[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 249 (Friday, December 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 90222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28785]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-420, OMB Control No. 3235-0479]


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 15c2-
7

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 
20549-2736.

    Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (``PRA'') (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') has submitted to the Office of Management 
and Budget (``OMB'') a request for approval of extension of the 
previously approved collection of information provided for in Rule 
15c2-7 (17 CFR 240.15c2-7) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.).
    Rule 15c2-7 places disclosure requirements on broker-dealers who 
have correspondent relationships, or agreements identified in the Rule, 
with other broker-dealers. Whenever any such broker-dealer enters a 
quotation for a security through an inter-dealer quotation system, Rule 
15c2-7 requires the broker-dealer to disclose these relationships and 
agreements in the manner required by the Rule. The inter-dealer 
quotation system must also be able to make these disclosures public in 
association with the quotation the broker-dealer is making.
    When Rule 15c2-7 was adopted in 1964, the information it requires 
was necessary for execution of the Commission's mandate under the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prevent fraudulent, manipulative, 
and deceptive acts by broker-dealers. In the absence of the information 
collection required under Rule 15c2-7, investors and broker-dealers 
would have been unable to accurately determine the market depth of, and 
demand for, securities in an inter-dealer quotation system.
    There are approximately 3,493 broker-dealers registered with the 
Commission. Any of these broker-dealers could be potential respondents 
for Rule 15c2-7, so the Commission is using that number as the number 
of respondents. Rule 15c2-7 applies only to quotations entered into an 
inter-dealer quotation system, such as OTC Link, operated by OTC 
Markets Group Inc. (``OTC Link''). According to a representative of OTC 
Link, it has not received any Rule 15c2-7 notices since the previous 
PRA extension for Rule 15c2-7 in 2020; nor does OTC Link anticipate 
receiving any Rule 15c2-7 notices. However, because such notices could 
be made, the Commission estimates that one filing is made annually 
pursuant to Rule 15c2-7.
    Based on prior industry reports, the Commission estimates that the 
average time required to enter a disclosure pursuant to the Rule is .75 
minutes, or 45 seconds. The Commission sees no reason to change this 
estimate. We estimate that impacted respondents spend a total of .0125 
hours per year to comply with the requirements of Rule 15c2-7 (1 notice 
(x) 45 seconds/notice).
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information under the PRA unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    The public may view background documentation for this information 
collection at the following website: www.reginfo.gov. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent by January 29, 2024 to (i) www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain and (ii) David Bottom, Director/Chief Information 
Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o John Pezzullo, 100 F 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an email to: 
[email protected].

    Dated: December 26, 2023.
Christina Z. Milnor,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-28785 Filed 12-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P