Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2017 / Notices 46335 

50 Id. 

51 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(17)(iii). 

52 Id. 

53 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. 

54 In approving the Proposed Rule Changes, the 

Commission considered the proposals’ impact on 

efficiency, competition and capital formation. 15 

U.S.C. 78c(f). 

55 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1Section 3(a)(34)(B) of the Exchange Act defines 

‘‘appropriate regulatory authority.’’ 

ensure that the Clearing Agencies’ 

systems have a high degree of security, 

resiliency, and operational reliability. 

Furthermore, as the Framework 

indicates TRM’s early and continuous 

involvement in the Clearing Agencies’ 

initiatives, the Framework reveals how 

TRM would enable the Clearing 

Agencies to grow and evolve while 

accounting for technology and cyber 

security concerns, thereby ensuring the 

Clearing Agencies’ adequate and 

scalable capacity. 

Therefore, by describing TRM’s role 

and responsibilities in helping the 

Clearing Agencies maintain systems 

with a high degree of security, 

resiliency, operational reliability, and 

adequate, scalable capacity, the 

Commission believes the Framework is 

consistent with the requirements of Rule 

17Ad–22(e)(17)(ii).50

D. Consistency With Rule 17Ad– 

22(e)(17)(iii) 

Rule 17Ad–22(e)(17)(iii) under the 

Act requires, in part, that each covered 

clearing agency establish, implement, 

maintain and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to 

manage the covered clearing agency’s 

operational risks by establishing and 

maintaining a business continuity plan 

that addresses events posing a 

significant risk of disrupting 

operations.51

As described above, the Framework 

would describe how the Clearing 

Agencies establish and maintain 

business continuity plans. Specifically, 

the Framework would describe the 

critical features of the Clearing 

Agencies’ business continuity plans to 

demonstrate how they are designed to 

address events posing a significant risk 

of disrupting the Clearing Agencies’ 

operations. The Framework would also 

indicate how each Clearing Agency 

Business and Clearing Agency Support 

Area reviews and ratifies its respective 

plan and its business impact analysis, 

relative to its assigned Tier. Therefore, 

as the Framework describes how the 

Clearing Agencies establish and 

maintain their business continuity 

plans, which are designed to address 

events posing a significant risk of 

disrupting operations, the Commission 

believes that the Framework is 

consistent with the requirements of Rule 

17Ad–22(e)(17)(iii).52

IV. Conclusion 

On the basis of the foregoing, the 

Commission finds that the proposed 

rule changes are consistent with the 

requirements of the Act and in 

particular with the requirements of 

Section 17A of the Act 53 and the rules 

and regulations thereunder. 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act, that 

proposed rule changes SR–DTC–2017– 

014, SR–NSCC–2017–013, and SR– 

FICC–2017–017 be, and hereby are, 

approved.54

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.55

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21273 Filed 10–3–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

Release No. 81760/September 28, 2017: 

INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 

Release No. 32842/September 28, 2017] 

Exemptive Relief for Individuals and 

Entities Affected by Hurricanes 

Harvey, Irma or Maria 

Order Under Section 15b, Section 17a And 

Section 36 Of The Securities Exchange Act 

Of 1934 Granting Exemptions From Specified 

Provisions Of The Exchange Act And Certain 

Rules Thereunder 

Order Under Section 6(C) And Section 

38(A) Of The Investment Company Act Of 

1940 Granting Exemptions From Specified 

Provisions Of The Investment Company Act 

And Certain Rules Thereunder 

In late August 2017, Hurricane Harvey 

caused catastrophic damage along the 

Texas and Louisiana coast, in early 

September 2017, Hurricane Irma caused 

catastrophic damage to the U.S. Virgin 

Islands, Puerto Rico and the Florida 

coast, and, in mid-September 2017, 

Hurricane Maria caused additional 

catastrophic damage to the U.S. Virgin 

Islands and Puerto Rico. The storms and 

subsequent flooding have displaced 

individuals and businesses and 

disrupted communications and 

transportation across the affected 

regions. We are issuing this Order to 

address the needs of companies and 

individuals with obligations under the 

federal securities laws who have been 

directly or indirectly affected by 

Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma or 

Hurricane Maria and their respective 

aftermaths. 

