28210 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 22, 2001 / Notices

3 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(6).

4 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

3Letter from Darla C. Stuckey, Assistant

Secretary, NYSE to Jerry Carpenter, Assistant

Director, Division of Market Regulation (February 8,

2001).

4The Commission has modified the text of the

summaries prepared by the NYSE.

5Within the context of NYSE Rule 412, the term

‘‘receiving firm’’ refers to a member organization to

which a customer is transferring his account.

not provide a basis for continuing a

trade halt.

2. Statutory Basis

Nasdaq believes that the proposed

rule change is consistent with the

provisions of section 15A(b)(6) of the

Act,3 which requires, among other

things, that the Association’s rules must

be designed to prevent fraudulent and

manipulative acts and practices, to

promote just and equitable principles of

trade, and, in general, to protect

investors and the public interest.

Nasdaq believes the proposed rule

change is consistent with these

requirements because the amendment

will provide Nasdaq with clearer

authority to respond to and alleviate

market disruptions and thereby protect

investors and the public interest.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

Nasdaq does not believe that the

proposed rule change will result in any

burden on competition that is not

necessary or appropriate in furtherance

of the purposes of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Change Received From

Members, Participants or Others

Written comments were neither

solicited nor received.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Within 35 days of the date of

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register or within such longer period (i)

as the Commission may designate up to

90 days of such date if it finds such

longer period to be appropriate and

publishes its reasons for so finding or

(ii) as to which the NASD consents, the

Commission will:

A. By order approve such proposed

rule change, or

B. Institute proceedings to determine

whether the proposed rule change

should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views and

arguments concerning the foregoing,

including whether the proposed rule

change is consistent with the Act.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20549–0609. Copies of

the submission, all subsequent

amendments, all written statements

with respect to the proposed rule

change that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule change between the

Commission and any person, other than

those that may be withheld from the

public in accordance with the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be

available for inspection and copying in

the Commission’s Public Reference

Room. Copies of such filing will also be

available for inspection and copying at

the principal office of Nasdaq. All

submissions should refer to file number

SR–NASD–2001–37 and should be

submitted by June 12, 2001.

For the Commission by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.4

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–12825 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–44302; File No. SR–NYSE–

00–61]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

the New York Stock Exchange, Inc., To

Amend the Interpretation of NYSE Rule

412, ‘‘Customer Account Transfer

Contracts’’

May 14, 2001.

Pursuant to section 19(b)(1) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on December

22, 2000, the New York Stock Exchange,

Inc. (‘‘NYSE’’), filed with the Securities

and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule

change and on February 12, 2001,

amended the proposed rule change 3 as

described in Items I, II, and III below,

which Items have been prepared

primarily by the NYSE. The

Commission is publishing this notice to

solicit comments on the amended

proposed rule change from interested

persons.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Terms of Substance of

the Proposed Rule Change

The NYSE proposes to amend its

Interpretation of NYSE Rule 412,

‘‘Customer Account Transfer Contracts,’’

to expedite the transfer of customer

accounts containing proprietary and/or

third party products. The text of the

proposed rule change is available upon

request from the NYSE’s Office of the

Secretary or through the Commission’s

Public Reference Branch.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

In its filing with the Commission, the

NYSE included statements concerning

the prupose of and basis for the

proposed rule change and discussed any

comments it received on the proposed

rule change. The text of these statements

may be examined at the places specified

in Item IV below. The NYSE has

prepared summaries, set forth in

sections A, B, and C below, of the most

significant aspects of such statements.4

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

1. Purpose

a. Introduction. NYSE Rule 412

prescribes procedures for member

organizations transfering customer

accounts and requires the use of the

automated Customer Account Transfer

Service (‘‘ACATS’’) which is

administered by the National Securities

Clearing Corporation (‘‘NSCC’’). Since

ACATS’s inception in 1985, several

enhancements to the system and to

NYSE Rule 412 have allowed for faster

and more efficient transfers to customer

accounts. Recent ACATS modifications

offer the capability to facilitate the

transfer of accounts containing third

party and/or proprietary products. The

proposed amendments to the

Interpretation of NYSE Rule 412 relate

to these modifications and would

provide the number greater flexibility to

expedite the transfer of such accounts.

b. Background. The transfer process is

initiated when, upon a customer’s

written instructions, the receiving firm 5

submits a Transfer Instruction Form or

Transfer Initiation Form (‘‘TIF’’) to the

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 22, 2001 / Notices 28211

6Within the context of NYSE Rule 412, the term

‘‘carrying firm’’ refers to a member organization

from which a customer is transferring his account.

7Rule 412(b)(/06(B).

8Rule 412(b)(1)/06(A).

9Rule 412(b)(1)/02.

