2023-22732. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17a-11

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.) (“PRA”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information provided for in Rule 17a–11, Notification Provisions for Brokers and Dealers (17 CFR 240.17a–11), under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) (“Exchange Act”).

Rule 17a–11 was adopted on July 11, 1971 in response to an operational crisis in the securities industry between 1967 and 1970. Rule 17a–11 requires broker-dealers that are experiencing financial or operational difficulties to provide notice to the Commission, the broker-dealer's designated examining authority (“DEA”), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) if the broker-dealer is registered with the CFTC as a futures commission merchant. Rule 17a–11 is an integral part of the Commission's financial responsibility program which enables the Commission, a broker-dealer's DEA, and the CFTC to increase surveillance of a broker-dealer experiencing difficulties and to obtain any additional information necessary to gauge the broker-dealer's financial or operational condition.

Rule 17a–11 also requires over-the-counter derivatives dealers and broker-dealers that are permitted to compute net capital pursuant to Appendix E to Exchange Act Rule 15c3–1 to notify the Commission when their tentative net capital drops below certain levels.

To ensure the provision of these types of notices to the Commission, Rule 17a–11 requires every national securities exchange or national securities association to notify the Commission when it learns that a member broker-dealer has failed to send a notice or transmit a report required under the rule.

Compliance with the rule is mandatory. The Commission will generally not publish or make available to any person notices or reports received pursuant to Rule 17a–11. The Commission believes that information obtained under Rule 17a–11 relates to a condition report prepared for the use of the Commission, other federal governmental authorities, and securities industry self-regulatory organizations responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions.

The Commission estimates that the total hour burden under Rule 17a–11 is approximately 274 hours per year.

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.

The public may view background documentation for this information collection at the following website: www.reginfo.gov. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent by November 15, 2023 to (i) www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain and (ii) David Bottom, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o John Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an email to: [e-mail].

Dated: October 10, 2023.

Sherry R. Haywood,

Assistant Secretary.