75320 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Notices

review and approval under the

Paperwork Reduction Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deborah C. Murphy, Attorney, Office of

the General Counsel, Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20005–4026, 202–

326–4024. (For TTY and TDD, call 800–

877–8339 and request connection to

202–326–4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.

Section 4007 of Title IV of the

Employee Retirement Income Security

Act of 1974 (‘‘ERISA’’) requires the

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

(‘‘PBGC’’) to collect premiums from

pension plans covered under Title IV

pension insurance programs. ERISA

section 4006 prescribes the premium

rates. Pursuant to ERISA sections 4006

and 4007, the PBGC has issued its

regulations on Premium Rates (29 CFR

Part 4006) and Payment of Premiums

(29 CFR Part 4007). Part 4007 requires

among other things that plans use PBGC

forms and instructions in paying

premiums. (The forms also include a

certification of compliance with

requirements under the PBGC’s

regulation on Disclosure to Participants

(29 CFR Part 4011).) The control number

assigned to this collection of

information by the Office of

Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) is

1212–0009. On October 23, 2000, the

PBGC published a notice that it was

requesting extension of OMB approval

of this collection of information.

A final rule appearing elsewhere in

today’s Federal Register adopts

amendments to Parts 4006 and 4007 of

the PBGC’s regulations and affects this

collection of information. This notice

informs the public that the PBGC is

supplementing its pending request for

extension of OMB approval of this

collection of information by submitting

to OMB for review and approval the

revised collection of information,

including revised premium forms and

instructions reflecting these

amendments.

Issued in Washington, DC, this 22nd day

of November, 2000.

Stuart A. Sirkin,

Director, Corporate Policy and Research

Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 00–30325 Filed 11–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

POSTAL SERVICE

Office of Inspector General

Privacy Act of 1974; ComputerMatching Program

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General,

Postal Service.

ACTION: Notice of computer-matching

program.

SUMMARY: Subsection (e)(12) of the

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5

U.S.C. 552a), requires agencies to

publish advance notice of any proposed

or revised computer-matching program

for comment. The United States Postal

Service (Postal Service), Office of

Inspector General (OIG) is issuing notice

of its intent to conduct a computermatching program with the United

States Department of Labor Office of

Workers’ Compensation Programs. The

primary purpose of this matching

agreement is to determine whether the

current Postal Service automated and

manual procedures for monitoring

Federal Employees’ Compensation Act

(FECA) benefits payments made to

employees returning to work are

operating effectively. A secondary

purpose of this matching agreement is to

identify those Postal Service employees

who may have received dual benefits in

violation of section 81161(a) of the

FECA. Except as otherwise provided by

law, the Department of Labor Office of

Workers’ Compensation Programs has

the exclusive authority to administer,

interpret, and enforce the provisions of

the FECA.

DATES: Comments must be received no

later than January 2, 2001. Unless

comments are received that result in a

contrary determination, the matching

program covered by this notice will

begin as stated in the paragraph ‘‘Dates

of the Matching Program’’ in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of

this notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

the Director, Legal Services, United

States Postal Service, Office of Inspector

General, 1735 N. Lynn Street, Arlington,

VA, 22209–2020; or delivered to Room

10.006 at the above address between 9

a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through

Friday. Comments received may also be

inspected during the above hours in the

10th floor reception area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gladis Griffith, Director, Legal Services,

at 703–248–2100.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to subsection (o) of the Privacy Act of

1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), the

OIG and the Department of Labor Office

of Workers’ Compensation Programs

will enter into an agreement to conduct

a computer-matching program. The

computer-matching program, described

below, will be conducted in accordance

with paragraph 4d of Appendix I to the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) Circular No. A–130, Federal

Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining

Records About Individuals, February 8,

1996 (61 FR 6427).

a. Participating Agencies: OIG

(recipient agency) and Department of

Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation

Programs.

b. Purpose of the Matching Program:

The primary purpose of this matching

agreement is to determine whether the

current Postal Service automated and

manual procedures for monitoring

FECA benefits payments made to

employees returning to work are

operating effectively. A secondary

purpose of this matching agreement is to

identify those Postal Service employees

who may have received dual benefits in

violation of section 8116(a) of the FECA.