10 15 U.S.C. 78f. 11 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).

carrying firm.6 Although most securities

can be transferred through ACATS,

member organizations vary widely in

their ability to accept and support

certain proprietary and/or third party

investment products. These differences

in servicing capability are particularly

problematic with regard to mutual

funds.

In order to carry a mutual fund

position for a customer’s account, the

member organization must have a

marketing agreement with the

investment company that has issued the

fund and must have certain

corresponding servicing capabilities

(e.g., capacity to by and sell shares,

reinvest dividends, etc.). The

extraordinarily large number of mutual

funds that have become available over

the last decade has resulted in great

variance among member organizations

with respect to the third party funds

they can sell, service, and support.

c. Current Situation. In the current

ACATS environment, a carrying firm

must deliver third party client mutual

funds without knowing whether the

receiving firm has the capability to

accept, service, and support such funds.

If the receiving firm cannot support a

particular fund, the delivery will be

made to the receiving firm and then to

be reversed back to the carrying firm,

resulting in substantial processing time

by both firms and an overall delay in

completing the transfer. To illustrate the

point, member organizations

approximate that 50% of their ACATS

‘‘fails-to-deliver’’ that must ultimately

be reversed are caused by mutual funds

the receiving firm is unable to support.

The ACATS-generated fails result in

considerable expense to carrying firms

because they are required to credit the

receiving firm funds equivalent to the

value of the assets they are unable to

deliver.

d. Proposed Amendments to the

Interpretation of NYSE Rule 412. The

proposed amendments to paragraphs

(b)(1)/01,/04, and /06 of the

Interpretation of NYSE Rule 412, in

conjunction with the corresponding

modifications to the ACATS system,

would allow the receiving firm to

review an asset validation report

provided by the carrying firm and

designate those proprietary and/or third

party products (i.e., mutual funds/

money market funds) it is unable to

support. As to those products it is

unable to support, the receiving firm

would have to provide the customer

with a list of the specific assets and

request in writing prior to or at the time

it makes such designation, further

instructions from the customer with

respect to the disposition of such assets.

The customer would, at minimum, have

to be provided with the following

options′:

(1) Liquidation;

(2) Retention by the carrying

organization;

(3) Physical shipment in the

customer’s name to the customer; or

(4) Transfer to the third party that is

the original source of the product.7

The transfer of the other assets in the

account would be undertaken

simultaneously with the receiving firm’s

designation of nontransferable assets.

The proposed designation requirements

on the part of the receiving firm should

reduce the overall timeframe for

transferring proprietary and/or third

party products and should lower the

related costs incurred by member

organizations.

The proposed amendments also

include a notification enhancement that

will expedite the disposition of

nontransferable carrying firm

proprietary products.8 The current

Interpretation requires that the carrying

organization provide general

notification to the customer if an

account to be transferred contains any

nontransferable assets. The proposed

amendments would require the carrying

organization to notify the customer of

the specific nontransferable, proprietary

assets of the carrying firm that are in the

account and would further require the

carrying organization to provide the

customer with a list of those specific

assets.

e. Internal Reassignment of Accounts.

An additional amendment to the

Interpretation of NYSE Rule 412 9 is

being proposed to address situations

where a carrying organization internally

reassigns customer accounts to other

registered representatives and

establishes new account numbers. The

proposed amendment places

responsibility for tracking these account

number changes with the carrying

organization and makes clear that a

transfer request rejected on the basis of

such reassignment will not be

considered a legitimate exception under

the new rule.

2. Statutory Basis

The NYSE believes the proposed rule

change is consistent with section 6(b) of

the Act 10 in general and furthers the

objectives of section 6(b)(5) of the Act 11

in particular in that it is designed to:

promote just and equitable principles of

trade, remove impediments to and

perfect the mechanism of a free and

open market and a national market

system, and protect investors and the

public interest. These interests are

served when procedures governing the

transfer of customer accounts are made

more efficient.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The NYSE believes that the proposed

rule change will not impose any burden

on competition that is not necessary or

appropriate in the furtherance of the

purposes of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Change Received From

Members, Participants or Others

The NYSE has neither solicited nor

received written comments on the

proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Within thirty-five days of the date of

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register or within such longer period (i)

as the Commission may designate up to

ninety days of such date if it finds such

longer period to be appropriate and

publishes its reasons for so finding or

(ii) as to which the Exchange consents,

the Commission will:

(A) By order approve such proposed

rule change or

(B) Institute proceedings to determine

whether the proposed rule change

should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views, and

arguments concerning the foregoing,

including whether the proposed rule

change, as amended, is consistent with

the Act. Persons making written

submissions should file six copies

thereof with the Secretary, Securities

and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549–

0609. Copies of the submission, all

subsequent amendments, all written

statements with respect to the proposed

rule change that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule change between the

Commission and any person, other than

those that may be withheld from the

public in accordance with the

28212 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 22, 2001 / Notices

12 17 CFR 200.30–2(a)(12).

