Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc,; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change and Amendment No. 1 Thereto to Implement a New Trading Model, 47836-47850 [E6-13618]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 160 / Friday, August 18, 2006 / Notices
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
Number SR–CBOE–2005–103 on the
subject line.
Paper Comments
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–54301; File No. SR–CHX–
2006–05]
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc,; Notice
of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change
and Amendment No. 1 Thereto to
Implement a New Trading Model
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary,
Securities and Exchange Commission,
Station Place, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
August 10, 2006.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated
authority.8
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–13643 Filed 8–17–06; 8:45 am]
In its filing with the Commission, the
CHX included statements concerning
the purpose of, and basis for, the
proposed rule change and discussed any
comments it received on the proposed
rule change. The text of these statements
may be examined at the places specified
in Item IV below. The CHX has prepared
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on February
2, 2006, the Chicago Stock Exchange,
Inc. (‘‘CHX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with
All submissions should refer to File
the Securities and Exchange
Number SR–CBOE–2005–103. This file
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the
number should be included on the
subject line if e-mail is used. To help the proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II, and III below, which Items
Commission process and review your
have been prepared by the CHX. On
comments more efficiently, please use
August 10, 2006, the Exchange filed
only one method. The Commission will
Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule
post all comments on the Commission’s change.3 The Commission is publishing
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
this notice to solicit comments on the
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
proposed rule change, as amended, from
submission, all subsequent
interested persons.
amendments, all written statements
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
with respect to the proposed rule
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
change that are filed with the
the Proposed Rule Change
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
The CHX proposes to amend its rules
to implement a new trading model that
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than provides the opportunity for entirely
automated executions to occur within a
those that may be withheld from the
central matching system accessible by
public in accordance with the
all Exchange participants. The new
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
model also would end the Exchange’s
available for inspection and copying in
operation of a physical trading floor and
the Commission’s Public Reference
Room. Copies of such filing also will be is intended to comply with the
requirements of Regulation NMS (‘‘Reg.
available for inspection and copying at
4
the principal office of the Exchange. All NMS’’). The text of this proposed rule
change is available on the Exchange’s
comments received will be posted
Web site at https://www.chx.com/rules/
without change; the Commission does
proposed_rules.htm, in the
not edit personal identifying
Commission’s Public Reference Room,
information from submissions. You
and on the Commission’s Web site at
should submit only information that
https://www.sec.gov.
you wish to make available publicly. All
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
submissions should refer to File
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Number SR–CBOE–2005–103 and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
should be submitted on or before
Change
September 8, 2006.
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BILLING CODE 8010–01–P
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
3 Amendment No. 1 replaces and supersedes the
original filing in its entirety.
4 17 CFR 242.600, et seq.
2 17
8 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
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summaries, set forth in Sections A, B,
and C below, of the most significant
aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
Through this proposed rule change,
the Exchange seeks to implement a new
trading model that allows its
participants to interact in a fullyautomated matching system. In this
model, the Exchange would no longer
operate a physical trading floor where
on-floor specialists, brokers and market
makers seek execution of their orders.
Instead, the Exchange would operate an
automated system where its
participants—from any location—could
submit orders for immediate execution.
The Exchange believes that this new
model provides an opportunity for its
participants and their customers to
receive efficient, low-cost executions,
while giving the Exchange enhanced
capabilities for surveilling its
participants’ trading activities.
In this new model, the Exchange
anticipates that most of its participants
would continue to be ‘‘off-Exchange’’
order-sending firms that would simply
send orders to the Matching System for
execution. These firms would not be
required to register with the Exchange to
act in any specific capacity other than
as trading participants.5 The Exchange
would, however, allow participant firms
to register in two special categories—to
operate as proprietary market makers on
the Exchange or to act as institutional
brokers. Market makers could choose to
post two-sided quotations and trade for
their proprietary accounts. Any
customer order would be accepted off
the Exchange and a market maker could
then choose whether or not to enter the
order in the Exchange’s Matching
System or submit the order to a different
venue. In contrast, any customer orders
accepted by institutional brokers would
be deemed to be on the Exchange when
accepted. These market makers and
institutional brokers would operate on
the Exchange, even if they are not
physically located on a single trading
floor.
Because the Exchange is taking this
opportunity to modernize many of its
long-standing procedures and rules, the
implementation of the new trading
model will result in changes to virtually
5 Since its demutualization in February 2005, the
Exchange has not had ‘‘members.’’ Instead, a
broker-dealer that seeks to effect transactions
directly on the Exchange must become an Exchange
‘‘participant.’’
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 160 / Friday, August 18, 2006 / Notices
every section of the Exchange’s rule
book. The most significant changes can
be found in new CHX Article 20 of the
Exchange’s rules, which describes the
operation of the Exchange’s central
matching system. CHX Article 16 details
the new role of market makers on the
Exchange, and CHX Article 17 describes
the role and responsibilities of the
Exchange’s institutional brokers.
Changes to other sections of the rules
are designed to eliminate obsolete
provisions—including those that relate
to the operation of a physical trading
floor—and to update other
responsibilities to reflect the more
automated trading that is the hallmark
of the Exchange’s new model. The
Exchange has also made an effort to
better organize the rules. After
describing the provisions of new CHX
Articles 20, 16 and 17, this submission
will review each of the other sets of
proposed rule changes beginning with
CHX Article 1.6
a. The Matching System
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The Exchange’s Matching System
would be the core facility of the
Exchange. It would provide the only
means for the display of orders and a
central point for the execution of orders.
On one hand, the Matching System is
simply an extension of the operation of
the Exchange’s electronic book to all
securities traded on the Exchange.7 On
the other hand, this Matching System
would provide a much more robust
platform for the interaction of orders
than is possible on the Exchange today.
1. Trading hours. The Matching
System would operate a regular trading
session and a late trading session each
day.8 The regular trading session
ordinarily would begin immediately
after the primary market for a security
opens its market and would end at 3
p.m. each day for all securities except
specified exchange-traded funds, which
would trade until 3:15 p.m.9 The second
trading session—the late trading
session—would begin immediately after
the close of the first session and would
end at 3:30 p.m.10 Two senior officers of
6 Throughout its rule book, the Exchange is
replacing the Roman numerals currently used to
identify each of its articles with an easier-tounderstand Arabic number.
7 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 52094
(July 21, 2005), 70 FR 43913 (July 29, 2005)
(approving the electronic book for the trading of
securities not assigned to a specialist firm).
8 See CHX Article 20, Rule 1(b).
9 All times referenced in this filing are expressed
in Central Time.
10 These sessions are similar to the trading
sessions that occur on the Exchange today, except
that the late trading session in the new model
(unlike the extended session under the current
rules, in which the MAX system is not operational)
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the Exchange could decide to open the
Exchange for trading if the primary
market announces that it will not open
or will open later than usual, or if the
primary market has not opened within
15 minutes after its normal operating
time.11 Special rules apply to the
trading hours for securities listed
exclusively on the Exchange.12
2. Access to the Matching System.
Exchange participants could route
orders to the Matching System through
any communications line approved by
the Exchange.13 To the extent that the
Exchange participates in the Intermarket
Trading System (‘‘ITS’’) Plan or any
other linkage plan, ITS commitments
and other intermarket orders could be
sent to the Matching System through
those linkages.14
3. Eligible orders—basic requirements.
The Exchange’s Matching System would
only accept day orders; orders
designated good-till-canceled would not
be accepted.15 Similarly, except for
immediate-or-cancel market orders or
specially-designated cross orders, the
Matching System would only accept
limit orders and orders for regular-way
settlement.16 Orders could be submitted
as round lots, odd lots or mixed lots,
except that orders in securities that only
trade in specific share size increments
would be a fully automated trading session. See
CHX Article IX, Rule 10(b).
11 See CHX Article 20, Rule 1, Interpretation and
Policy .03. If these officers decide to open one or
more NYSE-listed, Amex-listed or other listed
securities (other than Nasdaq-listed securities)
when the primary market for these securities is not
trading, the Matching System will cancel all
pending opening cross orders in affected securities
and, at the opening time selected by these officers,
will then accept all other orders and match them
as provided by the Matching System rules. If these
officers decide to open one or more Nasdaq-listed
securities when the primary market for these
securities is not trading, the Matching System will:
(a) If the decision is made before 8:30 a.m., execute
all opening cross orders in affected securities as if
the primary market had opened and then accept all
other orders and match them as provided by the
Matching System rules; or (b) if the decision is
made on or after 8:30 a.m., cancel all pending
opening cross orders in affected securities and, at
the opening time selected by the Exchange officers,
then accept all other orders and match them as
provided by the Matching System rules.
12 See CHX Article 20, Rule 1, Interpretation and
Policy .04 (confirming that the regular trading
session for these securities would begin at 8:30 a.m.
and end at 3:00 p.m.).
13 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(a)(1).
14 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(a)(2). So long as it
is required by the OTC/UTP Plan, the Exchange
would also provide telephonic access to NASD
market makers. See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(a)(3).
15 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(2).
16 See CHX Article 20, Rules 4(a)(1), 4(a)(3) and
4(a)(7). A special type of order—a non-regular way
cross order—could be submitted for execution and
non-regular way settlement. See CHX Article 20,
Rule 4(b)(15).
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47837
must be submitted only in those share
sizes.17
Except for any types of cross and
cross with size orders (described later in
this filing), the Matching System would
only accept orders that comply with the
sub-penny requirements of Reg. NMS
set out in Rule 612 18 and that do not
exceed any size and/or price limitations
imposed by the Exchange to help
eliminate erroneous transactions or
orders and transactions that cannot be
processed by the Exchange’s systems.19
Because cross and cross with size orders
essentially are sub-penny executions
(rather than orders), these transactions
could be submitted to the Matching
System in sub-penny increments down
to $0.000001.20 Importantly, however,
the Matching System would not allow
any type of cross or cross with size
order (except a midpoint cross, a cross
that executes at the midpoint of the
NBBO or a cross with size) (i) Priced at
or above $1.00, to execute at a price less
than $.01 better than any order on the
same side of the Matching System, or
(ii) priced under $1.00, to execute at a
price less than $.0001 better than any
order on the same side of the Matching
System.21
4. Order types and conditions. The
Matching System would accept a wide
variety of order types and conditions,
which are set out in CHX Article 20,
Rule 4(b). Some of the more routine
order types would include immediate or
cancel (‘‘IOC’’) limit and market orders,
fill or kill (‘‘FOK’’) orders, sell short and
short exempt orders, reserve size orders,
time in force orders and cancel on halt
orders.22 As required by Reg. NMS, IOC
17 See
CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(4).
CFR 242.612.
19 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(6). The Exchange
intends to develop a set of parameters that would
be used to identify orders that either appear to be
erroneous (based on their relationship to current
market conditions) or that exceed the Exchange’s
systems capabilities (such as orders priced higher
than a very high dollar level or those for a very large
number of shares). These orders would be rejected
to permit the continued effective operation of the
Matching System.
20 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(7)(b), confirming
that cross and cross with size orders can be
submitted in sub-penny increments, whether the
orders are priced less than or at or above $1.00. The
Exchange represents that it understands that it will
need to obtain exemptive relief from the
requirements of Reg. NMS to permit these
executions to occur and will work with
Commission staff to obtain that relief.
21 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(7)(b). The
Exchange represents that it has imposed this
requirement based on input from Commission staff
that it is required for any market operated by a
national securities exchange.
22 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(12) (IOC orders);
Rule 4(b)(13) (IOC market orders); Rule 4(b)(11)
(FOK orders); Rule 4(b)(20) (sell short orders); Rule
4(b)(21) (short exempt orders); Rule 4(b)(19)
18 17
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orders would be executed against any
orders at or better than the Exchange’s
best bid or offer (‘‘BBO’’), including any
reserve size or other undisplayed orders
at or better than that price.23 Reserve
size orders would permit a participant
to identify a portion of an order to be
displayed and a portion that should
remain undisplayed, and to provide an
instruction that the displayed portion
should be refreshed to the original
display quantity whenever the
displayed share size falls below a
specific threshold.24 Time in force
orders would be eligible for execution
within a specified time period, with any
unexecuted balance to be immediately
cancelled when this period expires.25
Cancel on halt orders would be
automatically cancelled by the Matching
System if a trading halt or suspension is
declared on the Exchange in that
security.26
The Matching System also would
accept several different types of cross
transactions, including a basic cross, a
cross with size, a cross with satisfy, a
cross with yield, a midpoint cross, an
opening cross and a non-regular way
cross. A basic cross transaction would
be an order to buy and sell the same
security at a specific price that is better
than the Exchange’s displayed BBO and,
where required by the ITS Plan, another
linkage plan or Reg. NMS, equal to or
better than the NBBO.27 A cross with
size would be a cross for at least 5,000
shares and for a value of $100,000 that
is at a price equal to or better than the
Exchange’s displayed BBO (and, where
required by the ITS Plan, another
linkage plan, or Reg. NMS, equal to or
better than the NBBO), where the size of
the cross transaction is larger than the
largest order displayed on the Exchange
at that price.28 A cross with satisfy is
(reserve size orders); Rule 4(b)(22) (time in force
orders); and Rule 4(b)(3) (cancel on halt orders).
