90 FR 41 pg. 11198 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17Ad-16

Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 41Page: 11198
Docket number: [OMB Control No. 3235-0413]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-03434 Filed 3-3-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Securities and Exchange Commission
Official PDF Version:  PDF Version
Page: 11198

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[OMB Control No. 3235-0413]

Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17Ad-16

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-2736

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 ("PRA") (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. ), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") is soliciting comments on the existing collection of information provided for in Rule 17Ad-16 (17 CFR 240.17Ad-16) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq. ). The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") for extension and approval.

Rule 17Ad-16 requires a registered transfer agent to provide written notice to the appropriate qualified registered securities depository when assuming or terminating transfer agent services on behalf of an issuer or when changing its name or address. In addition, transfer agents that provide such notice shall maintain such notice for a period of at least two years in an easily accessible place. This rule addresses the problem of certificate transfer delays caused by transfer requests that are directed to the wrong transfer agent or the wrong address.

We estimate that the transfer agent industry submits approximately 16,412 Rule 17Ad-16 notices to appropriate qualified registered securities depositories. The staff estimates that the average amount of time necessary to create and submit each notice is approximately 15 minutes per notice. Accordingly, the estimated total industry burden is 4,103 hours per year (15 minutes multiplied by 16,412 notices filed annually).

Because the information needed by transfer agents to properly notify the appropriate registered securities depository is readily available to them and the report is simple and straightforward, the cost is relatively minimal. The average internal compliance cost to prepare and send a notice is approximately $96 (15 minutes at $385 per hour). 1 This yields an industry-wide internal compliance cost estimate of $1,575,552 (16,412 notices multiplied by $96 per notice).

Footnotes:

1 ?Hourly compliance cost estimates for internal counsel time are derived from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's Management & Professional Earnings in the Securities Industry 2013, modified by SEC staff to account for an 1,800-hour work-year and multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee benefits, and overhead.

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 invited on: (a) whether this 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 imposed by 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 by May 5, 2025.

Please direct your written comment to Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

Dated: February 26, 2025.

Sherry R. Haywood,

Assistant Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2025-03434 Filed 3-3-25; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P