Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 provides that the appropriate regulatory agency, by rule or by order, upon its own motion or upon application, may conditionally or unconditionally exempt any person or security or class of person or securities from any provision of that section or any rule or regulation prescribed under Section 17A of the Act. The Act and the rules promulgated thereunder contain requirements for registered transfer agents relating to, among other things, processing securities transfers, safekeeping of investor and issuer funds and securities, and maintaining records of investor ownership. The Act also provides a private cause of action in civil securities fraud litigation in some jurisdictions.