CC: Ms. Nancy M. Morris
Secretary
Securities & Exchange Commission
100 F Street NE
Washington DC 20549-1090
cc: charles schwab
Dear ms Morris
This is in regard to the SEC authoritization to the Depository Trust Company to charge pass-through fees on American Depositary Receipts which do not pay dividends. ( SR-DTC-2006-08) The fees are set at 3 percent of the ADR agent fee for shares which do not pay periodic dividends. The minimum fee is $50 and it is waived for charges below that sum. And the maximum is $4000.
Despite this, I was charged fees by CHARLES SCHWAB for shares which DO pay a dividend, namely Orkla AND Keppel (ORKLY-PK and KPELY.PK)
. That shows how rules are often used to apply charges which are not authorized. So my first complaint is that the SEC proposed fee was imposed under conditions which did not apply to the minimum. Moreover, since this stock DOES pay dividends, the DTC can benefit from the float by its practice of delaying payment, and use whatever exchange rate it likes to enhance its fees. So there is no need for an additional charge.
Finally, while the SEC has determined that there is no competition to the DTC in ADR issuance, in fact the collection fees are yet another impediment to the ADR market in competing against other bourses around the world for retail investors business. This is an example of our regulators allowing fees which hurt the competitiveness of U.S. trading of foreign stocks.
I am sending a copy of my letter to CHARLES SCHWAB
thank you
RUTH HOINE
SEH INVESTMENTS
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