[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 236 (Friday, December 6, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 64763-64767] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-31108] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration [Prohibited Transaction Exemption 96-87; Exemption Application No. D- 09990, et al.] Grant of Individual Exemptions; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia ACTION: Grant of individual exemptions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This document contains exemptions issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). Notices were published in the Federal Register of the pendency before the Department of proposals to grant such exemptions. The notices set forth a summary of facts and representations contained in each application for exemption and referred interested persons to the respective applications for a complete statement of the facts and representations. The applications have been available for public inspection at the Department in Washington, D.C. The notices also invited interested persons to submit comments on the requested exemptions to the Department. In addition the notices stated that any interested person might submit a written request that a public hearing be held (where appropriate). The applicants have represented that they have complied with the requirements of the notification to interested persons. No public comments and no requests for a hearing, unless otherwise stated, were received by the Department. The notices of proposed exemption were issued and the exemptions are being granted solely by the Department because, effective December 31, 1978, section 102 of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978 (43 FR 47713, October 17, 1978) transferred the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to issue exemptions of the type proposed to the Secretary of Labor. Statutory Findings In accordance with section 408(a) of the Act and/or section 4975(c)(2) of the Code and the procedures set forth in 29 CFR Part 2570, Subpart B (55 FR 32836, 32847, August 10, 1990) and based upon the entire record, the Department makes the following findings: (a) The exemptions are administratively feasible; (b) They are in the interests of the plans and their participants and beneficiaries; and (c) They are protective of the rights of the participants and beneficiaries of the plans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia (the Company) Located in Richmond, VA; Exemption [Prohibited Transaction Exemption 96-87; Exemption Application No. D- 09990] Section I. Covered Transactions The restrictions of section 406(a) of the Act and the sanctions resulting from the application of section 4975 of the Code, by reason of section 4975(c)(1) (A) through (D) of the Code, shall not apply to the proposed receipt of cash and/or common stock (the Stock) of Trigon Healthcare, Inc. (Trigon), the Company's sole owner, by any employee benefit plan policyholder of the Company (the Plan), other than an employee benefit plan sponsored by the Company or its affiliates, in exchange for such policyholder's membership interest in the Company, in accordance with the terms of a plan of reorganization (the Demutualization; the Demutualization Plan) adopted by the Company and implemented pursuant to the insurance laws of the State of Virginia. This exemption is subject to the conditions set forth below in Section II. Section II. General Conditions (a) The Demutalization Plan is implemented in accordance with procedural and substantive safeguards that are imposed under Virginia law and is subject to the review and supervision by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (the Commission). (b) The Commission reviews the terms of the options that are provided to certain policyholders of the Company (the Eligible Members), as part of such Commission's review of the Demutualization Plan, and the Commission only approves the Demutualization Plan following a determination that such Demutualization Plan is fair and equitable to the policyholders. (c) Each Eligible Member has an opportunity to comment on the Demutualization Plan and each Member on the Record Date can decide whether to vote to approve such Demutualization Plan after full written disclosure is given such Member by the Company, of the terms of the Demutualization Plan. (d) Any election by an Eligible Member to receive cash and/or Trigon Stock pursuant to the terms of the Demutualization Plan is made by one or more independent fiduciaries of such Plan and neither the Company nor any of its affiliates exercises any discretion or provides investment advice with respect to such election. (e) After an Eligible Member entitled to receive stock is allocated a fixed number of shares of Trigon Stock for each vote, additional consideration is allocated to an Eligible Member who owns a participating policy based on actuarial formulas that take into account each participating policy's contribution to the surplus (the Surplus or the Surplus Contribution) of the Company which formulas have been