[Federal Register: December 10, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 237)]
[Notices]
[Page 75889-75893]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10de02-61]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-46942; File No. SR-NASD-99-60]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing of Amendment Nos.
3 and 4 to a Proposed Rule Change by the National Association of
Securities Dealers, Inc. Regarding Restrictions on the Purchase and
Sale of Initial Public Offerings of Equity Securities
December 4, 2002.
On October 15, 1999, the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc. (``NASD'') filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (``Commission'' or ``SEC''), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4
thereunder,\2\ a proposed rule change that would govern trading in
``hot equity'' offerings. The proposed rule, NASD Rule 2790, would
revise and replace NASD IM-2110-1, known as the Free-Riding and
Withholding Interpretation. On December 21, 1999, the NASD submitted
Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule change.\3\ The proposed rule
change and Amendment No. 1 were published for comment in the Federal
Register on January 18, 2000.\4\ On October 11, 2000, the NASD
submitted Amendment No. 2 to the proposal \5\ which, among other
things, changed the subject of the proposed rule from ``hot issues'' to
``new issues.'' Amendment No. 2 was published for comment in the
Federal Register on December 6, 2000.\6\ The NASD submitted Amendment
No. 3 to the proposal on March 20, 2001,\7\ and Amendment No. 4 to the
proposal on
[[Page 75890]]
June 27, 2002.\8\ The Commission is publishing this notice of Amendment
Nos. 3 and 4 to solicit comments on proposed rule change, as amended,
from interested persons.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\3\ See Letter from Gary L. Goldsholle, NASD, to Katherine A.
England, Division of Market Regulation, SEC, dated December 20, 1999
(``Amendment No. 1''). In Amendment No. 1, the NASD made certain
technical amendments to the proposed rule change.
\4\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 42325 (January 10,
2000), 65 FR 2656 (``Original Notice'').
\5\ See Letter from Alden S. Adkins, NASD, to Katherine A.
England, Division of Market Regulation, SEC, dated October 10, 2000
(``Amendment No. 2'').
\6\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 43627 (November 28,
2000), 65 FR 76316 (``Amendment No. 2 Notice'').
\7\ See Letter from Patrice M. Gliniecki, NASD, to Katherine A.
England, Division of Market Regulation, SEC, dated March 20, 2001
(``Amendment No. 3'').
\8\ See Letter from Gary L. Goldshalle, NASD, to Katherine A.
England, Division of Market Regulation, SEC, dated June 27, 2002
(``Amendment No. 4'').
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The NASD has proposed to establish new NASD Rule 2790, Restrictions
on the Purchase and Sale of Initial Equity Public Offerings, which
would replace NASD IM-2110-1, the Free-Riding and Withholding
Interpretation. Consolidated changes made to the proposed rule text as
a result of Amendment Nos. 3 and 4 are shown below. The base text is
that proposed in Amendment No. 2. Text added by Amendment Nos. 3 and 4
is underlined; deleted text is in brackets.
* * * * *
Rule 2790. Restrictions on the Purchase and Sale of Initial Equity
Public Offerings
(a) General Prohibitions
(1) A member or a person associated with a member may not sell, or
cause to be sold, a new issue to any account in which a restricted
person has a beneficial interest, except as otherwise permitted herein.
(2) A member or a person associated with a member may not purchase
a new issue in any account in which such member or person associated
with a member has a beneficial interest, except as otherwise permitted
herein.
(3) A member may not continue to hold new issues acquired by the
member as an underwriter, selling group member, or otherwise, except as
otherwise permitted herein.
(4) Nothing in this paragraph (a) shall prohibit:
(A) sales or purchases from one member of the selling group to
another member of the selling group that are incidental to the
distribution of a new issue to a non-restricted person at the public
offering price; or
(B) sales or purchases by a broker/dealer of a new issue at the
public offering price as part of an accommodation to a non-restricted
person customer of the broker/dealer.
(b) Preconditions for Sale
Before selling a new issue to any account, a member must in good
faith have obtained within the twelve months prior to such sale, a
representation from:
(1) Beneficial Owners
The account holder(s), or a person authorized to represent the
beneficial owners of the account, that the account is eligible to
purchase new issues in compliance with this rule; or
(2) Conduits
A bank, foreign bank, broker/dealer, or investment adviser, or
other conduit that all purchases of new issues are in compliance with
this rule.
A member may not rely upon any representation that it believes, or
has reason to believe, is inaccurate. A member shall maintain a copy of
all records and information relating to whether an account is eligible
to purchase new issues in its files for at least three years following
the member's last sale of a new issue to that account.
