2023-16546. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17Ab2-1 and Form CA-1

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

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”) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) a request for approval of extension of the previously approved collection of information provided for in 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.).

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 340 hours to complete and submit for approval, and that on average, the Commission receives one application each year. The Commission staff estimates that completion of an initial Form CA–1 will result in an internal cost of compliance of approximately $145,360 per year. The Commission staff estimates that it receives one amendment per year, and that an amendment requires approximately 60 hours of the exempt or registered clearing agency's staff time. The Commission staff estimates that amendment of a filed Form CA–1 will result in an internal cost of compliance of approximately $28,020 per year. Therefore, the aggregate hour burden is approximately 400 hours per year (340 + 60) and the aggregate internal cost of compliance is approximately $173,380 per year ($145,360 + $28,020).

The external costs associated with work on Form CA–1 include fees charged by outside lawyers and accountants to assist the applicant or registrant to collect and prepare the information sought by the form (though such consultations are not required by the Commission). The Commission staff estimates that these external costs are more likely when novel questions arise under a new application, rather than under periodic review and amendment. The staff estimates an annual external cost of 45 hours of an Attorney's time (estimated at $462 per hour) and 10 hours of a Senior Accountant's time (estimated at $241 per hour) for preparation of the Form CA–1, resulting in an aggregate external cost of approximately $23,200 per year ($20,790 + $2,410).

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The public may view background documentation for this information collection at the following website: www.reginfo.gov. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent by September 5, 2023 to (i) www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain and (ii) David Bottom, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o John Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an email to: [e-mail].

Dated: July 31, 2023.

Sherry R. Haywood,

Assistant Secretary.