Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Notices 15041 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 73966 

(December 30, 2014), 80 FR 546 (January 6, 2015) 

(Order Approving File No. SR–FINRA–2014–038). 

5See FINRA Board Approves Amendment to 

Supervision Rule Requiring Firms to Conduct 

Background Checks on Registration Applicants, 

FINRA News Release, April 24, 2014, available at 

http://www.finra.org/Newsroom/NewsReleases/

2014/P493588. 

6See Information Notice August 17, 2012 (Late 

Disclosure Fee Related to Reporting of Judgment/

Lien Events), available at http://www.finra.org/web/ 

groups/industry/@ip/@reg/@notice/documents/

notices/p152106.pdf. 

(b) the accuracy of the Commission’s 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information; (c) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information on respondents; and 

(d) ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Consideration will be given to 

comments and suggestions submitted in 

writing within 60 days of this 

publication. 

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. 

Please direct your written comments 

to: Pamela C. Dyson, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o Remi PavlikSimon, 100 F Street NE., Washington, 

DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: March 16, 2015. 

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06358 Filed 3–19–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–74512; File No. SR–FINRA– 

2015–005] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Extend the Expiration 

Date of the Refund Program Under 

FINRA Rule 3110.15 (Temporary 

Program To Address Underreported 

Form U4 Information) 

March 16, 2015. 

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 March 3, 

2015, Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed 

rule change as described in Items I, II, 

and III below, which Items have been 

prepared by FINRA. FINRA has 

designated the proposed rule change as 

constituting a ‘‘non-controversial’’ rule 

change under paragraph (f)(6) of Rule 

19b–4 under the Act,3 which renders 

the proposal effective upon receipt of 

this filing by the Commission. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

FINRA is proposing to amend FINRA 

Rule 3110.15 (Temporary Program to 

Address Underreported Form U4 

Information) to extend the expiration 

date of the refund program under that 

rule, which currently is July 31, 2015, 

until December 1, 2015. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on FINRA’s Web site at 

http://www.finra.org, at the principal 

office of FINRA and at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

FINRA 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. FINRA 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 

On December 30, 2014, the SEC 

approved FINRA Rule 3110.15, which 

establishes a temporary refund program 

whereby FINRA will issue a refund to 

members of Late Disclosure Fees 

assessed for the late filing of responses 

to Question 14M (relating to unsatisfied 

judgments or liens) on the Form U4 

(Uniform Application for Securities 

Industry Registration or Transfer), 

subject to specified conditions.4 The 

refund program under FINRA Rule 

3110.15 is intended to incentivize 

members to disclose underreported 

information and save FINRA the time 

and regulatory resources expended in 

contacting firms and requesting that 

such information be reported. The 

refund program has a retroactive 

effective date of April 24, 2014,5 and it 

is currently scheduled to expire on July 

31, 2015. FINRA understands that, 

following SEC approval of the rule, 

some firms have undertaken a wholesale 

review of their registrants to identify 

judgments and liens that may have been 

unreported, including those that meet 

the parameters of the refund program. 

Based on FINRA’s experience to date, 

FINRA believes that a four-month 

extension of the program will more 

effectively achieve its intended purpose. 

Therefore, FINRA is proposing to amend 

FINRA Rule 3110.15 to extend the 

sunset date of the refund program until 

December 1, 2015, which will give firms 

adequate time to identify and report 

information to FINRA. FINRA is not 

proposing any changes to the other 

parameters of the refund program. 

As proposed, FINRA Rule 3110.15 

will provide that FINRA will issue a 

refund to firms of Late Disclosure Fees 

assessed for the late filing of responses 

to Form U4 Question 14M (unsatisfied 

judgments or liens) if the Form U4 

amendment is filed between April 24, 

2014, and December 1, 2015, and one of 

the following conditions is met: 

(1) The judgment or lien has been 

satisfied, and at the time it was 

unsatisfied, it was under $5,000, and the 

date the judgment or lien was filed with 

a court (as reported on Form U4 

Judgment/Lien DRP, Question 4A) was 

on or before August 13, 2012; 6 or 

(2) the unsatisfied judgment or lien 

was satisfied within 30 days after the 

individual learned of the judgment or 

lien (as reported on Form U4 Judgment/ 

Lien DRP, Question 4.B.). 