23 See CHX Article 20, Rules 4(b)(12) (IOC orders)
and 4(b)(13) (IOC market orders).
24 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(19).
25 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(22). The
Matching System initially would permit
participants to identify any time period of a minute
or a multiple of a minute as the ‘‘time in force’’ for
a particular order. In later upgrades to the Matching
System, participants would be allowed to identify
an order’s ‘‘time in force’’ in seconds.
26 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(3).
27 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(4). A cross may
represent interest of one or more Exchange
participants, trading for a proprietary account. This
order or transaction type is already permitted in the
Exchange’s electronic book. See CHX Article XXA,
Rule 2.
28 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(6). A cross with
size is already permitted in the Exchange’s
electronic book and is similar to the type of
transaction that can take place on the Exchange’s
trading floor. See CHX Article XXA, Rule 2; CHX
Article XX, Rule 23. The proposed definition of a
cross with size transaction would reduce the
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designed to provide a participant with
an efficient mechanism for clearing out
displayed orders in the Matching
System that would otherwise have time
priority (or displayed bids or offers in
other market centers that would
otherwise have price priority) and then
effecting a cross transaction at that
price.29 A cross with yield is a similar
order type, which would automatically
yield interest on the buy, sell or either
side of the order to any order already
displayed in the Matching System at the
same or better price.30 And, finally, as
required number of shares in the order to 5,000
shares from 25,000 shares, mirroring similar
requirements in the floor trading rules of other
markets. See Boston Stock Exchange Rules, Chapter
II, Section 18; Philadelphia Stock Exchange Rule
126(h). At the same time, the definition would be
changed to also require that a cross must have a
value of $100,000. The Exchange represents that it
has imposed this requirement based on input from
Commission staff that it is required for any market
operated by a national securities exchange and
based on an assurance from Commission staff that
all national securities exchanges would be required
to impose a similar requirement. The proposed
definition of a cross with size transaction also
would confirm that this order could represent
interest of one or more participants of the Exchange.
29 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(5). With this
order type, a participant would send: (A) An
instruction to execute a cross transaction at a
specific price; and (B) an instruction (i) To execute
orders already displayed in the Matching System at
their limit prices (up to a specified number of
shares) against a specified party to the extent
necessary to allow the cross transaction to occur
and/or (ii) to route outbound orders or
commitments to other market centers to the extent
necessary to prevent an improper trade-through. If
a cross with satisfy is sent with a share size that
is too small to satisfy orders in the Matching System
or bids or offers in other markets, as applicable, the
order would be automatically cancelled. Once the
satisfying execution has occurred (or, for orders or
commitments sent to other market centers, those
orders or commitments have been sent), the cross
would be executed at a price that is better than the
best bid or offer to be displayed in the Matching
System and, for securities listed on NYSE, Amex
and any exchange other than Nasdaq (and for
Nasdaq-listed securities, when Reg. NMS is
implemented in those issues), equal to or better
than the NBBO.
A cross with satisfy may represent interest of one
or more participants of the Exchange but, to the
extent that it represents interest of the participant
sending the order to the Matching System, the
participant would not be eligible to satisfy existing
bids or offers in the Matching System at a price that
is better than the cross price and could only satisfy
bids or offers in other markets at a price that is
better than the cross price if the cross is for at least
10,000 shares or has a value of at least $200,000 (a
‘‘block size order’’) or is for the account of an
institutional customer (as that term is defined in
CHX Article 8, Rule 11, Interpretation and Policy
.03) and the participant’s customer has specifically
agreed to that outcome.
30 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(7). This order
would have: (A) An instruction to execute a cross
transaction at a specific price; and (B) an
instruction to yield interest on the buy, sell or
either side of the order (as specified in the order)
to any order already displayed in the Matching
System at the same or better price, to the extent
necessary to allow the cross transaction to occur.
The cross would be executed at a price that is better
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their names suggest, an opening cross is
a cross transaction that would be
specifically designated to be executed at
the opening price; a non-regular way
cross would be designated for nonregular way settlement; and a midpoint
cross would execute at the midpoint
between the NBBO.31
The Matching System also would
accept several order types that are
specifically contemplated by Reg.
NMS.32 For example, the Matching
System would accept benchmark orders
which meet the requirements of Rule
611(b)(7) of Reg. NMS. Initially, the
Exchange would limit submission of
benchmark orders to the Exchange’s
institutional brokers.33 The Matching
than the best bid or offer to be displayed in the
Matching System and, for securities listed on NYSE,
Amex and any exchange other than Nasdaq (and for
Nasdaq-listed securities, when Reg. NMS is
implemented in those issues), equal to or better
than the NBBO.
31 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(16) (opening
cross); Rule 4(b)(15) (non-regular way cross); and
Rule 4(b)(14) (midpoint cross). As described later in
this submission, opening cross orders would
execute immediately after the primary market opens
in a security, at the opening price. For securities
listed on NYSE, Amex and any exchange other than
Nasdaq, the opening price would be the primary
market opening price. For Nasdaq-listed securities
(except in the case of an initial IPO), the opening
price would be the midpoint of the first unlocked,
uncrossed market that occurs on or after 8:30 a.m.
For Nasdaq-listed securities on the date of an IPO,
the opening price would be the Nasdaq opening
price. Opening cross orders would not be accepted
in securities exclusively listed on the Exchange and
would not be accepted if any part of the sell side
of the order is marked as a sell short order. A
midpoint cross would be executed at the midpoint
of the NBBO, but if the NBBO is locked at the time
a midpoint cross is received, the midpoint cross
would execute at the locked NBBO. If the NBBO is
crossed at the time a midpoint cross is received, the
midpoint cross would be automatically cancelled.
A non-regular way settlement cross would
execute without regard to the NBBO or any other
orders the Matching System and could represent the
interest of one or more participants in the
Exchange. Any non-regular way cross that is for
cash settlement must be received by the Matching
System by 2 p.m. or such other time that may be
established by the Exchange and communicated to
participants from time to time. The Matching
System would not accept one-sided orders for nonregular way settlement. The only way to effect a
non-regular way transaction within the Matching
System would be through a non-regular way cross.
Exchange participants currently may execute orders
for non-regular way settlement, both on the floor of
the Exchange and in the Exchange’s electronic
book. See CHX Article XX, Rule 9; CHX Article
XXA, Rule 2(c)(5).
32 These order types—and other expresslyidentified provisions—take effect with the
implementation of Rule 611 of Reg. NMS. 17 CFR
242.611. The Exchange will use February 5, 2007
(the ‘‘Trading Phase Date’’) as the effective date for
these provisions. See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 53829 (May 18, 2006), 71 FR 30038
(May 24, 2006) (setting new compliance dates for
Rules 610 and 611).
33 The Exchange initially has limited the use of
this order type to its institutional brokers to ensure
that the Exchange can determine whether or not the
requirements of Rule 611(b)(7) Reg. NMS have been
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System would also accept BBO
intermarket sweep orders (‘‘BBO ISOs’’),
which would execute against orders at
the Exchange’s BBO, without regard to
whether the execution would trade
through another market’s protected
quotation.34 If a BBO ISO is marked as
‘‘immediate or cancel,’’ any remaining
balance in the order would be
automatically cancelled. If a BBO ISO is
not marked as ‘‘immediate or cancel,’’
any remaining balance in the order
would be placed in the Matching
System and displayed, without regard to
whether that display would lock or
cross another market center.35 Two
other Reg. NMS-related orders—an
outbound ISO and a price-penetrating
ISO—would also be accepted by the
Exchange’s Matching System.36
Finally, the Matching System would
accept do-not-display and do not route
orders. A do not route order, as its name
implies, would be executed or displayed
within the Matching System and could
not be routed to another market
center.37 A do-not-display order would
be an order, for at least 1,000 shares
when entered, that should not be
displayed in whole or in part, but that
would remain eligible for execution
within the Matching System.38
met. See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(2). A benchmark
order may execute at any price, without regard to
the protected NBBO and may represent interest of
one or more Exchange participants.
34 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(1). These orders
are executed based on the premise that the
participant routing the order to the Matching
System has already satisfied the protected
quotations of other market centers. See CHX Article
20, Rule 6(c)(3).
35 These orders are displayed based on the
premise that the participant routing the order to the
Matching System has already satisfied the
quotations of other markets so that the display of
the order would not lock or cross those markets.
36 An outbound ISO would allow an Exchange
participant to ask the Exchange to execute an order
on the Exchange without regard to the protected
quotations at other markets while simultaneously
routing ISOs to those other markets to execute
against their protected quotations. See CHX Article
20, Rule 4(b)(17). A price-penetrating ISO would
operate much like a basic ISO, except that it would
allow a participant to execute through displayed
and undisplayed interest, at multiple price points,
on the Exchange. See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(18).
37 As further described in the section relating to
the prevention of trade-throughs, a do not route
order would be immediately cancelled if its
execution would improperly trade through the ITS
BBO or another market’s protected quotations. Any
types of cross, IOC or FOK orders would deemed
to have been received with a ‘‘do not route’’
condition because these orders either are
immediately executed in the Matching System or
cancelled. See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(10).
38 See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(9). A do-notdisplay order could receive that designation
because a customer specifically instructed a
participant not to display the order or because a
participant decided that its own order should not
be displayed. As described later in this submission,
a do-not-display order would be ranked, at any
given price point, behind displayed orders (and any
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5. Ranking of orders in the Matching
System. As described in CHX Article 20,
Rule 8, all orders received by the
Matching System would be ranked by
price, time of receipt and, for round-lot
orders, any display instructions
received with the orders. Specifically,
orders received by the Matching System
would be ranked as follows:
a. Orders that are eligible for display,
as well as mixed-lot and odd lot orders.
Limit orders that are eligible to be
displayed, including the displayed
portion of reserve size orders, and all
odd-lot and mixed-lot orders would be
ranked together, at each price point, in
time priority.39
b. Orders that are displayed in part,
where a portion is not displayed. At
each price point, the undisplayed
portions of reserve size orders would be
ranked together in time priority and
would be ranked after any displayed
orders (and any odd-lot and mixed-lot
orders) at that price.
c. Completely undisplayed orders.
Orders that are received with a do-notdisplay instruction would be ranked
together, at each price point, in time
priority and would be ranked after any
other orders at that price.
Changes to an order’s size or price, or
its displayed portion, could impact its
ranking within the Matching System.
For example, when the displayed
portion of a reserve size order is
refreshed with new volume, the
displayed portion of the order would
receive a new ranking based on the time
at which it was refreshed.40 Similarly, if
a participant increases the number of
shares in a fully-displayed order, that
order would receive a new ranking
based on the time at which these shares
were added to the order.41 Any change
odd-lot and mixed-lot orders at the price) and
behind the undisplayed portions of any reserve size
orders. These completely undisplayed orders would
both allow a participant to fulfill a customer’s
instructions and to otherwise keep trading interest
hidden, but to remain within the Matching System
where the orders could be executed against inbound
orders seeking liquidity.
39 For the most part, executions in the Matching
System would occur on a ‘‘share-for-share’’ basis,
regardless of whether the incoming or resting orders
were round-lot, mixed-lot or odd-lot orders. The
one exception to this share-for-share matching is in
the handling of ITS commitments or linkage plan
orders, which would only be matched in round-lot
increments, for the full amount of round-lot shares
available at the price reflected in the NBBO. See
CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(9). Any remaining portion
of the ITS commitment or linkage plan order would
then be automatically cancelled.
40 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(b)(4). Any
remaining undisplayed portion of the order would
continue to be ranked at the price and time at
which it was originally received.
41 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(b)(5). Any
reduction in the number of shares in an order,
however, would not change its ranking within the
Matching System.
