1550-NEW (TA-1--Supporting Statement)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
OMB Control No. 1550-NEW
Transfer Agent Registration and Amendment Form (Form TA-1)

A.

Justification.

1.

Circumstances that make the collection necessary:

Section 17A(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Act), as amended by the
Securities Act Amendments of 1975, provides that all those authorized to transfer securities
registered under Section 12 of the Act (transfer agents) shall register "by filing with the
appropriate regulatory agency ... an application for registration in such form and containing such
information and documents ... as such appropriate regulatory agency may prescribe to be
necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of this section." The Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (FRB), and the Office
of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) developed Form TA-1 to satisfy this statutory
requirement.
On October 13, 2006, the President signed the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act
of 2006 (FSRRA) into law. One of the provisions of the FSRRA contains an amendment to
section 3(a)(34) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Section 3(a)(34) of the Act defines
“appropriate regulatory agency” and includes OTS as an appropriate regulatory agency for
certain activities, thus authorizing OTS to collect certain information. Therefore, OTS is seeking
OMB approval for this new collection of information.
2.

Use of the information:

OTS will use the information to determine whether to allow, deny, accelerate, or
postpone an application. OTS also uses the data to more effectively schedule and plan transfer
agent examinations. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) maintains complete files
on the registration data of all transfer agents registered pursuant to the Act. It utilizes the data to
identify transfer agents and to facilitate development of rules and standards applicable to all
registered transfer agents. Amendments to the TA-1 are used by OTS to schedule and plan
examinations.
3.

Consideration of the use of improved information technology:

The forms will be available electronically on OTS’s website. The use of improved
information technology would not reduce the burden of this submission. Because the form
requires the signature of the filing party, the forms are mailed to the OTS versus being completed
online. Only the minimum needed information will be collected and the collection will be
conducted infrequently, on initial registration and as changes occur.

4.

Efforts to identify duplication:

-2This information collection is unique and does not duplicate any other information
already collected from registrants and transfer agents. OTS will forward copies of the filings to
the SEC in order to reduce burden on respondents.
5.

Methods used to minimize burden if the collection has a significant impact on substantial
number of small entities:

This information collection does not have a significant impact on a substantial number of
small entities.
6.

Consequences to the Federal program if the collection were conducted less frequently:

OTS collects this information on initial registration and as changes occur. This
submission is required by statute. OTS will use amendments to identify trends and to plan
examinations. OTS would not be in compliance with the law and its supervision program would
be harmed severely if amendments were not collected or were collected less frequently. Only
the minimum amount of information needed will be collected.
7.

Special circumstances necessitating collection inconsistent with 5 CFR Part 1320:
This information collection is conducted in accordance with OMB's guidelines in 5 CFR

1320.
8.

Efforts to consult with persons outside the agency:

Notice of intent to commence this collection of information was published in the Federal
Register on April 6, 2007 (72 FR 17222). No comments were received.
9.

Payment to respondents:
OTS provides no payment or gift to respondents.

10.

Any assurance of confidentiality:

OTS does not intend to publish TA-1 data; however, such information is considered
public and is available upon request.
11.

Justification for questions of a sensitive nature:
There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12.

Burden estimate:

-3OTS expects the burden attendant to a TA-1 filing to be approximately 75 minutes for
new registrants and approximately 10 minutes for amendments. These estimates are based upon
the OCC’s, FRB’s, and FDIC’s experience with the transfer agent program.
Burden is as follows:
Initial registrations:
5 respondents @ 1 response per year = 5 responses
5 responses @ 1.25 burden hours per response = 6.25 burden hours
Amendments:
10 respondents @ 1 response per year = 10 responses
10 responses @ .17 burden hours per response = 1.7 burden hours
Total:
15 respondents @ 1 response per year = 15 responses
6.25 hours for initial registrations + 1.7 hours for amendments = 7.95 (rounded to 8) total
hours
OTS estimates the cost of the hour burden to respondents as follows:
Middle management:
Senior management:
Legal counsel:
Total:
13.

75% x 15 = 11.25 @ $40
15% x 15 = 2.25 @ $80
10% x 15 = 1.5 @ $100

=
=
=
=

$
$
$
$

450
180
150
780

Estimate of annualized costs to respondents:
None.

14.

Estimate of annualized costs to the government:
None.

15.

Change in burden:
Because this is a new collection, the entire increase of 8 burden hours is a program
change.

16.

Information regarding collections whose results are planned to be published for statistical

-4use:
OTS has no plans to publish the data for statistical purposes.
17.

Approval to not display expiration date:
Not applicable.

18.

Exceptions to certification statement:
None.

B.

Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.
Not applicable.