15666 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 63 / Wednesday, April 2, 1997 / Notices

Order of the Commodity Futures

Trading Commission Exempting From

Regulation Certain Foreign Currency

Option Transactions

Whereas, it is the Commission’s

understanding, based upon

representations made by the

Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc.

(‘‘PHLX’’) as set forth in a Request for

Exemptive Relief from regulation under

the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C.

1 et seq.), dated August 15, 1996, that

PHLX and the Hong Kong Futures

Exchange Ltd. (‘‘HKFE’’) have entered

into a licensing agreement (the

‘‘Linkage’’) pursuant to which foreign

currency options (‘‘FCOs’’) listed and

traded on PHLX will be cross-listed and

traded on HKFE. The Linkage will

permit PHLX FCOs to be traded on

HKFE during Asian business hours.

Transactions for U.S. customers will be

effected only through brokers or dealers

registered as such with the Securities

and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’) on

behalf of persons meeting the PHLX

customer options account approval and

suitability standards (approved by the

SEC) for persons engaging in options

transactions. Transactions on PHLX for

non-U.S. customers, whether or not

initiated through a non-PHLX member,

must ultimately be effected through a

member of PHLX that is a clearing

member of The Options Clearing

Corporation (‘‘OCC’’).

Whereas, transactions effected

through the Linkage will be issued,

cleared and settled by OCC pursuant to

the terms of an International Market

Agreement (‘‘IMA’’) among PHLX,

HKFE and OCC. Clearing of trades in

PHLX FCOs for HKFE members that are

not clearing members of OCC (whether

such trades are effected on PHLX or on

HKFE) will be made by an OCC clearing

member or an affiliate of HKFE (as an

‘‘associate clearinghouse’’ of OCC)

pursuant to an Associate Clearinghouse

Agreement between OCC and such

affiliate of HKFE, and such associate

clearinghouse will be treated in all

material respects as a clearing member

of OCC for purposes of Linkage

transactions.

Whereas, PHLX and HKFE have

entered into an Intermarket Surveillance

Group Surveillance Sharing Agreement

obligating each to use its best efforts to

obtain and provide information required

by the other to fulfill its self-regulatory

responsibilities.

Whereas, PHLX will submit for SEC

approval an amendment to PHLX’s

rules, permitting the establishment and

operation of the Linkage, and that OCC

will likewise submit a rule amendment

to accommodate clearing and settlement

functions with respect to the Linkage.

And Whereas, PHLX represents that

the licensing agreement and other

relevant documentation, including the

Surveillance Sharing Agreement, the

IMA and the Associate Clearinghouse

Agreement, are consistent with the

aforesaid understanding of the Linkage

arrangement and will be submitted to

the SEC for its review in conjunction

with the SEC’s review of PHLX and OCC

rule changes to implement the Linkage.

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to

section 4c(b) of the Commodity

Exchange Act (the ‘‘Act’’) and based

upon the Commission’s consideration of

the representations set forth in the

PHLX Petition and the comments

received pursuant to the Notice of

Proposed Order and Request for

Comments, that transactions in FCOs

listed for trading on HKFE as described

in the PHLX Petition are exempt from

all provisions of the Act and the

Commission’s rules promulgated

thereunder subject to the following

conditions:

1. That the Linkage is operated

substantially as described in the PHLX

Petition;

2. That FCO transactions effected

pursuant to the Linkage on behalf of

U.S. customers are undertaken through

broker-dealers registered as such with

the SEC, cleared through clearing

facilities subject to SEC oversight, and

restricted to customers who satisfy the

customer options account approval and

suitability standards set forth in PHLX

rules approved by the SEC;

3. That the Linkage is implemented

pursuant to rules of PHLX and OCC

approved by the SEC pursuant to

section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange

Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Exchange Act’’), 15

U.S.C. 78s;

4. That HKFE and PHLX will make

available to the Commission upon

request all information required to be

exchanged under the terms of the

Intermarket Surveillance Group

Surveillance Sharing Agreement

between PHLX and HKFE;

5. That HKFE is subject to rules which

establish fitness and qualifications of

persons through whom customer orders

are solicited or accepted, minimum

financial requirements for persons that

accept customer funds, measures for

protection of customer funds from

misapplication, recordkeeping and

reporting requirements, minimum sales

practice and risk disclosure standards,

and procedures to ensure and to audit

for compliance with regulatory

requirements;

6. That all risk assessment

information pertinent to the Linkage

provided to the SEC by broker-dealers

participating in the Linkage (and that is

not otherwise available to the CFTC

pursuant to its risk assessment rules) is

made available to the Commission by

the SEC and/or PHLX upon request and

as otherwise appropriate; and

7. That the FCO positions, regardless

of where established, will be treated as

securities for purposes of required

segregation pursuant to Exchange Act

Rule 15c3–3 and for application of the

relevant insolvency laws, including the

Bankruptcy Code and rules, and

Securities Investor Protection Act of

1970.

By issuing this Order, the

Commission does not intend to prohibit

or restrict the ability of any futures

exchange to establish a similar linkage

arrangement with HKFE.

By issuing this Order, the

Commission takes notice of its

surveillance and enforcement

information sharing arrangements with

the appropriate Hong Kong regulatory

authorities.

