2011-12201. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request  

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    Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549-0213.

    Extension:

    Form N-17D-1; SEC File No. 270-231; OMB Control No. 3235-0229.

    Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below.

    Section 17(d) (15 U.S.C. 80a-17(d)) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Act”) authorizes the Commission to adopt rules that protect funds and their security holders from overreaching by affiliated persons when the fund and the affiliated person participate in any joint enterprise or other joint arrangement or profit-sharing plan. Rule 17d-1 under the Act (17 CFR 270.17d-1) prohibits funds and their affiliated persons from participating in a joint enterprise, unless an application regarding the transaction has been filed with and approved by the Commission. Paragraph (d)(3) of the rule provides an exemption from this requirement for any loan or advance of credit to, or acquisition of securities or other property of, a small business concern, or any agreement to do any of the foregoing (“investments”) made by a small business investment company (“SBIC”) and an affiliated bank, provided that reports about the investments are made on forms the Commission may prescribe. Rule 17d-2 (17 CFR 270.17d-2) designates Form N-17D-1 (17 CFR 274.200) (“form”) as the form for reports required by rule 17d-1.

    SBICs and their affiliated banks use form N-17D-1 to report any contemporaneous investments in a small business concern. The form provides shareholders and persons seeking to make an informed decision about investing in an SBIC an opportunity to learn about transactions of the SBIC that have the potential for self dealing and other forms of overreaching by affiliated persons at the expense of shareholders.

    Form N-17D-1 requires SBICs and their affiliated banks to report identifying information about the small business concern and the affiliated bank. The report must include, among other things, the SBIC's and affiliated bank's outstanding investments in the small business concern, the use of the proceeds of the investments made during the reporting period, any changes in the nature and amount of the affiliated bank's investment, the name of any affiliated person of the SBIC or the affiliated bank (or any affiliated person of the affiliated person of the SBIC or the affiliated bank) who has any interest in the transactions, the basis of the affiliation, the nature of the interest, and the consideration the affiliated person has received or will receive.

    Up to three SBICs may file the form in any year.[1] The Commission estimates the burden of filling out the form is approximately one hour per response and would likely be completed by an accountant or other professional. Based on past filings, the Commission estimates that no more than one SBIC is likely to use the form each year. Most of the information requested on the form should be readily available to the SBIC or the affiliated bank in records kept in the ordinary course of business, or with respect to the SBIC, pursuant to the recordkeeping requirements under the Act. Commission staff estimates that it should take approximately one hour for an accountant or other professional to complete the form.[2] The estimated total annual burden of filling out the form is 1 hour, at an estimated total annual cost of $198.[3] The Commission will not keep responses on Form N-17D-1 confidential.

    The estimate of average burden hours is made solely for the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, and is not derived from a comprehensive or even a representative survey or study of the costs of Commission rules. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it Start Printed Page 28826displays a currently valid control number.

    The public may view the background documentation for this information collection at the following Web site, http://www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an e-mail to: Shagufta_Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Thomas Bayer, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, VA 22312 or send an e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice.

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    Dated: May 13, 2011.

    Cathy H. Ahn,

    Deputy Secretary.

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    Footnotes

    1.  As of February 4, 2011, three SBICs were registered with the Commission.

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    2.  This estimate of hours is based on past conversations with representatives of SBICs and accountants that have filed the form.

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    3.  Commission staff estimates that the annual burden would be incurred by a senior accountant with an average hourly wage rate of $198 per hour. See Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Report on Management and Professional Earnings in the Securities Industry 2010, modified to account for an 1800-hour work year and multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee benefits and overhead.

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    [FR Doc. 2011-12201 Filed 5-17-11; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 8011-01-P

Document Information

Comments Received:
0 Comments
Published:
05/18/2011
Department:
Securities and Exchange Commission
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
2011-12201
Pages:
28825-28826 (2 pages)
PDF File:
2011-12201.pdf