2017-15296. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-2736

Extension:

Rule 17Ab2-1, Form CA-1.

Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (“PRA”) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is soliciting comments on the collection of information provided for Rule 17Ab2-1 (17 CFR 240.17Ab2-1) and Form CA-1: Registration of Clearing Agencies (17 CFR 249b.200) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.). The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for extension and approval.

Rule 17Ab2-1 and Form CA-1 require clearing agencies to register with the Commission and to meet certain requirements with regard to, among other things, the clearing agency's organization, capacities, and rules. The information is collected from the clearing agency upon the initial application for registration on Form CA-1. Thereafter, information is collected by amendment to the initial Form CA-1 when changes in circumstances that render certain information on Form CA-1 inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete necessitate modification of the information previously provided to the Commission.

The Commission uses the information disclosed on Form CA-1 to (i) determine whether an applicant meets the standards for registration set forth in Section 17A of the Exchange Act, (ii) enforce compliance with the Exchange Act's registration requirement, and (iii) provide information about specific registered clearing agencies for compliance and investigatory purposes. Without Rule 17Ab2-1, the Commission could not perform these duties as statutorily required.

The Commission staff estimates that the average Form CA-1 requires approximately 130 hours to complete and submit for approval. This burden is composed primarily of a one-time reporting burden that reflects the applicant's staff time (i.e. internal labor costs) to prepare and submit the Form to the Commission. This estimate includes the burden associated with filing amendments to Form CA-1, which is required when certain information contained in an applicant's or registrant's Form CA-1 becomes inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete. (The time burden related to preparing and submitting an amendment widely varies depending on the nature of the information that needs to be updated.) The Commission staff estimates that compliance staff work at applicant or registrant clearing agencies to comply with Rule 17Ab2-1 and complete Form CA-1 will result in an internal cost of compliance, at an estimated hourly wage of $283, of $36,790 per year per clearing agency (130 hours × $283 per hour = $36,790 per year). Therefore, the aggregate annual internal cost of compliance for the approximately one clearing agency each year to comply with Rule 17Ab2-1 is also $36,790. The external costs associated with work on Form CA-1 include fees charged by outside lawyers and accountants to assist the applicant or registrant collect and prepare the information sought by the form (though such consultations are not required by the Commission) and are estimated to be approximately a total amount of $19,029 ($19,029 times one registrant per year).

Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's estimates of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (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 collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 days of this publication.

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.

Please direct your written comments to: Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549, or send an email to: [e-mail].

Eduardo A. Aleman,

Assistant Secretary.