approved by the Commission. (f) All Eligible Members participate in the transactions on the same basis within their class groupings as other Eligible Members that are not Plans. (g) No Eligible Member pays any brokerage commissions or fees in connection with their receipt of Trigon Stock or in connection with the implementation of the commission-free sales program. (h) All of the Company's policyholder obligations remain in force and are not affected by the Demutualization Plan. Section III. Definitions For purposes of this exemption: (a) The term ``Company'' means Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia and any affiliate of the Company as defined in paragraph (b) of this Section III. (b) An ``affiliate'' of the Company includes-- (1) Any person directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Company. (For purposes of this paragraph, the term ``control'' means the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a person other than an individual.) [[Page 64764]] (2) Any officer, director or partner in such person, and (3) Any corporation or partnership of which such person is an officer, director or a 5 percent partner or owner. (c) The term ``Effective Date'' means the date on which the certificate of merger is issued by the Commission and the Demutualization occurs. (d) The term ``Eligible Member'' means a member which will receive a distribution of Trigon Stock in the Demutualization. A ``Member'' is a policyholder which has a policy of insurance directly from the Company, which policy entitles the policyholder to vote. To be eligible for a distribution of Trigon Stock, the Member must have had a policy in effect as of December 31, 1995. (e) The term ``Record Date'' is the date on which the determination of a policyholder's status for voting on the Demutualization is made. For a more complete statement of the facts and representations supporting the Department's decision to grant this exemption, refer to the notice of proposed exemption (the Notice) on May 23, 1996 at 61 FR 25900. Written Comments The Department received five written comments with respect to the Notice. Four comments, which objected to different aspects of the Demutualization, were submitted by policyholders of the Company. Of these policyholder comments, two were submitted by the same individual. The fifth comment was submitted by the Company and is intended to clarify and update the Notice. Following is a discussion of the comments received. Policyholder Comments Of the policyholder comments received, one commenter has objected to the Demutualization but does not cite the specific reasons for his opposition. The second commenter is of the view that the Demutualization will diminish benefits and increase premium costs for policyholders. This commenter is also opposed to the exemption because he believes it will facilitate the Demutualization. In response to the second commenter, the Company notes that as a policyholder, the holder of the group policy that covers the commenter would have the opportunity to vote on the approval or disapproval of the Demutualization Plan with all other policyholders. The Company also states that the commenter's specific concerns about benefits and premium costs would be addressed in the Demutualization process which requires that the terms and conditions of the plan be fair and equitable to the policyholders of the issuer. The Company further notes that the Demutualization would not affect the premiums or other terms of insurance. The third commenter, who submitted two comments, is an individual policyholder of the Company. The commenter proposes that the exemption permit the Company to allocate cash or shares of Trigon Stock directly to employees covered under group policies of insurance. In response, the Company notes that under Title I of the Act, the Plan administrator is given the primary duty to make decisions regarding the operation of the Plan including the use and disposition of Plan assets. According to the Company, distribution of cash or Trigon Stock directly to employees in the Demutualization is inconsistent with its responsibilities since the Company is not the Plan administrator of any Plans associated with its group policies. Therefore, the Company asserts that it cannot dictate to the Plan administrator the manner in which cash or shares of Trigon Stock should be used under the Plan. Rather, the Plan administrator must make this decision based on the individual facts concerning the Plan. The Company is also of the view that the commenter's proposal would be untenable because of the various situations that might affect the Plan. In this regard, the Company explains that under the Demutualization Plan, the Surplus is allocated to each policyholder for each year from 1988 through 1995. During that time period, group policyholders may have had substantial changes (e.g., constant participant turnover, changes in allocation costs between the employer and the participants, changes in elections of health care providers by employers, etc.) in their Plans which could affect the manner in which the Plans