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 22, 2000 / Notices 70371

9 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

3The Board submitted a new Form 19b–4, which

replaces the original filing (‘‘Amendment No. 1’’).

Specifically, Amendment No. 1 amends MSRB

Rules G–38 and G–8 to clarify that the name of the

consultant is obtained from the consultant

agreement. Amendment No. 1 also revises the filing

to include the statutory basis for the proposed rule

change. 4Rule G–38(d) states that each dealer shall send

to the Board reports on Form G–37/G–38 of all

consultants used by the dealer during each calendar

quarter. These reports currently must include,

among other things, for each consultant, the

consultant’s name, company, role and

compensation arrangement.

5The Instructions for Completing and Filing

Form G–37/G–38 are printed in the MSRB Rule

Book (January 1, 2000) at 201–203 and the

Instructions are posted on the Board’s web site

(www.msrb.org) under the links for Rules G–37 and

G–38.

6Rule G–38(b) currently requires each dealer that

uses a consultant to evidence the consulting

arrangement by writing (the ‘‘Consultant

Agreement’’) that sets forth, at a minimum, the

name, company, role and compensation

arrangement of each such consultant.

7See Question and Answer Notice: Rule G–38

dated May 20, 1998, MSRB Rule Book (January 1,

2000) at 210. In this notice, concerning bank

affiliates and the definition of payment, the Board

stated that ‘‘each dealer (bank or securities firm)

should determine whether the affiliate or individual

employee(s) of the affiliate is its consultant(s), and

must then ensure compliance with Rule G–38,

including the contractual arrangements and

disclosures required by the rule.’’

8See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 42205

(December 7, 1999), 64 FR 69808 (December 14,

1999).

the clearing agency or for which it is

responsible. For the reasons set forth

below, the Commission believes that

GSCC’s proposed rule change is

consistent with GSCC’s obligations

under the Act.

By allowing GSCC to enter into

repurchase transactions with its highly

creditworthy netting members and

clearing agent bank members, GSCC

should be able to obtain more favorable

financing terms that should result in

lower financing costs being allocated to

members. As repurchase transactions

are safe, widely accepted financing

mechanisms, there should be no

reduction in GSCC’s ability to safeguard

securities and funds which are in the

custody or control of GSCC or for which

it is responsible.

Accordingly, the Commission finds

that the ability to enter into repurchase

transactions with GSCC netting

members and/or clearing agent bank

members satisfies GSCC’s obligations to

assure the safeguarding of securities and

funds which are in the custody or

control of GSCC or for which it is

responsible.

III. Conclusion

On the basis of the foregoing, the

Commission finds that the proposed

rule change is consistent with the

requirements of the Act and in

particular section 17A of the Act and

the rules and regulations thereunder.

It Is Therefore Ordered, pursuant to

section 19(b)(2) of the Act, that the

proposed rule change (File No. SR–

GSCC–00–01) be and hereby is

approved.

For the Commission by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority. 9

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–29887 Filed 11–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–43568; File No. SR–MSRB–

00–02]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

the Municipal Securities Rulemaking

Board Relating to Rules G–8 and G–38

and Form G–37/G–38

November 15, 2000.

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 January

27, 2000, the Municipal Securities

Rulemaking Board (‘‘Board’’ or

‘‘MSRB’’) filed with the Securities and

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’

or ‘‘SEC’’) a proposed rule change as

described in Items I, II, and III below,

which Items have been prepared by the

Board. The Board filed Amendment No.

1 to the proposed rule change on

November 15, 2000.3 The Commission

is publishing this notice to solicit

comments on the proposed rule change,

as amended, from interested persons.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Terms of Substance of

the Proposed Rule Change

The Board proposes to amend Rule G–

38, on consultants, Rule G–8, on books

and records, and revise Section IV of

Form G–37/G–38 and the attachment

page to the form. The text of the

proposed rule change is available at the

MSRB and at the Commission.