Section 15B(a)(4) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Exchange 

Act’’) provides that the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (the 

‘‘Commission’’), by rule or order, upon 

its own motion or upon application, 

may conditionally or unconditionally 

exempt any broker, dealer, municipal 

securities dealer or municipal advisor, 

or class of brokers, dealers, municipal 

securities dealers, or municipal advisors 

from any provision of Section 15B or the 

rules or regulations thereunder, if the 

Commission finds that such exemption 

is consistent with the public interest, 

the protection of investors and the 

purposes of Section 15B. 

Section 36 of the Exchange Act 

authorizes the Commission, by rule, 

regulation or order, to exempt, either 

conditionally or unconditionally, any 

person, security or transaction, or any 

class or classes of persons, securities or 

transactions, from any provision or 

provisions of the Exchange Act or any 

rule or regulation thereunder, to the 

extent that such exemption is necessary 

or appropriate in the public interest, 

and is consistent with the protection of 

investors. 

Section 17A(c)(1) of the Exchange Act 

provides that the appropriate regulatory 

agency, by rule or by order, upon its 

own motion or upon application, may 

conditionally or unconditionally 

exempt any person or security or class 

of persons or securities from any 

provision of Section 17A or any rule or 

regulation prescribed under Section 

17A, if the appropriate regulatory 

agency 1 finds that such exemption is in 

the public interest and consistent with 

the protection of investors and the 

purposes of Section 17A, including the 

prompt and accurate clearance and 

settlement of securities transactions and 

the safeguarding of securities and funds. 

Section 17A(c)(1) also requires that the 

Commission not object to the use of 

exemptive authority in instances where 

an appropriate regulatory authority 

other than the Commission is providing 

exemptive relief. 

Section 6(c) of the Investment 

Company Act of 1940 (the ‘‘Company 

Act’’) provides that the Commission 

may conditionally or unconditionally 

exempt any person, security or 

transaction, or any class or classes of 

persons, securities or transactions, from 

any provision or provisions of the 

Company Act, or any rule or regulation 

thereunder, if and to the extent that 

such exemption is necessary or 

appropriate in the public interest and 

consistent with the protection of 


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46336 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2017 / Notices 

investors and the purposes fairly 

intended by the policy and provisions of 

the Company Act. Section 38(a) of the 

Company Act provides that the 

Commission may make, issue, amend 

and rescind such rules and regulations 

and such orders as are necessary or 

appropriate to the exercise of the 

powers conferred upon the Commission 

under the Company Act. 

The necessity for prompt action of the 

Commission does not permit prior 

notice of the Commission’s action. 

I. Time Period for the Relief 

The time period for the relief 

specified in Sections II and VI of this 

Order is as follows: 

(1) With respect to those persons or 

entities affected by Hurricane Harvey, 

for the period from and including 

August 25, 2017 to October 6, 2017, all 

reports, schedules or forms must be 

filed on or before October 10, 2017; 

(2) With respect to those persons or 

entities affected by Hurricane Irma, for 

the period from and including 

September 6, 2017 to October 18, 2017, 

all reports, schedules or forms must be 

filed on or before October 19, 2017; and 

(3) With respect to those persons or 

entities affected by Hurricane Maria, for 

the period from and including 

September 20, 2017 to November 1, 

2017, all reports, schedules or forms 

must be filed on or before November 2, 

2017. 

II. Filing Requirements for Registrants 

and Other Persons 

The lack of communications, 

transportation, electricity, facilities and 

available staff and professional advisors 

as a result of Hurricane Harvey, 

Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria 

could hamper the efforts of public 

companies and other persons with filing 

obligations to meet their filing 

deadlines. At the same time, investors 

have an interest in the timely 

availability of required information 

about these companies and the activities 

of persons required to file schedules and 

reports with respect to these companies. 

While the Commission believes that the 

relief from filing requirements provided 

by the exemption below is necessary 

and appropriate in the public interest 

and consistent with the protection of 

investors, we remind public companies 

and other persons who are the subjects 

of this Order to continue to evaluate 

their obligations to make materially 

accurate and complete disclosures in 

accordance with the anti-fraud 

provisions of the federal securities laws. 

Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to 

Section 36 of the Exchange Act, that a 

registrant (as defined in Exchange Act 

Rule 12b–2) subject to the reporting 

requirements of Exchange Act Section 

13(a) or 15(d), and any person required 

to make any filings with respect to such 

a registrant, is exempt from any 

requirement to file or furnish materials 

with the Commission under Exchange 

Act Sections 13(a), 13(d), 13(f), 13(g), 

14(a), 14(c), 14(f), 15(d) and 16(a), 

Regulations 13A, 13D–G, 14A, 14C and 

15D, and Exchange Act Rules 13f–1, 

14f–1 and 16a–3, as applicable, where 

the conditions below are satisfied. 

Conditions 

(a) The registrant or person other than 

a registrant is not able to meet a filing 

deadline due to Hurricane Harvey, 

Hurricane Irma or Hurricane Maria and 

their respective aftermaths; 

(b) The registrant or person other than 

a registrant files with the Commission 

any report, schedule or form required to 

be filed during the applicable period of 

relief on or before the applicable 

deadline set forth in Section I; and 

(c) In any such report, schedule or 

form filed pursuant to this Order, the 

registrant or person other than a 

registrant must disclose that it is relying 

on this Order and state the reasons why, 

in good faith, it could not file such 

report, schedule or form on a timely 

basis. 

III. Furnishing of Proxy and 

Information Statements 

The conditions in the areas affected 

by Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma 

and Hurricane Maria, including 

displacement of thousands of 

individuals and the destruction of 

property, have prevented and will 

continue to prevent the delivery of mail 

to the affected areas. In light of these 

conditions, we believe that relief is 

warranted for those seeking to comply 

with our rules imposing requirements to 

furnish materials to security holders 

when mail delivery is not possible and 

that the following exemption is 

necessary and appropriate in the public 

interest and consistent with the 

protection of investors. 

Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to 

Section 36 of the Exchange Act, that a 

registrant or any other person is exempt 

from the requirements to furnish proxy 

statements, annual reports and other 

soliciting materials, as applicable (the 

‘‘Soliciting Materials’’), and the 

requirements of the Exchange Act and 

the rules thereunder to furnish 

information statements and annual 

reports, as applicable (the ‘‘Information 

Materials’’), where the conditions below 

are satisfied. 

Conditions 

(a) The registrant’s security holder has 

a mailing address located within a zip 

code where, as a result of Hurricane 

Harvey, Hurricane Irma or Hurricane 

Maria, the registrant’s common carrier 

has suspended delivery service of the 

type or class customarily used by the 

registrant; 

(b) The registrant or other person 

making a solicitation has followed 

normal procedure when furnishing the 

Soliciting Materials to the security 

holder in order to ensure that the 

Soliciting Materials preceded or 

accompanied the proxy, as required by 

the rules applicable to the particular 

form of Soliciting Materials, or, in the 

case of Information Materials, the 

registrant has followed normal 

procedure when furnishing the 

Information Materials to the security 

holder in accordance with the rules 

applicable to Information Materials; and 

(c) If requested by the security holder, 

the registrant or other person provides 

the Soliciting Materials or Information 

Materials by a means reasonably 

designed to furnish the Soliciting 

Materials or Information Materials to the 

security holder. 

Any registrant or other person in need 

of additional assistance related to 

deadlines, delivery obligations or their 

public filings, should contact the 

Division of Corporation Finance at (202) 

551–3500 or at https://tts.sec.gov/cgibin/corp_fin_interpretive. 

IV. Transmittal of Annual and SemiAnnual Reports to Investors Required 

by the Company Act and the Rules 

Thereunder 

For reasons similar to those cited in 

Section III, we believe that relief is 

warranted for the transmittal by 

registered management investment 

companies and registered unit 

investment trusts (collectively, 

‘‘registered investment companies’’) of 

annual and semi-annual reports to 

investors and that the following 

exemption is necessary and appropriate 

in the public interest and consistent 

with the protection of investors. 

Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to 

Sections 6(c) and 38(a) of the Company 

Act that for the period from and 

including August 25, 2017 to November 

1, 2017, a registered investment 

company is exempt from the 

requirements of Section 30(e) of the 

Company Act and Rule 30e–1 

thereunder to transmit annual and semiannual reports to investors affected by 

Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma or 

Hurricane Maria; and 

For the period from and including 

August 25, 2017 to November 1, 2017, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2017 / Notices 46337 

a registered unit investment trust is 

exempt from the requirements of 

Section 30(e) of the Company Act and 

Rule 30e–2 thereunder to transmit 

annual and semi-annual reports to 

unitholders affected by Hurricane 

Harvey, Hurricane Irma or Hurricane 

Maria, 

Provided that: 

(a) The affected investor’s mailing 

address for transmittal as listed in the 

records of the registered investment 

company has a zip code for which the 

registered investment company’s 

common carrier has suspended mail 

service, as a result of Hurricane Harvey, 

Hurricane Irma or Hurricane Maria, of 

the type or class customarily used by 

the registered investment company for 

transmittal of reports; and 

(b) The registered investment 

company or other person promptly 

transmits the reports to affected 

investors: Either (a) if requested by the 

investor; or (b) at the earlier of (i) 

November 2, 2017 or (ii) the resumption 

of the applicable mail service. 

Registered investment companies who 

are unable to meet a deadline as 

extended by this relief, or in need of 

additional assistance regarding issues 

under the Company Act, should contact 

the Division of Investment Management, 

Office of Chief Counsel, at (202) 551– 

6825 or IMOCC@sec.gov. 

Registered investment advisers in 

need of additional assistance regarding 

issues under the Investment Advisers 

Act of 1940 should contact the Division 

of Investment Management, Investment 

Adviser Regulation Office, at (202) 551– 

6999 or IARDLive@sec.gov. 

V. Transfer Agent Compliance With 

Sections 17A and 17(f) of the Exchange 

Act 

Exchange Act Section 17A and 

Section 17(f), as well as the rules 

promulgated under Sections 17A and 

17(f), contain requirements for 

registered transfer agents relating to, 

among other things, processing 

securities transfers, safekeeping of 

investor and issuer funds and securities 

and maintaining records of investor 

ownership. Following the events of 

Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma and 

Hurricane Maria, registered transfer 

agents located in the affected regions 

may have difficulty complying with 

some or all of their obligations as 

registered transfer agents. In addition, 

registered transfer agents located 

outside the affected regions may be 

unable to conduct business with entities 

or security holders inside the regions, 

thereby making it difficult to process 

securities transactions and corporate 

actions in conformance with Section 

17A, Section 17(f) and the rules 

thereunder. 

While the national clearance and 

settlement system continues to operate 

well in light of these emergencies, the 

Commission recognizes that the need to 

effect securities transfers and payments 

to and from security holders in the 

affected regions may present 

compliance issues for affected transfer 

agents. Therefore, the Commission is 

using its authority under Section 17A 

and Section 36 of the Exchange Act to 

provide temporary relief from certain 

regulatory provisions. This Order 

temporarily exempts transfer agents 

from the requirements of: (1) Section 

17A of the Exchange Act and Rules 

17Ad–1 through 17Ad–20 thereunder; 

and (2) Section 17(f) of the Exchange 

Act and Rules 17f–1 and 17f–2 

thereunder. The Commission finds the 

following exemption to be in the public 

interest and consistent with the 

protection of investors and the purpose 

of Section 17A of the Exchange Act, 

including the prompt and accurate 

clearance and settlement of securities 

transactions and the safeguarding of 

securities and funds. 

Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to 

Sections 17A and 36 of the Exchange 

Act, that any registered transfer agent 

that is unable to comply with Section 

17A and Section 17(f) of the Exchange 

Act and the rules promulgated 

thereunder, as applicable, due to 

Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma or 

Hurricane Maria and their respective 

aftermaths is hereby temporarily 

exempted from complying with such 

provisions for the period from and 

including August 25, 2017 to November 

2, 2017 where the conditions below are 

satisfied. 

Conditions 

(a) A registered transfer agent relying 

on this Order must notify the 

Commission in writing by November 2, 

2017 of the following: 

(1) The transfer agent is relying on 

this Order; 

(2) A statement of the reasons why, in 

good faith, the transfer agent is unable 

to comply with Section 17A and Section 

17(f) of the Exchange Act and the rules 

promulgated thereunder, as applicable; 

