[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 53 (Friday, March 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15005-15006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6365]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 
20549-0213.

Extension:
    Rule 17f-5; SEC File No. 270-259; OMB Control No. 3235-0269.

    Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the collection of 
information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit the 
existing collection of information to the Office of Management and 
Budget for extension and approval.
    Rule 17f-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a) 
(``Investment Company Act'' or ``Act'')

[[Page 15006]]

governs the custody of the assets of registered management investment 
companies (``funds'') with custodians outside the United States.\1\ 
Under Rule 17f-5, the fund's board of directors must find that it is 
reasonable to rely on each delegate it selects to act as the fund's 
foreign custody manager. The delegate must agree to provide written 
reports that notify the board when the fund's assets are placed with a 
foreign custodian and when any material change occurs in the fund's 
custody arrangements. The delegate must agree to exercise reasonable 
care, prudence, and diligence, or to adhere to a higher standard of 
care. When the foreign custody manager selects an eligible foreign 
custodian, it must determine that the fund's assets will be subject to 
reasonable care if maintained with that custodian, and that the written 
contract that governs each custody arrangement will provide reasonable 
care for fund assets. The contract must contain certain specified 
provisions or others that provide at least equivalent care. The foreign 
custody manager must establish a system to monitor the performance of 
the contract and the appropriateness of continuing to maintain assets 
with the eligible foreign custodian.
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    \1\ 17 CFR 270.17f-5. All references to rules 17f-5, 17f-7, 17d-
1, or 19b-1 in this notice are to 17 CFR 270.17f-5, 17 CFR 270.17f-
7, 17 CFR 270.17d-1, and 17 CFR 270.19b-1, respectively.
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    The collection of information requirements in rule 17f-5 are 
intended to provide protection for fund assets maintained with a 
foreign bank custodian whose use is not authorized by statutory 
provisions that govern fund custody arrangements,\2\ and that is not 
subject to regulation and examination by U.S. regulators. The 
requirement that the fund board determine that it is reasonable to rely 
on each delegate is intended to ensure that the board carefully 
considers each delegate's qualifications to perform its 
responsibilities. The requirement that the delegate provide written 
reports to the board is intended to ensure that the delegate notifies 
the board of important developments concerning custody arrangements so 
that the board may exercise effective oversight. The requirement that 
the delegate agree to exercise reasonable care is intended to provide 
assurances to the fund that the delegate will properly perform its 
duties.
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    \2\ See section 17(f) of the Investment Company Act (15 U.S.C. 
80a-17(f)).
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    The requirements that the foreign custody manager determine that 
fund assets will be subject to reasonable care with the eligible 
foreign custodian and under the custody contract, and that each 
contract contain specified provisions or equivalent provisions, are 
intended to ensure that the delegate has evaluated the level of care 
provided by the custodian, that it weighs the adequacy of contractual 
provisions, and that fund assets are protected by minimal contractual 
safeguards. The requirement that the foreign custody manager establish 
a monitoring system is intended to ensure that the manager periodically 
reviews each custody arrangement and takes appropriate action if 
developing custody risks may threaten fund assets.
    Commission staff estimates that each year, approximately 135 
registrants \3\ could be required to make an average of one response 
per registrant under rule 17f-5, requiring approximately 2.5 hours of 
board of director time per response, to make the necessary findings 
concerning foreign custody managers. The total annual burden associated 
with these requirements of the rule is up to approximately 337.5 hours 
(135 registrants x 2.5 hours per registrant). The staff further 
estimates that during each year, approximately 15 global custodians \4\ 
are required to make an average of 4 responses per custodian concerning 
the use of foreign custodians other than depositories. The staff 
estimates that each response will take approximately 270 hours, 
requiring approximately 1,080 total hours annually per custodian. The 
total annual burden associated with these requirements of the rule is 
approximately 16,200 hours (15 global custodians x 1,080 hours per 
custodian). Therefore, the total annual burden of all collection of 
information requirements of rule 17f-5 is estimated to be up to 
16,537.5 hours (337.5 + 16,200). The total annual cost of burden hours 
is estimated to be $4,914,000 (337.5 hours x $4,000/hour for board of 
director's time, plus 16,200 hours x $220/hour for a trust 
administrator's time).\5\ Compliance with the collection of information 
requirements of the rule is necessary to obtain the benefit of relying 
on the rule's permission for funds to maintain their assets in foreign 
custodians.
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    \3\ This figure is an estimate of the number of new funds each 
year, based on data reported by funds in 2010 on Form N-1A and Form 
N-2. In practice, not all funds will use foreign custody managers, 
and the actual figure may be smaller.
    \4\ This estimate is based on staff research.
    \5\ The board hourly rate is based on fund industry 
representations. The $220/hour figure for a trust administrator is 
from SIFMA's Management & Professional Earnings in the Securities 
Industry 2010, modified to account for an 1,800-hour work-year and 
multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee 
benefits and overhead.
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    The estimate of average burden hours is made solely for the 
purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act. The estimate is not derived 
from a comprehensive or even a representative survey or study of the 
costs of Commission rules and forms.
    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information has practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of 
the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to 
comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 days of this 
publication.
    Please direct your written comments to Thomas Bayer, Chief 
Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O Remi 
Pavlik-Simon, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, VA 22312; or send an 
e-mail to: [email protected].

    Dated: March 15, 2011.
Cathy H. Ahn,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-6365 Filed 3-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P