Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Notices 32259

1Applicant states it will comply with rule 17f–

4 under the Act as if it were a registered

management investment company if an Agreement

permits a Custodian to maintain any portion of the

Reserves in a securities depository.

United States Information Agency

Confidential Assistant to the Director,

Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Effective

April 29, 1998.

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3301 and 3302; E.O.

10577, 3 CFR 1954–1958 Comp., P. 218.

Office of Personnel Management.

Janice R. Lachance,

Director.

[FR Doc. 98–15655 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–P

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Determination of Quarterly Rate of

Excise Tax for Railroad Retirement

Supplemental Annuity Program

In accordance with directions in

Section 3221(c) of the Railroad

Retirement Tax Act (26 U.S.C., Section

3221(c)), the Railroad Retirement Board

has determined that the excise tax

imposed by such Section 3221(c) on

every employer, with respect to having

individuals in his employ, for each

work-hour for which compensation is

paid by such employer for services

rendered to him during the quarter

beginning July 1, 1998, shall be at the

rate of 35 cents.

In accordance with directions in

Section 15(a) of the Railroad Retirement

Act of 1974, the Railroad Retirement

Board has determined that for the

quarter beginning July 1, 1998, 29.7

percent of the taxes collected under

Sections 3211(b) and 3221(c) of the

Railroad Retirement Tax Act shall be

credited to the Railroad Retirement

Account and 70.3 percent of the taxes

collected under such Sections 3211(b)

and 3221(c) plus 100 percent of the

taxes collected under Section 3221(d) of

the Railroad Retirement Tax Act shall be

credited to the Railroad Retirement

Supplemental Account.

Dated: June 2, 1998.

By authority of the Board.

Beatrice Ezerski,

Secretary to the Board.

[FR Doc. 98–15643 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7905–11–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. IC–23245; 812–11150]

1st Atlantic Guaranty Corporation;

Notice of Application

June 8, 1998.

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’).

ACTION: Notice of application pursuant

to section 28(c) of the Investment

Company Act of 1940 (‘‘Act’’).

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicant, 1st

Atlantic Guaranty Corporation, seeks an

order pursuant to Section 28(c) of the

Act approving certain proposed

custodial arrangements.

FILING DATES: The application was filed

on May 22, 1998. Applicant has agreed

to file an amendment during the notice

period, the substance of which is

reflected in this notice.

HEARING OR NOTIFICATION OF HEARING: An

order granting the application will be

issued unless the SEC orders a hearing.

Interested persons may request a

hearing by writing to the SEC’s

Secretary and serving applicant with a

copy of the request, personally or by

mail. Hearing requests should be

received by the SEC by 5:30 p.m. on

June 30, 1998, and should be

accompanied by proof of service on

applicant in the form of an affidavit or,

for lawyers, a certificate of service.

Hearing requests should state the nature

of the writer’s interest, the reason for the

request, and the issues contested.

Persons who wish to be notified of a

hearing may request notification by

writing to the SEC’s Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, SEC, 450 Fifth

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549.

Applicant, 4847 Cordell Avenue, Suite

200, Bethesda, Maryland 20818, Attn:

John J. Lawbaugh.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Edward P. Macdonald, Branch Chief, at

(202) 942–0564 (Office of Investment

Company Regulation, Division of

Investment Management).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

following is a summary of the

application. The complete application

may be obtained for a fee at the SEC’s

Public Reference Branch, 450 Fifth

Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549 (tel.

202–942–8090).

Applicant’s Representations

1. Applicant, a Maryland corporation,

is a face-amount certificate company

registered under the Act. Applicant

currently intends to offer four faceamount certificates (‘‘Certificates’’)

registered under the Securities Act of

1933. In the future, applicant may offer

additional Certificates. The Certificates

are unsecured debt instruments. To

meet its debt obligations, applicant is

required to maintain a minimum

amount of reserves in ‘‘qualified

investments’’ as defined in the Act

(‘‘Reserves’’).

2. Applicant proposes to enter into

custodial arrangements with regard to

its Reserves with one or more banks that

meet certain requirements

(‘‘Custodians’’). Applicant seeks an

order approving the proposed form of

custody agreement (‘‘Agreement’’) to be

entered into by applicant with each

Custodian. Under the requested order,

applicant would be able to select and

change Custodians in its discretion.

3. Each Custodian will maintain the

Reserves to ensure that applicant meets

its payment obligations under the terms

and conditions of any outstanding

Certificate. If applicant were to default

on any obligation under a Certificate,

each Custodian would be authorized to

cure the default by liquidating so much

of the Reserves held by it as necessary

to discharge the obligation. In addition,

each Custodian will perform the duties

and functions typically performed by a

custodian, such as securities registration

and delivery, income collection,

periodic reporting, and other

safekeeping and processing functions.

Applicant’s Legal Analysis

1. Section 28(c) of the Act requires a

registered face-amount certificate

company to maintain the Reserves with

a custodian that meets the requirements

of section 26(a)(1) of the Act and in

accordance with such terms and

conditions as the SEC shall prescribe

and as appropriate for the protection of

investors. Under section 26(a)(1), a

custodian generally must be a bank that

has at all times an aggregate capital,

surplus, and undivided profits of a

specified minimum amount which may

not be less than $500,000.

2. Applicant requests an order under

section 28(c) of the Act approving the

Agreement. Applicant states that the

Agreement contains provisions to

maintain and safeguard the Reserves,

including provisions governing the (i)

holding, segregation, registration,

depositing, and delivery of securities,

(ii) the payment of monies and

maintenance of bank accounts, and (iii)

the management of real estate and real

estate related investments, as well as

establishing procedures to cure any

defaults by applicant on its obligations

under the Certificates and procedures

for periodic reporting and inspection of

the assets.1 Applicant represents that it

will seek an amended order from the

SEC for any material changes in the

substantive provisions of the

Agreement.

3. Applicant states that it may seek to

terminate Custodians and employ new