30264 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 116 / Friday, June 14, 1996 / Notices

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available

From: Securities and Exchange

Commission, Office of Filings and

Information Services, Washington, DC

20549

Extension: Rule 17f–4

SEC File No. 270–232

OMB Control No. 3235–0225

Notice is hereby given that pursuant

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities

and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the

Office of Management and Budget a

request for approval of extension on the

following rule:

Rule 17f–4 [17 CFR 270.17f–4] under

the Investment Company Act of 1940

[15 U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.] (the ‘‘Act’’)

specifies conditions under which a

registered management investment

company or its custodian may place the

company’s securities in a securities

depository. The rule requires a

custodian to provide confirmations and

keep records of transactions, and

requires the custodian, its agents, and

depositories to provide reports on

internal accounting controls.

Confirmations and records give the

company objective evidence of

transactions performed on its behalf.

Reports on internal controls provide

information necessary to evaluate the

safety of depository arrangements.

Approximately 100 custodians are

subject to the requirement to provide

confirmations and keep records, and

those custodians and approximately 150

other agents and six depositories are

subject to the requirement to provide

internal control reports. The 256

respondents make approximately 25,256

responses and spend approximately

25,256 hours annually in complying

with the reporting and recordkeeping

requirements of the rule.

The estimates of burden hours are

made solely for the purposes of the

Paperwork Reduction Act, and are not

derived from a comprehensive or even

a representative survey or study.

General comments regarding the

estimated burden hours should be

directed to the Desk Officer for the

Securities and Exchange Commission at

the address below. Any comments

concerning the accuracy of the

estimated average burden hours for

compliance with Commission rules and

forms should be directed to Michael E.

Bartell, Associate Executive Director,

Office of Information Technology,

Securities and Exchange Commission,

450 Fifth Street NW., Washington, DC

20549 and the Desk Officer for the

Securities and Exchange Commission,

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and

Budget, Room 3208, New Executive

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: June 4, 1996.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–15113 Filed 6–13–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[File No. 1–10512]

Issuer Delisting; Notice of Application

To Withdraw From Listing and

Registration; (Del Global Technologies

Corp., Common Stock, $.10 Par Value)

June 10, 1996.

Del Global Technologies Corp.

(‘‘Company’’) has filed an application

with the Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant

to Section 12(d) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) and Rule

12d2–2(d) promulgated thereunder, to

withdraw the above specified security

(‘‘Security’’) from listing and

registration on the American Stock

Exchange, Inc. (‘‘Amex’’).

The reasons alleged in the application

for withdrawing the Security from

listing and registration include the

following:

According to the Company, its Board

of Directors unanimously approved

resolutions on March 26, 1996 to

withdraw the Security from listing on

the Amex and instead, to list the

Securities on the National Association

of Securities Dealers Automated

Quotations National Market System

(‘‘Nasdaq/NMS’’).

The decision of the Board followed a

thorough study of the matter and was

based upon the belief that listing the

Security on the Nasdaq/NMS will be

more beneficial to the Company’s

stockholders than the present listing on

the Amex because:

1. The Nasdaq system of multiple,

competing market makers will provide

the Company with increased visibility

within the financial community, thereby

encouraging greater investor awareness

of the Company’s activities.

2. The Nasdaq system will enable the

Company to attract its own group of

market makers and expand the capital

base available for purchases of its

Security;

3. The Nasdaq system will, in the

Company’s directors’ opinions,

stimulate increased demand for the

Security and result in greater liquidity

for the Company’s shareholders; and

4. The firm making a market in the

Security on Nasdaq will be more likely

to institute and issue research reports on

the Company, which will increase the

availability of information about the

Company and enhance the Company’s

visibility to investors.

Any interested person may, on or

before July 1, 1996 submit by letter to

the Secretary of the Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20549, facts

bearing upon whether the application

has been made in accordance with the

rules of the exchanges and what terms,

if any, should be imposed by the

Commission for the protection of

investors. The Commission, based on

the information submitted to it, will

issue an order granting the application

after the date mentioned above, unless

the Commission determines to order a

hearing on the matter.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–15110 Filed 6–13–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[File No. 1–13596]

Issuer Delisting; Notice of Application

To Withdraw From Listing and

Registration; (Disc Graphics, Inc.,

Common Stock, $.01 Par Value)

June 10, 1996.

Disc Graphics, Inc. (‘‘Company’’) has

filed an application with the Securities

and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section

12(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of

1934 (‘‘Act’’) and Rule 12d2–2(d)

promulgated thereunder, to withdraw

the above specified security (‘‘Security’’)

from listing and registration on the

American Stock Exchange, Inc.

(‘‘Amex’’).

The reasons alleged in the application

for withdrawing the Security from

listing and registration include the

following:

According to the Company, its Board

of Directors unanimously approved

resolutions on December 14, 1995 to

withdraw the Security from listing on

the Amex and instead, to list the

Security on the Nasdaq National Market

(‘‘NNM’’).

The decision of the Board followed a

thorough study of the matter and was

based upon the belief that listing the

Security on the NNM will be more

beneficial to the Company’s
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 116 / Friday, June 14, 1996 / Notices 30265

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) (1988).

2Securities Exchange Act Release No. 36931

(March 6, 1996), 61 FR 10050.

3This filing is made in conjunction with DTC’s

proposed rule change seeking to implement the IPO

Tracking System. The IPO Tracking System will

allow lead managers and syndicate members of

equity underwritings to monitor flipping of new

issues in an automated book-entry environment. For

a complete description of the IPO Tracking System,

refer to Securities Exchange Act Release No. 37208

(May 13, 1996), 61 FR 25253 (order approving a

proposed rule change seeking to implement the IPO

Tracking System).