would treat their participants. The only party who would possess this information and have the authority to determine the appropriate treatment of the employees would be the Plan administrator, who is permitted under the Demutualization Plan to decide how shares of Trigon Stock will be used to benefit employees. Therefore, the Company does not believe it is feasible to make these decisions for the thousands of groups that will receive Trigon Stock. In addition, the commenter states that the Company's allocation formula should consider allocating shares to the Surplus Contribution made by self-funded Plans which are not insured Plans. In response, the Company represents that the allocation formula in the Demutualization Plan does not take into account contributions to Surplus from its non- insurance lines of business as such action would be inconsistent with the purpose of the allocation formula. The Company explains that the purpose of the allocation formula is to allocate, in a fair and equitable manner, shares of Trigon Stock among the Company's policyholders. Therefore, the Company states that the formula should only take into account the Surplus Contributions for the policyholders who will receive the shares. Moreover, the Company states that the customers of its non-insurance lines of business are not policyholders and revenue from these customers should play no part in the allocation formula. Further, the commenter is of the view that there may be litigation if allocations are not made by the Company to individual employees covered under group policies. However, the Company notes that litigation on this issue has never occurred in prior Demutualizations. Finally, the commenter has remarked on a provision of the Notice relating to the Company's in-house health Plans. In response, the Company states that this portion of the Notice has been withdrawn. With respect to its in-house health Plans, the Company indicates that it has determined that such Plans are not ``policies of insurance'' for purposes of eligibility under the Demutualization Plan. Therefore, no Trigon Stock will be distributed to the Company or its employees under the Demutualization Plan. It should be noted that this commenter made comments to the Commission that are similar to the foregoing but he did not appear at the hearing on the Demutualization Plan which occurred on September 9- 11, 1996. It is represented that the commenter withdrew as a protestant during the hearing and that the Commission did not require the Company to amend the Demutualization Plan in response to the commenter's remarks. The Company's Comment In its comment, the Company has noted various changes in the details of the Demutualization Plan. Although the basic structure of the Demutualization has remained the same, the Company indicates that a revised Demutualization Plan incorporating these changes was filed with the Commission on May 31, 1996. On October 28, 1996, the Commission issued a preliminary order and requested that a revised [[Page 64765]] Demutualization Plan be filed that incorporated its recommended modifications. On October 31, 1996, the Company filed a revised Demutualization Plan which contained two amendments that do not affect matters that were included in the Notice or in the subsequent revisions to the description of the Demutualization Plan as described below. Specifically, the time periods for certain restrictions on stock acquisitions that might affect control of the Company have been reduced from 5 years to 30 months. In addition, limitations have been placed on stock-based compensation awards until three months after the end of the Lockup Period. On November 5, 1996, the Commission issued its final order approving the Demutualization of the Company. In order to clarify and update the Notice, the Company has requested that the Department make revisions in the following areas: (1) Number of Shares of Trigon Stock to be Allocated for Voting Rights. Section II(e), Representations 8 and 15(e) of the Notice state that an Eligible Member entitled to receive Trigon Stock will be allocated at least 16 shares for each vote. However, the Company points out that under the revised Demutualization Plan, the current estimate for the number of shares to be allocated for each vote is 13.7 shares rather than 16 shares. The Company further explains that the exact number of shares for each vote may be subject to change depending on the number of votes which is presently estimated at 700,730. (2) Eligible Member Effective Date. Section III(d) of the Notice states, in part, that to be eligible to receive a distribution of Trigon Stock, a member must have had a policy in effect on (a) May 31, 1995, (b) on the Effective Date, and (c) at all times between those dates. To reflect the revised Demutualization Plan, the Company states that in order to be eligible for a distribution, an eligible policy must have been in effect on December 31, 1995 (rather than May 31, 1995) and does not have to remain in effect after that date. (3) Special Member Hearing and Hearing. In Representation 4 of the