The names and other identifying

information of employees suspected of

receiving dual benefits will be given to

the Postal Service Injury Compensation

Offices to determine whether

appropriate action has in fact been taken

regarding the propriety of the dual

payments. If no action has been taken,

appropriate steps will be followed to

remedy the failure to act.

c. Legal Authorities Authorizing

Operation of the Match: 39 U.S.C. 404

(Postal Reorganization Act); the

Inspector General Act, as amended, 5

U.S.C. Appendix 3; and the Privacy Act

of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a.

d. Categories of Individuals Matched

and Identification of Records Used: (1)

Postal Service employee data records

within the Privacy Act system of

records, United States Postal Service

050.020, Finance Records-Payroll

System (57 FR 57515), and (2)

Department of Labor Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs system of

records published as DOL/GOVT–1,

entitled Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs, Federal

Employees’ Compensation File (58 FR

49548), as amended (59 FR 47361).

e. Dates of the Matching Program:

This matching program is expected to

begin in December 2000 and to continue

in effect for 18 months unless

terminated earlier by either party.

Matching activity under this program

will begin no sooner than 40 days after

the last of the following occurs: (1)

Publication of this notice, (2) transmittal

of this matching agreement to Congress,

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Notices 75321

1 Variable products include variable annuities

and life insurance products.

2These broker-dealers are American Express

Services Corporation (AESC), which is a wholly

owned subsidiary of TRS, the American Express

Financial Advisors Inc. and IDS Life Insurance

Company, both indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries

of American Express Company, (collectively, the

registered broker-dealers).

3This Arrangement will be available only for

Charge Card customers and not for customers of

TRS’s revolving credit card products. TRS will not

be extending credit to Cardmembers in the Program.

or (3) report of the matching program to

OMB and to Congress.

Stanley F. Mires,

Chief Counsel, Legislative.

[FR Doc. 00–30583 Filed 11–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7710–12–U

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–43617; File No. 4–436]

Notice of Order Exempting American

Express Travel Related Services

Company, Inc., From Broker-Dealer

Registration

November 24, 2000.

On July 24, 2000, the Commission

issued an order (Exemptive Order)

pursuant to section 15(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

exempting American Express Travel

Related Services Company, Inc. (TRS)

from broker-dealer registration. That

same day, TRS’s request for confidential

treatment was granted in a separate

order (Confidential Treatment Order)

until the earlier of (a) 120 days from the

date of the issuance of the Exemptive

Order; or (b) the date that any

information contained in the

application by TRS for exemption or the

Exemptive Order was made publicly

available by TRS. The Exemptive Order

is attached as Exhibit A. The

Confidential Treatment Order is

attached as Exhibit B.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

Exhibit A

Securities and Exchange Commission

[FILE NO. 4–436]

July 24, 2000.

Order Exempting American Express Travel

Related Services Company, Inc., From

Broker-Dealer Registration

I. Background

American Express Travel Related Services

Company, Inc. (TRS), a wholly owned

subsidiary of American Express Company,

has requested an exemption, pursuant to

section 15(a)(2) of the Securities Exchange

Act of 1934 (the Act), from the broker-dealer

registration requirement of section 15(a)(1) of

the Act.

TRS offers individual customers

(Cardmembers) a variety of products and

services, including charge cards such as the

American Express Card, the American

Express Gold Card, and the American

Express Platinum Card (collectively, Charge

Cards). TRS states that Charge Cards are

primarily designed as a method of payment

or a bill paying mechanism and not as a

means of financing purchases of goods or

services.

TRS proposes to establish and operate a

processing arrangement (Arrangement or

Program) for its Cardmembers who invest or

who wish to invest in mutual funds and

variable products 1 distributed by three of

TRS’s affiliates that are registered brokerdealers.2 Under the Program, individual

Cardmembers may appoint TRS as a

processing agent to collect and promptly

remit to the appropriate registered brokerdealer their voluntary, periodic payments for

mutual fund shares or variable products.