4CNS Eligible securities are those securities that

are eligible for transfer on the books of a securities

depository registered with the Commission under

Section 17A of the Act and that are contained in

a list maintained by NSCC as subject to clearance

and settlement in its CNS system.

5Flipping occurs when a syndicate’s lead

manager is supporting the IPO with a stabilization

bid (i.e., the lead manager is purchasing shares in

the secondary market in order to keep the price of

the issue from dropping its initial offering price)

and when securities that had been distributed to

investors are resold by those investors in the

secondary market back to the syndicate. The lead

manager may wish to identify flipped transactions

so that underwriting concessions (the discount from

the offering price received by the syndicate

member) can be recovered from the appropriate

syndicate members.

6 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3) (A) and (F) (1988).

stockholders than the present listing on

the Amex because trading firms are

reluctant to trade or market securities

listed on the Amex and that this has

been a factor in the thin volume and

lack of interest in the Company’s

Security. Also, because firms have not

been interested in trading the

Company’s Security, it has been

difficult to obtain research coverage for

the Company. As a result, it is the

Board’s belief that the Company’s

investors have not been as well served

by an Amex listing as they are likely to

be by a NNM listing.

Any interested person may, on or

before July 1, 1996 submit by letter to

the Secretary of the Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549, facts

bearing upon whether the application

has been made in accordance with the

rules of the exchanges and what terms,

if any, should be imposed by the

Commission for the protection of

investors. The Commission, based on

the information submitted to it, will

issue an order granting the application

after the date mentioned above, unless

the Commission determines to order a

hearing on the matter.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–15109 Filed 6–13–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[Release No. 34–37290; File No. SR–NSCC–

96–05]

Self-Regulatory Organizations;

National Securities Clearing

Corporation; Order Approving

Proposed Rule Change Modifying the

Automated Customer Account

Transfer Service To Facilitate the

Transfer of Shares Being Tracked in

the Initial Public Offering Tracking

System

June 7, 1996.

On February 27, 1996, the National

Securities Clearing Corporation

(‘‘NSCC’’) filed with the Securities and

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’)

a proposed rule change (File No. SR–

NSCC–96–05) pursuant to Section

19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act

of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) which modifies NSCC’s

Automated Customer Account Transfer

(‘‘ACAT’’) service.1 Notice of the

proposal was published on March 12,

1996, in the Federal Register to solicit

comments on the proposed rule

change.2 No comment letters were

received. For the reasons discussed

below, the Commission is approving the

proposed rule change.

I. Description

NSCC’s proposed rule change

modifies NSCC’s rules relating to its

ACAT service to facilitate the transfer of

shares which are purchased in an initial

public offering (‘‘IPO’’) and which are

being tracked in The Depository Trust

Company’s (‘‘DTC’’) IPO Tracking

System.3

NSCC, through its ACAT service,

currently provides an automated and

standardized service for the transfer of

assets in a customer account from one

brokerage firm to another. The proposed

rule change modifies NSCC’s Rule 50 to

state that shares to be transferred

through the ACAT system that are being

tracked through DTC’s IPO Tracking

System will not be entered into NSCC’s

Continuous Net Settlement (‘‘CNS’’)

accounting operation even if such

shares are CNS eligible.4 Rule 50 also

states that NSCC will prepare ACAT

receive and deliver orders for such

shares.

Under DTC’s IPO Tracking System,

broker-dealers will have IPO control

accounts at DTC for IPO shares and free

accounts for shares purchased in the

secondary market. The segregated

accounts aid in tracking the movement

of IPO shares. In NSCC’s CNS system,

deliver obligations must be made from

the free account. If IPO shares for which

there is an ACAT deliver obligation

were to settle in NSCC’s CNS system,

the shares would have to be moved out

of the DTC member’s segregated IPO

control account and into the DTC

member’s free account. The IPO

Tracking System would register the

movement from the IPO control account

into the free account as a flip 5 and

would no longer be able to track the

shares.

NSCC’s proposed rule change requires

IPO shares transferred through the

ACAT service to be delivered ex-CNS

(i.e., outside of the CNS system). The

shares will be delivered pursuant to

DTC’s new IPO customer account

transfer function where the shares will

continue to be tracked and will not

register as flipped even though they are

subject to an ACAT deliver obligation.

II. Discussion

The Commission finds that the

proposed rule change is consistent with

the requirements of the Act and the

rules and regulations thereunder and

particularly with the requirements of

Sections 17A(b)(3) (A) and (F).6 Sections

17A(b)(3) (A) and (F) require that the

rules of a clearing agency be designed to

promote the prompt and accurate

clearance and settlement of securities

transactions. The Commission believes

that NSCC’s rule change meets this

standard because by implementing these

changes to its ACAT service, NSCC will

make it easier and more efficient to

transfer IPO securities held in customer

accounts at one broker-dealer to another

broker-dealer. Without this

enhancement, IPO shares transferred

through NSCC’s ACAT service from one

brokerage account to another would

register as a flip in DTC’s IPO Tracking

System. When shares register as a flip,

syndicate members may forfeit the

concession they earn from the initial

sale to the retail customer. As a result,

retail customers could be discouraged

from transferring their accounts during

the tracking period. As a result of this

rule change, transfers of customer IPO

securities through DTC’s IPO Tracking

System will be accurately recorded

thereby enhancing retail investors’

ability to transfer their accounts.

The proposed rule change is an

important component in creating an

accurate tracking system. The tracking

system is intended to reduce the

number of IPO transactions that settle

through delivery of physical certificates

and to increase the number of IMP

transactions settled through book entry.

By enhancing the IPO Tracking System

as described above, the proposal will

further promote the prompt and