53296 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 179 / Monday, September 15, 2008 / Notices 

Dated: September 9, 2008. 

Karen A. Cook, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. E8–21399 Filed 9–12–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–4R–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

Upon Written Request: Copies available 

from: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of Investor 

Education and Advocacy, 

Washington, DC 20549–0213. 

Extension: Rule 22d–1, Sec File No. 270–275, 

OMB Control No. 3235–0310. 

Notice is hereby given that pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), the Securities 

and Exchange Commission (the 

‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments 

on the collections of information 

summarized below. The Commission 

plans to submit this existing collection 

of information to the Office of 

Management and Budget for extension 

and approval. 

Rule 22d–1 under the Investment 

Company Act of 1940 (the ‘‘Act’’) (17 

CFR 270.22d–1) provides registered 

investment companies that issue 

redeemable securities (‘‘funds’’) an 

exemption from section 22(d) of the 

Investment Company Act (15 U.S.C. 

80a–22(d)) to the extent necessary to 

permit scheduled variations in or 

elimination of the sales load on fund 

securities for particular classes of 

investors or transactions, provided 

certain conditions are met. The rule 

imposes an annual burden per series of 

a fund of approximately 15 minutes, so 

that the total annual burden for the 

approximately 4,735 series of funds that 

might rely on the rule is estimated to be 

1,184 hours. 

The estimate of average burden hours 

is made solely for the purposes of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, and is not 

derived from a comprehensive or even 

a representative survey or study. 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 requested on: 

(a) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Commission, including whether the 

information has practical utility; (b) the 

accuracy of the Commission’s estimate 

of the burden(s) 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 Lewis W. Walker, Acting Director/ 

CIO, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, C/O Shirley Martinson, 

6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, 

VA 22312; or send an e-mail to: 

PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: September 8, 2008. 

Florence E. Harmon, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–21405 Filed 9–12–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

Upon Written Request, Copies Available 

From: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of Investor 

Education and Advocacy, 

Washington, DC 20549–0213. 

Extension: 

Rule 17Ab2–1, Form CA–1, SEC File No. 

270–203, OMB Control No. 3235–0195. 

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 of the 

following previously approved 

collection of information as discussed 

below. 

• Rule 17Ab2–1 and Form CA–1: 

Registration of Clearing Agencies (17 

CFR 240.17Ab2–1) 

Rule 17Ab2–1 and Form CA–1 require 

clearing agencies to register with the 

Commission and to meet certain 

requirements with regard to, among 

other things, a clearing agency’s 

organization, capacities, and rules. The 

information is collected from the 

clearing agency upon the initial 

application for registration on Form 

CA–1. Thereafter, information is 

collected by amendment to the initial 

Form CA–1 when material changes in 

circumstances necessitate modification 

of the information previously provided 

to the Commission. 

The Commission uses the information 

disclosed on Form CA–1 to (i) 

Determine whether an applicant meets 

the standards for registration set forth in 

Section 17A of the Securities Exchange 

Act of 1934 (‘‘Exchange Act’’), (ii) 

enforce compliance with the Exchange 

Act’s registration requirement, and (iii) 

provide information about specific 

registered clearing agencies for 

compliance and investigatory purposes. 

Without Rule 17Ab2–1, the Commission 

could not perform these duties as 

statutorily required. 

There are currently approximately six 

operational clearing agencies and five 

clearing agencies that have been granted 

an exemption from registration. The 

Commission staff estimates that each 

initial Form CA–1 requires 

approximately 130 hours to complete 

and submit for approval. Hours required 

for amendments to Form CA–1 that 

must be submitted to the Commission in 

connection with material changes to the 

initial CA–1 can vary, depending upon 

the nature and extent of the amendment. 

Since the Commission only receives an 

average of one submission per year, the 

aggregate annual burden associated with 

compliance with Rule 17Ab2–1 and 

Form CA–1 is 130 hours. Based upon 

the staff’s experience, the average cost to 

clearing agencies of preparing and filing 

the initial Form CA–1 is estimated to be 

$18,000. There is no recordkeeping 

requirement for Rule 17Ab2–1 or Form 

CA–1. The rule and form do not involve 

the collection of confidential 

information. Please note that 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 control 

number. 

General comments regarding the 

estimated burden hours should be 

directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget, Room 10102, New Executive 

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 

or by sending an e-mail to: 

Kimberly_P._Nelson@omb.eop.gov; and 

(ii) Lewis W. Walker, Acting Director/ 

Chief Information Officer, Securities 

and Exchange Commission, C/O Shirley 

Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, 

Alexandria, Virginia 22312; or by 

sending an e-mail to: 

PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must 

be submitted to OMB within 30 days of 

this notice. 

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