[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 185 (Friday, September 25, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49022-49023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23141]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Request for Public 
Comment for Class Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2006-16

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and 
Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program 
helps to ensure that the data the Department gathers can be provided in 
the desired format, that the reporting burden on the public (time and 
financial resources) is minimized, that the public understands the 
Department's collection instruments, and that the Department can 
accurately assess the impact of collection requirements on respondents.
    Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is 
soliciting comments concerning the extension of currently approved 
collections of information arising from Class Prohibited Transaction 
Exemption 2006-16, which permits employee benefit plans to lend 
securities owned by the plans as investments to banks and broker-
dealers and to make compensation arrangements for lending services 
provided by a plan fiduciary in connection with securities loans. A 
copy of the information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by 
contacting the office shown in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice on or before November 24, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
regarding the information collection request and burden estimates to G. 
Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Room N-5718, Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX 
(202) 219-4745 (these are not toll-free numbers). Comments may also be 
submitted electronically to the following Internet e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    This ICR covers information collections contained in PTE 2006-16. 
In 1981 and 1982, the Department issued two related prohibited 
transaction class exemptions, PTE 81-6 and PTE 82-63, that permit 
employee benefit plans to lend securities owned by the plans as 
investments to banks and broker-dealers and to make compensation 
arrangements for lending services provided by a plan fiduciary in 
connection with securities loans. In 2006, the Department promulgated 
PTE 2006-16, which combines and amends the exemptions previously 
provided under PTE 81-6 and PTE 82-63. The new exemption expands the 
categories of exempted transactions to include securities lending to 
foreign banks and broker-dealers that are domiciled in specified 
countries and to allow the use of additional forms of collateral, all 
subject to specified conditions.
    Among other conditions, the class exemption requires that a bank or 
broker-dealer that borrows securities from a plan must provide the plan 
with its most recent audited financial statement. The borrower must 
also affirm, when the loan is negotiated, that there has been no 
material adverse change in its financial condition since the previously 
audited statement.
    The exemption also requires that the agreements regarding the 
securities loan transaction or transactions and the compensation 
arrangement for the lending fiduciary must be contained in written 
documents. Individual agreements are not required for each transaction; 
rather the compensation agreement may be made in the form of a master 
agreement covering a series of transactions. The ICRs contained in PTE 
2006-16 were approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
under OMB Control No. 1210-0065, which currently is scheduled to expire 
on December 31, 2009.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;

[[Page 49023]]

     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the 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., by 
permitting electronic submission of responses.

III. Current Action

    This notice requests comments on an extension of the information 
collections arising from PTE 2006-16. The Department is not proposing 
or implementing any changes to the information collections at this 
time. A summary of the ICR and the current burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
    Title: PTE 2006-16 (Securities Lending by Employee Benefit Plans).
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0065.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Respondents: 200.
    Responses: 10,000.
    Total Estimated Burden Hours: 367.
    Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $11,200.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the extension of 
this ICR; they will also become a matter of public record.

    Dated: September 21, 2009.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-23141 Filed 9-24-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-20-P