[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 246 (Thursday, December 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72125-72129]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33346]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-42240; File No. SR-NASD-99-45]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule 
Change by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Relating 
to Amendments to the Public Disclosure Program

December 16, 1999.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on September 15, 1999, the National Association of Securities Dealers, 
Inc. (``NASD'' or ``Association''), through its wholly owned subsidiary 
NASD Regulation, Inc. (``NASD Regulation''), filed with the Securities 
and Exchange Commission (``Commission'' or ``SEC'') the proposed rule 
change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have 
been prepared by NASD Regulation. On December 1, 1999, NASD Regulation 
submitted Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule change.\3\ The 
Commission is publishing this notice of the rule change, as amended, to 
solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ See letter from Alden S. Adkins, Senior Vice President and 
General Counsel, NASD Regulation, to Katherine A. England, Assistant 
Director, Division of Market Regulation (``Division''), Commission, 
dated December 1, 1999. In Amendment No. 1, NASD Regulation 
clarifies certain proposed changes to the Public Disclosure Program 
and submits Form U-6 as an exhibit (``Amendment No. 1''). The 
Commission notes that the Form U-6 is being submitted to help the 
public determine what additional information will be disclosed 
through the Public Disclosure Program and is not the subject matter 
of this rule filing.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of 
Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

    NASD Regulation proposes to amend Interpretive Material 8310-2(a), 
which concerns the Public Disclosure Program. Proposed new language is 
italicized; proposed deletions are in brackets.

IM-8310-2. Release of Disciplinary Information

    (a) [The Association shall, in response to a written inquiry, 
electronic inquiry, or telephonic inquiry via a toll-free telephone 
listing, release certain information contained in its files regarding 
the employment and disciplinary history of members and their associated 
persons, including information regarding past and present employment 
history with Association members; all final disciplinary actions taken 
by federal, state, or foreign securities agencies or self-regulatory 
organizations that relate to securities or commodities transactions; 
all pending disciplinary actions that have been by federal or state 
securities agencies or self-regulatory organizations that relate to 
securities and commodities transactions and are required to be reported 
on Form BD or U-4 and all foreign government or self-regulatory 
organization disciplinary actions that relate to securities or 
commodities transactions and are required to be reported on Form BD or 
U-4; and all criminal indictments, information or convictions that are 
required to be reported on Form BD or Form U-4. The Association will 
also release information required to be reported on Form BD or Form U-4 
concerning civil judgments and arbitration decisions in securities and 
commodities disputes involving public customers, pending and settled 
customer complaints, arbitrations and civil litigation, current 
investigations involving criminal or regulatory matters, terminations 
of employment after allegations involving violations of investment-
related statutes or rules, theft or wrongful taking of property, 
bankruptcies less than ten years old, outstanding judgments or liens, 
any bonding company denial, pay out or revocation, and any suspension 
or revocation to act as an attorney, accountant or federal contractor.]
    In response to a written inquiry, electronic inquiry, or telephonic 
inquiry via a toll-free telephone listing, the Association shall 
release certain information contained in the Central Registration 
Depository regarding a current or former member, an associated person, 
or a person who was associated with a member within the preceding two 
years, through the Public Disclosure Program. Such information shall 
include:
    (1) the person's employment history and other business experience 
required to be reported on Form U-4;
    (2) currently approved registrations for the member or associated 
person;
    (3) the main office, legal status, and type of business engaged in 
by the member; and
    (4) an event or proceeding--
    (A) required to be reported under Item 23 on Form U-4;
    (B) required to be reported under Item 11 on Form BD; or
    (C) reported on Form U-6.
    The Association also shall make available through the Public 
Disclosure Program certain arbitration decisions against a member 
involving a securities or commodities dispute with a public customer. 
The Association shall not release through the Public Disclosure Program 
social security numbers, residential history information, or physical 
description information, or information that the Association is 
otherwise prohibited from releasing under Federal law.
* * * * *

