Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Form N-17f-2

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 199 (Friday, October 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 199 (Friday, October 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65816-65817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21216]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[OMB Control No. 3235-0360]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Extension: Form N-17f-2

    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 extension of the proposed 
collection of information described below.
    Rule 17f-2 (17 CFR 270.17f-2), entitled ``Custody of Investments by 
Registered Management Investment Company,'' was adopted in 1940 under 
section 17(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-
17(f)) (the ``Act''), and was last amended materially in 1947. Rule 
17f-2 establishes safeguards for arrangements in which a registered 
management investment company (``fund'') is deemed to maintain custody 
of its own assets, such as when the fund maintains its assets in a 
facility that provides safekeeping but not custodial services.\1\
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    \1\ The rule generally requires all assets to be deposited in 
the safekeeping of a ``bank or other company whose functions and 
physical facilities are supervised by Federal or State authority.'' 
The fund's securities must be physically segregated at all times 
from the securities of any other person.
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    Form N-17f-2 (17 CFR 274.220) is entitled ``Certificate of 
Accounting of Securities and Similar Investments in the Custody of 
Management Investment Companies.'' Form N-17f-2 is the cover sheet for 
the accountant examination certificates prepared under rule 17f-2. Form 
N-17f-2 facilitates the filing process for accountant examination 
certificates. The form has a purely administrative purpose and does not 
require any additional information (beyond that required by rule 17f-2) 
to be collected. Form N-17f-2 increases the accessibility of the 
examination certificates to both Commission staff and interested 
investors by ensuring that the certificates are filed under the proper 
SEC file number and correct name of a fund.
    The rule includes several recordkeeping or reporting requirements. 
The fund's directors must prepare a resolution designating not

[[Page 65817]]

more than five fund officers or responsible employees who may have 
access to the fund's assets. The designated access persons (two or more 
of whom must act jointly when handling fund assets) must prepare a 
written notation providing certain information about each deposit or 
withdrawal of fund assets, and must transmit the notation to another 
officer or director designated by the directors. Independent public 
accountants must verify the fund's assets three times each year, and 
two of those examinations must be unscheduled.\2\
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    \2\ The accountant must transmit to the Commission promptly 
after each examination a certificate describing the examination on 
Form N-17f-2. The third (scheduled) examination may coincide with 
the annual verification required for every fund by section 30(g) of 
the Act (15 U.S.C. 80a29(g)).
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    We estimate that approximately 194 funds file Form N-17f-2 each 
year,\3\ and that it takes approximately 2 hours per response to 
prepare and file Form N-17f-2 with the Commission. Commission staff 
further estimates that on average each fund files Form N-17f-2 
approximately three times a year for a total annual hourly burden per 
fund of approximately 6 hours. Thus, the total annual burden for 
preparing and filing Form N-17f-2 is approximately 1,160 hours (an 
increase from the previously approved 990 hours). Commission staff 
estimates that it takes on average 1.25 hours of fund accountants at a 
cost of $243 per hour to prepare each Form N-17f-2 and 0.75 hours of 
clerical time at a cost of $125 per hour to file the form with the 
Commission for a total annual cost per fund of approximately $1,192.50. 
Therefore, we estimate the total cost of the hour burden for filing 
Form N-17f-2's collection of information requirements to be 
approximately $231,345.
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    \3\ On average, each year approximately 194 funds filed Form N-
17f-2 with the Commission during calendar years 2023-2025.
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    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: <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202608-3235-002">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202608-3235-002</a> or email comment to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1ece3f98feeece38feee8f3e08ff2e4e2fec5c4d2cafecec7c7c8c2c4d3e1ceccc38fc4ced18fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="baf7f8e294f5f7f894f5f3e8fb94e9fff9e5dedfc9d1e5d5dcdcd3d9dfc8fad5d7d894dfd5ca94ddd5cc">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> within 30 days of the day 
after publication of this notice, by November 16, 2026.

    Dated: October 14, 2026.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-21216 Filed 10-15-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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