2011-23802. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

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

Extension:

Rule 12d2-2, Form 25.

Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 199 5 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is soliciting comments on the collections of information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit these existing collections of information to the Office of Management and Budget for extension and approval for Rule 12d2-2 (17 CFR 240.12d2-2) and Form 25 (17 CFR 249.25) Removal and Notification of Removal from Listing and/or Registration.

On February 12, 1935, the Commission adopted Rule 12d2-2,^[1] and Form 25 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78b et seq.) (“Act”), to establish the conditions and procedures under which a security may be delisted from an exchange and withdrawn from registration under Section 12(b) of the Act.^[2] The Commission adopted amendments to Rule 12d2-2 and Form 25 in 2005.^[3] Under the amended Rule 12d2-2, all issuers and national securities exchanges seeking to delist and deregister a security in accordance with the rules of an exchange must file the adopted version of Form 25 with the Commission. The Commission also adopted amendments to Rule 19d-1 under the Act to require exchanges to file the adopted version of Form 25 as notice to the Commission under Section 19(d) of the Act. Finally, the Commission adopted amendments to exempt options and security futures from Section 12(d) of the Act. These amendments are intended to simplify the paperwork and procedure associated with a delisting and to unify general rules and procedures relating to the delisting process.

The Form 25 is useful because it informs the Commission that a security previously traded on an exchange is no longer traded. In addition, the Form 25 enables the Commission to verify that the delisting and/or deregistration has occurred in accordance with the rules of the exchange. Further, the Form 25 helps to focus the attention of delisting issuers to make sure that they abide by the proper procedural and notice requirements associated with a delisting and/or a deregistration. Without Rule 12d2-2 and the Form 25, as applicable, the Commission would be unable to fulfill its statutory responsibilities.

There are 15 national securities exchanges that trade equity securities that will be respondents subject to Rule 12d2-2 and Form 25.^[4] The burden of complying with Rule 12d2-2 and Form 25 is not evenly distributed among the exchanges, however, since there are many more securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ Stock Market, and NYSE Amex than on the other exchanges. However, for purposes of this filing, the Commission staff has assumed that the number of responses is evenly divided among the exchanges. Since approximately 630 responses under Rule 12d2-2 and Form 25 for the purpose of delisting and/or deregistration of equity securities are received annually by the Commission from the national securities exchanges, the resultant aggregate annual reporting hour burden would be, assuming on average one hour per response, 630 annual burden hours for all exchanges (15 exchanges × an average of 42 responses per exchange × 1 hour per response). In addition, since approximately 118 responses are received by the Commission annually from issuers wishing to remove their securities from listing and registration on exchanges, the Commission staff estimates that the aggregate annual reporting hour burden on issuers would be, assuming on average one reporting hour per response, 118 annual burden hours for all issuers (118 issuers × 1 response per issuer × 1 hour per response). Accordingly, the total annual hour burden for all respondents to comply with Rule 12d2-2 is 748 hours (630 hours for exchanges + 118 hours for issuers). The related internal labor costs associated with these burden hours are $40,784.50 total ($33,232.50 for exchanges ($52.75 per response × 630 responses) and $7,552 for issuers ($64 per response × 118 responses)).

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.

Comments should be directed to: Thomas Bayer, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312 or send an e-mail to: [e-mail]. Comments must be submitted within 60 days of this notice.

Dated: September 13, 2011.

Elizabeth M. Murphy,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98 (February 12, 1935).

2.  See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 7011 (February 5, 1963), 28 FR 1506 (February 16, 1963).

3.  See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 52029 (July 14, 2005), 70 FR 42456 (July 22, 2005).

4.  The staff notes that there are additional national securities exchanges that only trade standardized options which are exempt from Rule 12d2-2.