30 Day Notice

88436

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 244 / Thursday, December 21, 2023 / Notices

submissions should refer to file number
SR–MRX–2023–25 and should be
submitted on or before January 11, 2024.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.16
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023–28040 Filed 12–20–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[SEC File No. 270–208, OMB Control No.
3235–0213]

Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request; Extension: Rule
17g–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
(44 U.S.C. 350l–3520), the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the
‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget a
request for extension of the previously
approved collection of information
discussed below.
Rule 17g–1 (17 CFR 270.17g–1) under
the Investment Company Act of 1940
(the ‘‘Act’’) (15 U.S.C. 80a–17(g))
governs the fidelity bonding of officers
and employees of registered
management investment companies
(‘‘funds’’) and their advisers. Rule 17g–
1 requires, in part, the following:

khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES

Independent Directors’ Approval
The form and amount of the fidelity
bond must be approved by a majority of
the fund’s independent directors at least
once annually, and the amount of any
premium paid by the fund for any ‘‘joint
insured bond,’’ covering multiple funds
or certain affiliates, must be approved
by a majority of the fund’s independent
directors.
Terms and Provisions of the Bond
The amount of the bond may not be
less than the minimum amounts of
coverage set forth in a schedule based
on the fund’s gross assets. The bond
must provide that it shall not be
cancelled, terminated, or modified
except upon 60-days written notice to
the affected party and to the
Commission. In the case of a joint
insured bond, 60-days written notice
must also be given to each fund covered
16 17

18:15 Dec 20, 2023

Filings With the Commission
Upon the execution of a fidelity bond
or any amendment thereto, a fund must
file with the Commission within 10
days: (i) a copy of the executed bond or
any amendment to the bond, (ii) the
independent directors’ resolution
approving the bond, and (iii) a
statement as to the period for which
premiums have been paid on the bond.
In the case of a joint insured bond, a
fund must also file: (i) a statement
showing the amount the fund would
have been required to maintain under
the rule if it were insured under a single
insured bond; and (ii) the agreement
between the fund and all other insured
parties regarding recovery under the
bond. A fund must also notify the
Commission in writing within five days
of any claim or settlement on a claim
under the fidelity bond.
Notices to Directors
A fund must notify by registered mail
each member of its board of directors of:
(i) any cancellation, termination, or
modification of the fidelity bond at least
45 days prior to the effective date; and
(ii) the filing or settlement of any claim
under the fidelity bond when
notification is filed with the
Commission.
Rule 17g–1’s independent directors’
annual review requirements, fidelity
bond content requirements, joint bond
agreement requirement, and the
required notices to directors are
designed to ensure the safety of fund
assets against losses due to the conduct
of persons who may obtain access to
those assets. These requirements also
seek to facilitate oversight of a fund’s
fidelity bond. The rule’s required filings
with the Commission are designed to
assist the Commission in monitoring
funds’ compliance with the fidelity
bond requirements.
Based on conversations with
representatives in the fund industry, the
Commission staff calculates that for
each of the estimated 2,543 active funds
(respondents),1 the average annual
1 Based on a review of fund filings for the threeyear period from January 1, 2020 to December 2022,

CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

VerDate Sep<11>2014

by the bond. A joint insured bond must
provide that the fidelity insurance
company will provide all funds covered
by the bond with a copy of the
agreement, a copy of any claim on the
bond, and notification of the terms of
the settlement of any claim prior to
execution of that settlement. Finally, a
fund that is insured by a joint bond
must enter into an agreement with all
other parties insured by the joint bond
regarding recovery under the bond.

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paperwork burden associated with rule
17g–1’s requirements is two hours, one
hour each for a compliance attorney and
the board of directors as a whole. The
time spent by a compliance attorney
includes time spent filing reports with
the Commission for fidelity losses (if
any) as well as paperwork associated
with any notices to directors, and
managing any updates to the bond and
the joint agreement (if one exists). The
time spent by the board of directors as
a whole includes any time spent
initially establishing the bond, as well
as time spent on annual updates and
approvals. The Commission staff
therefore estimates the total ongoing
paperwork burden hours per year for all
funds required by rule 17g–1 to be 5,086
hours (2,543 funds × 2 hours = 5,086
hours). Commission staff continues to
estimate that the filing and reporting
requirements of rule 17g–1 do not entail
any external cost burdens.
These estimates of average burden
hours are made solely for the purposes
of the Paperwork Reduction Act. These
estimates are not derived from a
comprehensive or even a representative
survey or study of Commission rules.
The collection of information required
by Rule 17g–1 is mandatory and 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 unless it displays a
currently valid 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 by January 22, 2024 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 John Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an
email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.
Dated: December 18, 2023.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023–28119 Filed 12–20–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

Commission staff calculates there are 2,186 funds
(registered open- and closed-end funds, and
business development companies) that must
comply with the collections of information under
rule 17g–1, and which collectively submit an
estimated 2,543 filings on Form 17G annually.

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