(3) If the transfer agent knows or 

believes that the books and records it is 

required to maintain pursuant to 

Section 17A and the rules thereunder 

were lost, destroyed or materially 

damaged, information, to the extent 

reasonably available, as to the type of 

books and records that were maintained, 

the names of the issuers for whom such 

books and records were maintained, the 

extent of the loss of, or damage to, such 

books and records and the steps taken 

to ameliorate any such loss or damage; 

and 

(4) If the transfer agent knows or 

believes that funds or securities 

belonging to either issuers or security 

holders and within its possession were, 

for any reason, lost, destroyed, stolen or 

unaccounted for, information, to the 

extent reasonably available, regarding 

the dollar amount of any such funds and 

the number of such securities and the 

steps taken to ameliorate any such loss; 

and 

(b) Transfer agents that have custody 

or possession of any security holder or 

issuer funds or securities shall use all 

reasonable means available to ensure 

that all such securities are held in 

safekeeping and are handled, in light of 

all facts and circumstances, in a manner 

reasonably free from risk of theft, loss or 

destruction and that all funds are 

protected against misuse. To the extent 

possible, all security holder or issuer 

funds that remain in the custody of the 

transfer agent shall be maintained in a 

separate bank account held for the 

exclusive benefit of security holders 

until such funds are properly remitted. 

The notification required under (a) 

above shall be sent to: U.S. Securities 

and Exchange Commission, Division of 

Trading and Markets, Office of 

Clearance and Settlement, 100 F Street 

NE., Washington, DC 20549–7010. 

The Commission encourages 

registered transfer agents and the issuers 

for whom they act to inform affected 

security holders whom they should 

contact concerning their accounts, their 

access to funds or securities and other 

shareholder concerns. If feasible, issuers 

and their transfer agents should place a 

notice on their websites or providing 

toll free numbers to respond to 

inquiries. 

Transfer agents who are unable to 

meet a deadline as extended by this 

relief, or in need of additional 

assistance, should contact the Division 

of Trading and Markets at (202) 551– 

5777 or tradingandmarkets@sec.gov. 

VI. Filing of Annual Update to Form 

MA as Required by the Exchange Act 

and the Rules Thereunder 

Section 15B of the Exchange Act and 

Rule 15Ba1–5(a)(1) thereunder requires 

each registered municipal advisor to file 

with the Commission an annual update 

to its Form MA. For reasons similar to 

those cited in Section II, the 

Commission believes that relief is 

warranted for the filing with the 

Commission of annual updates to Form 

MA by registered municipal advisors 

and that such relief is consistent with 

the public interest, the protection of 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
46338 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2017 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79955 

(Feb. 3, 2017), 82 FR 10086 (Feb. 9, 2017). 4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 80297 

(Mar. 22, 2017), 82 FR 15408 (Mar. 28, 2017). 6See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 80502 

(Apr. 21, 2017), 82 FR 19398 (Apr. 27, 2017). 7See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 80729 

(May 19, 2017), 82 FR 24185 (May 25, 2017). 8See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81201 

(July 25, 2017), 82 FR 33938 (July 31, 2017). The 

Commission designated October 7, 2017, as the date 

by which the Commission shall either approve or 

disapprove the proposed rule change. 9See Letters from Joseph Stephen White (Feb. 5, 

2017); Anonymous (Feb. 8, 2017) (purportedly from 

investors and the purposes of Section 

15B of the Exchange Act. 

Accordingly, it is so ordered, 

pursuant to Section 15B(a)(4) of the 

Exchange Act, that any registered 

municipal advisor is exempt from the 

requirement to file an annual update to 

Form MA with the Commission, as 

required by Section 15B of the Exchange 

Act and Rule 15Ba1–5(a)(1) thereunder, 

where the conditions below are 

satisfied. 

Conditions 

(a) The registered municipal advisor 

is not able to fulfill its obligation to file 

an annual update to the registered 

municipal advisor’s Form MA within 90 

days of the end of the registered 

municipal advisor’s fiscal year due to 

Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma or 

Hurricane Maria; 

(b) The registered municipal advisor 

files with the Commission its annual 

update to Form MA required to be filed 

during the applicable period of relief on 

or before the applicable deadline set 

forth in Section I; and 

(c) In any such annual update to its 

Form MA filing, the registered 

municipal advisor must disclose that it 

is relying on this Order and state the 

reasons why, in good faith, it could not 

file such annual update to Form MA on 

a timely basis. 

Registered municipal advisors who 

are unable to meet a deadline as 

extended by this relief or in need of 

additional assistance, should contact the 

Office of Municipal Securities at (202) 

551–5680 or munis@sec.gov. 

