60 Day Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 153 / Thursday, August 12, 2021 / Notices
may create a conflict of interest, divert
funds from the efficient administration
of the Exchange, or unduly influence
listed companies.
III. Conclusion
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,337 that: (1)
The proposed rule change (SR–
NASDAQ–2020–081), as modified by
Amendment No. 1, be, and hereby is,
approved, and (2) the proposed rule
change (SR–NASDAQ–2020–082), as
modified by Amendment No. 1, be, and
hereby is, approved.
By the Commission.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–17179 Filed 8–11–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[SEC File No. 270–360, OMB Control No.
3235–0409]

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

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1

Extension:
Rules 17Ad–15

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–15 (17 CFR
240.17Ad–15) (‘‘Rule 17Ad–15’’) under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
U.S.C. 78a et seq.) (‘‘Exchange Act’’).
The Commission plans to submit this
existing collection of information to the
Office of Management and Budget
(‘‘OMB’’) for extension and approval.
Rule 17Ad–15 requires every
registered transfer agent to establish
written standards for the acceptance of
guarantees of securities transfers from
eligible guarantor institutions. Every
registered transfer agent is also required
to establish procedures, including
written guidelines where appropriate, to
ensure that the transfer agent uses those
standards to determine whether to
accept or reject guarantees from eligible
guarantor institutions. In implementing
these requirements, the Commission’s
purpose is to ensure that registered
337 15

U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).

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transfer agents treat eligible guarantor
institutions equitably.
Additionally, Rule 17Ad–15 requires
every registered transfer agent to make
and maintain records in the event the
transfer agent determines to reject
signature guarantees from eligible
guarantor institutions. Registered
transfer agents’ records must include,
following the date of rejection, a record
of the rejected transfer, along with the
reason for rejection, the identification of
the guarantor, and an indication
whether the guarantor failed to meet the
transfer agent’s guarantee standards.
Rule 17Ad–15 requires registered
transfer agents to maintain these records
for a period of three years. The
Commission designed these mandatory
recordkeeping requirements to assist the
Commission and other regulatory
agencies with monitoring registered
transfer agents and ensuring compliance
with the rule. This rule does not involve
the collection of confidential
information.
The Commission estimates that
approximately 366 registered transfer
agents will spend a total of
approximately 14,640 hours per year
complying with recordkeeping
requirements of Rules 17Ad–15 (40
hours per year per registered transfer
agent).
Written comments are invited on: (a)
Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the Commission’s
estimates of the burden of the proposed
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.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
under the PRA unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
Please direct your written comments
to: (ii) David Bottom, Director/Chief
Information Officer, Securities and
Exchange Commission, c/o Cynthia
Roscoe, 100 F Street NE, Washington,
DC 20549, or send email to: PRA_
[email protected].

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44445

Dated: August 6, 2021.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–17154 Filed 8–11–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[SEC File No. 270–521, OMB Control No.
3235–0579]

Proposed Collection; Comment
Request
Upon Written Request Copies Available
From: Securities and Exchange
Commission, Office of FOIA Services,
100 F Street NE, Washington, DC
20549–2736
Extension:
Regulation BTR

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’’) 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.
Regulation Blackout Trade Restriction
(‘‘Regulation BTR’’) (17 CFR 245.100–
245.104) clarifies the scope and
application of Section 306(a) of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (‘‘Act’’) (15
U.S.C. 7244(a)). Section 306(a)(6) [15
U.S.C.7244(a)(6)] of the Act requires an
issuer to provide timely notice to its
directors and executive officers and to
the Commission of the imposition of a
blackout period that would trigger the
statutory trading prohibition of Section
306(a)(1) [15 U.S.C. 7244(a)(1)]. Section
306(a) of the Act prohibits any director
or executive officer of an issuer of any
equity security, directly or indirectly,
from purchasing, selling or otherwise
acquiring or transferring any equity
security of that issuer during any
blackout period with respect to such
equity security, if the director or
executive officer acquired the equity
security in connection with his or her
service or employment. Approximately
1,230 issuers file Regulation BTR
notices approximately 5 times a year for
a total of 6,150 responses. We estimate
that it takes approximately 2 hours to
prepare the blackout notice for a total
annual burden of 2,460 hours. The
issuer prepares 75% of the 2,460 annual
burden hours for a total reporting
burden of (1,230 issuers × 2 hours per
issuer × 0.75) 1,845 hours. In addition,
we estimate that an issuer distributes a

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