2020-18002. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

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

Extension:

Rule 15g-2, SEC File No. 270-381, OMB Control No. 3235-0434

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”) is soliciting comments on the collection of information provided for in Rule 15g-2 (17 CFR 240.15g-2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) (“Exchange Act”). The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for extension and approval.

Rule 15g-2 (The “Penny Stock Disclosure Rule”) requires broker-dealers to provide their customers with a risk disclosure document, as set forth in Schedule 15G, prior to their first non-exempt transaction in a “penny stock.” As amended, the rule requires broker-dealers to obtain written acknowledgement from the customer that he or she has received the required risk disclosure document. The amended rule also requires broker-dealers to maintain a copy of the customer's written acknowledgement for at least three years following the date on which the risk disclosure document was provided to the customer, the first two years in an accessible place. Rule 15g-2 also requires a broker-dealer, upon request of a customer, to furnish the customer with a copy of certain information set forth on the Commission's website.

The risk disclosure documents are for the benefit of the customers, to assure that they are aware of the risks of trading in “penny stocks” before they enter into a transaction. The risk disclosure documents are maintained by the broker-dealers and may be reviewed during the course of an examination by the Commission.

The Commission estimates that approximately 182 broker-dealers are engaged in penny stock transactions and that each of these firms processes an average of three new customers for penny stocks per week. The Commission further estimates that half of the broker-dealers send the penny stock disclosure documents by mail, and the other half send them through electronic means such as email. Because the Commission estimates the copying and mailing of the penny stock disclosure document takes two minutes, this means that there is an annual burden of 28,392 minutes, or 473 hours, for this third-party disclosure burden of mailing documents. Additionally, because the Commission estimates that sending the penny stock disclosure document electronically takes one minute, the annual burden is 14,196 minutes, or 237 hours, for this third-party disclosure burden of emailing documents.

Broker-dealers also incur a recordkeeping burden of approximately two minutes per response when filing the completed penny stock disclosure documents as required pursuant to the Rule 15g-2(c), which means that the respondents incur an aggregate recordkeeping burden of 56,784 minutes, or 946 hours.

Furthermore, Rule 15g-2(d) requires a broker-dealer, upon request of a customer, to furnish the customer with a copy of certain information set forth on the Commission's website, which takes a respondent no more than two minutes per customer. Because the Commission estimates that a quarter of customers who are required to receive the Rule 15g-2 disclosure document will request that their broker-dealer provide them with the additional microcap and penny stock information posted on the Commission's website, the Commission therefore estimates that each broker-dealer respondent processes approximately 39 requests for paper copies of this information per year or an aggregate total of 78 minutes per respondent, which amounts to an annual burden of 14,196 minutes, or 237 hours.

The Commission does not maintain the risk disclosure document. Instead, it must be retained by the broker-dealer for at least three years following the date on which the risk disclosure document was provided to the customer, the first two years in an accessible place. The collection of information required by the rule is mandatory. The risk disclosure document is otherwise governed by the internal policies of the broker-dealer regarding confidentiality, etc.

Written comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 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: David Bottom, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Cynthia Roscoe, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or send an email to: [e-mail].

Dated: August 13, 2020.

J. Matthew DeLesDernier,

Assistant Secretary.