PO 00000
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47839
in the price of an order would result in
a new price and time ranking for the
order, based on the time of the price
change.42 Finally, any change to the
display instruction associated with an
order would result in a new ranking for
the order based on the time that the new
instruction was received.43
6. Display of orders within the
Matching System. All orders that are
eligible for display would be
immediately and publicly displayed
through the processes set out in the
appropriate transaction reporting plan
for each security when they constitute
the best round-lot bid or offer in the
Matching System for that security. In
addition, the Matching System would
aggregate all shares, including odd-lot
orders and the odd-lot portions of
mixed-lot orders, at a single price point,
and then round that total share amount
down to the nearest round-lot amount
for display purposes.44 The undisplayed
portion of a reserve size order and any
other orders received with a do-notdisplay instruction would not be
eligible for display.
The Exchange believes that its
disseminated quotations would
constitute automated quotations under
the definition set out in Rule 600(b)(3)
of Reg. NMS.45 The Exchange’s
proposed rules confirm that each order
submitted to the Matching System must
be a firm order and cannot be identified
as a ‘‘manual’’ quotation.46
7. Opening of the regular trading
session. Immediately after the primary
market opens, the Matching System
would execute all opening cross orders,
then start accepting and matching
orders as provided in CHX Article 20,
Rule 8(d).47 If the primary market in a
42 Id.
43 Id.
44 This aggregation and rounding process would
apply for display purposes only; all orders would
retain their rankings for execution purposes as
described in CHX Article 20, Rule 8(b)(1) through
(5). However, as noted in CHX Article 20, Rule 8(g),
the Matching System would report each round-lot
transaction that occurs within the Matching System,
including executions of resting odd-lot orders that
have been aggregated into one or more round-lots
for display purposes, to the appropriate
consolidated reporting system.
45 As required by Rule 600(b)(3) of Reg. NMS in
its definition of ‘‘automated quotations,’’ the
Exchange’s Matching System is designed to accept
IOC orders; to immediately and automatically
execute an IOC order against the displayed BBO, up
to its full size; to immediately and automatically
cancel any unexecuted portion of the IOC order
without routing the order elsewhere; to
immediately and automatically transmit a response
to the order-sending participant indicating the
action taken on the order; and to immediately and
automatically update the BBO to reflect any change
that occurred as a result of the execution.
46 See CHX Article 20, Rule 3(a).
47 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(d).
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security other than a Nasdaq-listed
security opens with a quote, but has not
reported a trade for 30 seconds
following the dissemination of the
initial quote, the Matching System
would cancel all opening cross orders,
and then start accepting and matching
all other orders.48
8. Automated matching of orders.
With certain exceptions specifically set
out in CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e), and
subject to the provisions relating to the
prevention of trade throughs that are set
out in CHX Article 20, Rule 5, incoming
orders would be matched against one or
more orders in the Matching System, in
the order of their ranking, at the price
of each resting order, for the full amount
of shares available at that price or for
the size of the incoming order, if
smaller.49 If an order could not be
immediately matched or matched in full
when received (and it is not designated
as an order type that should be
immediately cancelled), it or its residual
portion would be placed in the
Matching System and ranked as
described above.50
The following order types would be
subject to specific executions within the
Matching System:
a. Benchmark orders. Benchmark
orders, which are cross transactions
submitted by institutional brokers that
meet the requirements of Rule 611(b)(7)
of Reg. NMS, would execute at any
price, without regard to the NBBO and
may represent the interest of one or
more participants of the Exchange.51
b. Cross and cross with size orders.
Cross and cross with size orders would
be automatically executed if they meet
the requirements set out in Rule 4(b)(4)
and (6) respectively, but would be
immediately and automatically
cancelled if they do not meet these
requirements.52
c. Cross with satisfy orders. In
executing this order type, the Matching
System first would determine whether
the order contains a share size that is
48 Id. This provision would apply only to
securities other than Nasdaq-listed securities. As
noted above, Nasdaq-listed securities would open
based on the first unlocked, uncrossed market that
occurs on or after 8:30 a.m.
49 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(d)(1).
50 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(d)(2). Orders that
would be immediately cancelled, if not executed,
include FOK orders and IOC limit and market
orders. See CHX Article 20, Rules 4(b)(11) through
(13).
51 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(1) and Rule
4(b)(2). A benchmark order is defined in Rule
611(b)(7) of Reg. NMS as an order that is executed
at a price that was not based, directly or indirectly,
on the quoted price of the security at the time of
execution and for which the material terms were
not reasonably determinable at the time the
commitment to execute the order was made.
52 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(1).
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sufficient to satisfy orders in the
Matching System or bids or offers in
other markets, as applicable. If this
requirement is not met, the cross with
satisfy would be automatically
cancelled.53
If the order meets this requirement,
the Matching System then would satisfy
existing orders in the Matching System
or send orders or commitments to other
market centers to satisfy bids or offers,
as necessary to prevent a trade-through
and, before updating the Exchange’s
quotes, would execute the cross at a
price that is better than the best bid or
offer to be displayed in the Matching
System and, for securities listed on
NYSE, Amex or any other exchange
other than Nasdaq (and for Nasdaqlisted securities, when Reg. NMS is
implemented in those issues), equal to
or better than the NBBO. In doing so,
the Matching System would determine
whether the Participant that sent the
order to the Matching System is
attempting to satisfy bids or offers in the
Matching System at a price that is better
than the cross price and, if so, would
not allow those executions to occur, but
would instead allocate the better prices
to the customer, not to the Participant
sending the order to the Matching
System.
d. Cross with yield orders. When the
customer order that is part of a cross
with yield order is eligible for an
immediate execution because it is at a
price better than the currently displayed
best bid or offer in the Matching System,
the cross with yield order would be
automatically executed by matching the
participant as principal against the
customer order; provided, however, that
if there is any order already displayed
in the Matching System at the same
price as (or better than) the participant’s
interest, that order or those orders
would be matched against the customer
order in place of the participant’s
interest as necessary to exhaust the
customer order interest.54 If the
customer order that is part of a cross
with yield order is not eligible for an
immediate execution because it is not
better than the currently displayed bid
or offer in the Matching System, the
cross with yield order would be
immediately and automatically
cancelled.
e. Midpoint cross. A midpoint cross
order would be immediately executed at
the midpoint between the NBBO. If the
NBBO is locked at the time the order is
received, the midpoint cross would be
executed at the locked market price,
unless the order could be executed in
53 See
54 See
PO 00000
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CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(2).
Frm 00069
Fmt 4703
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subpenny increments. If the NBBO is
crossed at the time the order is received,
the midpoint cross would be
immediately and automatically
cancelled.55
f. Non-regular way cross orders. These
orders would be automatically executed
without regard to either the NBBO or
any orders for regular way settlement
that might be in the Matching System.56
g. Sell short orders. Sell short orders
(including odd lot orders) would be
displayed and executed only when
permissible under the provisions of
Rule 10a–1 (‘‘Short Sale Rule’’) and
Regulation SHO.57 When a sell short
order cannot be executed or displayed at
its limit price under the provisions of
the Short Sale Rule and Regulation
SHO, the order would be automatically
repriced (without violating its limit
price) to the next available price at
which it can be executed or displayed.58
h. Do not display orders. A do-notdisplay order would be executed as
provided in CHX Rule 8(d), but would
be immediately and automatically
cancelled if, at any point, the order
would prevent the execution of an
inbound order because the do-notdisplay order has crossed the NBBO.59
i. Inbound ITS commitment or linkage
plan order. An inbound ITS
commitment or linkage plan order, if it
is priced at or better than the current
Exchange-displayed BBO (or if it is
marked ‘‘market’’), would be
automatically matched, in round-lot
increments, against the order(s) at the
price reflected in the BBO (or at a better
undisplayed price), for the full amount
of round-lot shares available at that
price, and any remaining portion of the
ITS commitment or linkage plan order
would be automatically cancelled.60 An
inbound ITS commitment marked as a
‘‘block’’ trade would be automatically
matched, in round-lot increments, at the
price reflected in the ITS commitment,
against the order(s) in the Matching
System, in regular price-time priority.
j. Trades in locked markets. Trades
would continue to be executed in the
Matching System when the NBBO is
55 See
CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(14).
CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(15).
57 Because there is no exemption from the
requirements of the Short Sale Rule or Reg. SHO for
odd lots executed within a system such as the
Matching System, odd lot orders would be treated
as all other orders in determining whether they
could be executed under the Short Sale Rule and
Reg. SHO.
58 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(5).
59 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(6).
60 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(7). The Exchange
believes that this handling of ITS commitments and
linkage plan orders is consistent with the ITS Plan
and the current draft of the linkage plan that might
replace the ITS Plan.
56 See
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crossed; provided however, that (i) If the
ITS Plan requires that the Matching
System route the inbound order to
another market for execution, the
Matching System would do so or, if the
order is marked ‘‘do not route,’’ the
Matching System would automatically
cancel the order; and (ii) once Reg. NMS
is implemented in a security, the
Matching System would only execute
orders in that security up to (but not
beyond) the first uncrossed NBBO.61
9. Prevention of trade-throughs and
other order routing. The Exchange’s
Matching System would prevent the
execution of all or a part of an inbound
order for at least a round lot if the
execution would cause an improper
trade-through of another ITS market or
if, when Reg. NMS is implemented for
a security, the execution of all or a part
of the order would be improper under
Reg. NMS Rule 611.62 Inbound odd lot
orders and odd lot crosses would be
eligible for execution on the Exchange,
even if they would trade through other
markets’ bids and offers.
If a participant has submitted a cross
with satisfy or an outbound ISO order
and its execution would cause an
improper trade through, the Matching
System would execute the order and
simultaneously route commitments or
orders to other markets to satisfy their
protected quotes. In these situations, the
Exchange’s systems would determine
when, how and where these orders (or
commitments) should be routed to
satisfy protected quotes. The Exchange
would route these orders (or
commitments), at the participant’s
election, either through the Intermarket
Trading System (or any later linkage
that supersedes ITS) or through the
connectivity provided by a routing
services provider with whom the
Exchange has negotiated an agreement.
The Exchange will provide these
routing services pursuant to the terms of
three separate agreements, to the extent
that they are applicable to a specific
routing decision: (1) An agreement
between the Exchange and each
Participant on whose behalf orders will
be routed (‘‘Participant-Exchange
Agreement’’); (2) an agreement between
each Participant and a specified thirdparty broker-dealer that will use its
routing connectivity to other markets
and serve as a ‘‘give-up’’ in those
markets (‘‘Give-Up Agreement’’); and (3)
61 See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and
Policy .01(e).
62 See CHX Article 20, Rule 5. At least initially,
however, the Exchange would not apply the
‘‘flickering quote’’ exception to Rule 611 of Reg.
NMS (Reg. NMS Rule 611(b)(8)) when determining
whether or not the execution of the order would
create an improper trade-through.
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an agreement between the Exchange and
the specified third-party broker-dealer
(‘‘Routing Connectivity Agreement’’)
pursuant to which the third-party
broker-dealer agrees to provide routing
connectivity to other markets and serve
as a ‘‘give-up’’ for the Exchange’s
Participants in other markets. The
Exchange will provide these routing
services in compliance with its rules
and with the provisions of the Act and
the rules thereunder, including, but not
limited to, the requirements of Sections
6(b)(4) and (5) of the Act that the rules
of a national securities exchange
provide for the equitable allocation of
reasonable dues, fees and other charges
among its members and issuers and
other persons using its facilities, and not
be designed to permit unfair
discrimination between customers,
issuers, brokers or dealers. The Routing
Connectivity Agreement will include
terms and conditions that enable the
Exchange to comply with these
obligations.
In addition to these routing services,
the Exchange is developing a
functionality that would, in all other
situations where the execution of an
inbound round lot order, in whole or in
part, would cause a trade-through, (a)
Route the order to another venue,
according to each participant’s
instructions, or (b) if the order is marked
‘‘do not route,’’ automatically cancel the
order.63 The Exchange plans to
supplement this filing, or file a new rule
submission, with respect to this
functionality, as soon as possible.
The Exchange has developed an
initial series of trade-through policies
and procedures that describe how the
Exchange will implement the provisions
of Rule 611 of Reg. NMS.64 These
procedures describe the Exchange’s
clock synchronization practices, as well
as its plans for applying the exceptions
to Rule 611 of Reg. NMS.65 Among other
things, these procedures confirm that
the Exchange would apply the self-help
63 There would be one exception to the general
rule that an inbound ‘‘do not route’’ order would
be cancelled if its execution would constitute an
improper trade-through. If an undisplayed order is
resting in the Matching System and the execution
of an inbound order (that is not an IOC or FOK
order) against the undisplayed resting order would
cause an improper trade-through, the resting order
would be cancelled to the extent necessary to allow
the inbound order to be executed or quoted.
