30 Day Notice

71374

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 217 / Monday, November 9, 2020 / Notices

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: PRA_
Mailbox@sec.gov.
Dated: November 3, 2020.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–24843 Filed 11–6–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[SEC File No. 270–381, OMB Control No.
3235–0434]

Submission for OMB Review;
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

khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES

Extension:
Rule 15g–2

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’’) 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 15g–2
(17 CFR 240.15g–2) under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et
seq.) (‘‘Exchange Act’’). 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 brokerdealers 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

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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 thirdparty 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

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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.
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. 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
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to (i) MBX.OMB.OIRA.SEC_desk_
officer@omb.eop.gov and (ii) David
Bottom, Director/Chief Information
Officer, Securities and Exchange
Commission, c/o Cynthia Roscoe, 100 F
Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or by
sending an email to: PRA_Mailbox@
sec.gov.
Dated: November 4, 2020.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–24839 Filed 11–6–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–90322; File No. SR–FICC–
2020–012]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed
Income Clearing Corporation; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of
a Proposed Rule Change To Amend
the Government Securities Division
Rulebook To Clarify Which Funds-Only
Settlement Payments and Underlying
Marks Are Applicable to Certain
Transactions, and Make Other
Changes
November 3, 2020.

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

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