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, NASD Regulation 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. NASD Regulation has prepared summaries, set 
forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of 
such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    NASD Regulation's Public Disclosure Program is described in 
Interpretive Material 8310-2 of the NASD Rules (``the 
Interpretation''). Under the Public Disclosure Program, NASD Regulation 
releases to the public certain information reported on uniform forms 
\4\

[[Page 72126]]

to the Central Registration Depository (``CRD'') regarding the 
employment history, other business experience \5\ and disciplinary 
history of NASD members and associated persons. The NASD's practice is 
and will continue to be to provide such information on a per associated 
person or per member basis. The primary purpose of the Public 
Disclosure Program is to help investors make informed choices about the 
individuals and firms with whom they may wish to do business.
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    \4\ The uniform forms are Form BD (the Uniform Application for 
Broker-Dealer Registration); Form BDW (the Uniform Request for 
Broker-Dealer Withdrawal); Form U-4 (the Uniform Application for 
Securities Industry Registration or Transfer); Form U-5 (the Uniform 
Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration); and Form 
U-6 (the Uniform Disciplinary Action Reporting Form). Except for the 
Form U-6, all of these forms have been approved by the Commission. 
See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 41594 (July 2, 1999), 64 FR 
37586 (July 12, 1999) (order adopting the amended Form BD); 
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 41356 (April 30, 1999), 64 FR 
25144 (May 10, 1999) (order adopting the amended Form BDW); 
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 41560 (June 25, 1999), 64 FR 
36059 (July 2, 1999) (order approving the new Forms U-4 and U-5).
    \5\ Employment experience includes the last ten years of full- 
and part-time work, self-employment, military service, unemployment, 
and full-time education. The Form U-4 also requires registered 
persons to report certain other business experience on page 2 of the 
Form.
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    NASD Regulation has determined that the Interpretation governing 
the Public Disclosure Program should be amended to ensure that 
disclosure practices are clearer and fairer to NASD members, associated 
persons, and the public.\6\ The proposed rule change would affect only 
information released through the Public Disclosure Program. NASD 
Regulation is not proposing any change to the uniform forms or 
requesting authority to delete or change any information in CRD records 
that would require agreement from state regulators.
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    \6\ To that end, the Interpretation has been reformatted to make 
it easier to read and understand. The Interpretation has been 
amended to conform to style and grammatical conventions followed in 
the NASD Rules, e.g., using singular nouns. In addition, certain 
words and phrases in the Interpretation have been conformed to usage 
in the uniform forms. All of these changes are clarifying, non-
substantive amendments.
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    Persons Subject to the Interpretation. Since the inception of the 
Public Disclosure Program, NASD Regulation's practice has been to 
release information about a current or former member or associated 
person. The current Interpretation, however, refers to the release of 
information about ``members'' or ``their associated persons,'' which 
the NASD By-Laws define as current members and persons currently 
associated with members.\7\ The Interpretation does not explicitly 
address the issue of disclosure regarding former members and associated 
persons.
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    \7\ See Articles I(q) and (ee) of the NASD By-Laws.
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    The proposed rule change would explicitly address disclosure on 
former members and associated persons. Persons who would be subject to 
disclosure under the Program would include: (1) Current and former NASD 
members; (2) persons currently associated with an NASD member; and (3) 
persons who have been associated with an NASD member within the 
preceding two years. NASD Regulation believes that it is inappropriate 
to continue public disclosure indefinitely for an individual who has 
chosen to leave the securities industry. Instead, NASD Regulation 
believes it should strike a balance between an investor's interest in 
being easily able to obtain information about a former associated 
person and that person's desire for privacy once he has left the 
securities industry. A two-year disclosure period coincides with the 
period in which an individual can return to the industry without being 
required to requalify by examination and the initial period in which an 
individual remains subject to the jurisdiction of the Association.\8\ 