64 See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and
Policy .01. The Exchange will further define its
policies in more detail over the next month or so.
65 The Exchange’s systems will routinely,
throughout the trading day, use processes that
capture the time reflected on the atomic clock
operated by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology and will automatically make
adjustments to the time recorded in the Exchange’s
Matching System to ensure that the period between
the two times does not exceed 500 milliseconds.
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47841
exception (and disregard another
market’s quotations for trade-through
purposes) when that market has
publicly announced that it is not
disseminating automated quotations
(but has not identified those quotes as
manual); or when the Exchange has a
reasonable basis for believing that the
other market is experiencing systems
problems and that market (a) Has not
responded, within 30 seconds, to an
Exchange inquiry seeking information
about possible systems problems, or (b)
has not confirmed, within two minutes
after an Exchange inquiry, that it is not
having systems problems.66 These
procedures also confirm that the
Exchange automatically would place an
appropriate modifier on trades executed
pursuant to an exemption from, or
exception to, Rule 611 of Reg. NMS in
accordance with specifications
approved by the operating committee of
the relevant national market system
plan for an NMS stock.67
The Exchange’s initial trade-through
policies also describe its plans for
confirming that its own bids and offers
qualify as automated quotations.
Specifically, the Exchange would
periodically (no less often than once
every five seconds and no more often
than once every second) send a test IOC
order to the Matching System to
determine whether the Exchange’s
Matching System accepts the order and
would use automated monitoring
systems to further measure the Matching
System’s handling of test IOC orders
within the Matching System.68 These
66 See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and
Policy .01(d). The Exchange would notify the other
market of its use of the self-help exception by using
appropriate technology made available for
intermarket communications from time to time. The
Exchange then would continue to apply this selfhelp exception until the other market has provided
reasonable assurance to the Exchange (or to the
public) that the problems have been corrected.
67 See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and
Policy .01(h). In addition, if an on-Exchange
participant submits an outbound ISO order
(consisting of an order to execute on the Exchange,
coupled with outbound ISOs to execute against
protected quotations of other markets), the
Matching System will not execute the order on the
Exchange until it either simultaneously routes ISOs
to other markets or confirms that the participant
submitting the order has simultaneously routed
ISOs designed to execute against the full size of any
other market’s protected bid or offer, as required by
Rule 600(b)(30) and Rule 611(b)(6) of Reg. NMS.
68 These systems would review, in real time, the
Matching System’s handling of test IOC orders to
determine whether, and within what time frame, (i)
IOC orders are executed against the displayed
quote, up to its full size; (ii) any unexecuted portion
of the IOC order is cancelled; (iii) a confirmation
of the action taken is generated and transmitted
from the Matching System to the monitoring system
(to serve as a proxy for a transmission to the ordersending firm); and (iv) the Matching System
transmits a new bid or offer (as appropriate) to the
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monitoring systems would provide
immediate reports to other Exchange
systems for further handling. If these
systems receive a report that gives the
Exchange reason to believe that it is not
capable of displaying automated
quotations, the Exchange would
automatically and immediately append
a ‘‘manual’’ identifier to the bids and
offers it makes publicly available.69 The
Exchange would not remove this
‘‘manual’’ identifier until it has
determined that its quotations qualify as
automated quotations. It would then
notify other markets that its quotations
are automated to ensure that all markets
recognize the Exchange’s bids and offers
as automated quotations.
10. Locking and crossing quotations.
An order would not be displayed on the
Exchange if its display would
improperly lock or cross the ITS best
bid or offer or, when Reg. NMS is
implemented for a security, if its display
would constitute a locking or crossing
quotation.70 These otherwise locking or
crossing orders would either be routed
to another appropriate market or, if
designated as ‘‘do not route,’’ would be
automatically cancelled.
11. Clearing the matching system. To
ensure that orders on the Exchange have
an appropriate opportunity to interact
with each other, institutional brokers
ordinarily would be required to clear
the Matching System before sending an
order to another market for execution.71
Any outbound ITS commitments that
are seeking liquidity in another
market—whether they represent agency
or proprietary interest—would be
required to first clear the displayed and
undisplayed orders in the Exchange’s
Matching System before being sent
through the ITS System. Outbound ITS
commitments (or ISOs) that are being
sent to another market to satisfy its
displayed bid or offer, however, would
not be required to clear the Exchange’s
Matching System before being sent to
the other market.72 Additionally, an
institutional broker would not be
required to clear the Matching System if
the customer order that is being sent to
another market could not be executed in
the Matching System (e.g., the order is
a stop or stop limit order which has not
yet been elected).73
12. Trading halts. Under the proposed
rules, two senior officers of the
Exchange would be authorized to
suspend and restart trading within a
trading session or to halt trading for the
remainder of a trading session, in one or
more securities, when the officials
believe it is in the public interest.74 If
trading in one or more issues is
suspended or halted, the Matching
System would not accept any additional
orders and would resume quoting and
matching orders only after the end of
the trading halt.75 Because the Matching
System would not be locked or crossed
when trading is halted, and because it
would not accept orders during the halt,
the Matching System would be able to
emerge from the halt without any
special reopening process, by simply
displaying its BBO and then accepting
and matching orders as provided by the
Matching System rules described above.
13. Cancelling transactions/handling
clearly erroneous transactions. Under
the proposed rules, participants that
make a transaction in demonstrable
error could agree to cancel and unwind
the transaction, subject to the approval
of the Exchange.76 The Exchange also
proposes to extend its current electronic
book rule for the handling of clearly
erroneous transactions, with a few
minor changes, to the operation of the
Matching System.77 This rule would
allow the Exchange to review, and
potentially modify or cancel, executions
where one party believes that the terms
of the transaction were clearly
erroneous when submitted. A related
rule relating to systems disruptions and
malfunctions would allow the Exchange
to modify or cancel executions that
See CHX Article 20, Rule 7(d).
CHX Article 20, Rule 1(d). Under the
Exchange’s current rules, a trading halt could be
declared by the chairman or vice chairman of the
Exchange’s Board of Directors, or by its president,
with the prior approval of a director from a
participant firm and a director from the trading
floor. The Exchange believes that it no longer is
appropriate or effective to require its directors to
participate in the decisions to suspend or halt
trading, particularly with the automated
environment proposed by the new trading model
and the fact that the Exchange will no longer be
operating a trading floor.
75 See CHX Article 20, Rule 1, Interpretation and
Policy .02. Participants could cancel orders during
the halt.
76 See CHX Article 20, Rule 9.
77 See CHX Article 20, Rule 10; see also CHX
Article XXA, Rule 7 (the policy approved for use
within the electronic book).
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
73
monitoring system (to serve as a proxy for a
transmission to the appropriate securities
information processor). See CHX Article 20, Rule
5, Interpretation and Policy .02(a).
69 In the event that the Exchange’s systems do not
permit the Exchange to disseminate a ‘‘manual’’
identifier, the Exchange would announce that its
quotes are manual over an appropriate functionality
available for communications with other market
centers. See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation
and Policy .02(b).
70 See CHX Article 20, Rule 6(d).
71 If a customer specifically requests otherwise, an
institutional broker is not required to clear the
Matching System. See CHX Article 20, Rule 7(a).
Institutional brokers would be required to
document any directives for special handling of
orders under this rule. See CHX Article 20, Rule
7(b).
72 See CHX Article 20, Rule 7(c).
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74 See
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result from a disruption or malfunction
in the use or operation of the Matching
System, or any communications system
associated with the Matching System or
when extraordinary market conditions
or other circumstances exist in which
the nullification or modification of
transactions may be necessary for the
maintenance of a fair and orderly
market or the protection of investors
and the public interest. The proposed
rules set out procedures for each of
these reviews, including specific means
for participants to appeal the Exchange’s
decisions.78
14. The late trading session. The
Exchange’s Matching System would
begin accepting orders for the late
trading session immediately after the
closing of the regular trading session.79
Orders for the late trading session
would be matched according to the
same process used during the regular
trading session. As noted above, the late
trading session would end at 3:30 p.m.
b. Market Makers
The Exchange’s proposed new trading
model would allow participants to
register to act as proprietary market
makers on the Exchange. The provisions
that would govern the activities of these
78 For example, a participant seeking review of a
‘‘clearly erroneous’’ transaction would be required
to notify the Exchange of the request immediately
after the execution by telephone, and within 15
minutes after the execution in writing. The
Exchange would promptly notify the other party to
the transaction. Both parties then would be required
to submit information relating to the disputed
transaction, within specified time frames. After
reviewing the transaction, an Exchange official
would notify both parties of his or her decision, in
writing; either party could appeal the decision to
a subcommittee of the Exchange’s Committee on
Exchange Procedure and, if not satisfied, to the full
Committee on Exchange Procedure. In making his
or her decision, the Exchange official would
consider the goals of maintaining a fair and orderly
market and protecting investors and the public
interest; if an Exchange official determines that a
transaction was clearly erroneous, he or she would
try to return the parties to the positions that they
would have been in (or positions reasonably similar
to those positions) if the error had not occurred.
Similarly, in the event of a disruption or
malfunction that impacts the operation or use of the
Matching System (or in the event of extraordinary
market conditions or other circumstances), an
Exchange official could declare transactions void or
modify transactions. Absent extraordinary
circumstances, any Exchange action to void or
modify transactions in this manner must be taken
within 30 minutes of detection of the erroneous
transaction, but in no event later than 2 p.m. on the
trading day following the date of the trade at issue.
The official would be required to notify each
member involved in the transaction as soon as
practicable after making any decision; decisions
could be appealed using the procedure set out for
the review of decisions addressing clearly
erroneous transactions.
79 See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(c)(2). Orders for
the late trading session would not be allowed queue
before the close of the regular trading session; they
would only be accepted by the Exchange after the
close of the regular trading session.
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market makers are set out in the
proposed rules in CHX Article 16. These
proposed rules replace the current
market maker rules contained in CHX
Article XXXIV.
Under the proposed rules, a
participant firm seeking to act as a
market maker would be required to
register with the Exchange.80 Participant
firms would be required to register as
market makers; individual traders
within those firms would be required to
separately register as market maker
traders.81 The proposed rules
specifically provide that a market maker
that is a participant in the Exchange, but
is not a member of another selfregulatory organization, would be
permitted to trade only on a proprietary
basis and would not be permitted to
handle any agency orders on the
Exchange.82 More than one market
maker could register in each security.83
A participant would register as a
market maker by submitting an
application to the Exchange, confirming
its ability to comply with applicable
rules and identifying the number of
securities in which it seeks to make
markets.84 The Exchange would review
each application and, using specific
criteria, would determine whether or
not the participant should be registered
in that capacity.85 The Exchange would
notify each participant of the action
taken with respect to its application
and, if it denies a participant’s
registration request, would describe the
reasons for that denial.86 An
unsuccessful applicant would be
permitted to seek a review from that
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
80 See
CHX Article 16, Rule 1(a). A participant
would be not be considered to be acting as a market
maker unless it was registered in that capacity and
was in good standing.
81 See CHX Article 16, Rule 1, Interpretation and
Policy .01.
82 See CHX Article 16, Rule 1, Interpretation and
Policy .02.
83 See CHX Article 16, Rule 3, Interpretation and
Policy .03.
84 See CHX Article 16, Rule 2(b).
85 See CHX Article 16, Rule 3. In considering a
participant’s request for registration as a market
maker, the Exchange would consider: (a) The
participant’s financial resources; (b) the
participant’s experience and demonstrated ability
in making markets, including the depth and quality
of the market quoted by the participant in other
securities; (c) the participant’s demonstrated ability
to make markets in such a manner as to increase
the order flow to the Exchange and, as a result, the
competitiveness of its market with markets
elsewhere; (d) the participant’s disciplinary record,
including its violations of Exchange rules, the rules
of other SROs and Federal securities laws; (e) the
participant’s operational capability, including its
ability to comply with the responsibilities set out
in CHX Article 16, Rule 8; and (f) the overall best
interests of the Exchange.
