Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17a-22

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 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or “Commission”) is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) this request for an extension of the proposed collection of information. Rule 17a-22 requires all registered clearing agencies to prominently post on their internet websites all supplementary materials they issue or make generally available to their participants or other entities with whom they have a significant relationship. The supplementary materials must be posted within two days after they are issued or made generally available. When the Commission is not the clearing agency's appropriate regulatory agency, the clearing agency must file one copy of the material with its appropriate regulatory agency.

The Commission is responsible for overseeing clearing agencies and uses the information posted pursuant to Rule 17a-22 to determine whether a clearing agency is implementing procedural or policy changes. The information aides the Commission in determining whether such changes are consistent with the purposes of Section 17A of the Exchange Act. Also, the Commission uses the information to determine whether a clearing agency has changed its rules without reporting the actual or prospective change to the Commission as required under Section 19(b) of the Exchange Act.

The respondents to Rule 17a-22 are registered clearing agencies. The frequency of postings made by clearing agencies pursuant to Rule 17a-22 varies but on average there are approximately 120 postings per year per active clearing agency. There are nine clearing agencies, but only seven active registered clearing agencies that are expected to make postings pursuant to Rule 17a-22. The Commission staff estimates that each response requires approximately .25 hours (fifteen minutes), which represents the time it takes for a staff person at the clearing agency to properly identify a document subject to the rule and post the material prominently on the clearing agency's internet website. Thus, the total annual burden for all active clearing agencies is approximately 210 hours (7 clearing agencies multiplied by 120 filings per clearing agency multiplied by .25 hours).

The required Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published. The Commission received one comment letter which was unrelated to the collection of information. The comment objects to the extension of 17Ad-22 because “current collection methods lack `practical utility' and actively facilitate transnational securities fraud by allowing clearing agencies to operate within transparency blackouts.” The letter, however, does not explain how the collection of information lacks practical utility or facilitates transnational securities fraud. Rather, Rule 17a-22 requires registered clearing agencies to post on their websites all supplementary material that they issue or make available to their participants, such as material that supplements a proposed rule changes filed pursuant to Section 19 of the Exchange Act and Rule 19b-4 thereunder. The collection of information helps improve transparency related to information supplementary to proposed rule changes or other information provided by registered clearing agencies to their participants. The objections in the comment later relate to private data, data collected or used by federal agencies other than the Commission, or general matters not relevant to clearing agencies.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

The public may view and comment on this information collection request at: https://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAViewICR?​ref_​nbr=​202603-3235-015 or email comment to MBX.OMB.OIRA.SEC_desk_officer@omb.eop.gov within 30 days of the day after publication of this notice, by June 29, 2026.