(c) General Exemptions
The general prohibitions in paragraph (a) of this rule shall not
apply to sales to and purchases by the following accounts or persons,
whether directly or through accounts in which such persons have a
beneficial interest:
(1) An investment company registered under the Investment Company
Act of 1940;
(2) A common trust fund or similar fund as described in Section
3(a)(12)(A)(iii) of the Act, provided that:
(A) The fund has investments from 1,000 or more [trust] accounts;
and
(B) The fund does not limit beneficial interests in the fund
principally to trust accounts of restricted persons;
(3) An insurance company general, separate or investment account,
provided that:
(A) The account has investments from 1,000 or more policyholders;
and
(B) The insurance company does not limit beneficial interests in
the account principally to restricted persons;
(4) An account or joint back office broker/dealer (``JBO'') if the
beneficial interests of restricted persons do not exceed in the
aggregate 10% of such account or JBO [that is beneficially owned in
part by restricted persons, provided that such restricted persons in
the aggregate own less than 5% of such account, and that:
(A) each such restricted person does not manage or otherwise direct
investments in the account; and
(B) on a pro rata basis, each such restricted person who is a
natural person receives less than 100 shares of any new issue];
(5) A publicly traded entity (other than a broker/dealer [) that
]or an affiliate of a broker/dealer where such broker/dealer is
authorized to engage in the public offering of new issues either as a
selling group member or underwriter) that:
(A) Is listed on a national securities exchange; [or]
(B) Is traded on the Nasdaq National Market; or
(C) Is a foreign issuer whose securities meet the quantitative
designation criteria for listing on a national securities exchange or
trading on the Nasdaq National Market; [, provided that the gains or
losses from new issues are passed on directly or indirectly to public
shareholders;]
(6) An investment company organized under the laws of a foreign
jurisdiction, provided that:
(A) The investment company is listed on a foreign exchange or
authorized for sale to the public by a foreign regulatory authority;
and
(B) No person owning more than 5% of the shares of the investment
company is a restricted person;
(7) An Employee Retirement Income Security Act benefits plan that
is qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code,
provided that such plan is not sponsored solely by a broker/dealer;
(8) A state or municipal government benefits plan that is subject
to state and/or municipal regulation; [or]
(9) A tax exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code[.]; or
(10) A church plan under Section 414(e) of the Internal Revenue
Code.
(d) Issuer-Directed Securities
The prohibitions on the purchase and sale of new issues in this
rule shall not apply to securities that:
(1) Are specifically directed by the issuer to persons that are
restricted under the rule; provided, however, that [this exemption
shall not apply to] securities directed by [the issuer to ]an issuer
may not be sold to or purchased by an account in which any restricted
person specified in subparagraphs [(i)(10)(B) or (i)(10)(C)](i)(11)(B)
or (i)(11)(C) of this rule has a beneficial interest, unless such
person, or a member of his or her immediate family, is an employee or
director of the issuer, the issuer's parent, or a subsidiary of the
issuer or the issuer's parent. Also, for purposes of this
[sub]paragraph (d)(1) only, a parent/subsidiary relationship is
established if the parent has the right to vote 50% or more of a class
of voting security of the subsidiary, or has the power to sell or
direct 50% or more of a class of voting [securities] security of the
subsidiary;
[[Page 75891]]
(2) Are part of a program sponsored by the issuer or an affiliate
of the issuer that meets the following criteria:
(a) The opportunity to purchase a new issue under the program is
offered to at least 10,000 participants;
(b) Every participant is offered an opportunity to purchase an
equivalent number of shares, or will receive a specified number of
shares under a predetermined formula applied uniformly across all
participants;
(c) If not all participants receive shares under the program, the
selection of the participants eligible to purchase shares is based upon
a random or other non-discretionary allocation method; and
(d) The class of participants does not contain a disproportionate
number of restricted persons as compared to the investing public
generally; [and
(e) Sales are not made to participants who are managing
underwriter(s), the broker/dealer administering the program
(``Administering Broker/Dealer''), the officers or directors of the
managing underwriter(s) or Administering Broker/Dealer, or any employee
of the managing underwriter(s) or Administering Broker/Dealer with
access to non-publicly available information about the new issue;] or
(3) Are directed to eligible purchasers who are otherwise
restricted under the rule as part of a conversion offering in
accordance with the standards of the governmental agency or
instrumentality having authority to regulate such conversion offering.