A Cardmember must open a brokerage

account with one of the registered brokerdealers in order to participate in the

Program,3 and a Cardmember must advise the

broker-dealer of the amount he or she intends

to invest on a monthly basis, the specific

mutual funds or variable products that he or

she would like to purchase, and the

allocation of investment amounts to each

investment. The Cardmember may increase,

decrease, or suspend investment

contributions under the Arrangement at his

or her discretion.

Cardmembers participating in the Program

will send a single check to a TRS payment

processing center in Chicago, Illinois

(Processing Center) to cover both regular

Charge Card purchases and the purchase of

mutual fund shares or variable products. TRS

will promptly forward the designated part of

the payment to the appropriate broker-dealer.

With respect to mutual fund shares, the

Cardmembers will receive the price that is

computed by the registered broker-dealer

after receipt of the order.

The registered broker-dealers will be

responsible for all securities-related

activities, questions and services, including:

opening accounts, entering orders, executing

transactions, setting up and maintaining

customer files, and distributing order

confirmations and statements after each

payment is processed. The registered brokerdealers will also have the exclusive

responsibility for marketing and distributing

information about the availability of TRS’s

services to Cardmembers. The registered

broker-dealers will disclose to Cardmembers

that they, and not TRS, are offering the

mutual funds or variable products, and that

the intended investment amount is not

covered by the Securities Investor Protection

Corporation while it is in the possession of

TRS. TRS, its employees, and its other

unregistered affiliates will not market the

availability of the Program or the underlying

products and services offered by the

registered broker-dealers.

Moreover, TRS represents that its

Processing Center has elaborate security and

internal control safeguards. TRS has adopted

a number of safeguards and procedures to

ensure the adequate protection of

Cardmembers’ funds designated for

remittance to the respective broker-dealers,

including: (i) automation of the payment

processing procedures; (ii) electronic

surveillance and human supervision of all

sensitive areas of the processing center at all

times; (iii) background checks of all

personnel in special processing areas to

assure that such persons are not statutorily

disqualified as that term is defined under the

securities laws; and (iv) accessibility to TRS’s

books and records for the Commission and

other appropriate regulatory authorities. TRS

notes that not a single check has been stolen

in the Processing Center’s seventeen years of

operation.

In addition, to guarantee the safety of

investors’ funds from the time of receipt by

TRS until remittance to the registered brokerdealers, TRS will obtain a surety bond from

an unaffiliated insurance company with a

Best rating of A or better. The bond will be

increased as necessary so that it equals or

exceeds the amount of the funds TRS collects

and remits to the registered broker-dealers

under this proposal at all times.

TRS will not receive a referral fee from the

registered broker-dealers nor will it receive

any compensation that is based upon the

total dollar amount invested by a

Cardmember. Instead, IRS will charge the

registered broker-dealers a fee designed to

offset the expenses it incurs for providing

this service.

TRS represents that its Cardmembers have

used a similar processing arrangement to

purchase fixed annuity products offered by

AESC and that over the past ten years, $1.65

billion in payments for fixed annuity

products have been processed without a

single investor complaint. TRS indicates that

its Cardmembers have requested this service

for several years because it would give them

an additional choice in how they can invest

and gain access to the securities markets.

TRS represents that approximately twenty

percent of persons who call AESC’s service

representatives to inquire about investmentrelated issues also make unsolicited requests

to invest in connection with paying the

balance due on their Charge Cards. Moreover,

according to TRS, in a survey of

Cardmembers making fixed annuity

payments through the Charge Cards,

approximately 63% identified ease of

payment and convenience as key reasons for

using this payment method.

II. Discussion

Section 3(a)(4) of the Act defines a

‘‘broker’’ as ‘‘any person engaged in the

business of effecting transactions in

securities for the account of others.’’ An

entity meets this definition if it participates

in a meaningful way in any of the key phases

of a securities transaction. One factor used to

determine if an entity’s participation is

meaningful is whether it controls investors’

funds. IRS proposes to collect and remit

funds to the broker-dealers as agent for its

Cardmembers. In other words, TRS will

control Cardmembers’ funds from the time of

receipt until time of remittance to the brokerdealers. The Commission believes that this