86 See CHX Article 16, Rule 2(d).
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decision pursuant to the provisions of
CHX Article 15.87
Under the proposed rules, once a
firm’s market maker registration is
approved, the firm could select the
securities in which it would act as
market maker by notifying the
Exchange.88 The Exchange would
require a firm to seek prior approval
before acting as market maker in more
than 500 securities and with respect to
each increment of an additional 100
securities after that threshold is
reached.89 If a market maker drops a
security from its selected list, that
participant would not be allowed to
trade that security again as market
maker for 20 calendar days.90
A firm’s registration as a market
maker could be terminated voluntarily,
by the market maker itself, or
involuntarily, by the Exchange.91 The
proposed rules would allow market
makers to voluntarily deregister by
filing the appropriate form with the
Exchange. As part of that process, a firm
would be permitted to request
temporary or partial deregistration as a
market maker—and thus avoid the need
to complete the registration process
again—in specific circumstances that
temporarily prevent a market maker
from acting in that role.92 Under the
proposed rules, the Exchange could
grant a request for temporary or partial
87 See
CHX Article 16, Rule 2(d).
CHX Article 16, Rule 5. A market maker
would be required to notify the Exchange of a
decision to add or drop securities by 9 a.m. on the
trading day preceding the date on which the change
would take effect, unless the Exchange is able to
accommodate a notification closer to the effective
date. Id.
89 See CHX Article 16, Rule 5, Interpretation and
Policy .01. This process would allow the Exchange
to evaluate a market maker’s request, using the
criteria in CHX Rule 3, to determine whether the
firm appears capable of handling its market maker
responsibilities in these additional issues.
90 See CHX Article 16, Rule 5, Interpretation and
Policy .02. This prohibition would not apply where
a market maker has received approval to voluntarily
deregister as a market maker under the provisions
of CHX Article 16, Rule 6.
91 See CHX Article 16, Rules 6 (voluntary
deregistration) and 7 (involuntary deregistration). In
addition, the Exchange would consider a firm to
have deregistered if it is not trading any securities
as a market maker (i.e., it is not submitting bids or
offers in the securities it has selected). See CHX
Article 16, Rule 6. If a firm is deemed to have
deregistered, it would be required to complete the
registration process again before acting as a market
maker on the Exchange.
92 These reasons include software, hardware,
connectivity or other problems that interfere with
the market maker’s ability to appropriately send
bids or offers to the Exchange or otherwise act as
market maker; legal or regulatory considerations
that temporarily prevent the participant from acting
as market maker; or other circumstances, including,
but not limited to, those that are beyond a market
maker’s control, that interfere with the participant’s
ability to act as market maker. See CHX Article 16,
Rule 6, Interpretation and Policy .01.
88 See
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47843
deregistration for up to 60 days and
could extend that period in its
discretion. The proposed rules would
allow the Exchange to suspend,
terminate or limit a market maker’s
registration upon a determination of any
substantial or continued failure by the
participant to engage in dealings as
required by CHX Article 16, Rule 8 or
as set out in CHX Article 13.93
During the Exchange’s regular trading
session, a market maker would be
required to engage in a course of
dealings for its own account to assist in
the maintenance, to the extent
reasonably practicable, of fair and
orderly markets on the Exchange. A
market maker’s responsibilities would
specifically include: (1) Using
automated systems to maintain a
continuous two-sided quote, for at least
a round-lot, in each of the securities in
which it is registered; (2) maintaining
adequate minimum capital; and (3)
meeting specific quotation or trade
requirements, with respect to its
dealings on the Exchange, over the
course of each calendar month.94 A
market maker’s continuous two-sided
quotes must be at prices which are
reasonably related to the prevailing
market price of the security.95
Market makers would have two other
specific obligations. First, a market
maker that is registered as a market
maker solely on the Exchange and
engages in other business activities (or
that is affiliated with a broker or dealer
that engages in other business activities)
would be required to establish, and
describe to the Exchange, information
barriers that prevent the market maker
93 CHX Article 13 contains the Exchange’s rules
and procedures relating to the suspension and
reinstatement of a participant’s ability to act as a
participant and to retain its registration in a special
capacity (such as a market maker).
94 See CHX Article 16, Rule 8(a) through (c). Over
the course of each calendar month, a market maker
would be required to meet either of these
requirements: (1) At least 5% of the total number
of a market maker’s principal bids or offers on the
Exchange, in each quarter, for each of its assigned
securities, must, when entered on the Exchange, be
at the NBBO or improve the NBBO in a manner that
attributes market data revenue to the Exchange
under the terms of applicable national market
system reporting plans; or (2) the shares traded by
a market maker for its own account, for each of its
assigned issues, must equal or exceed 1% of the
total number of shares executed on the Exchange in
that issue.
95 See CHX Article 16, Rule 8, Interpretation and
Policy .01. The proposed rules provide that, in most
circumstances, a market maker’s quotations should
be priced no more than 10% away from the
prevailing NBBO (as applicable) for securities
priced under $1.00, 5% for securities priced
between $1.00 and $50.00 and 3% for securities
priced above $50.00. This quoting guidance is
substantially similar to that currently provided by
the Exchange’s Market Regulation Department to
participants (such as specialists and market makers)
that have a quoting obligation on the Exchange.
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from using material, non-public
information or information about
customer order flow in its trading
activities.96 And, second, a market
maker would be required to record and,
provide upon request, to the Exchange
in an approved electronic format, its
long or short position in a security as of
the time that it initiates an order in that
security on the Exchange.97
c. Institutional Brokers
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Under the Exchange’s proposed new
trading model, any participant firm that
acts as a broker in effecting transactions
on the Exchange and for which the
Exchange is the designated examining
authority would be permitted to register
with the Exchange as an institutional
broker and to use Exchange systems for
handling orders and reporting
transactions.98 Each individual that
would be authorized to effect trades on
behalf of the firm would be required to
separately register as an institutional
broker representative.99 The Exchange
anticipates that its existing floor brokers
would register as institutional brokers in
the new model. Importantly, although
institutional brokers would operate as
participants on the Exchange, they
could trade from any location and
would not effect transactions from a
physical trading floor.100
96 See CHX Article 16, Rule 9. At the time a
participant becomes a market maker, the participant
would be required to submit a written statement
describing its plans for establishing and
maintaining the required information barriers,
including the internal controls that will be put in
place to monitor the barriers’ effectiveness. A
market maker engaging in these other business
activities would not be allowed to act as a market
maker on the Exchange until the Exchange had
approved the information barrier procedures.
97 See CHX Article 16, Rule 10. The requirement
to report information to the Exchange would apply
only to market makers that are not NASD members.
NASD members would provide this information
directly to the NASD and would be subject to the
NASD’s oversight with respect to their trading
activity.
98 See CHX Article 17, Rule 1.
99 See CHX Article 17, Rule 1, Interpretation and
Policy .02. This requirement essentially tracks the
current requirement that individual floor brokers
separately register with the Exchange and take
required examinations. See CHX Article VI, Rules
2 and 3.
100 As noted above, the Exchange would not
operate a physical trading floor in the new trading
model. The Exchange anticipates that it would
continue to allow participants to remain in their
current locations within the trading floor space,
paying current rent, through the end of the year, at
which time the trading floor space would be more
formally subleased to interested parties (including
participants) for use as office or trading space. The
Exchange believes that it would be appropriate to
allow participants to remain in their current
locations on the floor (and to pay the current rent
for that space) during, and for a short time after, the
transition to the new trading model so that firms
that choose to relocate are not unnecessarily
required to disrupt their operations by both a
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Under the proposed rules,
institutional brokers would be required
to adhere to trading and business
conduct rules that apply to participant
firms generally and would be subject to
specific obligations set out in CHX
Article 17. Among other things,
institutional brokers would be required
to enter all orders received for execution
on the Exchange into an automated
system to provide an electronic record
of their order handling practices; would
be required to maintain separate
accounts for handling agency
transactions, principal transactions and
transactions involving errors; and would
be required to enter transactions into the
appropriate accounts.101 Institutional
brokers would also be required to
maintain required records of their
trading activities, including records of
their relationships with their
customers.102 Finally, institutional
brokers would be required to use an
electronic system, acceptable to the
Exchange, for the handling of orders
that integrates the institutional broker’s
on-Exchange trading activities with the
Matching System and with its trading
activities in other market centers.103
A customer order would be deemed to
be on the Exchange when received by an
institutional broker, but would not have
priority in the Matching System until it
is entered into that system. The
proposed rules would also set out
specific order handling obligations for
institutional brokers.104 Specifically, an
institutional broker handling a market
order would be required to use due
diligence to execute the order at the best
price or prices available.105 Similarly,
transition to a new trading model and a physical
relocation.
101 See CHX Article 17, Rule 3(a) and Rule 3(c).
The requirement for entering orders into an
electronic system to permit the Exchange to more
readily surveil broker order handling activities has
been approved and implemented. See CHX Article
11, Rule 3; Securities Exchange Act Release No.
53772 (May 8, 2006), 71 FR 27758 (May 12, 2006).
In addition, although the Exchange’s current rules
do not specifically require brokers to maintain
specific principal, agency and error accounts, the
Exchange’s Market Regulation Department has
encouraged them to do so as a way to evidence their
compliance with general order handling
obligations.
102 See CHX Article 17, Rule 3(f).
103 See CHX Article 17, Rule 3(b).
104 See CHX Article 17, Rule 3(d). An institutional
broker generally would execute its customers’
orders on an agency basis. If, however, an
institutional broker believes it is in the best
interests of its customer to execute an order on a
principal basis, it must comply with the
requirements of CHX Article 9, Rule 18. See CHX
Article 17, Rule 3(d)(4).
105 In handling a market order, an institutional
broker could assign an appropriate limit price to the
order and send it to the Matching System, could
enter an IOC market order into the Matching System
or could route the order to another market center
after clearing the Exchange’s Matching System.
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an institutional broker handling a limit
order would be required to use due
diligence to execute the order at or
better than the limit price, if available.
And, an institutional broker who has
been given a not held order would be
required to use brokerage judgment in
the execution of the order, and if he
exercises such judgment, would be
relieved of all responsibility with
respect to the time of the order’s
execution and the execution price or
prices given to the order.106 These
proposed rules are similar to rules that
relate to broker trading activities on at
least one other market and are designed
to establish a specific standard by which
institutional broker order handling
activities could be measured.107
The final new requirement under the
proposed rules would require that
brokers use reasonable efforts to report
all transactions that are not effected
through the Exchange’s Matching
System to the Exchange within 10
seconds after the trade occurs.108
Although the Exchange anticipates that
most executions by its institutional
brokers would occur within the
Matching System, the Exchange
recognizes that its institutional brokers
could, from time to time, execute orders
outside of that system. To ensure that
the Exchange and its institutional
brokers can establish compliance with
the trade-through provisions of the ITS
Plan and Rule 610 of Reg. NMS, the
Exchange is developing functionality in
its Brokerplex system that would allow
an institutional broker to electronically
validate whether a trade would
constitute a trade-through before the
trade occurs and that would create an
electronic record that that validation
had taken place.109 Because of the
possibility that a broker trading on a
proprietary basis against a customer
order could use this functionality in a
manner inconsistent with the broker’s
fiduciary obligations to the customer
order, the proposed rules would require
106 See
CHX Article 17, Rule 3(d)(3).
NYSE Rule 123A.41–.44. The Exchange’s
Rules do not currently contain any specific order
execution standards that apply to its brokers.
108 See CHX Article 17, Rule 3(e). This provision
would also require that an institutional broker mark
as ‘‘SOLD’’ any trades reported after this time.
109 See CHX Article 17, Rule 3, Interpretation and
Policy .03. Other possible functionality might allow
a broker to enter the details of a proposed cross
transaction (such as its price, the number of shares
and whether the sell side of the order is ‘‘short’’)
into the Brokerplex system, which would send the
cross to the Matching System for execution when
it could be executed. The first type of
functionality—to allow a broker to report a trade
outside of the Matching System in a manner that
is consistent with the NBBO and orders in the
Matching System—is slated for roll-out to brokers
in (or before) early October 2006.
107 See
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a broker that pulls up the validation
window to complete the required
information and report the transaction
(without cancelling out of the
functionality) unless the broker
mistakenly input the symbol for the
wrong security or the transaction may
be cancelled pursuant to the provisions
set out in CHX Article 20, Rules 9, 10
and 11 (relating to cancellations of
transactions, clearly erroneous
transactions and systems disruptions
and malfunctions).110
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d. Other Rule Changes
1. CHX Article 1. (Definitions and
General Information). Within this
Article of the rules, the Exchange
proposes to add new definitions for
terms that are used elsewhere in the
rules.111 The Exchange also seeks to add
two new sections—one new rule that
lists and defines types of orders and
conditions and one new rule that
confirms that all times identified in the
rules are Central Time unless otherwise
indicated.112
2. CHX Article 2. (Committees). The
proposed changes to this Article
eliminate references to the Exchange’s
trading floor and to the Exchange’s
current Committee on Specialist
Assignment and Evaluation.113 Under
the proposed new model, the Exchange
would no longer have specialists who
110 See CHX Article 17, Rule 3, Interpretation and
Policy .03.