(e) Anti-Dilution Provisions
The prohibitions on the purchase and sale of new issues in this
rule shall not apply to an account in which a restricted person has a
beneficial interest that meets the following conditions:
(1) The [restricted person] account has held an equity ownership
interest in the issuer, or a company that has been acquired by the
issuer in the past year, for a period of one year prior to the
effective date of the offering;
(2) The sale of the new issue to the account shall not increase the
[restricted person's] account's percentage equity ownership in the
issuer above the ownership level as of three months prior to the filing
of the registration statement in connection with the offering;
(3) The sale of the new issue to the account shall not include any
special terms; and
(4) The new issue purchased pursuant to this [sub]paragraph (e)
shall not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for a
period of three months following the effective date of the offering.
(f) Stand-by Purchasers
The prohibitions on the purchase and sale of new issues in this
rule shall not apply to the purchase and sale of securities pursuant to
a stand-by agreement that meets the following conditions:
(1) The stand-by agreement is disclosed in the prospectus;
(2) The stand-by agreement is the subject of a formal written
agreement;
(3) The managing underwriter(s) represents in writing that it was
unable to find any other purchasers for the securities; and
(4) The securities sold pursuant to the stand-by agreement shall
not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for a
period of three months following the effective date of the offering.
(g) Under-Subscribed Offerings
Nothing in this rule shall prohibit an underwriter, pursuant to an
underwriting agreement, from placing a portion of a public offering in
its investment account when it is unable to sell that portion to the
public.
(h) Exemptive Relief
Pursuant to the Rule 9600 series, the staff, for good cause shown
after taking into consideration all relevant factors, may conditionally
or unconditionally exempt any person, security or transaction (or any
class or classes of persons, securities or transactions) from this rule
to the extent that such exemption is consistent with the purposes of
the rule, the protection of investors, and the public interest.
(i) Definitions
(1) ``Beneficial interest'' means any economic interest, such as
the right to share in gains or losses. The receipt of a management or
performance based fee for operating a collective investment account, or
other fees for acting in a fiduciary capacity, shall not be considered
a beneficial interest in the account.
(2) ``Collective investment account'' means any hedge fund,
investment partnership, investment corporation, or any other collective
investment vehicle that is engaged primarily in the purchase and/or
sale of securities. A ``collective investment account'' does not
include a ``family investment vehicle'' or an ``investment club.''[.]
(3) ``Conversion offering'' means any offering of securities made
as part of a plan by which a savings and loan association, insurance
company, or other organization converts from a mutual to a stock form
of ownership.
(4) ``Family [partnership'' means a partnership comprised solely
of] investment vehicle'' means a legal entity that is beneficially
owned solely by immediate family members.
(5) ``Immediate family member'' means a person's parents, mother-
in-law or father-in-law, spouse, brother or sister, brother-in-law or
sister-in-law, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, and children, and any
other individual to whom the person provides material support.
(6) ``Investment club'' means a group of friends, neighbors,
business associates, or others that pool their money to invest in stock
or other securities and are collectively responsible for making
investment decisions.
(7) ``Joint Back Office Broker/Dealer'' means any domestic or
foreign private investment fund that has elected to register as a
broker/dealer solely to take advantage of the margin treatment afforded
under Section 220.7 of Regulation T of the Federal Reserve. The
activities of a joint back office broker/dealer must not require that
it register as a broker/dealer under Section 15(a) of the Act.
(8) ``Limited business broker/dealer'' means any broker/dealer
whose authorization to engage in the securities business is limited
solely to the purchase and sale of investment company/variable
contracts securities and direct participation program securities.
[(8)](9) ``Material support'' means directly or indirectly
providing more than 25% of a person's income in the [current or] prior
calendar year. Members of the immediate family living in the same
household are deemed to be providing each other with material support.
