[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87918-87919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25670]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-264, OMB Control No. 3235-0341]


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17Ad-
4(b) & (c)

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 
20549-2736.

    Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 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 
17Ad-4(b) & (c) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
78a et seq.) (``Exchange Act'').
    Rule 17Ad-4(b) & (c) (17 CFR 240.17Ad-4) is used to document when 
transfer agents are exempt, or no longer exempt, from the minimum 
performance standards and certain recordkeeping provisions of the 
Commission's transfer agent rules. Pursuant to Rule 17Ad-4(b), if the 
Commission or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (``OCC'') 
is the appropriate regulatory agency (``ARA'') for an exempt transfer 
agent, that transfer agent is required to prepare and maintain in its 
possession a notice certifying that it is exempt from certain 
performance standards and recordkeeping and record retention provisions 
of the Commission's transfer agent rules. This notice need not be filed 
with the Commission or OCC. If the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System (``Fed'') or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
(``FDIC'') is the transfer agent's ARA, that transfer agent must 
prepare a notice and file it with the Fed or FDIC.
    Rule 17Ad-4(c) sets forth the conditions under which a registered 
transfer agent loses its exempt status. Once the conditions for 
exemption no longer exist, the transfer agent, to keep the appropriate 
ARA apprised of its current status, must prepare, and file if the ARA 
for the transfer agent is the Fed or the FDIC, a notice of loss of 
exempt status under paragraph (c). The transfer agent then cannot claim 
exempt status under Rule 17Ad-4(b) again until it remains subject to 
the minimum performance standards for non-exempt transfer agents for 
six consecutive months.
    ARAs use the information contained in the notices required by Rules 
17Ad-4(b) and 17Ad-4(c) to determine whether a registered transfer 
agent qualifies for the exemption, to determine when a registered 
transfer agent no longer qualifies for the exemption, and to determine 
the extent to which that transfer agent is subject to regulation.
    The Commission estimates that approximately 10 registered transfer 
agents each year prepare or file notices in compliance with Rules 17Ad-
4(b) and 17Ad-4(c). The Commission estimates that each such registered 
transfer agent spends approximately 1.5 hours to prepare or file such 
notices for an aggregate total annual burden of 15 hours (1.5 hours 
times 10 transfer agents). The Commission staff estimates that 
compliance staff work at registered transfer agents results in an 
internal cost of compliance, at an estimated hourly wage of $319, of 
$478.50 per year per transfer agent (1.5 hours x $319 per hour = 
$478.50 per year). Therefore, the aggregate annual internal cost of 
compliance for the approximate 10 transfer agents annually preparing or 
filing notices pursuant to Rules 17Ad-4(b) and 17Ad-4(c) is 
approximately $4,785 ($478.50 x 10 = $4,785). This reflects an increase 
in the aggregate annual internal cost of compliance of $540 due to the 
increase in the hourly wage of transfer agents from $283 to $319.

[[Page 87919]]

    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information under the PRA unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    The public may view background documentation for this information 
collection at the following website: www.reginfo.gov. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
by December 5, 2024 to (i) www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#aee3ecf680e1e3ec80e1e7fcef80fdebedf1cacbddc5f1c1c8c8c7cdcbdceec1c3cc80cbc1de80c9c1d8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fab7b8a2d4b5b7b8d4b5b3a8bbd4a9bfb9a59e9f8991a5959c9c93999f88ba959798d49f958ad49d958c">[email protected]</span></a>, and (ii) Austin Gerig, 
Director/Chief Data Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o 
Tanya Ruttenberg, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or by sending 
an email to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#207072617f6d41494c424f58605345430e474f56"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9dcdcfdcc2d0fcf4f1fff2e5ddeef8feb3faf2eb">[email protected]</span></a>.

    Dated: October 31, 2024.
Vanessa A. Countryman,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-25670 Filed 11-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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