The refund program will continue to 

have a retroactive effective date of April 

24, 2014, but it will automatically 

sunset on December 1, 2015, as 

proposed. Thus, firms will not be able 

to obtain a refund pursuant to the 

parameters established under the 

program after December 1, 2015. While 

the program is in effect, FINRA will 

initially assess firms a Late Disclosure 

Fee and subsequently refund the fee in 

the firm’s FINRA Flex-Funding Account 

if the firm can establish, or if FINRA 

otherwise determines, that the 

conditions of the program have been 

satisfied. 

FINRA has filed the proposed rule 

change for immediate effectiveness. The 

implementation date of the proposed 

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15042 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Notices 

7 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(6). 

8 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

9 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

10 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

rule change will be July 31, 2015, which 

is the current expiration date of FINRA 

Rule 3110.15. The proposed rule change 

extends the expiration date of FINRA 

Rule 3110.15 until December 1, 2015. 

As proposed, FINRA Rule 3110.15 will 

have a retroactive effective date of April 

24, 2014, and it will automatically 

expire on December 1, 2015. 

2. Statutory Basis 

FINRA believes that the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the provisions 

of Section 15A(b)(6) of the Act,7 which 

requires, among other things, that 

FINRA rules must be designed to 

prevent fraudulent and manipulative 

acts and practices, to promote just and 

equitable principles of trade, and, in 

general, to protect investors and the 

public interest. FINRA believes that the 

temporary refund program under FINRA 

Rule 3110.15 incentivizes members to 

disclose underreported information 

relating to judgments and liens and 

saves FINRA the time and regulatory 

resources expended in contacting firms 

and requesting that such information be 

reported and that extending the 

expiration date of the refund program 

will more effectively achieve that 

purpose. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

FINRA does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will result in any 

burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

The temporary refund program under 

FINRA Rule 3110.15 encourages 

members to comply with their existing 

reporting obligations and allows them to 

receive a refund of Late Disclosure Fees 

if the conditions specified in FINRA 

Rule 3110.15 are satisfied. As such, 

FINRA does not believe that extending 

the expiration date of the temporary 

refund program will result in any 

burden on members. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change does not: (i) Significantly affect 

the protection of investors or the public 

interest; (ii) impose any significant 

burden on competition; and (iii) become 

operative for 30 days from the date on 

which it was filed, or such shorter time 

as the Commission may designate, it has 

become effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 8 and Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) thereunder.9

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

should be approved or 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. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

FINRA–2015–005 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities 

and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street 

NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–FINRA–2015–005. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/

rules/sro.shtml). 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 Web site viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 10 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing 

also will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of 

FINRA. All comments received will be 

posted without change; the Commission 

does not edit personal identifying 

information from submissions. You 

should submit only information that 

you wish to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–FINRA–2015–005 and 

should be submitted on or before April 

10, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.10

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06360 Filed 3–19–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–74511; File No. SR–OCC– 

2015–006] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; the 

Options Clearing Corporation; Notice 

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change 

Concerning the Provision of Clearance 

and Settlement Services for Energy 

Futures and Options on Energy 

Futures 

March 16, 2015. 

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 March 2, 

2015, The Options Clearing Corporation 

(‘‘OCC’’) filed with the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

the proposed rule change as described 

in Items I, II, and III below, which Items 

have been prepared primarily by OCC. 

The Commission is publishing this 

notice to solicit comments on the 

proposed rule change from interested 

persons. 

I. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Terms of Substance of the Proposed 

Rule Change 

The purpose of this proposed rule 

change by The Options Clearing 

Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) is to provide 

clearance and settlement services for 

energy futures contracts (‘‘Energy 

Futures’’) and options on Energy 

Futures contracts. In order to do so, 

OCC is proposing to add new risk 

models to its STANS methodology as 

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