Document ID: SEC-2020-1779-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
Posted Date: 2020-11-09T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 217 (Monday, November 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71381-71382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24844]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-184, OMB Control No. 3235-0236]

Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Extension:
    Form N-54C

    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 (the ``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the 
collection 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.
    Certain investment companies can elect to be regulated as business 
development companies, as defined in section 2(a)(48) of the Investment 
Company Act of 1940 (``Investment Company Act''), under sections 55 
through 65 of the Investment Company Act. Under section 54(a) of the 
Investment Company Act,\1\ any company defined in section 2(a)(48)(A) 
and (B) of the Investment Company Act may, if it meets certain 
enumerated eligibility requirements, elect to be subject to the 
provisions of Sections 55 through 65 of the Investment Company Act by 
filing with the Commission a notification of election. Under section 
54(c) of the Investment Company Act,\2\ any business development 
company may voluntarily withdraw its election under section 54(a) of 
the Investment Company Act by filing a notice of withdrawal of election 
with the Commission. The Commission has adopted Form N-54C as the form 
for the notification of withdrawal of election to be subject to 
Sections 55 through 65 of the Investment Company Act. The purpose of 
Form N-54C is to notify the Commission that the business development 
company withdraws its election to be subject to Sections 55 through 65 
of the Investment Company Act.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 80a-53(a).
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 80a-53(c).
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    The Commission estimates that on average approximately eight 
business development companies file notifications on Form N-54C each 
year. Each of those business development companies need only make a 
single filing of Form N-54C. The Commission further estimates that this 
information collection imposes a burden of one hour, resulting in a 
total annual burden of eight hours. Based on the estimated wage rate, 
the total cost to the business development company industry of the hour 
burden for complying with Form N-54C would be approximately $2,944.\3\ 
The Commission also estimates that cost burden for outside 
professionals associated with the filing of Form N-54C increased to 
$560 because the Commission believes that filers use third-party 
vendors to comply with this requirement.
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    \3\ The industry burden is calculated by multiplying the total 
annual hour burden to prepare Form N-54C (eight) by the estimated 
hourly wage rate of $368 for a compliance attorney or other 
similarly situated business development company employee. The 
estimated wage figure is based on published rates for compliance 
attorneys from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets 
Association's Report on Management & Professional Earnings in the 
Securities Industry 2013, modified by Commission staff to account 
for an 1,800 hour work-year and inflation, and multiplied by 5.35 to 
account for bonuses, firm size, employee benefits and overhead, 
yielding an effective hourly rate of $2,944.
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    The collection of information under Form N-54C is mandatory. The 
information provided by the form is not kept confidential. An agency 
may not

[[Page 71382]]

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 David Bottom, Director/Chief 
Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O Cynthia 
Roscoe, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549; or send an email to: 
PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

    Dated: November 4, 2020.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-24844 Filed 11-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P