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

Board 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 Exchange has

prepared summaries, set forth in

sections A, B, and C below, of the most

significant aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

1. Purpose

The Board has received inquiries from

dealers that have indicated that there is

confusion about certain information

required to be reported in Section IV of

Form G–37/G–38 as well as the

attachment page to the form.4 One area

of confusion concerns whether an

individual’s name must be disclosed on

Form G–37/G–38 in each instance in

which the dealer lists a consultant. Part

of this confusion is due to the format of

Section IV of the form as well as the

attachment page. Dealers list their

consultants in Section IV of Form G–37/

G–38 and they must provide additional

information about each consultant on

separate attachment pages. Under

Section IV, there is one column labeled

‘‘Name of Consultant’’ and another

column labeled ‘‘Consultant Company

Name.’’ On the attachment page to the

form, the first line indicates that a

dealer is to report the ‘‘Name of

Consultant’’ and the next line indicates

the reporting of the ‘‘Consultant

Company Name.’’ The Instructions for

Completing and Filing Form G–37/G–

38 5 state that a dealer should list the

name of each consultant along with the

consultant company name under

Section IV and on the attachment page

a dealer should list the name of the

consultant as well as the consultant

company name.

A dealer must determine whether its

consultant is an individual or a

company based upon its Consultant

Agreement 6 with the consultant.7 If the

Consultant Agreement is with an

individual, then only the individual’s

name should be reported on the form

and not a company name. Conversely, if

the Consultant Agreement is with a

company, only the company’s name

should be reported and not an

individual’s name.

The identification of a dealer’s

consultants has become even more

significant with the recent amendments

to Rules G–38, G–8, and G–37 that

became effective on April 1, 2000.8

Pursuant to those amendments, if an

individual is a consultant, the

70372 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 22, 2000 / Notices

9Pursuant to Rule G–37, on political

contributions and prohibitions on municipal

securities business, dealers are also required to

report their contributions and payments in Sections

I and II of Form G–37/G–38 by contributor category

(i.e., dealer, dealer controlled PAC, municipal

finance professional controlled PAC, municipal

finance professionals, and executive officers)

10See Amendment No. 1, supra note 3.

11See Rule G–38 Question and Answer number

1 dated November 18, 1996, MSRB Rule Book

(January 1, 2000) at 210. The Rule G–38 Questions

and Answers are also posted on the Board’s web

site at www.msrb.org.

12 15 U.S.C. 78o–4(b)(2)(C).

individual will relay to the dealer his or

her reportable political contributions,

reportable political party payments, and

the reportable contributions and

reportable payments of any political

action committee (‘‘PAC’’) controlled by

the individual. If the consultant is a

company, the company will relay its

reportable contributions and reportable

payments to the dealer, as well as those

made by any partner, director, officer or

employee of the consultant who

communicates with issuers to obtain

municipal business on behalf of the

dealer, and any PAC controlled by the

consultant or any partner, director,

officer or employee of the consultant

who communicates with issuers to

obtain municipal securities business on

behalf of the dealer. Dealers will report

this contribution and payment

information to the Board on Form G–37/

G–38 by contributor category (i.e.,

company, individual, company

controlled PAC, or individual controlled

PAC).9

The current language of Rules G–38

and G–8 and the formats of Forms G–

37/G–38, the attachment page, and the

Instructions, are not as clear as they

could be about the information required

for identifying a consultant. The

proposed rule change would amend

Rule G–38 to remove the separate

references to the consultant’s company

name from the requirements regarding

the Consultant Agreement, the

disclosure to issuers, and the disclosure

to the Board. In addition, the proposed

rule change would remove the

requirement in Rule G–8 for dealers to

maintain a separate record of the

company name. The proposed rule

change would also amend Rules G–

8(a)(xviii)(A) and G–38(d) and (e) to add

the phrase ‘‘pursuant to the Consultant

Agreement’’ after the consultant’s

name.10 The proposed rule change

would also revise the formats of Section

IV of Form G–37/G–38 and the

attachment page to state ‘‘Name of

Consultant (pursuant to Consultant

Agreement)’’ and delete the reference to

the ‘‘Consultant Company Name.’’ Thus,

a dealer would provide the name of an

individual, if the consultant is an

individual, or of a company, if the

consultant is a company, depending

upon whether the dealer has entered

into a Consultant Agreement with an

individual or a company. These

revisions will eliminate existing

ambiguities under the rules resulting

from the requirements that information

regarding both an individual and a

company be provided. This also will

make it clear to dealers and the public

who is responsible for relaying

information about reportable

contributions and payments to the

dealers.

Another area addressed by the

proposed rule change concerns the role

of the consultant. Pursuant to Rule G–

38, a dealer is required to include

within the Consultant Agreement the

role of the consultant, to disclose this

rule to the issuer and to the Board and,

pursuant to Rule G–8, to maintain a

record of the role. The Instructions for

Completing and Filing Form G–37/G–38

state that, in describing a consultant’s

role, a dealer should include the state or

geographic area in which the consultant

is working on behalf of the dealer. In

addition, the Board issued a Question

and Answer notice on Rule G–38 in

which it stated that the role to be

performed by a consultant may be

described in general terms on Form G–

37/G–38; however, dealers must include

the state or geographic area in which the

consultant is working on behalf of the

dealer.11

From a review of the Forms G–37/G–

38 submitted by dealers, there are a

number of instances in which dealers

have not reported the state or

geographic area in which their

consultants are working. The proposed

rule change will revise Rules G–38 and

G–8 to explicitly require the reporting of

the state or geographic area in which a

consultant is working on behalf of a

dealer in the description of the

consultant’s role. The proposed rule

change will also revise the attachment

page to Form G–37/G–38 to include a

parenthetical phrase in the section for

reporting the role to be performed by the

consultant to note that dealers should

report the state or geographic area in

which the consultant is working on

behalf of the dealer.

2. Statutory Basis

The Board believes the proposed rule

change is consistent with section

15B(b)(2)(C) 12 of the Act, which

requires that the Board’s rules be

designed to prevent fraudulent and

manipulative acts and practices, to

promote just and equitable principles of

trade, to foster cooperation and

coordination with persons engaged in

regulating, clearing, settling, processing

information with respect to, and

facilitating transactions in municipal

securities, to remove impediments to

and perfect the mechanism of a free and

open market in municipal securities,

and, in general, to protect investors and

the public interest.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The Board does not believe that the

proposed rule change will impose any

burden on competition that is not

necessary or appropriate in furtherance

of the purposes of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Change Received from

Members, Participants, or Others

The Board did not solicit or receive

written comments on the proposed rule

change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Within 35 days of the date of

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register or within such longer period (i)

as the Commission may designate up to

90 days of such date if it finds such

longer period to be appropriate and

publishes its reasons for so finding or

(ii) as to which the Board consents, the

Commission will:

(A) By order approved such proposed

rule change, or

(B) Institute proceedings to determine

whether the proposed rule change

should be 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.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20549–0609. 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 inspection and copying in

the Commission’s Public Reference

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 22, 2000 / Notices 70373

13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

Room. Copies of such filing will also be

available for inspection and copying at

the principal office of the MSRB. All

submissions should refer to the File No.

SR–MSRB–00–02 and should be

submitted by December 13, 2000.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.13

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–29888 Filed 11–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

[Declaration of Disaster #3305]

State of Arizona

As a result of the President’s major

disaster declaration on October 27,

2000, I find that La Paz and Maricopa

Counties in the State of Arizona

constitute a disaster area due to

damages caused by severe storms and

flooding beginning on October 21, 2000

and continuing. Applications for loans

for physical damage as a result of this

disaster may be filed until the close of

business on December 26, 2000, and for

loans for economic injury until the close

of business on July 27, 2001 at the

address listed below or other locally

announced locations: U.S. Small

Business Administration, Disaster Area

4 Office, P. O. Box 13795, Sacramento,

CA 95853–4795.