Notice, the dates for the special Member hearing and the hearing had not been established. The Company represents that the special Member hearing was held on September 6, 1996, at which time eligible policyholders of the Company approved the Demutualization Plan by approximately 92.5 percent of the votes cast in favor of the conversion. On September 9-11, 1996, the Company states that the Commission held hearings on the Demutualization Plan. (4) Allocation of Trigon Stock. Representation 8 of the Notice states that the allocation of Trigon Stock will be based on two components--voting rights (Voting Rights) and the equity contribution (the Equity Contribution) by the policies. The Company wishes to clarify that the Voting Rights Allocation is referred to as the ``Fixed Component'' or the ``Aggregate Fixed Component'' and the Equity Contribution Allocation is referred to as the ``Surplus Contribution,'' the ``Variable Component'' or the ``Aggregate Variable Component.'' In addition, Representation 8 of the Notice states, in part, that the Demutualization Plan assigns each policy to a strategic business unit (SBU) and a major product line (MPL) under the SBU. It is also represented that the Demutualization Plan divides the Eligible Members into 4 SBUs and 11 MPLs that could receive an allocation of Trigon Stock. Under the amended Demutualization Plan, the Company notes that all policies will be allocated to one of fourteen MPLs and that the MPLs will not be further divided among any SBUs. (5) Changes to Hypothetical Example. Representation 9 of the Notice sets forth a hypothetical example, provided by the Company, which describes the manner in which shares of Trigon Stock would be calculated for an Eligible Member. To update the Notice, the Company requests that references to the Equity Contribution Allocation be changed to the ``Aggregate Variable Component Allocation'' or the ``Variable Component Allocation'' and the Equity Contribution Factor be changed to the ``Surplus Contribution Factor.'' The Company also notes that the Surplus Contribution Factor (the SCF) will be applied for the years 1988 through 1995 and future years through 2015 rather than pre- 1989 as stated in the Notice. To reflect these changes, the example has been revised as follows: Assume that an Eligible Member's group policy was in force from 1985 until 1995. Thus, the first step in the allocation methodology is to compute the Voting Rights allocation. The second step in the allocation methodology is to determine the Surplus Contribution allocation. Fixed Component Allocation. Assume that the policy has a total of 30 votes as of the Record Date. At a rate of 13.7 shares per vote, the Fixed Component allocation would be 411 shares of Trigon Stock. 30 votes x 13.7 shares of Trigon Stock = 411 shares of Trigon Stock. Variable Component Allocation. The following table represents the number of covered lives and the Surplus Contribution Factor (the SCF) 1 derived for the Eligible Member's MPL for each year. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ The SCF is determined by dividing the Surplus Contribution of the MPL by the total number of covered lives. For example, assume that in 1988, an MPL had a Surplus Contribution of $10 million and 50,000 covered lives. The 1988 SCF for that MPL would be $200 (i.e., $10 million divided by 50,000). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Covered Surplus Period lives x SCF contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pre-1988............................. 22 x $60 $1,320 1989................................. 22 x 60 1,320 1990................................. 30 x 60 1,800 1991................................. 28 x 40 1,120 1992................................. 35 x 70 2,450 1993................................. 35 x 60 2,100 1994................................. 40 x 80 3,200 1995................................. 40 x 60 2,400 Future............................... 40 x 70 2,800 ------------- Total surplus contribution....... $18,510 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Assume that the Surplus Contribution for all Eligible Members is $18,510/$650,000,000 x 54,400,000 shares = 1,545 Surplus Contribution Shares. The total number of shares of Trigon Stock that will be received by the Eligible Member is the sum of the Voting Rights Shares and the Surplus Contribution Shares. 411 + 1,545 = 1,956 Total Shares Received. (6) Criteria for Being Considered a Mandatory Cash Member. Footnote 7 of the Notice states, in pertinent part, that a Mandatory Cash Member is-- .....(c) an Eligible Member with a mailing address within a state in which there are fewer than 10 Eligible Members and the total stock allocated to such Eligible Members is less than 2,000 shares, if the Company determines that issuance of shares to these Eligible Members would result in unreasonable delay or excessive hardship or delay. Under the revised Demutualization Plan, the Company explains that there are two different criteria for these Members. The first category is having a mailing address in a state with 30 or fewer Eligible Members. The second category is having a mailing address in a state in which issuance of shares would result in unreasonable delay or be excessively burdensome. Therefore, the Company requests that the Department revise the affected portions of this footnote to read as follows: .....