2018-13574
Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 122 (Monday, June 25, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 122 (Monday, June 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29547-29549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13574]
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Intent To
Renew Collection 3038-0021, Regulations Governing Bankruptcies of
Commodity Brokers
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or
[[Page 29548]]
Commission) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the
proposed extension of the collection of certain information by the
agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Federal agencies are
required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension
of an existing collection, and to allow 60 days for public comment.
This notice solicits comments on the collection of information provided
for by the Commission's regulations governing bankruptcies of commodity
brokers.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 24, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OMB Control No. 3038-
0021, by any of the following methods:
CFTC Comments Portal: https://comments.cftc.gov. Select
the ``Submit Comments'' link for this matter and follow the
instructions on the Public Comment Form.
Mail: Send to Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the
Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Follow the same instructions as for
Mail, above.
Please submit your comments using only one of these methods. To
avoid possible delays with mail or in-person deliveries, submissions
through the CFTC Comments Portal are encouraged. All comments must be
submitted in English or, if not, accompanied by an English translation.
Comments will be posted as received to https://comments.cftc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jocelyn Partridge, Special Counsel,
Division of Clearing and Risk, Commodity Futures Trading Commission,
(202) 418-5926; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, Federal agencies must obtain
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each
collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of
Information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3 and
includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB
control number. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A), requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in
the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with
this requirement, the CFTC is publishing notice of the proposed
extension of the collection of information listed below.
Title: Regulations Governing Bankruptcies of Commodity Brokers (OMB
Control No. 3038-0021). This is a request for an extension of a
currently approved information collection.\1\
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\1\ There are two information collections now associated with
OMB Control No. 3038-0021. The first includes the reporting,
recordkeeping, and third party disclosure requirements applicable to
a single respondent in a commodity broker liquidation (e.g., a
single commodity broker or a single trustee) within the relevant
time period provided for in Commission regulations 190.02(a)(1),
190.02(a)(2), 190.02(b)(1), 190.02(b)(2), 190.02(b)(4), 190.02(c),
190.03(a)(1), 190.03(a)(2), 190.04(b) and 190.06(b). The second
information collection includes third party disclosure requirements
that are applicable on a regular basis to multiple respondents
(i.e., multiple futures commission merchants) provided for in
Commission regulations 190.06(d) and 190.10(c).
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Abstract: This collection of information involves the reporting,
recordkeeping, and third party disclosure requirements set forth in the
CFTC's bankruptcy regulations for commodity broker liquidations, 17 CFR
part 190.\2\ These regulations apply to commodity broker liquidations
under Chapter 7, Subchapter IV of the Bankruptcy Code.\3\
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\2\ These include the requirements contained in Commission
regulations 190.02(a)(1), 190.02(a)(2), 190.02(b)(1), 190.02(b)(2),
190.02(b)(4), 190.02(c), 190.03(a)(1), 190.03(a)(2), 190.04(b), and
190.06(b).
\3\ 11 U.S.C. 761 et seq.
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The reporting requirements include, for example, notices to the
Commission regarding the filing of petitions for bankruptcy and notices
to the Commission regarding the intention to transfer open commodity
contracts in a commodity broker liquidation. The recordkeeping
requirements include, for example, the statements of customer accounts
that a trustee appointed for the purposes of a commodity broker
liquidation (Trustee) must generate and adjust as set forth in the
regulations. The third party disclosure requirements include, for
example, the disclosure statement that a commodity broker must provide
to its customers containing information regarding the manner in which
customer property is treated under part 190 of the Commission's
regulations in the event of a bankruptcy and, in the event of a
commodity broker liquidation, certain notices that a Trustee must
provide to customers and to the persons to whom commodity contracts and
specifically identifiable customer property have been or will be
transferred. The information collection requirements are necessary, and
will be used, to facilitate the effective, efficient, and fair conduct
of liquidation proceedings for commodity brokers and to protect the
interests of customers in these proceedings both directly and by
facilitating the participation of the CFTC in such proceedings.
With respect to the collections of information, the CFTC invites
comments on:
Whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the information will have a practical
use;
The accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and
Ways to 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.