NASD Regulation notes, however, that with the exception of part II of 
the Form U-5 Internal Review Disclosure Reporting Page (``DRP''),\9\ 
there is currently no mechanism for a former associated person or 
member to submit information to amend or update a disclosure record. 
Accordingly, NASD Regulation intends to clearly identify the scope of 
the disclosure information for former associated persons or members.
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    \8\ See NASD Rules 1021(c) and 1031(c); NASD By-Laws Article V, 
Section 4. Article V, Section 4 of the By-Laws provides that a 
person whose association with a member has been terminated or 
revoked shall continue to be subject to the NASD's jurisdiction for 
certain specified purposes. Under that provision, the two-year 
period begins on the effective date of the termination, and may be 
extended under certain circumstances. For purposes of disclosure 
under the Public Disclosure Program, the two-year period would begin 
on the effective date of the termination and would not be extended 
beyond the initial two-year period. The effective date of 
termination is the date that the Form U-5 is captured by the CRD 
system. Conversation between Mary Dunbar, Office of General Counsel, 
NASD Regulation, and Joseph P. Corcoran, Attorney, Division, 
Commission on December 10, 1999.
    \9\ Part II of the Form U-5 Internal Review DRP provides a 
current or former registered representative an opportunity to 
provide a summary of the circumstances relating to an internal 
review reported on a Form U-5 by a former employer.
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    Release of Information Reported on Forms U-5 and U-6. NASD 
Regulation currently releases under the Public Disclosure Program those 
events and proceedings that are required to be reported on Form U-4 and 
Form BD. The Interpretation currently does not explicitly address 
events and proceedings reported on Form U-5 or Form U-6.
    Form U-6 is filed by state securities regulators and self-
regulatory organizations (``SRO'') to report disciplinary and other 
matters that are also required to be reported on Form U-4 or Form 
BD.\10\ Form U-6 includes DRPs in five categories: (1) Bankruptcy/SIPC/
Compromise with Creditors; (2) Civil Judicial; (3) Criminal; (4) 
Regulatory Action; and (5) SRO Arbitration/Reparation. The format of 
the Form U-6 DRPs parallels the format of the DRPs used for the Forms 
U-4, U-5, and BD for those categories. Generally speaking, the Form U-6 
reports the identifying information on the subject of the filing (i.e., 
the individual or entity), the regulator reporting the action, and a 
brief description of the matter being reported, including its status or 
final solution.
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    \10\ If a state securities regulator or SRO chooses to report 
regulatory information to CRD, it must use a Form U-6 for the 
information to be available through the Public Disclosure Program. 
Regulators also are able to report on Form U-6 matters involving 
individuals or entities that are not currently registered, provided 
the events being reported to CRD would be required to be reported if 
the individuals or entities were registered or attempted to become 
registered.
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    Until 1996, the NASD only released information actually reported on 
Form U-4 or Form BD. In 1996, the NASD proposed and the Commission 
approved a rule change that permitted the NASD to release information 
``required to be reported'' on Form U-4 or Form BD.\11\ NASD Regulation 
proposed the change because in some instances, it possessed information 
about a currently registered person that should have been reported on 
the person's Form U-4, but the amended Form U-4 had not yet been 
submitted. NASD Regulation proposed the rule change so that it could 
release all information that it possessed that was required to be 
reported on the Forms U-4 and BD, even if the registered person or firm 
was not current in its filings, thereby ensuring that investors 
received more complete information.
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    \11\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 37797 (October 9, 
1996), 61 FR 53984 (October 16, 1996).
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    NASD Regulation currently interprets the ``required to reported'' 
standard as follows. For current members and associated persons, NASD 
Regulation interprets the ``required to be reported'' standard to 
include all information reported on Form U-4 or Form BD, as well as 
information that has been reported on a Form U-5 or Form U-6 that 
should be, but has not yet been, reported on a Form U-4 or Form BD. For 
example, a former employer of a currently registered representative may 
report a customer complaint against that registered representative by 
amending his Form U-5. NASD Regulation includes information about this 
complaint in any public disclosure report it issues about the 
registered representative, even if the current employer of the 
registered person has not updated his Form U-4 to reflect the 
complaint.

[[Page 72127]]

    For former members and associated persons, the ``required to be 
reported'' standard has a different result because once an association 
or membership is terminated, there is no longer a requirement to report 
on Form U-4 or Form BD, respectively. Consequently, when NASD 
Regulation receives a public disclosure request for a former associated 
person or member, NASD Regulation releases all information reported to 
CRD up to the date of the termination of association or membership. 
However, events and proceedings reported on an initial or amended Form 
U-5 or Form BDW,\12\ or on Form U-6 after an individual has terminated 
his association or after termination of a firm's membership, are not 
released under the Program. If a former associated person or member 
reapplies and is approved for NASD registration or membership, NASD 
Regulation resumes public disclosure under the ``required to be 
reported'' standard, which includes releasing all information reported 
on any uniform form during any period of active or inactive 
registration or membership.
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    \12\ The Commission notes that copies of a firm's Form BDW is 
available to the public through the Commission's Public Reference 
Room.
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    Under the proposed rule change, NASD Regulation would begin 
releasing information reported on Form U-6 for former members and 
associated persons, subject to the two-year time limitation discussed 
above. There are several reasons for this change. First, the 
information reported on Form U-6 is provided by regulators and SROs, 
and therefore NASD Regulation believes that it is highly reliable. 
Second, the information reported on Form U-6 may be particularly 
valuable to a public investor who who done business with a former 
member of associated person who has recently left the industry. Third, 
the proposed rule change would make disclosure of Form U-6 information 
more consistent between currently registered members and associated 
persons and former members and associated persons. Finally, the 
proposed rule change would result in more consistent disclosure by the 
Program and the states; some of which currently release information 
reported on all uniform forms, whether or not it is currently 
reportable on a uniform form.
    NASD Regulation does not release information that has been reported 
on a Form U-5 regarding former registered persons because that 
information may not have been reviewed by such individuals and may not, 
as a result, include their comments on, or concurrence with, the 
information. NASD Regulation does not propose any change to this policy 
in this filing.
    Release of Arbitration Decisions Involving Members. NASD Regulation 
makes all arbitration awards rendered in its forum available pursuant 
to NASD Rule 10330(f). Interested persons may obtain hard copies of 
such awards upon request by contacting the Office of Dispute 
Resolution. In addition, for the convenience of investors, NASD 
Regulation makes available through the Public Disclosure Program 
information on awards rendered in the arbitration forum administered by 
the NASD that involve securities or commodities disputes between 
members and public customers.\13\
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    \13\ CRD obtains information regarding awards involving members 
from its Office of Dispute Resolution because members are not 
required to report arbitration awards on Form BD.
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    Clarification of Information Not Released Through Program. A number 
of members and associated persons have asked whether social security 
numbers, home addresses, or physical description information reported 
on the uniform forms are released through the Public Disclosure 
Program. NASD Regulation does not release such information, and the 
proposed rule change clarifies this policy.
    The proposed rule change also clarifies that NASD Regulation will 
not release information through the Public Disclosure Program that it 
is otherwise prohibited from releasing under Federal law, e.g., 
criminal history record information provided by the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation.\14\ The criminal history information that is released 
through the Public Disclosure Program is the information provided by 
the associated person or the member on the uniform forms.
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    \14\ 28 CFR 50.12(b).
