Registered Transfer Agents

Our records indicate that your institution is registered with the FDIC as a "transfer agent" engaging in such functions as maintaining records and transferring securities on behalf of a securities issuer or a mutual fund. Therefore, you should be aware that the form used to register or amend registration as a transfer agent (Form TA-1) has been revised and updated. A copy of the new form is attached. The revised form was developed by an interagency working group from the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Form TA-1 is used to keep registration information current. The revisions to the form are intended to clarify the type of information desired, to obtain more relevant information and to recognize changes occurring in the banking industry. The revised form should be used in all future registrations and amendments. Previous versions of Form TA-1 will no longer be accepted.

There is no automatic requirement to file a new Form TA-1 at this time. However, an updating amendment using the new form is required if the information previously reported has changed or if the information required by the new form differs from what your institution previously reported.

The primary changes to the form include:

• New wording to make clear that the organization is filing the form, not individual employees;
• A new Item 5 for the location of the registrant's headquarters, which will help regulators identify the entity being registered;
• Clarifications to Items 8 to 9 to ensure that only locations of the registrant -- not affiliates or servicers -- are to be reported;
• A clarification that only "private label servicers" (i.e., outside companies performing transfer agent functions in the registrant's name) and not electronic data processing (EDP) servicers must be reported in Item 11 -- a change that will result in most FDIC-supervised organizations no longer completing this item; and
• Various other changes to Items 11 and 12 that will result in most FDIC-supervised organizations not needing to complete them. Items 11 and 12 now call for the use of a Registered Transfer Agent Number. Entities reported in Items 11 and 12 must be registered transfer agents even if they have contracted with a private label transfer agent servicer.

Any questions about the revised form or whether your institution needs to file an updating amendment may be directed to John F. Harvey, Trust Review Examiner, FDIC Division of Supervision, Room F-612, Washington, DC 20429 (phone 202-898-6762).

Attachment

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Registered Transfer Agents