You should submit only information that you wish to make available
publicly. If you wish the Commission to consider information that you
believe is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA), a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt information
may be submitted according to the procedures established in Sec. 145.9
of the Commission's regulations.\4\ The Commission reserves the right,
but shall have no obligation, to review, pre-screen, filter, redact,
refuse or remove any or all of your submission from https://comments.cftc.gov that it may deem to be inappropriate for publication,
such as obscene language. All submissions that have been redacted or
removed that contain comments on the merits of the information
collection requirements will be retained in the public comment file and
will be considered as required under the Administrative Procedure Act
and other applicable laws, and may be accessible under the FOIA.
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\4\ 17 CFR 145.9.
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Burden Statement: The Commission notes that commodity broker
liquidations occur at unpredictable and irregular intervals when
particular commodity brokers become insolvent. While a commodity broker
liquidation has not occurred in the past three years, the Commission
took the conservative approach of maintaining the assumption
[[Page 29549]]
contained in the previous renewal of this information collection that,
on average, a commodity broker liquidation would occur every three
years. The Commission generally has retained the burden hour estimates
set forth in the previous information collection as there have been no
interim experiences nor are there currently apparent circumstances that
would warrant altering those estimates.\5\ The Commission further
notes, however, that the information collection burden will vary in
particular commodity broker liquidations depending on the size of the
commodity broker, the extent to which accounts are able to be quickly
transferred, and other factors specific to the circumstances of the
liquidation.
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\5\ The Commission has retained the burden hour estimates for
each of the applicable regulations except that the Commission no
longer assigns burden hours to the discretionary notice that a
Trustee may provide to customers in an involuntary commodity broker
liquidation pursuant to Commission regulation 190.02(b)(3). There
have been no involuntary commodity broker liquidations and none are
anticipated. Accordingly, continuing to assign burden hours to this
voluntary requirement would inappropriately inflate the burden hours
of this information collection.
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The respondent burden for this information collection is estimated
to be as follows: \6\
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\6\ Because a commodity broker liquidation is estimated to occur
only once every three years, the previous information collection
expressed the burden of the reporting, recordkeeping, and third
party disclosure requirements in terms of the burden applicable to
``.33'' respondents in many cases. For clarity, this notice
expresses such burdens in terms of those that would be imposed on
one respondent during the three year period. While the applicable
burden is expressed in a different way, as noted above, the burden
hours generally remain unchanged.
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Reporting: \7\
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\7\ The reporting requirements are contained in Commission
regulations 190.02(a)(1), 190.02(a)(2), and 190.06(b).
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Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.33.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 1.33.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 1.33.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1.33.
Type of Respondents: Commodity brokers, Trustees, and self-
regulatory organizations.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Recordkeeping: \8\
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\8\ The recordkeeping requirements are contained in Commission
regulations 190.03(a)(1), 190.03(a)(2), and 190.04(b).
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Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 26,666.67.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 26,666.67.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 333.33.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 333.33.
Type of Respondents: Trustees.
Frequency of Collection: Daily and on occasion.
Third Party Disclosures Applicable to a Single Respondent: \9\
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\9\ These third party disclosure requirements are contained in
Commission regulations 190.02(b)(1), 190.02(b)(2), 190.02(b)(4), and
190.02(c).
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Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 6,671.32.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 6,671.32.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 1,034.63.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,034.63.
Type of Respondents: Trustees.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Third Party Disclosures Applicable to a Multiple Respondents: \10\
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\10\ See fn. 1. The Commission is setting forth a new
information collection under OMB Control No. 3038-0021 to separately
account for third party disclosure requirements provided for in
Commission regulations 190.06(d) and 190.06(c) that are applicable
on a regular basis to multiple respondents (i.e., multiple futures
commission merchants).
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Estimated Number of Respondents: 125.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 2,000.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 250,000.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 100.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,500.
Type of Respondents: Futures commission merchants.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
There are no new capital or start-up or operations costs associated
with this information collection, nor are there any maintenance costs
associated with this information collection.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Dated: June 20, 2018.
Christopher Kirkpatrick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-13574 Filed 6-22-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P