Amendments to Class Prohibited Transaction Exemptions To Remove Credit Ratings Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Issuing agencies

Abstract

This document amends six class exemptions from prohibited transaction rules set forth in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). The amended exemptions are Prohibited Transaction Exemptions (PTEs) 75-1, 80-83, 81-8, 95-60, 97-41 and 2006-16. The amendments relate to the use of credit ratings as conditions in these class exemptions. Section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires the Department to remove any references to or requirements of reliance on credit ratings from its class exemptions and to substitute standards of creditworthiness as the Department determines to be appropriate. The amendments affect participants and beneficiaries of employee benefit plans, owners of individual retirement accounts (IRAs), fiduciaries of employee benefit plans and IRAs, and the financial institutions that engage in transactions with, or provide services or products to, the plans and IRAs.