In addition, applications for economic

injury loans from small businesses

located in the following contiguous

counties may be filed until the specified

date at the above location: Gila, Mohave,

Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, and Yuma

Counties in Arizona, and Imperial,

Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties

in California.

The interest rates are:

Percent

For Physical Damage:

Homeowners with credit available elsewhere ........................ 7.375

Homeowners without credit available elsewhere ........................ 3.687

Businesses with credit available

elsewhere ................................ 8.000

Businesses and non-profit organizations without credit available elsewhere ........................ 4.000

Others (including non-profit organizations) with credit available

elsewhere ................................ 6.750

For Economic Injury:

Businesses and small agricultural cooperatives without

credit available elsewhere ....... 4.000

The number assigned to this disaster

for physical damage is 330506. For

economic injury the numbers are 9J4400

for Arizona and 9J4500 for California.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Nos. 59002 and 59008)

Dated: November 2, 2000.

Allan I. Hoberman,

Acting Associate Administrator for Disaster

Assistance.

[FR Doc. 00–29763 Filed 11–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

[Declaration of Disaster #3307]

State of Hawaii

As a result of the President’s major

disaster declaration on November 9,

2000, I find that the County and Island

of Hawaii constitute a disaster area due

to damages caused by severe storms and

flooding beginning on October 28, 2000

and continuing through November 2,

2000. Applications for loans for

physical damage as a result of this

disaster may be filed until the close of

business on January 8, 2001, and for

loans for economic injury until the close

of business on August 9, 2001 at the

address listed below or other locally

announced locations: U.S. Small

Business Administration, Disaster Area

4 Office, P.O. Box 13795, Sacramento,

CA 95853–4795.

The interest rates are:

Percent

For Physical Damage:

.

Homeowners with credit available elsewhere ...................... 7.375

Homeowners without credit

available elsewhere ............... 3.687

Businesses with credit available

elsewhere .............................. 8.000

Businesses and non-profit organizations without credit available elsewhere ...................... 4.000

Others (including non-profit organizations) with credit available elsewhere ...................... 6.750

For Economic Injury:

Businesses and small agricultural cooperatives without

credit available elsewhere ..... 4.000

The number assigned to this disaster

for physical damage is 330706 and for

economic injury the number is 9J4700.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Nos. 59002 and 59008)

Dated: November 16, 2000.

Herbert L. Mitchell,

Acting Associate Administrator for Disaster

Assistance.

[FR Doc. 00–29901 Filed 11–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

[Declaration of Disaster #3308]

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Suffolk County and the contiguous

Counties of Essex, Middlesex, and

Norfolk in Massachusetts constitute a

disaster area as a result of damages

caused by a fire that occurred on

October 29, 2000 in the City of Boston.

Applications for loans for physical

damage as a result of this disaster may

be filed until the close of business on

January 16, 2001 and for economic

injury until the close of business on

August 14, 2001 at the address listed

below or other locally announced

locations: U.S. Small Business

Administration, Disaster Area 1 Office,

360 Rainbow Boulevard South, 3rd

Floor, Niagara Falls, NY 14303.

The interest rates are:

Percent

For Physical Damage:

Homeowners with credit available elsewhere ...................... 7.375

Homeowners without credit

available elsewhere ............... 3.687

Businesses with credit available

elsewhere .............................. 8.000

Businesses and non-profit organizations without credit available elsewhere ...................... 4.000

Others (including non-profit organizations) with credit available elsewhere ...................... 6.750

For Economic Injury:

Businesses and small agricultural cooperatives without

credit available elsewhere ..... 4.000

The numbers assigned to this disaster

are 330805 for physical damage and

9J4800 for economic injury.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Nos. 59002 and 59008)

Dated: November 14, 2000.

Aida Alvarez,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–29900 Filed 11–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–U