Federal Register 60-Day Collection Notice

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khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICE

Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 21, 2026 / Notices
established in those rules.13 Every
depositor of a fund and every principal
underwriter of a fund (other than a
closed-end fund) must preserve for at
least six years records required to be
maintained by brokers and dealers
under rules adopted under section 17 of
the Exchange Act to the extent the
records are necessary or appropriate to
record the entity’s transactions with the
fund.14 Every investment adviser that is
a majority-owned subsidiary of a fund
must preserve the records required to be
preserved by investment advisers under
rules adopted under section 204 of the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the
‘‘Investment Advisers Act’’) 15 for the
periods specified in those rules.16 Every
investment adviser that is not a
majority-owned subsidiary of a fund
must preserve for at least six years
records required to be maintained by
registered investment advisers under
rules adopted under section 204 of the
Investment Advisers Act to the extent
the records are necessary or appropriate
to reflect the adviser’s transactions with
the fund.17 Compliance with rule 31a–
2 is mandatory.
We estimate that approximately 2,741
funds are required to comply with rule
31a–2 annually. Each fund is estimated
to spend 221 hours per year preserving
the required books and records, at a
monetized cost burden of $49,283 per
fund. The total annual burden is
approximately 605,761 burden hours
and total annual time costs of
approximately $135,084,703. The
Commission estimates that funds incur
about $40,602 in external cost burden
each year, resulting in an aggregate
external cost burden of approximately
$111,290,082. 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 proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the SEC,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of
the SEC’s estimate of the burden
imposed by the proposed collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and the assumptions
used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including

through the use of automated, electronic
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Please direct your written comments
on this 60-Day Collection Notice to
Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data
Officer, Securities and Exchange
Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg via
email to PaperworkReductionAct@
sec.gov by September 21, 2026. There
will be a second opportunity to
comment on this SEC request following
the Federal Register publishing a 30Day Submission Notice.
Dated: July 16, 2026.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026–14632 Filed 7–20–26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[OMB Control No. 3235–0151]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension: Rule
17Ac3–1 and Form TA–W
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
(44 U.S.C. § 3501 et seq.), the Securities
and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or
‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments
on the proposed collection of
information provided for in Rule
17Ac3–1(a) (17 CFR 240.17Ac3–1(a))
and Form TA–W (17 CFR 249b.101),
under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.).
Section 17A of the Exchange Act 1
generally requires transfer agents
performing any transfer agent function
with respect to any security registered
under Section 12 of the Exchange Act 2
or issued by certain insurance or
investment companies to register with
an appropriate regulatory agency
(‘‘ARA’’) as defined in Section
3(a)(34)(B) of the Exchange Act.3
Section 17A(c)(4)(B) of the Exchange
Act 4 authorizes transfer agents
registered with an ARA to withdraw
from registration by filing with the ARA
a written notice of withdrawal and by
agreeing to such terms and conditions as
the ARA deems necessary or

13 17 CFR 270.31a2(b).
14 17 CFR 270.31a2(c).

1 15 U.S.C. 78q–1.

15 15 U.S.C. 80b4.

2 15 U.S.C. 78l.

16 17 CFR 270.31a2(d).

3 15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(34)(B).

17 17 CFR 270.31a2(e).

4 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(c)(4)(B).

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appropriate in the public interest, for
the protection of investors, or in
furtherance of the purposes of Section
17A.
In order to implement Section
17A(c)(4)(B), the Commission
promulgated Rule 17Ac3–1(a) and
accompanying Form TA–W (‘‘the
form’’).5 Rule 17Ac3–1(a) provides that
notice of withdrawal from registration
as a transfer agent with the Commission
shall be filed on Form TA–W. The
Commission later amended Rule
17Ac3–1(a) and accompanying Form
TA–W to require that the form be filed
in electronic format on EDGAR.6 Form
TA–W requires the withdrawing transfer
agent to provide the Commission with
certain information, including: (1) the
locations where transfer agent activities
are or were performed; (2) the reasons
for ceasing the performance of such
activities; (3) disclosure of unsatisfied
judgments or liens; and (4) information
regarding successor transfer agents.
From 2023 through 2025, respondents
annually filed approximately 12 Forms
TA–W with the Commission. The
Commission therefore estimates that 12
transfer agents are expected to rely on
Rule 17Ac3–1 and Form TA–W
annually over the subsequent 3 years.
The Commission estimates that it takes
approximately 30 minutes per transfer
agent to complete a Form TA–W. The
estimated aggregate annual time burden
is thus approximately 6 hours (12 filings
× 0.5 hours), which comprises a onetime reporting burden. The estimated
internal labor cost of compliance per
filing is approximately $72 (0.5 hours ×
$144 average hourly rate for a general
office clerk).7 The estimated aggregate
5 Exchange Act Release No. 13914 (Sep. 1, 1977),
42 FR 44983 (Sep. 8, 1977); 17 CFR 240.17Ac3–1
and 17 CFR 249b.101—Form TA–W.
6 Exchange Act Release No. 54864 (Dec. 4, 2007),
71 FR 74698 (Dec. 12, 2006).
7 For purposes of calculating the dollar cost
burdens associated with respondents using Form
TA–W, the Commission relies on the Occupational
Employment and Wage Statistics (‘‘OEWS’’) from
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (‘‘BLS’’). See
Occupational Employment and Wage Classification,
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://
www.bls.gov/oes/; see also Standard Occupational
Classification, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
https://www.bls.gov/soc/ (describing occupational
classification system used by BLS); Exec. Off. Of the
President, Off. Of Mgmt. & Budget, North American
Industrial Classification System (2022), available at
https://www.census.gov/naics/reference_files_tools/
2022_NAICS_Manual.pdf (describing the industry
adjusted for changes in the seasonally adjusted
employment cost index for private wages and
salaries between the data reference period and
when the data are released by BLS. See
Employment Cost Index, U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/eci/. The adjusted
mean hourly wage is then multiplied by a factor
that accounts for nonwage costs borne by
employers, such as bonuses, benefits, and overhead.