VII. Independence—Bookkeeping or 

Other Services Related to the 

Accounting Records or Financial 

Statements of the Audit Client 

The conditions in the areas affected 

by Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma 

and Hurricane Maria, including 

displacement of individuals, the 

destruction of property and loss or 

destruction of corporate records, may 

require extraordinary efforts to 

reconstruct lost or destroyed accounting 

records. The Commission understands 

that in these particularly challenging 

situations an audit client may look to its 

auditor for assistance in reconstruction 

of its accounting records because of the 

auditor’s knowledge of the client’s 

financial systems and records. Under 

Section 10A(g)(1) of the Exchange Act 

and Rule 2–01(c)(4)(i) of Regulation S– 

X, auditors are prohibited from 

providing bookkeeping or other services 

relating to the accounting records of the 

audit client, and in Rule 2–01(c)(4)(i) of 

Regulation S–X, these prohibited 

services are described as including 

‘‘maintaining or preparing the audit 

client’s accounting records’’ or 

‘‘preparing or originating source data 

underlying the audit client’s financial 

statements.’’ In light of the conditions in 

areas affected by Hurricane Harvey, 

Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, 

however, we believe that limited relief 

from these prohibitions is warranted for 

those registrants and other persons that 

are required to comply with the 

independence requirements of the 

federal securities laws and the 

Commission’s rules and regulations 

thereunder and that are affected by 

those conditions. The Commission finds 

the following exemption to be necessary 

and appropriate in the public interest 

and consistent with the protection of 

investors. 

Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to 

Section 36 of the Exchange Act, that 

independent certified public 

accountants engaged to provide audit 

services to registrants and other persons 

required to comply with the 

independence requirements of the 

federal securities laws and the 

Commission’s rules and regulations 

thereunder are exempt from the 

requirements of Section 10A(g)(1) of the 

Exchange Act and Rule 2–01(c)(4)(i) of 

Regulation S–X, where the conditions 

below are satisfied. 

Conditions 

(a) Services provided by the auditor 

are limited to reconstruction of 

previously existing accounting records 

that were lost or destroyed as a result of 

Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma or 

Hurricane Maria and such services cease 

as soon as the audit client’s lost or 

destroyed records are reconstructed, its 

financial systems are fully operational 

and the client can effect an orderly and 

efficient transition to management or 

other service provider; and 

(b) Services provided by the auditor to 

its audit client pursuant to this Order 

are subject to pre-approval by the audit 

client’s audit committee as required by 

Rule 2–01(c)(7) of Regulation S–X. 

Auditors or audit clients who are in 

need of additional assistance or have 

other questions relating to auditor 

independence, should contact the Office 

of the Chief Accountant at (202) 551– 

5300 or OCARequest@sec.gov. 

By the Commission. 

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21284 Filed 10–3–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–81747; File No. SR– 

NYSEArca–2017–06] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

Arca, Inc.; Notice of Withdrawal of a 

Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by 

Amendment No. 2, Relating to the 

Listing and Trading of Shares of the 

Bitcoin Investment Trust Under NYSE 

Arca Equities Rule 8.201 

September 28, 2017. 

On January 25, 2017, NYSE Arca, Inc. 

(‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section 

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

of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 a proposed rule change to 

list and trade shares of the Bitcoin 

Investment Trust under NYSE Arca 

Equities Rule 8.201. The proposed rule 

change was published for comment in 

the Federal Register on February 9, 

2017.3

On March 22, 2017, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,4 the 

Commission designated a longer period 

within which to approve the proposed 

rule change, disapprove the proposed 

rule change, or institute proceedings to 

determine whether to approve or 

disapprove the proposed rule change.5

On April 6, 2017, the Exchange filed 

Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 

change. On April 27, 2017, the 

Commission published notice of 

Amendment No. 1 and instituted 

proceedings to determine whether to 

approve or disapprove the proposed 

rule change, as modified by Amendment 

No. 1.6 On May 11, 2017, the Exchange 

filed Amendment No. 2 to the proposed 

rule change, and on May 25, 2017, the 

Commission published notice of 

Amendment No. 2.7 On July 25, 2017, 

the Commission designated a longer 

period for Commission action on the 

proposed rule change.8 The Commission 

has received eighteen comment letters 

on the proposed rule change.9


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES