[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 172 (Friday, September 5, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52803-52804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22771]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Sunshine Act Meetings

    Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the Goverment 
in the Sunshine Act, Public Law 94-409, that the Securities and 
Exchange Commission will hold the following meetings during the week of 
September 8, 2003:
    Closed Meetings will be held on Tuesday, September 9, 2003, at 2 
p.m. and Wednesday, September 10, 2003, at 11 a.m., and Open Meetings 
will be held on Wednesday, September 10, 2003, at 10 a.m. and Thursday, 
September 11, 2003, at 10 a.m.
    Commissioner Atkins, as duty officer, determined that no earlier 
notice thereof was possible.
    Commissioners, Counsel to the Commissioners, the Secretary to the 
Commission, and recording secretaries will attend the Closed Meetings. 
Certain staff members who have an interest in the matters may also be 
present.
    The General Counsel of the Commission, or his designee, has 
certified that, in his opinion, one or more of the exemptions set forth 
in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(5), (7), (9)(B) and (10) and 17 CFR 200.402(a)(5), 
(7), (9)(ii) and (10), permit consideration of the scheduled matters at 
the Closed Meetings
    The subject matter of the Closed Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 
September 9, 2003, will be:

    Institution and settlement of administrative proceedings of an 
enforcement nature;
    Institution and settlement of injunctive actions;
    Formal orders of investigation; and
    Adjudicatory matter.

    The subject matter for the Open Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 
September 10, 2003 will be:

    1. The Commission will hear oral argument on an appeal by the Barr 
Financial Group, Inc. (``BFG''), an investment adviser, and Alfred E. 
Barr (``Barr''), BFG's president, from the decision of an 
administrative law judge.
    The law judge found that:
    a. Respondents violated section 207 of the Investment Advisers Act 
of 1940 (``Advisers Act'') by making untrue statements of material fact 
in Forms ADV and ADV amendments filed by BFG during 1997 and 1998. 
Respondents' statements concerned the amount of assets BFG had under 
management and Barr's academic credentials;
    b. Respondents were permanently enjoined in 1999 from violating 
Advisers Act section 204 and ``regulations thereunder governing the 
conduct of investment advisers under Rule 204-2 of the Advisers Act.''
    The law judge ordered both respondents to cease and desist from 
committing or causing any violations or future violations of Advisers 
Act sections 204 and 207, barred Barr from associating with any 
investment adviser, and revoked BFG's registration as an investment 
adviser.
    Among the issues likely to be argued are:
    a. Whether the evidence supports the allegations;
    b. Whether and to what extent sanctions should be imposed in the 
public interest.
    For further information, please contact the Office of the Secretary 
at (202) 942-7070.

    2. The Commission will hear oral argument on an appeal by the 
Division of Enforcement from the decision of an administrative law 
judge.
    The law judge found that the Division of Enforcement failed to 
prove that Jeffrey M. Steinberg and John Geron, (``the Respondents''), 
certified public accountants and former partners of accounting firm 
Arthur Andersen & Co., L.L.P., caused violations by Spectrum 
Information Technologies, Inc. (``Spectrum'') of section 13(a) of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 13a-13 and 12b-20 thereunder 
(``the reporting provisions''), and the law judge dismissed the 
proceedings against the Respondents. The law judge concluded that the 
Respondents' accounting advice to Spectrum was consistent with 
generally accepted accounting principles (``GAAP''). The law judge 
determined also that Spectrum's quarterly reports filed with the 
Commission on Forms 10-Q for the periods ended June 30, 1993, and 
September 30, 1993, the reports at issue,

[[Page 52804]]

adequately disclosed certain licensing transactions.
    The Division has requested that the Commission reverse the law 
judge's findings of fact and conclusions of law and his dismissal of 
all charges, and issue cease-and-desist orders against the Respondents.
    Among the issues likely to be argued are:
    a. Whether Spectrum's accounting treatment was consistent with 
GAAP;
    b. Whether the Respondents acted negligently;
    c. Whether the Respondents were ``a cause'' of Spectrum's 
violations of the reporting provisions within the meaning of Exchange 
Act section 21C; and
    d. Whether issuance of cease-and-desist orders against the 
Respondents is in the public interest.
    For further information, please contact the Office of the Secretary 
at (202) 942-7070.

    The subject matter for the Closed Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 
September 10, 2003 will be: Post argument discussion.
    The subject matter for the Open Meeting scheduled for Thursday, 
September 11, 2003, will be:
    1. The Commission will consider whether to adopt amendments to rule 
206(4)-2, the custody rule under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, 
to enhance the protections afforded to advisory clients' assets, 
harmonize the rule with current custodial practices, and clarify 
circumstances under which advisers have custody of client assets.
    For further information, please contact Vivien Liu at (202) 942-
0664.

    2. The Commission will consider whether to propose a rule to exempt 
qualified foreign banks from the insider lending prohibition of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 section 13(k), as added by section 402 
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The proposed rule would exempt foreign banks 
that meet specified criteria similar to those that qualify domestic 
banks for the exemption under section 13(k). The Commission will also 
consider whether to propose an amendment to Form 20-F that would 
require a foreign bank issuer to provide the same disclosure regarding 
problematic loans to insiders as that required for domestic banks under 
Regulation S-K.
    For further information contact Elliot Staffin at (202) 942-2990.

    3. The Commission will also consider whether to propose an 
amendment to For F-6 that would add an eligibility requirement making 
the form unavailable to register under the Securities Act of 1933 
depositary shares evidenced by American depositary receipts if the 
foreign issuer has separately listed the deposited securities on a 
registered national securities exchange or automated inter-dealer 
quotation system of a national securities association.
    For further information please contact Michael Coco at (202) 942-
2990.

    At times, changes in Commission priorities require alterations in 
the scheduling of meeting items.
    For further information and to ascertain what, if any, matters have 
been added, deleted, or postponed, please contact the Office of the 
Secretary at (202) 942-7070.

    Dated: September 3, 2003.
Jonathan G. Katz,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-22771 Filed 9-3-03; 12:52 pm]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M