[(9)](10) ``New issue'' means any initial public offering of an
equity security as defined in Section 3(a)(11) of the Act, made
pursuant to a registration statement or offering circular[, or other
securities distributions of any kind whatsoever, including securities
that are specifically directed by the issuer on a non-underwritten
basis]. New issue shall not include:
(A) Offerings made pursuant to an exemption under Section 4(1),
4(2) or 4(6) of the Securities Act of 1933, or SEC Rule 504 if the
securities are ``restricted securities'' under SEC Rule 144(a)(3), or
Rule 144A or Rule 505 or Rule 506 adopted thereunder;
(B) Offerings of exempted securities as defined in Section 3(a)(12)
of the Act, and rules promulgated thereunder;
[[Page 75892]]
(C) Offerings of securities of a commodity pool operated by a
commodity pool operator as defined under Section 1a(5) of the Commodity
Exchange Act;
(D) Rights offerings, exchange offers, or offerings made pursuant
to a merger or acquisition;
[(D)](E) Offerings of investment grade asset-backed securities;
[(E)](F) Offerings of convertible securities;
[(F)](G) Offerings of preferred securities; and
[(G)](H) Offerings of [securities of closed-end companies as
defined under Section (5)(a)(2) of] an investment company registered
under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
[(10)](11) ``Restricted person'' means:
(A) Members or other broker/dealers;
(B) Broker/Dealer Personnel:
(i) Any officer, director, general partner, associated person, or
employee of a member or any other broker/dealer (other than a limited
business broker/dealer); [, or any]
(ii) Any agent of a member or any other broker/dealer (other than a
limited business broker/dealer) that is engaged in the investment
banking or securities business; or
[(ii)](iii) An immediate family member of a person specified in
subparagraph (B)(i) or (ii) if the person specified in subparagraph
(B)(i) or (ii):
(a) Materially supports, or receives material support from, the
immediate family member;
(b) Is employed by or associated with the member, or an affiliate
of the member, selling the new issue to the immediate family member; or
(c) Has an ability to control the allocation of the new issue.
(C) Finders and Fiduciaries:
(i) With respect to the security being offered, a finder or any
person acting in a fiduciary capacity to the managing underwriter,
including, but not limited to, attorneys, accountants and financial
consultants; and
(ii) An immediate family member of a person specified in
subparagraph (C)(i) if the person specified in subparagraph (C)(i)
materially supports, or receives material support from, the immediate
family member.
(D) Portfolio Managers:
(i) Any person who has authority to buy or sell securities for a
bank, savings and loan institution, insurance company, investment
company, investment advisor, or collective investment account[, other
than with respect to a beneficial interest in the bank, savings and
loan institution, insurance company, investment company, investment
advisor, or collective investment account over which such person has
investment authority;].
(ii) An immediate family member of a person specified in
subparagraph (D)(i) that materially supports, or receives material
support from, such person [is materially supported by such person,
other than with respect to a beneficial interest in the bank, savings
and loan institution, insurance company, investment company, investment
advisor, or collective investment account over which such person has
investment authority.
Provided, however, that the term ``restricted person'' under this
subparagraph (D) shall not include a person solely because he or she is
a participant in an investment club or a family partnership].
(E) Persons Owning a Broker/Dealer
(i) Any person listed, or required to be listed, in Schedule A of a
Form BD (other than with respect to a limited business broker/dealer),
except persons [with] identified by an ownership [interests] code of
less than 10%;
(ii) [any] Any person listed, or required to be listed, in Schedule
B of a Form BD (other than with respect to a limited business broker/
dealer), except persons whose listing on Schedule B relates to an
ownership interest in a person listed on Schedule A [with] identified
by an ownership [interest] code of less than 10%;
(iii) [any] Any person listed, or required to be listed, in
Schedule C of a Form BD that meets the criteria of subparagraphs (E)(i)
and (E)(ii) above;
(iv) [any] Any person that directly or indirectly owns 10% or more
of a public reporting company listed [on], or required to be listed, in
Schedule A of a Form BD (other than a reporting company that is listed
on a national securities exchange or is traded on the Nasdaq National
Market, [provided that the gains or losses from new issues are passed
on directly or indirectly to public shareholders);] or other than with
respect to a limited business broker/dealer);
(v) Any person that directly or indirectly owns 25% or more of a
public reporting company listed [on], or required to be listed, in
Schedule B of a Form BD (other than a reporting company that is listed
on a national securities exchange or is traded on the Nasdaq National
Market, [provided that the gains or losses from new issues are passed
on directly or indirectly to public shareholders)] or other than with
respect to a limited business broker/dealer).
(vi) An immediate family member of a person specified in
subparagraphs (E)(i)-(v) unless the person owning the broker/dealer:
(a) Does not materially support, or receive material support from,
the immediate family member;
(b) Is not an owner of the member, or an affiliate of the member,
selling the new issue to the immediate family member; and
(c) Has no ability to control the allocation of the new issue.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the NASD included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The NASD has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections
A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
Between December 2000 and March 2001, the Commission received 14
comment letters on the proposed rule change.\9\ These comment letters
offered a number of suggestions to improve the clarity and consistency
of the proposed rule change. Some comment letters also sought
additional exemptions that are not in NASD IM-2110-1. The NASD
[[Page 75893]]
reviewed the 14 comment letters and made various revisions to proposed
NASD Rule 2790. Interested persons may view Amendment Nos. 3 and 4,
which explain these revisions and respond to the comments received, at
the following Web site: http://www.nasdr.com/filings/rf99_60.asp.
