2019-21078. Submission for OMB Review; 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 15Ba2-1 and Form MSD, SEC File No. 270-0088, OMB Control No. 3235-0083.

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 extension of the previously approved collection of information provided for in Rule 15Ba2-1 (17 CFR 240.15Ba2-1) and Form MSD (17 CFR 249.1100) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.).

Rule 15Ba2-1 provides that an application for registration with the Commission by a bank municipal securities dealer must be filed on Form MSD. The Commission uses the information obtained from Form MSD filings to determine whether bank municipal securities dealers meet the standards for registration set forth in the Exchange Act, to make information about particular bank municipal securities dealers available to customers and members of the public, and to develop risk assessment information about bank municipal securities dealers.

Form MSD is a one-time registration form that must be amended only if it becomes inaccurate. Based upon past submissions of two initial filings and 11 amendments in 2016, zero initial filings and 22 amendments in 2017, zero initial filings and 18 amendments in 2018, and zero initial filings and zero amendments so far in 2019, the Commission estimates that on an annual basis approximately 1 respondent will utilize Form MSD for an initial registration application, and that approximately 13 respondents will utilize Form MSD for an amendment, for a total of 14 respondents per year. The time required to complete Form MSD varies with the size and complexity of the bank municipal securities dealer's proposed operations. Bank personnel that prepare Form MSD filings previously indicated that it can take up to 15 hours for a bank with a large operation and many employees to complete the form, but that smaller banks with fewer personnel can complete the form in one to two hours. We believe that most recent applications have come from smaller banks. Also, amendments to form MSD are likely to require significantly less time. We estimate that the total annual burden is currently 21 hours at an average of 1.5 hours per respondent. (14 respondents/year × 1.5 hours/respondent = 21 hours/year). The staff estimates that the average internal compliance cost per hour is approximately $417.^[1] Therefore, the estimated total annual cost of compliance is approximately $8,757 per year (21 hours/year × $417/hour = $8,757/year).

Rule 15Ba2-1 does not contain an explicit recordkeeping requirement, but the rule does require the prompt correction of any information on Form MSD that becomes inaccurate, meaning that bank municipal securities dealers need to maintain a current copy of Form MSD indefinitely. In addition, the instructions for filing Form MSD state that an exact copy should be retained by the registrant. Providing the information on the application is mandatory in order to register with the Commission as a bank municipal securities dealer. The information contained in the application will not be kept confidential.

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.

The public may view background documentation for this information collection at the following website: 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 email to: [e-mail]; and (ii) Charles Riddle, Acting Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Candace Kenner, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an email to: [e-mail]. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice.

Dated: September 24, 2019.

Jill M. Peterson,

Assistant Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  The estimate of $417 per hour is for a compliance attorney, based on the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's Management & Professional Earnings in the Securities Industry 2013, modified by Commission staff to account for an 1800-hour work-year and inflation, and multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee benefits and