2017-12790
Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28050-28052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12790]
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request--Notice
of Intent To Amend Collection 3038-0079: Conflicts of Interest Policies
and Procedures by Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission)
is announcing an opportunity for public comment on a proposed amendment
to the collection of certain information by the agency. Under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Federal agencies are required to
publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed
collection of information, including each proposed extension of an
existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public
comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comment on an
amendment to the collection of information under OMB Control No. 3038-
0079 (Conflicts of Interest Policies and Procedures by Swap Dealers and
Major Swap Participants).
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 21, 2017.
[[Page 28051]]
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``OMB Control No.
3038-0079; Conflicts of Interest Policies and Procedures by Swap
Dealers and Major Swap Participants,'' by any of the following methods:
The Commission's Web site, via its Comments Online process
at http://comments.cftc.gov/. Follow the instructions for submitting
comments through the Web site.
Mail: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the
Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as Mail above.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp. Follow the instructions for submitting comments
through the Portal.
Please submit your comments using only one method.
All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied
by an English translation. Comments will be posted as received to
http://www.cftc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Driscoll, Associate Chief
Counsel, (202) 418-5544, [email protected]; or Adam Kezsbom, Special
Counsel, (202) 418-5372, [email protected], Division of Swap Dealer and
Intermediary Oversight, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st
Street NW., Washington, DC 20581.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, Federal agencies must obtain
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each
collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of
Information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3 and
includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party.
Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), requires
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each
proposed amendment to an existing collection of information, before
submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this
requirement, the CFTC is publishing notice of the proposed amendment to
the collection of information listed below. 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 OMB control number.
Title: Conflicts of Interest Policies and Procedures by Swap
Dealers and Major Swap Participants (OMB Control No. 3038-0079). This
is a request for an amendment to a currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: In 2012, the Commission promulgated Business Conduct
Standards for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants with
Counterparties (External Business Conduct Standards Final Rulemaking)
\1\ which include all of Subpart H of Part 23 of the Commission's
regulations (EBCS Rules).\2\ In the External Business Conduct Standards
Final Rulemaking, the Commission stated that the information
collections associated with the EBCS Rules were part of the overall
supervision, compliance and recordkeeping requirements imposed by the
Commission in certain other rulemakings including, among others, the
collection of information for rules on Conflicts of Interest Policies
and Procedures by Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants under Sec.
23.605 under OMB Collection No. 3038-79. While the collections
associated with the EBCS Rules do overlap with the requirements in
certain other Commission regulations, the OMB collections associated
with those other Commission regulations do not accurately reflect the
burdens imposed by the EBCS Rules.
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\1\ Business Conduct Standards for Swap Dealers and Major Swap
Participants with Counterparties, 77 FR 9734, Feb. 17, 2012.
\2\ Subpart H of Part 23 is titled ``Business Conduct Standards
for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants Dealing with
Counterparties, Including Special Entities.'' Subpart H includes the
following provisions: Sec. 23.400 (Scope); Sec. 23.402
(Definitions); Sec. 23.402 (General Provisions); Sec. 23.410
(Prohibition on fraud, manipulation and other abusive practices);
Sec. 23.430 (Verification of counterparty eligibility); Sec.
23.431 (Disclosures of material information); Sec. 23.432 (Clearing
disclosures); Sec. 23.433 (Communications--fair dealing); Sec.
23.434 (Recommendations to counterparties--institutional
suitability; Sec. 23.440 (Requirements for swap dealers acting as
advisors to Special Entities); Sec. 23.450 (Requirements for swap
dealers and major swap participants acting counterparties to Special
Entities); and Sec. 23.451 (Political contributions by certain swap
dealers).
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The Commission is proposing to amend the information collection
under OMB Control No. 3038-0079 to clearly reflect the paperwork burden
imposed by the EBCS Rules under Sec. Sec. 23.401-450 and ensure that
the paperwork burden of the EBCS Rules is centrally located under OMB
Control No. 3038-0079. In addition, the Commission will be retitling
the collection under OMB Control No. 3038-0079 ``Swap Dealer and Major
Swap Participant Conflicts of Interest and Business Conduct Standards
with Counterparties'' to more accurately reflect its coverage. The
collections of information contained in the EBCS rules are necessary to
implement requirements set forth in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act \3\ and for the protection of investors and
market participants.
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\3\ See Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010). The text of the
Dodd-Frank Act may be accessed at http://www.cftc.gov/ucm/groups/public/@swaps/documents/file/hr4173_enrolledbill.pdf.
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With respect to the collection of information, the CFTC invites
comments on:
Whether the proposed revision to the collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Commission, including whether the information will have a practical
use;
The accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of
the proposed revision to the collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden of collection of information
on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied
by an English translation. Comments will be posted as received to
http://www.cftc.gov. You should submit only information that you wish
to make available publicly. If you wish the Commission to consider
information that you believe is exempt from disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act, a petition for confidential treatment of
the exempt information may be submitted according to the procedures
established in Regulation 145.9.\4\
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\4\ 17 CFR 145.9.
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The Commission reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to
review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse or remove any or all of your
submission from http://www.cftc.gov that it may deem to be
inappropriate for publication, such as obscene language. All
submissions that have been redacted or removed that contain comments on
the merits of the information collection request will be retained in
the public comment file and will be considered as required under the
Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable laws, and may be
accessible under the Freedom of Information Act.
[[Page 28052]]
Burden Statement: The respondent burden for this collection is
detailed below and includes the burden currently associated with OMB
Collection No. 3038-0079 in connection with Sec. 23.605 (Conflicts of
Interest Policies and Procedures for Swap Dealers and Major Swap
Participants) and the EBCS Rules.
The Commission estimates the burden of this collection of
information as follows:
Respondents/Affected Entities: Swap Dealers and Major Swap
Participants.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 102.
Estimated Average Burden Hours per Respondent: 2,352.9 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 240,000 hours.
Frequency of Collection: Ongoing.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Dated: June 14, 2017.
Robert N. Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017-12790 Filed 6-19-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P
Last Updated: June 20, 2017