(c) an Eligible Member with a mailing address within a state in which there are fewer than 30 Eligible Members and (d) an Eligible Member with a mailing address in a state in which it is determined that the issuance of shares to these Eligible Members would result in unreasonable delay, be excessively burdensome or expensive. [[Page 64766]] (7) Reduction in Lockup Periods. Representation 13 of the Notice states that all shares of Trigon Stock that are issued by the Company to Eligible Members will be subject to two Lockup Periods. The Company wishes to clarify that under the revised Demutualization Plan, the number of Lockup Periods has been reduced from two to one. The Company states that the single Lockup Period will have a duration of six months, after which time, all shares of Trigon Stock held by the Company, will be released. Otherwise, the Company explains that the Lockup will operate as under the prior Demutualization Plan. Therefore, the Company suggests that all references to the second Lockup Period be deleted. Thus, after giving full consideration to the entire record, including the written comments, the Department has made the aforementioned changes and has decided to grant the exemption subject to the modifications or clarifications described above. The comment letters have been included as part of the public record of the exemption application. The complete application file, as well as all supplemental submissions received by the Department, is made available for public inspection in the Public Documents Room of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, Room N-5638, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jan D. Broady of the Department, telephone (202) 219-8881. (This is not a toll-free number.) First National Bank of Anchorage Common Trust Fund (the Fund) Located in Anchorage, Alaska; Exemption [Prohibited Transaction Exemption 96-88; Exemption Application No. D- 10117] The restrictions of sections 406(a), 406(b)(1) and (b)(2) of the Act and the sanctions resulting from the application of section 4975 of the Code, by reason of section 4975(c)(1)(A) through (E) of the Code, shall not apply to the sales of certain defaulted real estate mortgages (the Mortgages) by the First National Bank of Anchorage Common Trust Fund (the Fund) to the First National Bank of Anchorage (the Bank), a party in interest with respect to the Fund, provided that the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The sales will be one-time cash transactions; (2) the Fund will incur no costs in connection with the sales; (3) the Fund will sell each Mortgage for the greater of fair market value, or its outstanding principal balance plus accrued, but unpaid interest, and penalty charges at the time of the sale; (4) the independent fiduciaries (the Independent Fiduciaries) appointed to act on behalf of the Fund in these transactions will review and determine that a Mortgage is in default, has been properly declared to be in default by the Bank in accordance with the Comptroller of Currency regulations, and that the prospective sale of a Mortgage is in the best interest of the Fund; (5) neither of the Independent Fiduciaries will derive more than 5% of his gross annual income from the Bank for each fiscal year that he serves in an independent fiduciary capacity with respect to the transactions described herein; (6) the Mortgages will be purchased, rather than segregated, by the Bank; (7) the borrowers on the Mortgages will be unrelated third parties; (8) the conditions of the Prohibited Transaction Exemption 90-60 (PTE 90-60) have been met. PTE 90-60, which expired September 12, 1995, provided retroactive and prospective relief for sales of the Mortgages by the Fund to the Bank; (9) the Bank maintains for a period of six years, the records necessary to enable persons described in (10) below to determine whether the conditions of this exemption have been met, except that a prohibited transaction will not be considered to have occurred if, due to the circumstances beyond the control of the Bank or its affiliates, the records are lost or destroyed prior to the end of the six-year period; and (10) (i) Except as provided in paragraph (ii) of this subsection (10) and notwithstanding any provisions of subsections (a)(2) and (b) of section 504 of the Act, the records referred to in subsection (9) above are unconditionally available at their customary location for examination during normal business hours by-- (A) Any duly authorized employee or representative of the Department or the Internal Revenue Service, (B) Any fiduciary of a plan participating in the Fund, who has authority to acquire or dispose of the interests of the plan, or any duly authorized employee or representative of such fiduciary, (C) Any contributing employer to any plan participating in the Fund, or any duly authorized employee or representative of such employer, and (D) Any participant or beneficiary of any plan participating in the Fund, or any duly authorized employee or representative of such participant or beneficiary. (ii) None of the persons described in subparagraphs (B) through (D) of this subsection (10) shall be authorized to examine trade secrets of the Bank, any of its affiliates, or commercial or financial information which is privileged or confidential. For a more complete statement of the facts and representations supporting the Department's decision to grant this exemption refer to the notice of proposed exemption published on September 18, 1996 at 61 FR 49160/49162. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ekaterina A. Uzlyan, U.S. Department of Labor, telephone (202) 219-8883. (This is not a toll-free number.) John A. Colglazier Self Employment Retirement Plan (the Plan) Located in San Antonio, TX; Exemption and Replacement of Existing Exemption [Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 96-89; Exemption Application No. D-10291] The Department hereby grants a temporary new exemption that will replace PTE 86-95 (51 FR 26077, July 18, 1986). Under the new exemption, the sanctions resulting from the application of section 4975 of the Code, by reason of section 4975(c)(1) (A) through (E) of the Code, will not apply to the cash sale by the Plan, for $74,250, of a parcel of unimproved real property (the Property) to John A. Colglazier, a sole proprietor and a disqualified person with respect to the Plan.\2\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ Because Mr. Colglazier is a sole proprietor and the only participant in the Plan, there is no jurisdiction under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the Act). However, there is jurisdiction under Title II of the Act pursuant to section 4975 of the Code. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This exemption is subject to the following conditions: (a) The sale is a one-time transaction for cash that is entered into within 90 days following the publication, in the Federal Register, of the notice granting the proposed exemption. (b) The Plan does not pay any real estate fees or commissions in connection with the sale. (c) The Property is appraised by a qualified, independent appraiser. (d) The Plan receives, as consideration, an amount that is equal to the greater of $74,250 or the fair market value of the Property as of the date of the sale, including any special value attributed to the Property by reason of its proximity to other real property owned by Mr. Colglazier. (e) All terms and conditions of the sale remain at least as favorable to the Plan as those obtainable in an arm's length transaction with an unrelated party at the time of the sale. [[Page 64767]] TEMPORARY NATURE OF EXEMPTION/EFFECTIVE DATE: This exemption will be effective for a period of 90 days subsequent to the date the grant notice is published in the Federal Register. For a more complete statement of the facts and representations supporting the Department's decision to grant this exemption, refer to the notice of proposed exemption published on October 17, 1996 at 61 FR 54227. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jan D. Broady of the Department, telephone (202) 219-8881. (This is not a toll-free number.) General Information The attention of interested persons is directed to the following: (1) The fact that a transaction is the subject of an exemption under section 408(a) of the Act and/or section 4975(c)(2) of the Code does not relieve a fiduciary or other party in interest or disqualified person from certain other provisions to which the exemptions does not apply and the general fiduciary responsibility provisions of section 404 of the Act, which among other things require a fiduciary to discharge his duties respecting the plan solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the plan and in a prudent fashion in accordance with section 404(a)(1)(B) of the Act; nor does it affect the requirement of section 401(a) of the Code that the plan must operate for the exclusive benefit of the employees of the employer maintaining the plan and their beneficiaries; (2) These exemptions are supplemental to and not in derogation of, any other provisions of the Act and/or the Code, including statutory or administrative exemptions and transactional rules. Furthermore, the fact that a transaction is subject to an administrative or statutory exemption is not dispositive of whether the transaction is in fact a prohibited transaction; and (3) The availability of these exemptions is subject to the express condition that the material facts and representations contained in each application accurately describes all material terms of the transaction which is the subject of the exemption. Signed at Washington, D.C., this 3rd day of December, 1996. Ivan Strasfeld, Director of Exemption Determinations, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. [FR Doc. 96-31108 Filed 12-5-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510-29-P