E9-30999. Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 75-1; Employee Benefit Plan Security Transactions With Broker-Dealers, Reporting Dealers and Banks

AGENCY:

Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This program helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments on a proposed extension of the current approval of information collection provisions incorporated in the Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 75-1, pertaining to securities and other related transactions with broker-dealers, reporting dealers and banks. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the office shown in the ADDRESSES section of this notice or at http://www.RegInfo.gov.

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the ADDRESSES section on or before March 1, 2010.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to G. Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5647, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: [phone]; Fax: [phone]. These are not toll-free numbers. Comments may also be submitted electronically to the following Internet e-mail address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

PTE 75-1 provides exemptions from certain prohibited transaction provisions of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) for specified types of transactions between employee benefit plans and broker-dealers, reporting dealers and banks relating to securities purchases and sales, provided specified conditions are met. The exempted transactions include an employee benefit plan's purchase of securities from broker-dealers' inventories of stocks, from underwriting syndicates in which a plan fiduciary is a member, from banks, from reporting dealers, and from a market-maker even if a market-maker is a plan fiduciary. The exempted transactions also include, under certain conditions, a plan's accepting an extension of credit from a broker-dealer for the purpose of facilitating settlement of a securities transaction. Among other conditions, PTE 75-1 requires that a party seeking to rely on the exemption with respect to a transaction maintain adequate records of the transaction for a period of six years. The Department has obtained approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for this information collection under OMB Control No. 1210-0092. This approval is currently scheduled to expire on April 30, 2010.

II. Current Actions

This notice requests public comment pertaining to the Department's request for extension of OMB approval of the information collection contained in PTE 75-1. After considering comments received in response to this notice, the Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB for continuing approval of the information collection contained in PTE 75-1. No change to the existing ICR is proposed or made at this time. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of the ICR and the current burden estimates follows:

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 75-1; Employee Benefit Plan Security Transactions with Broker-Dealers, Reporting Dealers and Banks.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0092.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions.

Respondents: 9,750.

Responses: 9,750.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,625.

Estimate Total Burden Cost: $0.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

The Department is particularly interested in comments that:

• Evaluate 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;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., by permitting electronic submissions of responses.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the ICR submitted to OMB; they will also become a matter of public record.

Dated: December 24, 2009.

Joseph A. Piacentini,

Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration.