Broker-Dealer Exemption From Sending Certain Financial Information to Customers

We are adopting amendments to a rule under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that provide a conditional exemption from the rule's requirement that a broker-dealer that carries customer accounts send its full balance sheet and certain other financial information to each of its customers twice a year. Under the amendments, the broker- dealer can send its customers summary information regarding its net capital, as long as it also provides customers with a toll-free number to call for a free copy of its full balance sheet, makes its full balance sheet available to customers over the Internet, and meets other specified requirements. The amendments are intended to reduce the cost of doing business for a broker-dealer while providing customers of the broker-dealer with easy access to the information they need to evaluate the financial soundness of the broker-dealer.