111 These newly-defined terms include ‘‘Act’’ and
‘‘Exchange Act,’’ ‘‘Amex,’’ ‘‘BBO,’’ ‘‘CHX,’’ ‘‘CHX
Holdings,’’ ‘‘institutional broker,’’ ‘‘NBBO,’’
‘‘Nasdaq,’’ ‘‘NYSE,’’ ‘‘primary market,’’ ‘‘Rule 10a–
1 and Regulation SHO,’’ ‘‘rules,’’ and ‘‘Securities
Act.’’ The Exchange’s BBO would be the best bid
or offer displayed in the Exchange’s Matching
System. The NBBO would be described in reference
to the definition used in Rule 600(b)(42) of Reg.
NMS. The ‘‘primary market’’—a term used largely
to determine the execution price of opening cross
orders—would mean, unless otherwise designated
by the Exchange, the initial listing market for a
security. References to the Exchange’s Rules would
include the rules of the Exchange that have been
adopted by the Exchange’s Board of Directors and
that have either been approved by the Commission
or become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3) of
the Act. The Exchange proposes to delete the
definitions of ‘‘floor’’ and to delete references to the
trading floor from the ‘‘trading facilities’’ definition
to reflect the fact that the Exchange will not be
operating a physical trading floor in the new model.
112 See CHX Article 1, Rules 2 and 3. The order
types and conditions set out in Rule 2 primarily are
those that are accepted by the Exchange’s Matching
System and described in CHX Article 20, Rule 4.
A few new definitions were added to clarify basic
information such as the definition of ‘‘odd lot,’’
‘‘round lot’’ and ‘‘mixed lot.’’ See CHX Article 1,
Rules 2(w) (odd lot), 2(cc) (round lot) and 2(r)
(mixed lot).
113 See CHX Article 2, Rule 5 (removing
references to the trading floor and to the Committee
on Specialist Assignment and Evaluation); Rule 6
(deleting the description of the role of the
Committee on Specialist Assignment and
Evaluation); and Rule 10 (deleting references to the
Exchange’s trading floor).
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are responsible for handling orders in
each issue and thus there is not a need
to have a committee to assign securities
and evaluate specialist performance.
The proposed changes also would
confirm that the Committee on
Exchange Procedure would consist of
not less than seven participants, without
specifying the specialized roles in
which those persons must serve.114
3. CHX Article 3. (Participants). The
primary substantive changes in this
Article are designed to streamline the
process of obtaining a trading permit on
the Exchange. Under the Exchange’s
current rules, the Exchange’s staff makes
a preliminary determination about an
applicant’s qualifications and then posts
the applicant’s name to permit other
participants to submit any objections to
that applicant’s desire to trade on the
Exchange. The Exchange believes that
this posting process is not a necessary
component of the application process—
indeed, it appears to relate back to a
time when information about a firm’s
prior business dealings might best be
learned by talking with others in the
business community. The electronic
databases of information that are
available today eliminate the need for
this sort of process.115
There are three other groups of
proposed changes within CHX Article 3.
In CHX Rule 1, the Exchange seeks to
eliminate the definitions that identify
when a participant is engaging in a
public securities business—these
definitions do not relate to any
particular requirement applicable to
Exchange participants under the current
rules. And, in CHX Rule 2, the Exchange
proposes to replace references to ‘‘cospecialists,’’ ‘‘floor brokers’’ and
‘‘registered market makers’’ with
references to ‘‘institutional broker
representatives’’ and ‘‘market maker
traders,’’ the terms used in CHX Articles
16 and 17 to refer to the individuals
who would have special registration on
the Exchange in the new model.
One final change to CHX Article 3
would create a more detailed limitation
of liability provision that tracks similar
114 See CHX Article 2, Rule 5 (removing a
requirement that three of the Committee members
be active on the Exchange’s Floor as specialists,
odd-lot dealers or floor brokers). The Exchange
believes that, with its move the new trading model,
it is no longer appropriate to mandate that
Committee members trade in certain capacities and
not others.
115 See CHX Article 3, Rules 3 and 4. Other
changes to the application process would confirm
that, with the posting process eliminated, Exchange
staff would make the initial determination on each
application for a trading permit. These changes also
would refer applicants to a new CHX Article, CHX
Article 15, for a single set of procedures for seeking
review of Exchange decisions, such as the denial of
a trading permit.
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provisions on other markets.116 This
provision would confirm that neither
the Exchange, nor its affiliates, nor any
of the directors, officers, committee
members, officials, employees,
contractors or agents of the Exchange or
its affiliates would be liable to
participants or persons associated with
participants for any loss arising out of
the use of the facilities, systems,
services or equipment provided by the
Exchange or for any loss associated with
an interruption in, or in a failure or
unavailability of, of any such facilities,
systems, services or equipment, whether
or not the loss resulted from negligence
or other unintentional errors omissions
or from any other cause within or
without the Exchange’s control.117 The
provision would also confirm that the
Exchange makes no warranty as to
results that might be obtained by
persons using the Exchange’s facilities
or services or any data transmitted by or
on behalf of the Exchange.118 Other
changes to this provision would bar a
participant from instituting a legal
proceeding against the Exchange, its
affiliates or their directors, officer,
committee members, officials,
employees, contractors or agents for
actions taken or omitted in connection
with the official business of the
Exchange, except to the extent that such
actions or omissions constitute
violations of the Federal securities laws
for which a private right of action
exists.119
4. CHX Article 4. (Participant Firms).
In this Article, the Exchange seeks to
eliminate references to its trading floor
and to floor brokers.120 It also proposes
to change existing requirements relating
to the nominees and voting designees
named on trading permits to confirm
that any person affiliated with a
participant firm, not just a general
partner of the firm, who is acting as an
institutional broker representative or a
market maker trader can be named as a
nominee on a trading permit.121
Similarly, the Exchange proposes to
confirm that any officer of a participant
firm can be named as voting designee,
not just the firm’s president or one of its
116 See
ISE Rule 705(a) and CBOE Rule 6.7A.
the full text of this provision at CHX
Article 3, Rule 8(a).
118 See the full text of this provision at CHX
Article 3, Rule 8(b).
119 See CHX Article 3, Rule 8(c) for the complete
text of this provision. Importantly, this last
provision would not apply to appeals of
disciplinary actions or other actions by the
Exchange for which an appellate right is provided
by the rules.
120 See CHX Article 4, Rules 4 and 15.
121 See CHX Article 4, Rule 13(b).
117 See
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vice presidents.122 These changes are
designed to reflect the fact that
participant firms are structured in
various ways—some are partnerships
and others are not—and that the
Exchange is concerned with an
individual’s authority to act on behalf of
the firm, not whether he or she fits into
a narrowly selected job title or role.123
5. CHX Article 5. (Access to the
Exchange). Under the Exchange’s
current rules, this Article (entitled
‘‘Admission to Floor—
Communications’’) contains rules
describing visitor and employee access
to the trading floor, the making of
announcements on the floor and the
connections that can be made to and
from the Exchange’s trading floor.124
Because the Exchange would not
operate a physical trading floor in its
new model, the Exchange proposes to
delete these rules and to replace them
with rules that contemplate remote
access to the Exchange’s automated
trading systems. These proposed new
rules would begin by requiring that
participants have reasonable procedures
to maintain the physical security of the
equipment and systems used to access
the Exchange and to maintain an
updated list of the persons who can
obtain access to the Exchange on the
Participant’s behalf.125 Another rule
would confirm that, as a condition of
obtaining access to the Exchange, each
participant agrees to pay Exchange fees,
including fees associated with the
routing of orders to other markets.126
One of the last proposed new rules in
this Article would set out a structure
through which Exchange participants
could provide non-participant brokerdealers with access to the Exchange,
through clearing arrangements or
otherwise.127 Under this proposed rule,
this type of sponsored access could be
provided so long as the participant
sponsoring access (the ‘‘sponsoring
participant’’), the non-participant
broker-dealer and the Exchange entered
into appropriate agreements confirming
basic information about the roles and
responsibilities of the various parties.
These agreements would confirm that:
122 See
CHX Article 4, Rule 13(c).
proposed changes in this Article correct
a misspelling (CHX Rule 4) and clarify that
participants do not ‘‘own’’ trading permits, they
‘‘hold’’ them. (CHX Rule 13(a)).
124 One of these provisions, CHX Rule 4, contains
a new interpretation and policy that requires
participants to provide specific information to the
Exchange about connections to, and orders handled
through, layoff vendors. The Exchange proposes to
move this provision to CHX Article 11, its new
Books and Records rule.
125 See CHX Article 5, Rule 1.
126 See CHX Article 5, Rule 2.
127 See CHX Article 5, Rule 3.
(1) All orders submitted by the nonparticipant broker-dealer, and any
executions resulting from those orders,
are binding in all respects on the
sponsoring participant; (2) the
sponsoring participant is responsible for
all actions taken and fees incurred in
connection with any order submitted or
transaction executed by the nonparticipant broker-dealer; (3) in all
matters relating to the non-participant’s
access to the Exchange and its use of
Exchange facilities, the Exchange would
communicate with the sponsoring
participant and would not be required
to communicate with the nonparticipant at any time; (4) the nonparticipant broker-dealer would have
reasonable procedures to maintain the
physical security of the equipment used
to access the Exchange to prevent
improper use of, or access to, the
Exchange; and (5) the sponsoring
participant would indemnify and hold
the Exchange harmless from any
liability, loss, claim or expense which
the Exchange may incur in connection
with the agreement. The Exchange
believes that these provisions provide
sufficient assurances to the Exchange, to
other participants using the Exchange’s
facilities and to the non-participants
themselves that non-participant brokerdealer access to the Exchange’s facilities
would be subject to the same standards
and obligations that apply to participant
access.128
The final proposed rule in this Article
would permit an appeal from a Market
Regulation Department decision to deny
access to a participant (or a nonparticipant broker-dealer) under any of
the rules in the Article. Any appeal from
such a decision would be made
pursuant to the procedures set out in
CHX Article 15.129
6. CHX Article 6. (Registration). In
this Article, the proposed rule changes
would begin by confirming that
individuals acting as institutional
broker representatives and market
maker traders would be required to
register with the Exchange and
successfully complete certain written
examinations.130 Other proposed
changes would set out more specific
obligations relating to notifications that
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128 For example, because the sponsoring
participant confirms that it is responsible for the
non-participant’s actions, the Exchange can enforce
compliance with its rules through actions taken
against the sponsoring participant. In addition, the
non-participant (like a participant) would be
required to use reasonable procedures to maintain
the physical security of the equipment used to
access the Exchange and the Exchange would
communicate with the participant on all issues
relating to the use of the Exchange’s facilities.
129 See CHX Article 5, Rule 4.
130 See CHX Article 6, Rules 2(b)(7) and 3.
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would need to be made to the Exchange
when a registered or associated person
is terminated and would require
participant firms to notify the Exchange
of any firm-related event constituting a
statutory disqualification.131 Additional
changes would update the firm
supervision rules to require participants
to identify the person(s) responsible for
acting as supervisors; to recognize that
supervisory authority could be
delegated and to establish the
mechanism for doing so; to provide that,
in the absence of a specific designation,
the firm’s general partner(s), president,
chief executive officer or other principal
executive officer would be deemed to
have supervisory responsibility; to
require firms to meet, at least annually,
with staff about compliance matters;
and to require firms to establish internal
controls to assure that appropriate
supervision is being exercised.132 Other
changes would require that a participant
opening a branch office file a Form BR
with the Exchange (instead of Schedule
E to Form BD) and confirm that a
participant must retain records that
identify the names of all persons who
are designated as supervisory personnel
(and the dates for which those
designations are effective) for six years
(the first two years in an easily
accessible place). Finally, the changes in
this Article would add a new rule
relating to fingerprinting of Exchange
staff and contractors and would
incorporate two rules that currently
occur elsewhere in the Exchange’s
rules.133
7. CHX Article 7. (Financial
Responsibility and Reporting).134 In this
131 See CHX Article 6, Rule 2(e)–(f) and
Interpretations and Policies .03 and .04.
