[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 101 (Friday, May 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31582-31583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12369]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Statutory Exemption for Cross-Trading of 
Securities

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) titled, ``Statutory Exemption for Cross-
Trading of Securities,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval for continued use without change in accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).

DATES: Submit comments on or before June 24, 2013.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely

[[Page 31583]]

respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden 
may be obtained free of charge from the RegInfo.gov Web site, http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, on the day following publication of 
this notice or by contacting Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 
(this is not a toll-free number) or sending an email to [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-EBSA, Office of 
Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 
20503, Fax: 202-395-6881 (this is not a toll-free number), email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 
202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at [email protected].

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Regulation on Statutory Exemption for 
Cross-Trading of Securities, 29 CFR 2550.408b-19, implements the 
content requirements for written cross-trading policies and procedures 
required under Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) 
section 408(b)(19)(H). ERISA section 408(b)(19) exempts cross-trading 
transactions involving the purchase and sale of a security between an 
account holding assets of a pension plan and any other account managed 
by the same investment manager from ERISA sections 406(a)(1)(A) and 
406(b)(2) prohibitions, provided that certain conditions are satisfied.
    Regulations 29 CFR 2550.408b-19 provides that policies and 
procedures for cross-trading under the statutory exemption must: (1) Be 
written in a manner calculated to be understood by the plan fiduciary 
authorizing cross-trading, (2) be sufficiently detailed to facilitate a 
periodic review of all cross-trades by a compliance officer designated 
by the investment manager and a determination by the compliance officer 
that the cross-trades comply with the investment manager's written 
cross-trading policies and procedures, and (3) include, at a minimum: 
(A) A statement of general policy describing the criteria that will be 
applied by the investment manager in determining whether execution of a 
securities transaction as a cross-trade will be beneficial to both 
parties to the transaction; (B) a description of how the investment 
manager will determine the price at which the securities are cross-
traded, in a manner that is consistent with 17 CFR 270.17a-7(b) and 
Securities and Exchange Commission interpretations thereunder, 
including the identity of sources used to establish the price; (C) a 
description of how the investment manager's policies and procedures 
will mitigate any potentially conflicting division of loyalties and 
responsibilities to the parties involved in any cross-trade 
transaction; (D) a requirement that the investment manager allocate 
cross-trades among accounts participating in the cross-trading program 
in an objective and equitable manner and a description of the policies 
and procedures that will be used; (E) the identity of the compliance 
officer responsible for reviewing the investment manager's compliance 
with ERISA section 408(b)(19) and its written cross-trading policies 
and procedures and the compliance officer's qualifications for this 
position; (F) the steps to be performed by the compliance officer 
during its periodic review of the investment manager's purchases and 
sales of securities to ensure compliance with the written cross-trading 
policies and procedures; and (G) a description of the procedures by 
which the compliance officer will determine whether the requirements of 
section ERISA section 408(b)(19) are met.
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that 
does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 
1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection 
under Control Number 1210-0130. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be 
for more than three (3) years without renewal, and the current approval 
for this collection is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2013. The DOL 
seeks OMB to extend PRA authorization for this information collection 
for three (3) more years without any change to existing requirements. 
It should be noted that existing information collection requirements 
submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they 
undergo review. For additional information, see the related notice 
published in the Federal Register on November 27, 2012 (77 FR 70828).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within 30 days of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1210-0130. 
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed 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., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title of Collection: Statutory Exemption for Cross-Trading of 
Securities.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0130.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits 
and not-for-profit institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 315.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 2,834.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 3,290.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $14,000.

    Dated: May 15, 2013.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-12369 Filed 5-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P