18694 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Fiscal Service

31 CFR Part 357

Regulations Governing Book-Entry

Treasury Bonds, Notes and Bills

AGENCY: Bureau of the Public Debt,

Fiscal Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of the

Treasury (Department) or (Treasury) is

issuing in final form an amendment to

its regulations governing book-entry

Treasury Bonds, Notes and Bills to

reduce the number of days required for

processing transaction requests affecting

payment instructions, transaction

requests affecting reinvestments on

Treasury bills, and for the receipt of

evidence supporting such transaction

requests within the TREASURY DIRECT

system from 20 calendar days to 10

business days. This change will benefit

the TREASURY DIRECT investor by

giving such investor more time prior to

a payment or maturity date to submit a

transaction request affecting payment

instructions, a transaction request

affecting reinvestment of a bill, and

evidence in support of such transaction

requests, and will make the TREASURY

DIRECT system a more viable

alternative to TRADES, the commercial

book-entry system for holding Treasury

securities. In addition, Treasury is

studying other possible changes to

TREASURY DIRECT, including the

possibility that investors could hold

stripped securities in the TREASURY

DIRECT system.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 16, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Maureen Parker, Director, Division of

Securities Systems, Bureau of the Public

Debt (304) 480–7761; Susan Klimas,

Attorney-Adviser, Office of the Chief

Counsel, Bureau of the Public Debt (304)

480–5192.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final

rule amends the general regulations

governing book-entry Treasury Bonds,

Notes and Bills to change the number of

days required for the receipt of

transaction requests within the

TREASURY DIRECT system which

affect payment instructions from not

less than 20 calendar days to not less

than 10 business days preceding the

next payment date. This final rule also

changes the number of days required by

the Department to receive evidence in

support of a transaction request before

the maturity date of a security from at

least 20 calendar days to at least 10

business days. Thirdly, this rule

changes the number of days required to

receive a transaction request to reinvest

the proceeds of a Treasury bill, or a

request to revoke a previous direction to

reinvest such bill from not less than 20

calendar days to not less than 10

business days prior to the maturity date

of the bill. The Department has reserved

the right to act on any transaction

request or evidence in support of such

request received less than 10 calendar

days prior to the next payment date if,

in its discretion, sufficient time remains

for processing.

Procedural Requirements

It has been determined that this final

rule does not meet the criteria for a

‘‘significant regulatory action,’’ as

defined in Executive Order 12866.

Therefore, the regulatory review

procedures contained therein do not

apply.

This final rule relates to matters of

public contract and procedures for U.S.

securities. Accordingly, pursuant to 5

U.S.C. 553(a)(2), the notice, public

comment and delayed effective date

provisions of the Administrative

Procedure Act do not apply. As no

notice of proposed rulemaking is

required, the provisions of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601,

et seq.) do not apply.

There are no new collections of

information contained in this final rule,

therefore, the Paperwork Reduction Act

(44 U.S.C. 3504(h)) does not apply.

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 357

Banks, Banking, Bonds, Federal

Reserve System, Government securities.

Dated: April 4, 1997.

Gerald Murphy,

Fiscal Assistant Secretary.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 31 CFR part 357 is amended

as follows:

PART 357—GENERAL REGULATIONS

GOVERNING BOOK-ENTRY

TREASURY BONDS, NOTES AND

BILLS

1. The authority citation for part 357

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 31 U.S.C. Chapter 31, 5 U.S.C.

301 and 12 U.S.C. 391.

2. Section 357.3 is amended by

adding the following definition to read

as follows:

§ 357.3 Definitions.

In this part, unless the context

indicates otherwise:

* * * * *

Business day means any day other

than a Saturday, Sunday, or other day

on which the Federal Reserve Banks are

not open for business.

* * * * *

3. Section 357.27 is amended by

revising paragraph (b), to read as

follows:

§ 357.27 Reinvestment.

* * * * *

(b) Treasury bills. A request by an

owner for a single or successive

reinvestment of a Treasury bill must be

made in accordance with the terms

prescribed on the tender form submitted

at the time of purchase of the original

bill, or by a subsequent transaction

request received not less than ten (10)

business days prior to the maturity date

of the bill. A request to revoke a

direction to reinvest the proceeds of a

bill must be received by the Department

not less than ten (10) business days

prior to the maturity date of the bill. If

either a request for reinvestment or

revocation of a reinvestment request is

received less than ten (10) business days

prior to maturity of the original bill, the

Department may in its discretion act on

such request if sufficient time remains

for processing.

* * * * *

4. Section 357.29 is amended by

revising the first three sentences to read

as follows:

§ 357.29 Time required for processing

transaction request.

For purposes of a transaction request

affecting payment instructions with

respect to a security, a proper request

must be received not less than ten (10)

business days preceding the next

payment date. If a transaction request is

received less than ten (10) business days

preceding a payment date, the

Department may in its discretion act on

such request if sufficient time remains

for processing. * * *

5. Section 357.30 is amended by

revising the first sentence to read as

follows:

§ 357.30 Cases of delay or suspension of

payment.

If evidence required by the

Department in support of a transaction

request is not received by the

Department at least ten (10) business

days before the maturity date of the

security, or if payment at maturity has

been suspended pursuant to § 357.26(d),

then, except as provided in § 357.27, in

cases of reinvestment, the Department

will redeem the security and hold the

redemption proceeds in the same form

of registration as the security redeemed,

pending further disposition. * * *

[FR Doc. 97–9543 Filed 4–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–39–P