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    Disconintinuing Release of Certain Factually Incorrect Information. 
NASD Regulation also would like to inform the Commission of NASD 
Regulation's intention to exercise discretion in discontinuing public 
disclosure of a limited category of factually incorrect information 
that may be contained in the CRD. NASD Regulation occasionally receives 
requests to expunge an event from CRD where the person who was the 
subject of the CRD filing can demonstrate that it was factually 
impossible for him to have been involved in the event (e.g., a person 
was named in an arbitration as a branch manager of a firm, and the 
person was working at a different firm at that time). NASD Regulation 
and the North American Securities Administrators Association 
(``NASAA'') agree that such information can be expunged from the CRD if 
the person obtains a court order of expungement. However, obtaining a 
court order can be time-consuming and expensive. NASD Regulation 
believes that information that can be proven to be factually incorrect 
should be expunged from the CRD system without a court order and is 
discussing this issue with NASAA. NASD Regulation and NASAA also are 
currently discussing other circumstances in which expungement orders 
are appropriately honored.\15\ Until an agreement is reached with NASAA 
on expunging factually incorrect information from the CRD system, NASD 
Regulation intends to discontinue releasing such information via the 
Public Disclosure Program. NASD Regulation will develop guidelines to 
implement this policy. The policy will provide some measure of 
assurance that this type of factually incorrect information is not 
provided to investors or other members of the public.
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    \15\ See Notices to Members 99-09 and 99-54.
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    Automation of Public Disclosure Reports. Currently, when NASD 
Regulation receives a public disclosure request, NASD Regulation staff 
reviews the CRD record of the subject of the request, identifies events 
that must be disclosed under the Interpretation, and manually prepares 
a summary report for the requester. With the deployment of Web CRD,\16\ 
NASD Regulation's Internet-based registration system, the staff plans 
to discontinue the manual preparation of these reports. Instead, staff 
will use a computer program that automatically generates a report after 
drawing information directly from the Web CRD data base. The computer 
program will draw the information from specified fields in WEB CRD that 
parallel fields on the Forms U-4, U-6,, and BD (and Form U-5 in the 
limited circumstances discussed above). The report then will be sent by 
regular or electronic mail to the requester. This approach removes the 
NASD Regulation staff from the preparation of the reports, provides for 
consistent disclosure without manual intervention, and allows the 
information that is actually reported to Web CRD on the uniform forms 
or from the NASD Regulation Office of Dispute Resolution \17\ to be 
reported to the public.\18\
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    \16\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 41326 (April 22, 
1999), 64 FR 23366 (April 30, 1999)(notice of filing of SR-NASD-98-
96, which describes Web CRD).
    \17\ See supra note 13.
    \18\ As part of the transition from Legacy CRD to Web CRD, 
information that was reported prior to the deployment of Web CRD was 
converted from the Legacy CRD system and brought into the Web CRD 
database structure. Because of differences between the current and 
previous uniform registration forms, data was necessarily 
reformatted. In nearly all cases, information was converted as filed 
(i.e., information reported on a Form U-4 in Legacy CRD was 
converted to Web CRD as Form U-4 information, albeit reformatted). 
In certain circumstances, however, information submitted on 
different uniform forms relating to the same disclosure event was 
combined in the data conversion; this occurred only if there were 
inconsistencies reported regarding such event. For example, of a 
Form U-4 reported that a regulatory action became final but did not 
report the date of the final action, and a Form U-6 reported both 
the regulatory action and the date, the date of the final action was 
populated to the Form U-4 on Web CRD. NASD Regulation will include 
an explanation of the data conversion process in all public 
disclosure reports provided pursuant to the Program.

