[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 1998)] [Notices] [Pages 3941-3942] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-1857] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34-39561; File No. SR-DTC-97-17] Self-Regulatory Organizations; the Depository Trust Company; Notice of a Proposed Rule Change Relating to a Modification of the Coupon Collection Service January 20, 1998. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act''),\1\ notice is hereby given that on August 7, 1997. The Depository Trust Company (``DTC'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') and on December 22, 1997, amended the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which items have been prepared primarily by DTC. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments from interested persons on the proposed rule change. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The proposed rule change will expand DTC's coupon collection service (``CCS'') to include the collection of interest relating to coupons from corporate bearer bonds. II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change In its filing with the Commission, DTC included statements concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. DTC has prepared summaries, set forth in sections (A), (B), and (C) below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.\2\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ The commission has modified the text of the summaries prepared by DTC. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A) Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change CCS currently provides DTC participants with a method for the collection of interest relating to coupons from municipal bearer bonds.\3\ Participants using CCS are required to deposit coupons in a standard sealed envelop or ``shell,'' each of which may contain no more than 200 coupons for the same CUSIP number, series, and payable date. DTC submits the contents of the shells to the appropriate issuer or paying agent and then credits the interest to the participant's account. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ For a complete description of CCS, refer to Securities Exchange Act Release No. 35750 (January 22, 1996), 61 FR 2852 [File No. SR-DTC-95-18] (order approving proposed rule change). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the proposed rule change, CCS will be modified to process corporate bearer bonds in addition to municipal bearer bonds. With certain exceptions, DTC will handle shells containing corporate bearer bonds in the same manner in which it currently handles municipal bearer bonds. First, DTC will contact the corporate paying agent before submitting the coupons for payment to determine whether the coupon proceeds are payable in U.S. dollars. To be eligible for CCS, corporate bearer bonds must be payable in either U.S. dollars or Canadian funds. Where the corporate bearer bonds are payable in Canadian funds, DTC will request the paying agent to convert the funds to U.S. dollars in accordance with the [[Page 3942]] prevailing exchange rate. DTC will not process corporate bearer bonds through CCS unless the paying agent is able to convert the funds to U.S. dollars. Second, DTC will suppress for corporate bearer coupons the automatic payment function that it applies to municipal bearer coupons. Under the current operation of CCS, DTC credits participants' accounts on the payable date of the municipal bearer coupons regardless of whether it has received the money. With corporate bearer bonds, DTC will need to receive the interest payment before paying the participant in order to avoid having to adjust participants' accounts due to fluctuations in exchange rates. DTC has informed the Commission that due to the additional processing and tracking of corporate bearer coupon deposits, a surcharge will be added in the future for the handling of these deposits. DTC will require that each shell contain the following information on its face: 1. CUSIP number; 2. description of issue including purpose, series, date of issue, and maturity date; 3. payable date; 4. quantity of coupons enclosed; 5. dollar value of individual coupons; 6. total shell value unless payable in Canadian dollars; 7. participant number; and 8. contact number and telephone number of the depositing participant. The shells will need to be accompanied by one completed deposit ticket for up to twenty-five shells which provides the following information: 1. participant number; 2. shell quantity; 3. total dollar value; 4. CUSIP number per shell; 5. coupon quantity per shell; 6. dollar value per shell unless payable in Canadian dollars; and 7. whether the coupons are future-due or past-due. DTC will verify the number of shells listed on the deposit ticket and give the participant a time-stamped copy of the ticket. If the number of shells listed on the deposit ticket does not agree with the physical number of shells, the entire deposit will be rejected and sent back to the participant. DTC believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of Section 17A of the Act\4\ and the rules and regulations thereunder because it promotes efficiencies in the clearance and settlement of securities transactions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (B) Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition DTC does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act, in the public interest, and for the protection of investors. (C) Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others Written comments from DTC participants and others have not been solicited or received. III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action Within thirty-five days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may designate up to ninety days of such date if it finds such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which DTC consents, the Commission will: (A) by order approve such proposed rule change or (B) institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved. IV. Solicitation of Comments Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing. Persons making written submissions should file six copies thereof with the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection and copying in the Commission's Public Reference Section, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of DTC. All submissions should refer to File No. SR-DTC-97-17 and should be submitted by February 17, 1998. For the Commission by the Division of Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated authority.\5\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \5\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Margaret H. McFarland, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 98-1857 Filed 1-26-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8010-01-M