Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 129 /Tuesday, July 7, 1998 / Notices 36657

1 7 U.S.C. 6(c).

2Petition at 2.

3 Id.

4 Id at 14.

5 Id. at 12–13.

6 Id. at 9.

7 Id.

8 Id. at 10.

9 Id. at 15–17.

10 Id. at 17–18.

11 Id. at 19.

12 Id. at 21–22.

13 Id. at 23.

14 Id. at 23–33.

15 Id. at 34–39.

16 Id. at 39–42.

17See 63 FR 26114, 26122–26123 (May 12, 1988).

Dated: July 2, 1998.

David W. Burke,

Chairman.

[FR Doc. 98–18124 Filed 7–2–98; 3:05 pm]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING

COMMISSION

Petition of the London Clearing House

Limited for Exemption Pursuant to

Section 4(c) of the Commodity

Exchange Act

AGENCY: Commidity Futures Trading

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of petition for exemption

and request for comment.

SUMMARY: The London Clearing House

Limited (‘‘LCH’’) has submitted a

petition dated June 15, 1998 (‘‘Petition’’)

to the Commodity Futures Trading

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) requesting

an exemption, pursuant to Section 4(c)

of the Commodity Exchange Act (‘‘Act’’

or ‘‘CEA’’), in connection with LCH’s

proposed provision of clearing services

for certain swap agreements. The

Commission believes that publication of

the Petition for comment is in the public

interest, will assist the Commission in

considering the views of interested

persons, and is consistent with the

purposes of the Commission Exchange

Act. The Petition also may be accessed

on the Commission’s Internet web site

(http://www.cftc.gov) and may be

obtained through the Commission’s

Office of the Secretariat.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before September 8, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

submitted to Jean A. Webb, Secretary,

Commodity Futures Trading

Commission, 1155 21st Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20581. Comments also

may be sent by facsimile to (202) 418–

5521 or by electronic mail to secretary

@cftc.gov. Reference should be made to

the Petition of LCH.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas E. Joseph, Division of Trading

and Markets, Commodity Futures

Trading Commission, 1155 21st Street

NW Washington, DC 20581. Telephone

number (202) 418–5430.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

By petition dated June 15, 1998, the

LCH applied pursuant to Section 4(c) of

the Act 1 for an exemption from

all provisions of the Act (except for Sections

2(a)(1)(B), 4b and 4o of the Act, and the

provisions of Sections 6(c) and 9(a)(2) of the

Act to the extent these provisions prohibit

manipulation of the market price of any

commodity in interstate commerce or for

future delivery on or subject to the rules of

any contract market and Section 32.9 of the

CFTC’s Rules) to qualified U.S. entities that

utilize [the LCH facility] to clear transactions

in ‘‘swap agreements’’ (as such term is

defined in CFTC Rule 35.1(b)).2

LCH has developed a clearing facility

for swap agreements (‘‘SwapClear’’)

which is scheduled to commence

operations in mid-1999.3 The facility

will be used to clear interest rate swaps

and forward rate agreements in the

following currencies: U.S. dollars,

Japanese yen, Euros (and the eleven

underlying currencies), British pounds,

and possibly Canadian dollars.4

Participation will be limited to large

institutions that participate as dealers in

the swap market and that meet specified

financial and operational standards.5

LCH states that it will not provide any

facility for arranging or executing

transactions and will have no impact on

the way counterparties negotiate or

effect swap transactions.6 It will

perform credit enhancement, risk

management, and position

administration functions for those

swaps that qualified participants choose

to submit for clearing.7 LCH will net

payment amounts due to or from a

clearing member related to swaps with

other obligations due to or from the

clearing member where possible,

including amounts related to exchangetraded business.8

In the Petition, LCH summarizes the

principal features of its risk

management procedures.9 It also

describes the regulatory regime to which

it is subject in the United Kingdom 10

and its internal governance

procedures.11

LCH asserts that the Petition satisfies

the statutory standards for relief. In

particular, LCH argues that:

(1) The exchange trading

requirements should not apply to swap

agreements cleared through SwapClear

because SwapClear will not impact

current OTC trading arrangements;12

Swap agreements cleared through

SwapClear will be entered into solely by

wholesale market participants whose

qualifications exceed Congressional

standards regarding appropriate persons

and Commission standards for ‘‘eligible

swap participants’’; 13

(3) The proposed relief is consistent

with the public interest and the purpose

of the Act; 14

(4) The proposed relief will have no

material adverse effect on Commission

or contract market regulatory or selfregulatory responsibilities; 15 and

(5) The proposed Exemption is procompetitive.16

II. Request for Comment

The Commission requests comment

on all the aspect of the LCH Petition. In

this regard, the Commission directs the

attention of commenters to the issues

raised in the discussion of swaps

clearing in the OTC derivatives concept

release.17 In addition, the Commission

requests comment on any specific

features of the LCH proposal that may

raise issues particular to that proposal.

Such features might include the location

of LCH outside the United States, the

status of LCH as a regulated entity in the

United Kingdom, and LCH’s plans to

integrate its proposed new clearing

operations in some respects with its

established exchange clearing

operations.

Copies of the Petition are available for

inspection at the Office of the

Secretariat at the above address. Copies

also may be obtained through the Office

of the Secretariat at the above address or

by telephone at 202–418–5100 or on the

Commission’s Internet web site (http://

www.cftc.gov).

