Joint Trades Letter to the SEC Requesting an Extension of Comment Period on the Custody Rule

Dear Ms. Countryman:

The undersigned trade associations write to request that the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") extend the comment period for the Commission's proposed Adviser and Regulated Fund Custody Rules and Crypto Custody Rules ("the Proposal").

We welcome the efforts of the Commission and the Division of Investment Management to update the custody framework for funds and advisers. The Proposal would modernize and clarify several elements of existing custody requirements and would establish a dedicated framework for the custody of crypto assets. We recognize that the Proposal represents a significant undertaking by the Commission and Staff, and we appreciate the Commission's commitment to addressing several longstanding questions regarding custody requirements for funds and advisers.

As the Proposal explains, changes in technology and evolving market practices have driven the need to modernize several custody provisions under the Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act. While we support the Commission's goal of modernizing the custody framework, we note that the Proposal addresses numerous complex questions, many of which are technical in nature, and poses more than 300 specific requests for comment. This includes the proposed framework for the custody of crypto assets, which raises important questions for asset managers and for the banks and broker-dealers that provide custody services.

To ensure that market participants seeking to evaluate and provide substantive input on the Proposal are well-positioned to provide constructive feedback, particularly as market participants concurrently review several significant SEC rulemaking proposals with overlapping comment periods, we believe additional time to develop comments would be helpful to meaningfully address longstanding questions and advance the Commission's objective of durable modernization.

In addition, the Commission has other proposals out for comment at the same time. Their significance and potential consequences warrant dedicated attention and many of the same market participants and personnel are involved in analysis and response.

Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Commission extend the December 7th comment deadline by 45 calendar days to provide our members and other market participants additional time to review the Proposal and provide substantive feedback to the Commission.

Sincerely,

Jiří Król, Deputy CEO, Global Head of Government Affairs, AIMA
Alison Touhey, SVP for Bank Funding Policy, American Bankers Association
Walter Palmer, Chair of the Americas Focus Committee, Association of Global Custodians
Tabitha Edgens, Executive Vice President & Co-Head of Regulatory Affairs, Bank Policy Institute
Elliot Ganz, Head of Advocacy, LSTA
Peter Ryan, Managing Director, Head of Digital Assets and International Policy, SIFMA
Kevin Ehrlich, Managing Director, SIFMA AMG