80 FR 8689 - Notice of Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Individual Exemption involving Credit Suisse AG (hereinafter, Credit Suisse AG)

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 32 (February 18, 2015)

Notice is hereby given that the Department of Labor (the Department) is extending the date by which comments may be submitted in connection with a proposed individual exemption published on November 18, 2014, at 79 FR 68712, involving ``qualified professional asset managers'' that are affiliated with, or related to, Credit Suisse AG. Comments on the proposed exemption may now be submitted to the Department on or before March 2, 2015.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8689-8690]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03014]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration

[Application No. D-11837]


Notice of Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Individual 
Exemption involving Credit Suisse AG (hereinafter, Credit Suisse AG)

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

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Department of Labor (the 
Department) is extending the date by which comments may be submitted in 
connection with a proposed individual exemption published on November 
18, 2014, at 79 FR 68712, involving ``qualified professional asset 
managers'' that are affiliated with, or related to, Credit Suisse AG. 
Comments on the proposed exemption may now be submitted to the 
Department on or before March 2, 2015.

ADDRESSES: All written supplemental information should be directed to 
the Office of Exemption Determinations, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration, Room N-5700, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, Attention: Application No. D-11837. 
Any such submission must be received on or before March 2, 2015. The 
application regarding the proposed exemption and the comments received 
(and prior hearing requests) will be available for public inspection in 
the Public Disclosure Room of the Employee Benefits Security 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-1515, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. Comments (and prior hearing requests) 
will also be made available online through http://www.regulations.gov 
and www.dol.gov/ebsa at no charge.

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 (the First Proposed Exemption) for 
certain affiliates of Credit Suisse AG and for certain other entities 
in which Credit Suisse AG owns a 5% or more interest 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 requests for a public hearing.
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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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    Following publication of the First Proposed Exemption, and in 
connection therewith, the Department received several requests for a 
public hearing. To ensure that both: (1) Plans with assets managed by 
qualified professional asset managers that are affiliated with or 
related to Credit Suisse did not incur sudden losses to the extent such 
managers could no longer rely on the relief set forth in PTE 84-14 as 
of the scheduled date of the conviction (November 21, 2014); and (2) 
comments on the proposed exemption were properly heard and addressed; 
the Department issued, on November 18, 2014: (A) A final temporary 
conditional exemption regarding the First Proposed Exemption at 79 FR 
68716; (B) a new proposed conditional exemption (the Second Proposed 
Exemption) at 79 FR 68712, that, if granted, would allow Credit Suisse 
AG affiliated and related QPAMs to rely on PTE 84-14 on a permanent 
basis; and (C) a notice of hearing regarding the Second Proposed 
Exemption, at 79 FR 68711.
    A public hearing regarding the Second Proposed Exemption was 
subsequently held in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2015. At the 
hearing, the Department informed commenters that the record for the 
Second Proposed Exemption would be kept open until January 26, 2015.
    The Department now believes that commenters may need additional 
time to review the hearing transcript prior to supplementing the record 
for the Second Proposed Exemption. The transcript is now available 
online through http://www.regulations.gov and www.dol.gov/ebsa. The 
transcript is also available through the Public Disclosure Room of the 
Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 
Room N-1515, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210.
    Supplemental information submitted in connection with the Second 
Proposed Exemption must be received by the Department on or before 
March 2, 2015.
    Warning: All comments received will be included in the public 
record without change and will be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov and www.dol.gov/ebsa. The Department will endeavor 
to redact certain protected personal information, but it is possible 
that some such information may be disclosed. Therefore, if you submit a 
comment, the Department recommends that you include your name and other 
contact information in the body of your comment, but DO NOT submit 
information that you consider to be confidential, or otherwise 
protected (such as Social Security number or an unlisted phone number) 
or confidential business information that you do not want publicly 
disclosed. Furthermore, if the Department cannot read your comment due 
to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, 
EBSA might not be able to consider your comment. Additionally, the 
http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means the Department will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you complete the applicable fields or provide it in 
the body of your comment. If you send an email directly to the 
Department without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public record and made available on the 
Internet.


[[Page 8690]]


    Signed at Washington, DC, this 9th day of February, 2015.
Lyssa Hall,
Director of Exemption Determinations, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2015-03014 Filed 2-17-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P