The Commission retains the authority

to terminate or otherwise to modify this

relief at such time as it determines that

exemption of transactions through the

Linkage is no longer in the public

interest.

Issued in Washington, DC on March 28,

1997, by the Commission.

Jean A. Webb,

Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 97–8365 Filed 4–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Corps of Engineers

Inland Waterways Users Board

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

DoD.

ACTION: Notice of open meeting.

SUMMARY: In Accordance with 10(a)(2)

of the Federal Advisory Committee Act,

Public Law (92–463) announcement is

made of the next meeting of the Inland

Waterways Users Board. The meeting

will be held on 18 April 1997 at the

Tulsa Port of Catoosa, located at 5350

Cimarron Road in Catoosa, Oklahoma,

(Tel. 918–266–2291). Registration will

begin at 8:30 AM and the meeting is

scheduled to adjourn at 5:00 PM. The

meeting is open to the public. Any

interested person may attend, appear

before, or file statements with the

Committee at the time and in the

manner permitted by the committee.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 63 / Wednesday, April 2, 1997 / Notices 15667

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Norman T. Edwards, 202–761–8569,

Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers, CECW–PD, Washington, DC

20314–1000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: None.

Gregory D. Showalter,

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–8336 Filed 4–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–92–M

Department of the Navy

Privacy Act of 1974; System of

Records

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD.

ACTION: Delete record systems notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy

proposes to delete a records notice in its

inventory of record systems subject to

the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a),

as amended.

DATES: The deletions will be effective on

May 2, 1997, unless comments are

received that would result in a contrary

determination.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the

Department of the Navy, PA/FOIA

Policy Branch, Chief of Naval

Operations (N09B30), 2000 Navy

Pentagon, Washington, DC 20350–2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs.

Doris Lama at (202) 685–6545 or DSN

325–6545.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Department of the Navy’s record system

notices for records systems subject to

the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a),

as amended, have been published in the

Federal Register and are available from

the address above.

The Department of the Navy proposes

to delete a system of records notice in

its inventory of record systems subject

to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C.

552a), as amended. The deletion is not

within the purview of subsection (r) of

the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a),

as amended, which requires the

submission of new or altered system

report.

Dated: March 26, 1997.

L. M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison

Officer, Department of Defense.

N04385–1

SYSTEM NAME:

IG Investigatory System (February 22,

1993, 58 FR 10740).

Reason: Records in this system were

consolidated into N05041–1, entitled

Inspector General (IG) Records on

March 18, 1997 at 62 FR 12806.

[FR Doc. 97–8139 Filed 4–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000–04–F

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Director, Information

Resources Management Group, invites

comments on the proposed information

collection requests as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to

submit comments on or before June 2,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

requests for copies of the proposed

information collection requests should

be addressed to Patrick J. Sherrill,

Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue, S.W., Room

5624, Regional Office Building 3,

Washington, DC 20202–4651.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick J. Sherrill (202) 708–8196.

Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the Federal Information

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time,

Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires

that the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) provide interested

Federal agencies and the public an early

opportunity to comment on information

collection requests. OMB may amend or

waive the requirement for public

consultation to the extent that public

participation in the approval process

would defeat the purpose of the

information collection, violate State or

Federal law, or substantially interfere

with any agency’s ability to perform its

statutory obligations. The Director,

Information Resources Management

Group publishes this notice containing

proposed information collection

requests prior to submission of these

requests to OMB. Each proposed

information collection, grouped by

office, contains the following: (1) Type

of review requested, e.g., new, revision,

extension, existing or reinstatement; (2)

Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4)

Description of the need for, and

proposed use of, the information; (5)

Respondents and frequency of

collection; and (6) Reporting and/or

Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites

public comment at the address specified

above. Copies of the requests are

available from Patrick J. Sherrill at the

address specified above.

The Department of Education is

especially interested in public comment

addressing the following issues: (1) Is

this collection necessary to the proper

functions of the Department, (2) will

this information be processed and used

in a timely manner, (3) is the estimate

of burden accurate, (4) how might the

Department enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be

collected, and (5) how might the

Department minimize the burden of this

collection on the respondents, including

through the use of information

technology.

Dated: March 27, 1997.

Gloria Parker,

Director, Information Resources Management

Group.

Office of Postsecondary Education

Title: Application for the

Comprehensive Program of the Fund for

the Improvement of Postsecondary

Education (New Grants and

Continuation Grants).

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: Not-for-profit

institutions; State, local or Tribal Gov’t,

SEAs or LEAs.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping

Hour Burden: Responses: 2,350; Burden

Hours: 28,100.

Abstract: The Comprehensive

application is for competition awards

with a two-stage application process:

preliminary and final. Continuations are

non-competitive grants for current

comprehensive program grantees

making satisfactory progress.

Office of Postsecondary Education

Title: Lender’s Application for

Payment of Insurance Claim.

Frequency: As needed.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; State and Federal Government

Agencies.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping

Hour Burden: Responses: 6,202; Burden

Hours: 2,604.

Abstract: The Lender’s Application

for Payment of Insurance Claim is

completed for each borrower for whom

the lender is filing a Federal claim.

Lenders must file for payment within 90

days of the default, depending on the

type of claim filed.

Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services

Type of Review: Reinstatement.