[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2739-2740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00453]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Request for Comment; Uniform Interagency Transfer Agent 
Registration and Deregistration Forms

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal 
agencies to comment on a continuing information collection as required 
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). An agency may not conduct 
or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, an 
information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting 
comment on the renewal of its collection titled ``Uniform Interagency 
Transfer Agent Registration and Deregistration Forms.''

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if 
possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment 
Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-
0124, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, 
Washington, DC 20219.
     Fax: (571) 465-4326.
    Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and 
``1557-0124'' in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish 
comments on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or 
personal information provided, such as name and address information, 
email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including 
attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public 
record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information 
in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential 
or inappropriate for public disclosure.
    You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to 
this information collection beginning on the

[[Page 2740]]

date of publication of the second notice for this collection \1\ by the 
following method:
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    \1\ Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, 
the OCC will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period.
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     Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. 
Click on the ``Information Collection Review'' tab. Underneath the 
``Currently under Review'' section heading, from the drop-down menu 
select ``Department of Treasury'' and then click ``submit.'' This 
information collection can be located by searching by OMB control 
number ``1557-0124'' or ``Uniform Interagency Transfer Agent 
Registration and Deregistration Forms.'' Upon finding the appropriate 
information collection, click on the related ``ICR Reference Number.'' 
On the next screen, select ``View Supporting Statement and Other 
Documents'' and then click on the link to any comment listed at the 
bottom of the screen.
     For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please 
contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482-7340.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance 
Officer, 202-649-5490, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
agencies must obtain approval from the OMB for each collection of 
information that they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' 
is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency 
requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, 
keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day 
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of 
information, including each proposed extension or revision of an 
existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to 
OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the OCC is 
publishing notice of the revision of the collection of information set 
forth in this document.
    Report Title: Uniform Interagency Transfer Agent Registration and 
Deregistration Forms.
    Form Numbers: Form TA-1 & TA-W.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Affected Public: National banks and their subsidiaries, Federal 
savings associations and their subsidiaries.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0124.

Form TA-1

    Estimated Number of Respondents: Registrations: 1; Amendments: 10.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: Registrations: 1.25 hours; 
Amendments: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 3 hours.

Form TA-W

    Estimated Number of Respondents: Deregistrations: 2.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: Deregistrations: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1 hour.
    Section 17A(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Act) 
requires all transfer agents for qualifying securities registered under 
section 12 of the Act, as well as for securities that would be required 
to be registered except for the exemption from registration provided by 
section 12(g)(2)(B) or section 12(g)(2)(G), to file with the 
appropriate regulatory agency an application for registration in such 
form and containing such information and documents as such appropriate 
regulatory agency may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of this section.\2\ In general, an entity 
performing transfer agent functions for a qualifying security is 
required to register with its appropriate regulatory agency (``ARA''). 
The OCC's regulations at 12 CFR 9.20 implement these provisions of the 
Act.
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    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(c).
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    To accomplish the registration of transfer agents, Form TA-1 was 
developed in 1975 as an interagency effort by the Securities and 
Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal banking agencies (the OCC, 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation). The agencies primarily use the data 
collected on Form TA-1 to determine whether an application for 
registration should be approved, denied, accelerated, or postponed, and 
they use the data in connection with their supervisory 
responsibilities. In addition, when a national bank or Federal savings 
association no longer acts as a transfer agent for covered corporate 
securities or when the national bank or Federal savings association is 
no longer supervised by the OCC, i.e., liquidates or converts to 
another form of financial institution, the national bank or Federal 
savings association must file Form TA-W with the OCC, requesting 
withdrawal from registration as a transfer agent.
    Forms TA-1 and TA-W are mandatory and their collection is 
authorized by sections 17A(c), 17(a)(3), and 23(a)(1) of the Act, as 
amended (15 U.S.C. 78q-1(c), 78q(a)(3), and 78w(a)(1)). Additionally, 
section 3(a)(34)(B)(i) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(34)(B)(i)) provides 
that the OCC is the ARA in the case of a national banks and Federal 
savings associations and subsidiaries of such institutions. The 
registrations are public filings and are not considered confidential.
    The OCC needs the information contained in this collection to 
fulfill its statutory responsibilities. Section 17A(c)(2) of the Act 
(15 U.S.C. 78q-1(c)(2)), as amended, provides that all those authorized 
to transfer securities registered under section 12 of the Act (transfer 
agents) shall register by filing with the appropriate regulatory agency 
an application for registration in such form and containing such 
information and documents as such appropriate regulatory agency may 
prescribe to be necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes 
of this section.

Request for Comment

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and included in the submission to OMB. Comments are requested on:
    (a) Whether the information collections are necessary for the 
proper performance of the OCC's functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimates of the burden of the 
information collections, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (d) Ways to minimize the burden of information collections on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    (e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

Bao Nguyen,
Principal Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency.
[FR Doc. 2021-00453 Filed 1-12-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P