132 See CHX Article 6, Rule 5(a) (various
provisions relating to the designation of persons
with supervisory authority) and 5(c) (internal
controls and training). These obligations are similar
to those required by other SROs and would ensure
that the Exchange’s participant firms are
strengthening the work that they do to supervise
their registered and associated persons.
133 See CHX Article 6, Rule 10 (fingerprinting)
and Rules 8 and 9 (formerly, CHX Article VIII, Rule
16 and CHX Article VIII, Rule 11). Under the
proposed fingerprinting rule, the Exchange would
conduct fingerprint-based criminal records checks
of all prospective employees, as well as of
independent contractors and temporary employees
who are expected to have access to Exchange
facilities for more than 10 days. The Exchange
would similarly conduct checks of persons who
would have access to premises controlled by CHX
Holdings, when those premises are in the same
building as Exchange facilities. This proposed rule
would codify the Exchange’s current practice of
conducting these checks for prospective Exchange
employees and would extend that practice to
independent contractors and temporary workers
who have more than fleeting access to Exchange
facilities, as well as to other persons who have
access to certain CHX Holdings premises.
134 This Article previously was numbered CHX
Article XI of the Exchange’s Rules. The marked
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Article, the proposed rule changes
would delete references to requirements
that current apply to specialist firms
and incorporate three fee-related
provisions that currently appear in other
Articles.135
8. CHX Article 8. (Business Conduct).
As noted above, as part of its new model
filing, the Exchange has sought to better
organize its rules. Although there were
some minor organizational changes in
earlier Articles, the proposed changes in
CHX Article 8 are somewhat more
extensive.136 Importantly, though, CHX
Article 8 does not contain any
completely new rule provisions; indeed,
eleven of the sixteen proposed rules in
this CHX Article have not been changed
at all.137 Instead, the rules in this
section were gathered from throughout
the Exchange’s rulebook and, with three
exceptions discussed below, are not
substantially modified.138
The existing version of CHX Article
VIII, Rule 21 extensively details how
one participant firm must coordinate
with another participant in the transfer
of customer accounts. Because the
Exchange is not the designated
examining authority for any firm that
carries participant accounts, the
Exchange believes that this detailed
version of the rules in this submission compares the
current CHX Article XI to the changes that would
be made as part of the Exchange’s new trading
model, including the change in numbering. The
provisions in current CHX Article VII have been
moved to new CHX Article 13, as described below.
135 The specialist-related provisions that would
be deleted are shown in CHX Article 7, Rule 3. The
three fee-related rules that would be added to this
section—so that all fee-related provisions could be
gathered as much as possible in one place—
formerly were CHX Article XIV, Rules 1 (fixing and
paying fees); 10 (failure to pay debts); and 11 (fees
for participants in military service).
136 To try to enhance a reader’s ability to
understand which rules the Exchange proposes to
keep in force, the Exchange shows the reorganized
rules as new text in the first section of Exhibit 5
and the existing rule text as deleted text in the
second section of Exhibit 5. Some of these
apparently deleted rules have not been completely
removed; instead, they have been moved to other
CHX Articles in the rulebook. See CHX Article VIII,
Deleted Rules 3, 7, 9 and 17 (moved to CHX Article
9); Rules 8, 11 and 16 (moved to CHX Article 12);
and Rule 23 and 24 (moved to new CHX Article 14).
137 See CHX Article 8, Rules 2 (formerly Rule 12);
3 (formerly Rule 1); 4 (formerly Rule 5); 5 (formerly
Rule 2); 8 (formerly Rule 18); 9 (formerly Rule 19);
11 (formerly Rule 25); 12 (formerly CHX Article XV,
Rule 3); 13 (formerly CHX Article XIII); 14 (formerly
CHX Article XXXIII) and 15 (formerly CHX Article
XV, Rule 1).
138 Small modifications include changes that
would delete references to the trading floor,
eliminate obsolete provisions or clarify wording.
See CHX Article 8, Rule 1 (replacing the reference
to ‘‘constitution’’ with a reference to the Exchange’s
‘‘bylaws’’ and deleting the unnecessary word
‘‘Firm’’ in the first few words of the text); Rule 7
(eliminating references to non-participants on the
trading floor and to employees of banks, insurance
companies and other corporations); and Rule 8
(eliminating references to floor employees).
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recitation of account transfer procedures
is not a necessary component of its
rules. Instead, the Exchange proposes to
adopt, in CHX Article 8, Rule 10, rule
language similar to that used by other
markets that have similarly constrained
examining responsibilities.139 Also, the
Exchange has proposed revisions to
CHX Rule 16 that would make the text
relating to its policy against harassment
and other conduct rules applicable,
once the Exchange no longer operates a
trading floor, to conduct that occurs on
Exchange premises, while conducting
business on the Exchange or when
interacting with Exchange staff who are
conducting Exchange business.
The Exchange has proposed the
deletion of several rules in the existing
CHX Article VIII. As an initial matter,
the Exchange seeks to delete CHX
Article VIII, Rule 22 (Responsibility for
Acts of Others), which identifies
supervisory obligations that are much
like those being added to CHX Article
6, Rule 5, as described above. Other
provisions that would be deleted appear
to be unnecessarily duplicative of
existing Exchange authority or of
provisions that are being retained or
seem otherwise unnecessary for the
regulation of the automated market
which the Exchange will operate.140
9. CHX Article 9. (General Trading
Rules). The Exchange proposes to
reorganize CHX Article 9 in much the
same manner as CHX Article 8.141 The
proposed changes to CHX Article 9
include only three new rules—relating
to the reporting of transactions
(including riskless principal
transactions) and to the use of a
customer’s give-up.142 Other provisions
139 See
PCXE Rule 9.19.
e.g., CHX Article VIII, Rule 4 (Upsetting
Market Equilibrium) and Rule 10 (Dealings on
Market Price Fluctuations), which address issues
similar to those set out in other Exchange rules,
including CHX Article 9, Rule 11 (Price
Manipulation). See also CHX Article VIII, Rule 8
(unnecessarily confirming that a participant, or a
partner, officer, director or registered employee of
a participant firm that is found guilty of conduct
inconsistent with just and equitable principles of
trade shall be expelled, suspended or disciplined).
141 As above, the Exchange shows the reorganized
rules as new text in the first section of Exhibit 5
and the existing rule text as deleted text in the
second section of Exhibit 5.
142 See CHX Article 9, Rules 13, 14 and 25.
Proposed Rule 13 contains provisions that confirm
that transactions on the Exchange may occur only
in the Matching System or through an institutional
broker and require institutional brokers to report all
executions that occur on the Exchange (except for
transactions that occur within the Matching System,
because the Exchange has already stored
information about those transactions). Proposed
CHX Rule 14 sets out riskless principal trade
reporting rules that are similar to those put in place
by other markets and could be used by institutional
brokers in their handling of customer orders. Most
frequently, however, the Exchange anticipates that
140 See
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47847
have been gathered from the text of the
existing CHX Article IX and from other
sections of the current rulebook and
have been modified primarily to remove
references to the Exchange’s trading
floor or to make other clarifications to
the text.143
As in CHX Article VIII, the Exchange
has proposed the deletion of rules that
are obsolete; that appear to be
unnecessarily duplicative of existing
Exchange authority or of provisions that
are being retained; or that seem
otherwise unnecessary for the regulation
of the automated market which the
Exchange will operate. For example, the
Exchange proposes to delete its existing
general books and records rule (CHX
Article IX, Rule 7) because it has been
replaced by much more detailed
provisions in CHX Article 11. Similarly,
the existing rule relating to the business
its institutional brokers would continue their
current practice of acting on an agency, not riskless
principal, basis when representing orders in other
markets. Rule 14 confirms that the second, riskless
principal leg of the riskless principal transaction is
not required to clear the Matching System pursuant
to CHX Article 20, Rule 7 and is not required to
yield to orders otherwise resident on the Exchange.
143 See CHX Article 9, Rules 1 (moved from CHX
Article XX, Rule 1 and modified to state simply that
the trading rules apply to trading on the Exchange);
2 (moved from CHX Article VIII, Rule 7 and
modified to confirm that, even if not willful, a
pattern or practice of rule violations may be
considered conduct inconsistent with just and
equitable principles of trade); 3 (moved from CHX
Article XX, Rule 4 and modified to eliminate
obsolete references to Exchange employees who are
authorized to close contracts under the rule); 4
(moved from CHX Article IX, Rule 8); 5 (moved
from CHX Article XX, Rule 6); 6 (moved from CHX
Article XX, Rule 8 and modified to replace
references to ‘‘bids and offers’’ with references to
‘‘orders’’); 7 (moved from CHX Article XXVII, Rules
1 and 2); 8 (moved from CHX Article XX, Rule 3);
9 (moved from CHX Article VIII, Rule 3); 10 (moved
from CHX Article XX, Rule 29); 11 (moved from
CHX Article IX, Rule 6 and modified to confirm that
the rule applies to both purchases and sales); 12
(moved from CHX Article IX, Rule 11); 16 (moved
from CHX Article VIII, Rule 17); 17 (moved from
CHX Article IX, Rule 5 and modified (i) To confirm
that a participant may not execute an incoming
order for its own account at a price less than a
penny better than an unexecuted customer limit
order that it is aware of or holding; (ii) to confirm
that a participant will be deemed to be holding or
aware of an unexecuted customer order when the
order remains unexecuted in the Matching System;
and (iii) to clarify that a participant will not violate
this provision if it satisfies bids and offers in other
markets at a price that is better than the cross price
of a customer order, in accordance with the
requirements for a ‘‘cross with satisfy’’ order); 18
(moved from CHX Article XX, Rule 31 and modified
to remove references to public bidding and offering,
as on the floor of the Exchange); 19 (moved from
CHX Article IX, Rule 1); 20 (combined from CHX
Article IX, Rules 2 and 9; CHX Article XX, Rule 32);
21 (moved from CHX Article IX, Rule 4); 22
(combined from CHX Article IX, Rule 15 and CHX
Article XX, Rule 33; modified to eliminate
references to the trading floor); 23 (moved from
CHX Article IX, Rule 17); and 24 (moved from CHX
Article VIII, Rule 9 and modified to eliminate the
definition of ‘‘Act’’ because that definition is
already contained in CHX Article 1 of the rules).
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days and hours of the Exchange (CHX
Article IX, Rule 10) would be replaced
by the provisions of CHX Article 20,
Rule 1, which contains information
(including the operating hours)
associated with the Matching System’s
trading sessions.144
10. CHX Article 10. (Margins). The
Exchange proposes to delete, from this
section of its rules, the provisions
relating to any margin requirements for
specialists.145
11. CHX Article 11. (Books and
Records). This Article is an entirely new
Article that would include the four
primary books and records rule that
apply to Exchange participants.146 Two
of these proposed rules contain
provisions that already appear
elsewhere in the Exchange’s current
rules.147 One new rule—CHX Rule 2—
would confirm that Exchange
participants must make and preserve all
books, accounts, records, memoranda
and correspondence as required by
applicable law, including Commission
rules and Exchange rules. Another new
rule—CHX Rule 1—would require that
participants provide the Exchange with
access to books and records and must
furnish requested financial and
transaction-related records to the
Exchange upon request. The Exchange
believes that these new rules bolster the
Exchange’s ability to perform its
regulatory responsibilities.
12. CHX Article 12. (Disciplinary
Matters and Trial Proceedings). The
Exchange’s proposal would make two
primary changes to this CHX Article.148
First, because the Exchange would not
operate a trading floor in the new
trading model, the proposal would
eliminate the Exchange Procedure
Committee’s ability to take action
against participants with respect to
trading floor and other on-site decorum
violations.149 The proposal also would
eliminate, from the Minor Rule
144 Other rules that would be deleted include
CHX Article IX, Rule 10B (containing an obsolete
rule relating to a stop order ban based on a nolonger-existing NYSE rule on the same topic); Rule
12 (containing a broad prohibition on the
circulation of rumors that seems to be focused on
a floor-based trading environment) and Rule 16
(relating to floor trading).
145 See CHX Article 10, Rule 3(c)(6).
146 The provisions in current CHX Article XI have
been moved to CHX Article 7 of the proposed set
of rules.
147 See Proposed CHX Rule 3 (incorporating text
from CHX Article XX, Rule 24) and Proposed CHX
Rule 4 (moved from CHX Article V, Rule 4).
