[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 222 (Tuesday, November 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68711-68712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27174]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration

[Application No. D-11819]


Notice of Hearing on Proposed Individual Exemption Involving 
Credit Suisse AG (Hereinafter, Either Credit Suisse AG or the 
Applicant)

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor.

ACTION: Notice of Hearing.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Department of Labor (the 
Department) will hold a hearing on January 15, 2015, relating to a 
proposed individual exemption from certain prohibited transaction 
restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as 
amended (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the 
Code) that, if granted, would affect the ability of certain entities 
related to Credit Suisse AG to continue to rely upon the relief 
provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 84-14. A 
notice of pendency of the proposed exemption was published in the 
Federal Register at 79 FR 52365 (September 3, 2014).

DATES: The hearing will be held on January 15, 2015, beginning at 10:00 
a.m., EST.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at the U.S. Department of Labor, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, in Room C5320.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin S. Hesse, Office of Exemption 
Determinations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, telephone (202) 693-8546 (this is not a toll-free 
number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 3, 2014, the Department 
published in the Federal Register, at 79 FR 52365, a notice of pendency 
of a proposed individual exemption that, if granted, would permit: 
Certain affiliates of Credit Suisse AG (the Credit Suisse Affiliated 
Entities); and certain entities in which Credit Suisse AG owns a 5% or 
more interest (the Credit Suisse Related Entities), to continue to rely 
on the relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 
84-14,\1\ notwithstanding a judgment of conviction against Credit 
Suisse AG for one count of conspiracy to violate section 7206(2) of the 
Internal Revenue Code in violation of Title 18, United States Code, 
Section 371, to be entered in the District Court for the Eastern 
District of Virginia in Case Number 1:14-cr-188-RBS. In that notice, 
the Department invited interested persons to submit written comments 
and any requests for a public hearing on the proposed exemption.
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    \1\ 49 FR 9494 (March 13, 1984), as corrected at 50 FR 41430 
(October 10, 1985), as amended at 70 FR 49305 (August 23, 2005), and 
as amended at 75 FR 38837 (July 6, 2010).
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    In response to the notice, the Department received several comments 
that expressed concern about the merits of the proposed exemption, 
including: whether the proposed exemption was in the interest of 
employee benefit plans and their participants and beneficiaries; and 
whether the safeguards in the proposed exemption are adequate to 
protect the rights of participants and beneficiaries of such employee 
benefit plans. The submissions received by the Department are available 
for public inspection in the Public Disclosure Room of the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of

[[Page 68712]]

Labor, Room N-1515, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210.
    After considering the comments, the Department has decided to hold 
a hearing regarding whether the Credit Suisse Affiliated Entities and 
the Credit Suisse Related Entities may prospectively rely on PTE 84-14 
on a permanent, conditional basis. The hearing will be held on January 
15, 2015, beginning at 10:00 a.m., EST, in Room C5320 at the Department 
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210.
    Any interested person who wishes to be assured of an opportunity to 
present oral comments at the hearing should submit by December 29, 
2014: (1) A written request to be heard; and (2) Five copies of an 
outline of the topics to be discussed. The topics to be discussed 
should address the effect that the proposed exemption, if granted, will 
have on employee benefit plans; including whether the proposed 
exemption is in the interest of plans and of their participants and 
beneficiaries, and whether the safeguards in the proposed exemption are 
adequate to protect the rights of participants and beneficiaries of 
such plans.
    Presenters at the hearing should be aware that the Department is 
particularly interested in factual evidence that will enable the 
Department to determine whether the proposed exemption is in the 
interest of, and protective of, employee benefit plans and IRAs.
    The request to be heard and accompanying outline should be sent to: 
Office of Exemption Determinations, Room N-5700, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, ``Attention: Application No. D-11819, 
Credit Suisse AG Exemption Hearing.'' Copies of your mailed submission 
may also be sent by electronic mail to [email protected] or by FAX 
to (202) 219-0204 by the end of the scheduled submission period. The 
notice of hearing, the proposed exemption, and any submissions received 
in respect of either will be available for public inspection in the 
Public Documents Room of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-1515, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Comments, hearing requests, and other submissions 
will also be available online at www.regulations.gov, at no charge.
    Warning: If you submit a written request to be heard, do not 
include any personally identifiable information (such as name, address, 
or other contact information) or confidential business information that 
you do not want publicly disclosed. All hearing requests may be posted 
on the Internet and can be retrieved by most Internet search engines.
    The Department will prepare an agenda indicating the order of 
presentation of oral comments. The Department reserves the right to 
restrict the agenda to those commenters whose outlines contain 
information that is within the scope of the topics to be discussed at 
the hearing. In the absence of special circumstances, each commenter 
will be allotted ten minutes in which to complete his or her 
presentation. Information about the agenda may be obtained on or after 
January 8, 2015, by contacting Mr. Erin Hesse, Office of Exemption 
Determinations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, telephone (202) 693-8546 (this is not a toll-free 
phone number). Those individuals who make oral comments at the hearing 
should be prepared to answer questions regarding their comments. The 
hearing will be transcribed.

Notice to Interested Persons

    Within fifteen (15) calendar days of publication of the Notice of 
Public Hearing (the Notice) in the Federal Register, Credit Suisse AG 
shall provide notice to all interested persons in the manner agreed 
upon by the Applicant and the Department. Such notification will 
contain a copy of this Notice, as published in the Federal Register, 
and a copy of the notice of proposed exemption for Credit Suisse AG, as 
published in the Federal Register at 79 FR 52365 on September 3, 2014.

Notice of Public Hearing

    Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held on 
January 15, 2015, regarding a proposed exemption from certain 
prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974, as amended, and from certain taxes imposed by the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for transactions involving 
certain affiliates of Credit Suisse AG and entities in which Credit 
Suisse AG owns a 5% or more interest but which are not themselves 
affiliates.
    The hearing will be held, beginning at 10:00 a.m., EST, in Room C-
5320 at the Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 12th day of November, 2014.
Lyssa Hall,
Director of Exemption Determinations, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2014-27174 Filed 11-17-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P