FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                   2002-7

                      FEE RATE ADVISORY #8

          Washington, DC, January 16, 2002 – The President today
signed H.R. 1088, the “Investor and Capital Markets Fee Relief
Act.”  This Act substantially reduces filing fees and securities
transaction fees.

     The Act sets the filing fee rates under Section 6(b) of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 13(e) and 14(g) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 at $92 per million retroactively
effective to October 1, 2001.  The Act also eliminates the filing
fee under Section 307(b) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.  All
Section 6(b), 13(e), 14(g), and 307(b) fees paid between October
1, 2001 and today will be recalculated by the Commission at the
new rate.  Within 60 days, the Commission will add the resulting
savings to each filer’s account for use towards future SEC
filings.  The Commission also will provide account statements to
all affected filers.  Upon receipt of an account statement, a
filer may request in writing a refund of the amount in its
account.  Instructions for requesting a refund (including the
appropriate address and fax number) will be included with the
account statements.  Please do not request a refund until after
receipt of the statement.

     To allow for the conversion of the Commission’s electronic
filing systems to the new fee rate, filers should continue to
file at the old fee rates today.  Starting tomorrow, filers
should file at the new fee rate of $92 per million.  The SEC’s
Office of Filings and Information Services is available for
questions on filing fees at (202) 942-8900.

     The Act also sets the securities transaction fee rate under
Section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 at $15 per
$1,000,000 retroactively effective to December 28, 2001.  In
addition, as of December 28, 2001, Section 31 fees will apply to
sales of options on securities indexes only if the underlying
securities index is a narrow-based securities index.  The self-
regulatory organizations collect these fees pursuant to their
rules.  Additional information on the transition to the new
Section 31 fee rate is available on the Internet web sites of The
New York Stock Exchange and NASD Regulation at
http://www.nyse.com/press/NT000682EA.html and
http://www.nasdr.com/mem_alert122801.htm.  The Office of
Interpretations and Guidance in the SEC’s Division of Market
Regulation is also available for questions on Section 31 fees at
(202) 942-0069.

     The Commission is required under the Act to adjust the
filing and securities transaction fee rates on an annual basis,
after consultation with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  The Commission will
announce the first annual adjustment no later than April 30,
2002, effective October 1, 2002 (or, if later, after the
Commission’s fiscal 2003 appropriation is enacted).  In addition,
the Commission may be required under the Act to make a “mid-year”
adjustment to the Section 31 fee rate, after consultation with
CBO and OMB, which would be announced no later than March 1,
2002, effective April 1, 2002.  The Commission will issue further
notices as appropriate.  This information will be posted on the
SEC’s Internet web site at http://www.sec.gov.
     
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