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[[Page 72128]]

    One significant consequence of this approach is that the 
automatically generated reports will include verbatim any comment 
submitted by a registered representative, firm, or regulator in 
response to the last question on the Disclosure Reporting Pages of the 
uniform forms. This question typically asks for a summary of the 
circumstances or details relating to the disclosure event. These 
comments are not currently included in the manual reports prepared by 
the staff and may contain customer names. They also may contain 
confidential account information or language that is offensive or 
potentially defamatory, although that is far less likely.
    Because these comments have not been included previously in the 
manual reports, NASD Regulation does not intend to begin using these 
automated reports until the SEC approves this proposed rule change. 
Upon approval, NASD Regulation will inform members and registered 
persons via a Notice to Members and other communications that it is 
inappropriate, and may subject members to regulatory sanctions or civil 
liability, to submit offensive or potentially defamatory language on 
the uniform forms.\19\ NASD Regulation also is considering developing 
electronic notices that would appear on the electronic screen when 
forms are being completed on-line advising Web CRD users of this issue. 
NASD Regulation would undertake to conduct a continuing program to 
educate members and registered persons on this issue.
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    \19\ For example, if a Form contained egregiously offensive 
language, NASD Regulation may take disciplinary action against the 
member and/or registered person under NASD Rule 2110, which requires 
them to observe just and equitable principles of trade and high 
standards of commercial honor.
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    After implementation of automated reports, NASD Regulation will 
address objections to disclosure of customer names, confidential 
customer information, or offensive or potentially defamatory language 
on a case-by-case basis as follows. After receiving an objection, NASD 
Regulation will identify the filer of the uniform form (i.e., a member 
firm, regulator, or self-regulatory organization) containing the 
language in controversy and notify the filer of the objections. NASD 
Regulation will provide the filer with the opportunity to amend the 
filing to remove the language in controversy. If the filer determines 
not to amend, NASD Regulation will apply a balancing test to weigh the 
value of the language in controversy for regulatory and investor 
protection purposes against the objector's asserted privacy rights and/
or defamation claims.\20\ Based on the outcome of this test, NASD 
Regulation may determine to redact the language in controversy from 
reports prepared under the Public Disclosure Program. NASD Regulation 
will inform any requester of a report that has been redacted of the 
reasons for the redaction. NASD Regulation staff anticipates that 
objections to disclosure will be infrequent. If objections are more 
frequent than anticipated, NASD Regulation staff will consider 
alternative approaches.
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    \20\ If its impossible for a filer to amend, e.g., the firm is 
defunct and the person is no longer registered, then NASD Regulation 
also will apply the balancing test and proceed as described above.
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    Other. In Notice To Members 98-71, the NASD requested comment on 
whether public disclosure of certain non-investment-related crimes 
should be discontinued after ten years. In response, the NASD received 
nearly 100 comments. The NASD is still considering this issue in light 
of the comments, and therefore the issue is not addressed in this 
filing.
2. Statutory Basis
    NASD Regulation believes that the proposed rule change is 
consistent with the provisions of Section 15A(b)(6) \21\ of the Act, 
which requires, among other things, that the Association's rules must 
designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to 
promote just and equitable principles of trade, and, in general, to 
protect investors and the public interest. NASD Regulation believes 
that the proposed rule change is consistent with Section 15A(b)(6) \22\ 
because it strikes an appropriate balance between: (1) Investor's 
interest in obtaining accurate and up-to-date information about current 
or former members or associated persons; and (2) members' and 
associated persons' interests in having accurate information provided 
through the Public Disclosure Program; and (3) former associated 
persons' interest in protecting their privacy after leaving the 
securities industry. By expanding the availability of Form U-6 
information, the proposed rule change also will provide investors and 
the public with additional information about former associated persons 
with whom they have done business. NASD Regulation also believes that 
the proposed rule change is consistent in all respects with Section 
15a(i),\23\ particularly the provision for immunity from liability for 
actions taken or omitted in good faith with respect to the Public 
Disclosure Program.
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    \21\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(6).
    \22\ Id.
    \23\ This Section requires the NASD to establish and maintain a 
public disclosure program. 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(i).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    NASD Regulation does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
result in any burden on competition that is not necessary or 
appropriate in furtherance of the purpose of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    Written comments were nether solicited nor received.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing 
for Commission Action

    Within 35 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 90 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 the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
    (A) By order approve such proposed rule change, or
    (B) Institute proceeding 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, including whether the proposed rule 
is consistent with the Act. Persons making written submissions should 
file six copies thereof with the Secretary, Securities and Exchange 
Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549-0609. Copies of 
the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with 
respect to the proposed

[[Page 72129]]

rule change that refiled 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 Room. Copies of such filing will also be available for 
inspection and copying at the principal office of the NASD. All 
submissions should refer to File No. JR-NASD-99-45 and should be 
submitted by January 13, 2000.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\24\
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    \24\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-33346 Filed 12-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M