97-8196. Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration Proposed Information Collection Request; Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 94-20

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 1, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15539-15540]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8196]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration Proposed Information 
Collection Request; Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations; 
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 94-20

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, provides the general public and 
Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95), 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A). This program 
helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired 
format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. 
Currently, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration is 
soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of a currently 
approved collection of information, Prohibited Transaction Class 
Exemption 94-20. A copy of the proposed information collection request 
can be obtained by contacting the employee listed below in the contact 
section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 2, 1997.
    The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments 
which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the

[[Page 15540]]

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 clarify 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., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.

ADDRESSES: Gerald B. Lindrew, Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare 
Benefits Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 
20210, [phone], FAX [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 94-20 permits the purchase 
and sale of foreign currencies between an employee benefit plan and a 
bank or a broker-dealer or an affiliate thereof which is a party in 
interest with respect to such plan. In the absence of this exemption, 
certain aspects of these transactions might be prohibited by section 
406(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the 
Act).

II. Current Actions

    This existing collection of information should be continued because 
without the relief provided by this exemption, individuals or entities 
which are parties in interest of an employee benefit plan would not be 
able to engage in the purchase or sale of foreign currencies between 
the plan and a bank or a broker-dealer or an affiliate thereof which is 
a party in interest with respect to such plan and thus, create a 
potential hardship to those affected. The exemption has one basic 
information collection condition. To protect the interests of 
participants and beneficiaries, the bank or broker-dealer or affiliates 
thereof using the class exemption are required to maintain within 
territories under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, for 
a period of six years from the date of the transaction, the records 
necessary to enable the Department of Labor or the Internal Revenue 
Service and certain other interested persons to ensure that the 
conditions of the exemption have been satisfied.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Agency: Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 94-20.
    OMB Number: 1210-0085.
    Recordkeeping: 6 years.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit 
institutions, Individuals.
    Total Respondents: 1.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Responses: 1.
    Average Time Per Response: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1 hour.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/start-up): $0.00.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.00.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated: March 26, 1997.
Gerald B. Lindrew,
Deputy Director, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, Office of 
Policy and Research.
[FR Doc. 97-8196 Filed 3-31-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P