Amendment Nos. 3 and 4 are also available at the principal offices of
the NASD and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.
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\9\ See Letter from The Washington Group to Jonathan G. Katz,
SEC, dated December 21, 2000; Letter from Fried, Frank, Harris,
Shriver & Jacobson to Jonathan G. Katz, SEC, dated December 22,
2000; Letter from Capital International, Inc. to Jonathan G. Katz,
SEC, dated December 22, 2000; Letters from Cadwalader, Wickersham &
Taft to Jonathan G. Katz, SEC, dated December 22, 2000 and January
4, 2001; Letter from Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault to Jonathan G. Katz,
SEC, dated December 26, 2000; Letter from Managed Funds Association
to Jonathan G. Katz, SEC, dated December 26, 2000; Letter from
Mayor, Day, Caldwell & Keeton, L.L.P. to Jonathan G. Katz, SEC,
dated December 26, 2000; Letter from Sullivan & Cromwell to Jonathan
G. Katz, SEC, dated December 29, 2000; Letter from Willkie Farr &
Gallagher to Jonathan G. Katz, SEC, dated January 8, 2001; Letter
from Securities Industry Association to Margaret H. McFarland, SEC,
dated January 10, 2001; Letter from Chicago Board Options Exchange
to Jonathan G. Katz, SEC, dated January 12, 2001; Letter from Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter to Secretary, SEC, dated January 31, 2001;
Letter from The Washington Group to Laura S. Unger, Acting Chair,
SEC, dated March 27, 2001. Recently, the Commission has received two
additional comment letters that, among other things, advocate the
publication of Amendment No. 4 in the Federal Register. See Letter
from Willkie Farr & Gallagher to SEC dated September 24, 2002;
Letter from Managed Funds Association to SEC dated October 15, 2002.
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2. Statutory Basis
The NASD previously has stated that the proposed rule change is
consistent with the provisions of Section 15A(b)(6) of the Act.\10\ The
NASD believes that the proposal would protect investors and further the
public interest by ensuring that NASD members make a bona fide public
offering of securities at the public offering price; ensuring that
members do not withhold securities in a public offering for their own
benefit or use such securities to reward certain persons who are in a
position to direct future business to the member; and ensuring that
industry ``insiders,'' including members and their associated persons,
do not take advantage of their ``insider'' position in the industry to
purchase new issues for their own benefit at the expense of public
customers.\11\ The NASD continues to believe that the amended proposal
is consistent with this statement.\12\
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\10\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(6).
\11\ See Amendment No. 2 Notice, 65 FR at 76328.
\12\ Telephone conversation between Gary Goldsholle, NASD, and
Michael Gaw, Division of Market Regulation, SEC, on November 25,
2002.
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The NASD previously has stated that the proposed rule change would
not result in any burden on competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.\13\ The NASD
continues to believe that the amended proposal is consistent with this
statement.\14\
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\13\ See Amendment No. 2 Notice, 65 FR at 76328.
\14\ Telephone conversation between Gary Goldsholle, NASD, and
Michael Gaw, Division of Market Regulation, SEC, on November 25,
2002.
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
Amendment Nos. 3 and 4 reflect changes to the proposal made by the
NASD in response to the 14 comments received between December 2000 and
March 2001.\15\
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\15\ Id.
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III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding, or (ii) as to
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
(A) By order approve such proposed rule change; or
(B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change, as amended, is consistent with the Act. The Commission notes
that the NASD is continuing to consider the need for additional rule
changes relating to IPO allocation practices.\16\ For example, the NASD
has separately sought comment on a practice referred to as
``spinning.'' The NASD has solicited comment on whether it should adopt
rule changes prohibiting NASD members from allocating IPO shares to an
executive officer or director of a company on the condition that the
officer or director send the company's investment banking business to
the member, or as consideration for investment banking services
previously rendered.\17\ Those proposals are not covered by the present
rule change proposals and would be addressed in a future filing.
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\16\ See, e.g., NASD Notice to Members 02-55 (August 2002).
\17\ See id.
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Persons making written submissions should file six copies thereof
with the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549-0609. Copies of the submission, all
subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the
proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all
written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from
the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for inspection and copying in the Commission's Public
Reference Room. Copies of such filing will also be available for
inspection and copying at the principal office of the NASD. All
submissions should refer to File No. SR-NASD-99-60 and should be
submitted by December 31, 2002.
For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation,
pursuant to delegated authority.\18\
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\18\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-31161 Filed 12-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P