Issued in Washington, DC, on June 30,

1998 by the Commission.

Jean A. Webb,

Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 98–17922 Filed 7–6–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

AGENCY: Washington Headquarters

Services, Real Estate and Facilities,

Defense Protective Services.

ACTION: Notice.

In compliance with Section

3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, the Washington
36658 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 129 /Tuesday, July 7, 1998 / Notices

Headquarters Services announces the

proposed extension of a public

information collection and seeks public

comment on the provisions thereof.

Comments are invited on: (a) whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed information collection; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the information collection on

respondents, including through the use

of automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all

comments received by September 8,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

recommendations on the proposed

information collection should be sent to

the Department of Defense, Washington

Headquarters Services, Real Estate and

Facilities Directorate, Defense Protective

Services, ATTN: Mr. Barry Jones, Room

2E170A, 1155 Defense Pentagon,

Washington, DC 20301–1155.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on this

proposed information collection or to

obtain a copy of the proposal and

associated collection instrument, please

write to the above address, or call

Security Services, Defense Protective

Services, Washington Headquarters

Services, at (703) 695–4668.

Title, Associated Form, and OMB

Number: DoD Building Pass

Application; DD Form 2249; OMB

Number 0704–0328.

Needs and Uses: The information is

used by officials of Security Services,

Defense Protective Services, Washington

Headquarters Services to maintain a

listing of personnel who are authorized

a DoD Building Pass.

Affected Public: Individuals or

households; Business or other for-profit.

Annual Burden Hours: 10,200.

Number of Respondents: 102,000.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Average Burden per Response: 6

minutes.

Frequency: On occasion.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Information Collection

This requirement provides for the

collection of information from

applicants for Department of Defense

(DoD) Building Passes. The information

collected from the DD From 2249, ‘‘DoD

Building Pass Application,’’ is used to

verify need and to issue a DoD Building

Pass to DoD personnel, other authorized

U.S. Government personnel, and DoD

consultants and experts who regularly

work in or require frequent and

continuing access to DoD owned or

occupied buildings in the National

Capital Region.

Dated: June 30, 1998.

Patricia L. Toppings,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison

Officer, Department of Defense.

[FR Doc. 98–17847 Filed 7–6–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000–04–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

Defense Partnership Council Meeting

AGENCY: Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of Meeting.

SUMMARY: The Department of Defense

(DoD) announces a meeting of the

Defense Partnership Council. Notice of

this meeting is required under the

Federal Advisory Committee Act. This

meeting is open to the public. The

topics to be covered will include

matters related to the enhancement of

Labor-Management Partnerships

throughout DoD.

DATES: The meeting is to be held July 22,

1998, in room 1E801, Conference Room

7, the Pentagon, from 1:00 p.m. until

3:00 p.m. Comments should be received

by July 15, 1998, in order to be

considered at the July 22 meeting.

ADDRESSES: We invite interested

persons and organizations to submit

written comments or recommendations.

Mail or deliver your comments or

recommendations to Mr. Kenneth

Oprisko at the address shown below.

Seating is limited and available on a

first-come, first-serve basis. Individuals

wishing to attend who do not possess an

appropriate Pentagon building pass

should call the below listed telephone

number to obtain instructions for entry

into the Pentagon. Handicapped

individuals wishing to attend should

also call the below listed telephone

number to obtain appropriate

accommodations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Kenneth Oprisko, Chief, Labor Relations

Branch, Field Advisory Services

Division, Defense Civilian Personnel

Management Service, 1400 Key Blvd,

Suite B–200, Arlington, VA 22209–

5144, (703) 696–6301, ext. 704.

Dated: June 29, 1998.

L.M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison

Officer, Department of Defense.

[FR Doc. 98–17848 Filed 7–6–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000–04–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

Defense Science Board 1998 Summer

Study Task Forces on Joint Operations

Superiority in the 21st Century, and

DoD Logistics Transformation

AGENCY: Notice of Advisory Committee

Meetings.

SUMMARY: The Defense Science Board

1998 Summer Study Task Forces on

Joint Operations Superiority in the 21st

Century, and DoD Logistics

Transformation will meet in closed

session on August 3–14, 1998 at the

Beckman Center, Irvine, California.

The mission of the Defense Science

Board is to advise the Secretary of

Defense through the Under Secretary of

Defense for Acquisition and Technology

on scientific and technical matters as

they affect the perceived needs of the

Department of Defense. At these

meetings the Task Forces will focus on

how new capabilities, operational

concepts, and different force

characteristics can be developed and

integrated to underwrite Joint Vision

2010; and focus on providing the

warfighter with responsive logistic

support across the range of missions,

threats, and environments DoD is likely

to face in the 21st Century.

In accordance with Section 10(d) of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act,

Pub. L. 92–463, as amended (5 U.S.C.

App. II, (1994)), it has been determined

that these DSB Task Force meetings

concern matters listed in 5 U.S.C.

552b(c)(1) (1994), and that accordingly

these meeting will be closed to the

public.

Dated: June 30, 1998.

L.M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison

Officer, Department of Defense.

[FR Doc. 98–17852 Filed 7–6–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000–04–M