21046 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 19, 2000 / Notices

1See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 42360

(Jan. 28, 2000), 65 FR 5004 (Feb. 2, 2000)

(‘‘Decimals Order’’).

2Since the date of the Decimals Order, the

Commission approved the registration of the

International Securities Exchange (‘‘ISE’’) as a

national securities exchange. See Securities

Exchange Act Release No. 42455 (Feb. 24, 2000), 65

FR 11388 (March 2, 2000). On March 10, 2000, the

Commission included the ISE within the term

‘‘Participants’’ for purposes of the Decimals Order.

See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 42516

(March 10, 2000), 65 FR14637 (March 17, 2000)

(‘‘Extension Order’’).

3See Letters from Frank G. Zarb, Chairman and

Chief Executive Officer, NASD, to Arthur Levitt,

Chairman, Commission, dated March 6, 2000 and

March 21, 2000.

4Nasdaq has committed to stepping up its efforts

(including, at the Commission’s request, hiring an

independent consultant to advise on capacity

issues) to help ensure that it manages its growth

responsibly. The Commission expects, and has been

assured, that Nasdaq will dedicate substantial

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

Upon Written Requests, Copies

Available From: Securities and

Exchange Commission, Office of

Filings and Information Services,

Washington, DC 20549

Extension:

Rule 489 and Form F–N, SEC File No. 270–

361, OMB Control No. 3235–0411

Form 24F–2, SEC. File No. 270–399, OMB

Control No. 3235–0456

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(‘‘Act’’) [44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.], the

Securities and Exchange Commission

(‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments

on the collections of information

summarized below. The Commission

plans to submit these existing

collections of information to the Office

of Management and Budget for

extension and approval.

Rule 489 under the Securities Act of

1993, Filing of Form by Foreign Banks

and Certain of their Holding Companies

and Finance Subsidiaries; and Form F–

N, Appointment of Agent for Service of

Process by Foreign Banks and Foreign

Insurance Companies and Certain of

Their Holding Companies and Finance

Subsidiaries Making Public Offerings of

Securities in the United States.

Rule 489 under the Securities Act of

1933 [17 CFR 230.489] requires foreign

banks and insurance companies and

holding companies and finance

subsidiaries of foreign banks and foreign

insurance companies that are excepted

from the definition of ‘‘investment

company’’ by virtue of Rules 3a–1, 3a–

5, and 3a–6 under the Investment

Company Act of 1940 to file Form F–N

to appoint an agent for service of

process in the United States when

making a public offering of securities.

Approximately seven entities are

required by Rule 489 to file Form F–N,

which is estimated to require an average

of one hour to complete. The estimated

annual burden of complying with the

rule’s filing requirement is

approximately eight hours, as one of the

entities has submitted multiple filings.

Under 17 CFR 270.24f–2, any openend management companies (‘‘mutual

funds’’), unit investment trusts (‘‘UITs’’)

or face-amount certificate companies

(collectively, ‘‘funds’’) that are deemed

to have registered an indefinite amount

of securities must, not later than 90 days

after the end of any fiscal year in which

it has publicly offered such securities,

file Form 24F–2 with the Commission.

Form 24F–2 is the annual notice of

securities sold by funds that

accompanies the payment of registration

fees with respect to the securities sold

during the fiscal year.

The Commission estimates that 8,203

funds file Form 24F–2 on the required

annual basis. The average annual

burden per respondent for Form 24F–2

is estimated to be one hour. The total

annual burden for all respondents to

Form 24F–2 is estimated to be 8,203

hours.

Compliance with the collection of

information required by Form 24F–2 is

mandatory. The Form 24F–2 filing that

must be made to the Commission is

available to the public.

The estimates of average burden hours

are made solely for the purposes of the

PRA and are not derived from a

comprehensive or even representative

survey or study of the cost of

Commission rules and forms. An agency

may not conduct or sponsor, and a

person is not required to respond to, a

collection of information unless it

displays a currently valid OMB control

number.

Written 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 will have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the collection of

information; (c) ways to enhance the

quality, utility, and clarity of the

information collected; 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.

Please direct your written comments

to Michael E. Bartell, Associate

Executive Director, Office of

Information Technology, Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street,

NW., Washington, DC. 20549.

Dated: April 11, 2000.

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–9788 Filed 4–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–42685; File No. 4–430]

Order Staying the Deadlines for

Decimal Implementation and Notice of

Request for Comment on Revised

Decimal Implementation Schedules

April 13, 2000.

On January 28, 2000, the Securities

and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) issued an order (the

‘‘Decimals Order’’) 1 requiring the

American Stock Exchange LLC

(‘‘AMEX’’), the Boston Stock Exchange,

Inc. (‘‘BSE’’), the Chicago Board Options

Exchange, Inc. (‘‘CBOE’’), the Chicago

Stock Exchange, Inc. (‘‘CHX’’), the

Cincinnati Stock Exchange, Inc.

(‘‘CSE’’), the National Association of

Securities Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’), the

New York Stock Exchange, Inc.

(‘‘NYSE’’), the Pacific Exchange, Inc.

(‘‘PCX’’), and the Philadelphia Stock

Exchange, Inc. (‘‘PHLX’’) (collectively

the ‘‘Participants’’) 2 to facilitate an

orderly transition to decimal pricing in

the United States securities markets.

The Decimals Order prescribed a

timetable for the Participants to begin

trading some equity securities (and

options on those equity securities) in

decimals by July 3, 2000, and all

equities and options by January 3, 2001.

On March 6, 2000, despite previous

assurances of readiness, the NASD

announced that The Nasdag Stock

Market Inc. (‘‘Nasdaq’’) would not have

sufficient capacity to meet the target

dates for implementation. 3 The NASD

also expressed concerns regarding

overall industry readiness and requested

that the Commission work with the

industry and the markets to determine

an appropriate time frame that would

not impose unnecessary risks on

investors. 4