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be

available for inspection and copying in

the Commission’s Public Reference

Room. Copies of such filing will also be

available for inspection and copying at

NYSE’s principal office. All

submissions should refer to File No.

SR–NYSE–00–61 and should be

submitted by June 12, 2001.

For the Commission by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.12

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–12791 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Data Collection Available for Public

Comments and Recommendations

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this

notice announces the Small Business

Administration’s intentions to request

approval on a new, and/or currently

approved information collection.

DATES: Submit comments on or before

July 23, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send all comments

regarding whether this information

collection is necessary for the proper

performance of the function of the

agency, whether the burden estimate is

accurate, and if there are ways to

minimize the estimated burden and

enhance the quality of the collection, to

Jonathan R. Pawlow, Assistant Chief

Counsel, Office of Advocacy, Small

Business Administration, 409 3rd Street,

SW., Suite 7800, Washington DC 20416.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jonathan R. Pawlow, Assistant Chief

Counsel, (202) 205–6951 or Curtis B.

Rich, Management Analyst, (202) 205–

7030.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Evaluation of State Efforts to

Review and Alleviate State Regulatory

Burdens on Small Business.

Form No: N/A.

Description of Respondents: The

Office of Advocacy is surveying states to

gain a better understanding of what

states are doing to help small businesses

overcome state regulatory hurdles.

Annual Responses: 130.

Annual Burden: 120.

Jacqueline White,

Chief, Administrative Information Branch.

[FR Doc. 01–12827 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3666]

Advisory Committee on International

Communications and Information

Policy; Meeting Notice

The Department of State is

announcing the next meeting of its

Advisory Committee on International

Communications and Information

Policy.

The Committee provides a formal

channel for regular consultation and

coordination on major economic, social

and legal issues and problems in

international communications and

information policy, especially as these

issues and problems involve users of

information and communication

services, providers of such services,

technology research and development,

foreign industrial and regulatory policy,

the activities of international

organizations with regard to

communications and information, and

developing country interests.

There will be a featured guest speaker

at the meeting who will speak on an

important topic involving international

communications and information

policy.

This meeting will be held on

Thursday, June 14, 2001, from 9:30

a.m.–12:30 p.m. in Room 1105 of the

Main Building of the U.S. Department of

State, located at 2201 ‘‘C’’ Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20520.

Members of the public may attend

these meetings up to the seating

capacity of the room. While the meeting

is open to the public, admittance to the

State Department Building is only by

means of a pre-arranged clearance list.

In order to be placed on the preclearance list, please provide your

name, title, company, social security

number, date of birth, and citizenship to

Timothy C. Finton at

<fintontc@state.gov> no later than noon

on Wednesday, June 13. All attendees

for this meeting must use the 23rd Street

entrance. One of the following valid ID’s

will be required for admittance: any

U.S. driver’s license with photo, a

passport, or a U.S. Government agency

ID. Non-U.S. Government attendees

must be escorted by State Department

personnel at all times when in the State

Department building.

For further information, contact

Timothy C. Finton, Executive Secretary

of the Committee, at (202) 647–5385 or

<fintontc@state.gov>.

Dated: May 14, 2001.

Timothy C. Finton,

Executive Secretary, Advisory Committee on

International Communications and

Information Policy, Department of State.

[FR Doc. 01–12851 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–45–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice Number: 3662]

Advisory Commission on Public

Diplomacy; Notice of Meeting

The U.S. Advisory Commission on

Public Diplomacy, reauthorized

pursuant to Public Law 106–113 (H.R.

3194, Consolidated Appropriations Act,

2000), will meet on Thursday, June 7,

2001, in Room 600, 301 4th St., SW.,

Washington, DC from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00

Noon.

The Commission will discuss its

recent trip to Asia, the future of public

diplomacy in the Department of State,

and the future of the Commission.

Members of the general public may

attend the meeting, though attendance

of public members will be limited to the

seating available. Access to the building

is controlled, and individual building

passes are required for all attendees.

Persons who plan to attend should

contact David J. Kramer, Executive

Director, at (202) 619–4463.

Dated: May 11, 2001.

David J. Kramer,

Executive Director, Advisory Commission on

Public Diplomacy, Department of State.

[FR Doc. 01–12849 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Notice Number 3665]

Shipping Coordinating Committee;

Notice of Meeting

The Shipping Coordinating

Committee (SHC) will conduct an open

meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 12

June, in Room 6301, at U.S. Coast Guard

Headquarters, 2100 Second Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20593–0001. The

purpose of the meeting is to finalize

preparations for the 50th Session of the

Technical Cooperation Committee (TCC

50) and 86th Session of Council of the

International Maritime Organization

(IMO).