Continued

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45848

Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 21, 2026 / Notices

internal compliance cost per year is thus
approximately $864 (12 filings × $72 per
filing).
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 proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the SEC,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of
the SEC’s estimate of the burden
imposed by the proposed collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and the assumptions
used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including
through the use of automated, electronic
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Please direct your written comments
on this 60-Day Collection Notice to
Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data
Officer, Securities and Exchange
Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg via
email to PaperworkReductionAct@
sec.gov by September 21, 2026.
Dated: July 16, 2026.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026–14631 Filed 7–20–26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–105927; File No. SR–OCC–
2026–006]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The
Options Clearing Corporation; Notice
of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness
of Proposed Rule Change by The
Options Clearing Corporation
Concerning the Synthetic Futures
Model
July 16, 2026.

khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICE

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Exchange Act’’ or ‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule
19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby
given that on July 8, 2026, The Options
Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) filed with
This factor is calculated as an average over the 10
most recently available years of data of the ratio of
the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s annual gross
output data for the North American Industry
Classification System (‘‘NAICS) number to total
annual wages across all occupations for the NAICS
number in the OEWS data.
1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

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the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the
proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II, and III below, which Items
have been prepared primarily by OCC.
OCC filed the proposed rule change
pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) 3 of the
Act and paragraph (f) of Rule 19b–4 4
thereunder, such that the proposed rule
change was immediately effective upon
filing with the Commission. The
Commission is publishing this notice to
solicit comments on the proposed rule
change from interested persons.
I. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the
Terms of Substance of the Proposed
Rule Change
This proposed rule change would
expand the use of an existing OCC
margin model used to margin certain
futures products that OCC clears in its
capacity as a derivatives clearing
organization (‘‘DCO’’) registered with
the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (‘‘CFTC’’).
OCC provided proposed changes to its
STANS Methodology Description as
confidential Exhibit 5 to File No. SR–
OCC–2026–006. Material proposed to be
added to the STANS Methodology
Description as currently in effect is
underlined and material proposed to be
deleted is marked with strikethrough
text. All capitalized terms not defined
herein have the same meaning as set
forth in the OCC By-Laws and Rules.
II. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the
Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the
Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission,
OCC included statements concerning
the purpose of and basis for the
proposed rule change and discussed any
comments it received on the proposed
rule change. The text of these statements
may be examined at the places specified
in Item IV below. OCC has prepared
summaries, set forth in sections (A), (B),
and (C) below, of the most significant
aspects of these statements.
(A) Clearing Agency’s Statement of the
Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the
Proposed Rule Change
In its capacity as a DCO registered
with the CFTC, OCC clears certain
futures products on behalf of CFTCregistered designated contract markets
(‘‘DCMs’’). In its role as a DCO, OCC
guarantees the performance of its
Clearing Members by becoming the
buyer to every seller and the seller to
every buyer, thereby guaranteeing
performance of the futures contracts

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3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f).

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regardless of the potential default of one
of its Clearing Members. OCC manages
its financial risk exposure to its Clearing
Members through financial safeguards,
including the collection of margin
collateral from Clearing Members
designed to, among other things,
address the market risk associated with
a Clearing Member’s positions during
the period of time OCC has determined
it would take to liquidate those
positions.
To calculate Clearing Member margin
requirements, OCC has developed
models within its proprietary margin
methodology, the System for Theoretical
Analysis and Numerical Simulations
(‘‘STANS’’). With respect to futures
products, one of those models is OCC’s
Synthetic Futures Model, which OCC
uses to model settlement prices for
certain futures products. Originally
developed to margin futures on Cboe’s
Volatility Index (‘‘VIX’’),5 OCC has since
extended the Synthetic Futures Model
to other futures products cleared by
OCC. The Synthetic Futures Model
generates prices and correlations using
risk factors that are based on observed
futures prices (i.e., the ‘‘synthetic’’
futures contract),6 as opposed to using
the underlying itself. Accordingly, this
model is more appropriate for pricing
futures products where the underlying
contract is not traded and, as such,
cannot be valued using the cost-of-carry
relationship applied to traded
contracts.7 This approach enables the
model to account for variations in
futures volatility across the term
structure. The Synthetic Futures
component within STANS is used for
futures products where it is crucial to
explicitly capture the dynamics of
various tenors of a product, such as
futures on volatility indices, futures on
interest rates, and futures on crude oil.
The Cboe Futures Exchange (‘‘CFE’’)
now intends to list two new futures
products on indices whose value
measures the total return of the 50 best
performing stocks and the 50 lowest
performing stocks, respectively,
included in the Cboe U.S. Large-Mid
Cap 100 Equal Weighted Index (‘‘Lead &
5 See Exchange Act Release No. 85873 (May 16,
2019), 84 FR 23620 (May 22, 2019) (SR–OCC–2019–
002). OCC now models VIX price returns using the
Volatility Index Futures Model, implemented in
2022. See Exchange Act Release No. 95319 (July 19,
2022), 87 FR 44167 (July 25, 2022) (SR–OCC–2022–
001).
6 A ‘‘synthetic’’ futures time series, for the
intended purposes of OCC, relates to a uniform
substitute for a time series of daily settlement prices
for actual futures contracts, which persists over
many expiration cycles and thus can be used as a
basis for econometric analysis.
7 Exchange Act Release No. 85873, supra note 5,
at 23621.

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