When associated with NACA, prevents inappropriate targeting of non-secretory polypeptides to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Binds to nascent polypeptide chains as they emerge from the ribosome and blocks their interaction with the signal recognition particle (SRP), which normally targets nascent secretory peptides to the ER. BTF3 is also a general transcription factor that can form a stable complex with RNA polymerase II. Required for the initiation of transcription. . This is the function of BTF3 (basic transcription factor 3, Ensembl gene identifier ENSG00000145741).