148 The Exchange has sought other changes to
CHX Article 12, and to other Exchange rules, as part
of a pending rule filing, SR–CHX–2005–06. When
that proposal is approved, the Exchange will amend
this submission, if necessary, to incorporate any
changes arising from the other proposal.
149 See CHX Article 12, deleted Rule 3.
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Violation Plan, any rules that would
otherwise be deleted by this
proposal.150
13. CHX Article 13. (Suspensions and
Reinstatements). In this Article, which
previously was numbered CHX Article
VII, the Exchange proposes one
substantive change.151 As an initial
matter, the Exchange seeks to add new
text that would allow the Exchange to
use its emergency suspension authority
whenever a participant firm that is
registered as an institutional broker or
market maker has failed to perform, or
is failing to perform, any material
responsibility imposed on the
participant because of that role and, as
a result, cannot be permitted to continue
in business with safety to its customers
or creditors or to the Exchange.152 The
Exchange believes that it is important to
extend its suspension authority in this
manner to allow the Exchange to
address egregious circumstances that
might arise because of an institutional
broker’s or market maker’s failure to
meet the obligations that arise because
of its specialized role in the market.
14. CHX Article 14. (Arbitration).
Under the Exchange’s proposal, this
Article would consist of Rules 23 and 24
from former CHX Article VIII. The
Exchange does not propose any
substantive changes to these provisions,
although it has re-numbered provisions
to make them somewhat more
consistent with the other sets of
rules.153 Also, in Section 31 of Proposed
CHX Rule 2, the Exchange has replaced
a reference to an effective date that was
‘‘after 120 days have elapsed from the
date of Commission approval of this
Rule’’ with a reference to the
appropriate specific date, January 5,
1990.
15. CHX Article 15. (Hearings and
Reviews).154 The Exchange currently has
several disparate provisions that permit
participants to seek review of an
Exchange decision. These provisions
often do not define the specifics
associated with any hearing or review;
they sometimes (but not always) permit
further review by the Board. This new
150 See e.g., CHX Article 12, Rule 8(h) (proposed
deletion of rules relating to the submission of the
co-specialist survey, as well as failure to comply
with decorum and open outcry requirements).
151 The advertising requirements of CHX Article
XIII have been moved to CHX Article 8, Rule 14.
152 See CHX Article 13, Rule 2.
153 The current provisions of CHX Article XIV
(‘‘Fiscal Policies’’) were either transferred to CHX
Article 7 (‘‘Financial Responsibility and
Reporting’’) or would be deleted as no longer
necessary in the new trading model.
154 The current text of CHX Article XV
(‘‘Commissions’’) has either been moved to other
CHX Articles (e.g., CHX Article XV, Rule 5 has been
moved to CHX Article 22) or it has been deleted.
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Article is designed to consolidate many
of these provisions into one section that
can be uniformly applied to Exchange
decisions that do not involve
disciplinary matters or appeals from
arbitration decisions.155
Among other things, this new Article
would provide details about requesting
a hearing (which must be done within
30 days of the initial decision at issue,
unless an extension of time is granted);
the appointment of the hearing panel
(which would be the entire Executive
Committee, unless the Committee
chooses to appoint a panel of five of its
members to hear a matter); requesting
extensions of time; submitting
documents and witness lists (which
ordinarily must be done at least 72
hours before the start of the hearing); the
notice of hearing; the conduct of the
hearing (during which all parties may be
represented by counsel and the formal
rules of evidence would not apply); the
parameters of the decision that would
be reached (for example, the decision
would be in writing and ordinarily
distributed within 90 days after the end
of the hearing or the submission of posthearing briefs, whichever is later); and
seeking further review of the decision
(which can be done by either party,
within 30 days, or by the Board on its
own motion).156 Throughout these
proposed rules, the Exchange has sought
to provide a central set of rules for these
hearings which is similar to, but more
expansive than, the various provisions
scattered throughout the existing
rulebook.
16. CHX Article 19. (ITS). This Article
contains the ITS-related rules applicable
to the Exchange’s participants. The
Exchange has proposed only a few
changes to these rules. The most
substantive change to this section of the
rulebook confirms that the Exchange’s
Matching System will accept and
execute inbound ITS commitments on
behalf of its participants.157 This change
recognizes the much more automated
nature of the trading that will occur on
the Exchange in the new trading model.
Other proposed changes to the rules
highlight the sections that will be
deleted on the effective date of the NMS
Linkage Plan among various
exchanges—these sections include the
155 See
CHX Article 15, Rule 1.
CHX Article 15, Rule 2 (submission of
requests for hearing); Rule 3 (requests for hearings
on emergency actions); Rule 4 (hearing panel); Rule
5 (extensions of time); Rule 6 (submissions of
supporting materials); Rule 7 (notice of hearing);
Rule 8 (conduct of hearing); Rule 9 (decision); and
Rule 10 (seeking review of that decision).
157 See CHX Article 19, Rule 1(b)(4). The
proposed changes confirm that the Matching
System will execute ITS commitments as set out in
CHX Article 20 of the Exchange’s rules.
156 See
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provisions relating to the Preopening
Application, the Locked Markets
requirements and the Block Trade
Policy.158 Other changes to the ITS rules
eliminate references to the Exchange’s
trading floor and to rules that are being
deleted as part of the implementation of
the new trading model.
17. CHX Article 21. (Clearance and
Settlement). In this new Article, the
Exchange seeks to incorporate all of the
rules that it believes would be necessary
in connection with the clearance and
settlement of transactions in the new
trading model. These rules have been
gathered from various existing CHX
Articles; the section does not include
any entirely new rules, although a few
rules have been modified to eliminate
references to the trading floor.159
Among other things, this proposed new
Article would require participants to
maintain accounts with a qualified
clearing agency, or with another
participant that has such an account, for
the recording of transactions on the
Exchange.160 The proposed Article
would also confirm that the Exchange
may extend or postpone the time for
performance of contracts when required
by just and equitable principles of trade
or to meet unusual conditions.161
18. CHX Article 22. (Listing). This
Article is numbered CHX Article XXVIII
in the Exchange’s current rules.162 The
proposed changes in this section would
delete references to the Exchange’s
specialist firms; correct a telephone
158 The Exchange will file a proposal, nearer the
effective date of the NMS Linkage Plan, to formally
propose the deletion of these sections.
159 The Exchange has updated the definition of
‘‘registered clearing agency’’ to confirm that it
means a clearing agency which is registered with
the Commission pursuant to the provisions of
Section 17(A)(b)(2) of the Act or has obtained from
the Commission an exemption from registration
granted specifically to allow the clearing agency to
provide confirmation and affirmation services. See
CHX Article 21, Rule 1, Interpretation and Policy
.01.
160 This rule—and a related rule relating to bookentry settlement—currently are found in CHX
Article XXII, Rule 3 and CHX Article XXI, Rule 4
of the Exchange’s rules.
161 See CHX Article 21, Rule 3 (formerly, CHX
Article XXII, Rule 1). As a final matter, this
provision would allow the Exchange to continue to
provide services, including back-office clearing
work, for participants. See CHX Article 21, Rule 4
(formerly, CHX Article XXI, Rule 13).
162 The markings in this Article compare the text
of CHX Article XXVIII against the proposed rule
changes. The rules contained in current CHX
Article XXI, which relates to the contracts, tickets
and comparisons, would either be moved to other
sections of the proposed new trading model rules
(e.g., CHX Article XXI, Rules 4 and 13 have been
moved to CHX Article 22) or would be deleted in
the new trading model because the issues covered
by this provision are the subject of clearing
depository rules or agreements between participants
and their clearing firms and/or a clearing
depository.
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number and a typographical error;
eliminate references to the Exchange’s
trading floor; and more accurately
describe the work done by Exchange
staff in connection with its surveillance
of trading in exclusively listed
securities.163 No other changes to the
Exchange’s listing rules are
contemplated in connection with the
proposed new trading model.
19. Other deleted provisions. In
addition to the changes noted in the
paragraphs above, the Exchange’s new
trading model proposal would also
eliminate the following Articles from its
rulebook: CHX Article XVI (Insurance as
an Ancillary Activity); CHX Article XVII
(Suspension and Termination of Special
Floor Registration for Unsatisfactory
Performance); CHX Article XX (Regular
Trading Session); XXIII (Reclamations);
XXIV (Lending Securities); XXV
(Closing of Contracts); XXVI (Marking to
the Market); CHX Article XXIX (Special
Offerings); CHX Article XXX
(Specialists); CHX Article XXXI (Oddlots); CHX Article XXXII (Exchange
Distribution Plan); XXXIV (registered
Market Makers—Equity Floor); CHX
Article XXXV (Secondary Trading
Session); CHX Article XXXVI (Baskets);
and CHX Article XXXVII (Chicago
Match). Each of these sets of rules
would no longer be necessary in the
new trading model.164
e. Proposed Roll-Out of New Trading
Model
The Exchange anticipates that it will
be ready to begin implementing its new
trading model in September 2006.
Closer to the implementation date, the
163 See CHX Rule 23(a) (correcting the omission
of the roman numeral ‘‘I’’); Interpretations and
Policies to Rule 23 (clarifying the work of market
surveillance; deleting references to specialists; and
correcting a telephone number); and CHX Rule 26
(eliminating references to the Exchange’s trading
floor).
164 A few of these Articles contain rules for
trading sessions that have been already
discontinued. The Exchange, for example, is not
conducting a secondary trading session under the
rules set out in CHX Article XXXV and is not using
the Chicago Match system described in CHX Article
XXXVII. One Article, CHX Article XX, contains the
rules relating to the Exchange’s operation of its
MAX trading system, which will be replaced with
the new model’s Matching System. Other Articles
relate to special registration categories—such as
those for odd-lot dealers (CHX Article XXXI) or
specialists (CHX Article XXX)—which are not part
of the new trading model. Moreover, the Exchange
does not currently intend to permit special offerings
(CHX Article XXIX) or use the Exchange
Distribution Plan (CHX Article XXXII) or the basket
rules (CHX Article XXXVI) in the new model.
Finally, some of the Articles that the Exchange
proposes to delete appear to be more related to
clearing and settlement or to back office processes
(CHX Articles XXIII (Reclamations), XV (Closing of
Contracts) and XXVI (Marking to the Market) and
less related to the Exchange’s on-going role as a
market.
PO 00000
Frm 00078
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
47849
Exchange will notify participants of its
detailed roll-out plans.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is consistent with
the requirements of the Act and the
rules and regulations thereunder that
are applicable to a national securities
exchange, and, in particular, with the
requirements of Section 6(b) of the
Act.165 In particular, the Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change
is consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the
Act,166 because it would promote just
and equitable principles of trade,
remove impediments to, and perfect the
mechanism of, a free and open market
and a national market system, and, in
general, protect investors and the public
interest by permitting the Exchange to
operate an efficient, automated market
for the trading of securities.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule changes will impose
any burden on competition.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants or Others
The Exchange has reviewed drafts of
various sections of the proposed rule
text, and the concept of the new trading
model, with various participants.
Although some participants provided
varying levels of input, the Exchange
did not solicit, nor did it receive,
written comments with respect to this
final version of the proposed rule
change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register or within such longer period (i)
As the Commission may designate up to
90 days of such date if it finds such
longer period to be appropriate and
publishes its reasons for so finding or
(ii) as to which the Exchange consents,
the Commission will:
(A) By order approve such proposed
rule change, or
(B) Institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
165 15
166 15
E:\FR\FM\18AUN1.SGM
U.S.C. 78f(b).
U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
18AUN1
47850
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 160 / Friday, August 18, 2006 / Notices
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change, as amended, is consistent with
the Act. Comments may be submitted by
any of the following methods:
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
Number SR–CHX–2006–05 on the
subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary,
Securities and Exchange Commission,
100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC
20549–1090.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–54313; File No. SR–NASD–
2006–099]
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc.; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed
Rule Change Relating to Amendments
to Procedures for the Exercise of
Options
August 14, 2006.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on August
10, 2006, the National Association of
Securities Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’) filed
with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the
All submissions should refer to File
proposed rule change as described in
Number SR–CHX–2006–05. This file
Items I, II, and III below, which Items
number should be included on the
subject line if e-mail is used. To help the have been prepared by NASD. NASD
filed the proposal as a ‘‘nonCommission process and review your
controversial’’ proposed rule change
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the
3
4
post all comments on the Commission’s Act, and Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder,
which renders the proposal effective
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
upon filing with the Commission.5 The
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
Commission is publishing this notice to
submission, all subsequent
solicit comments on the proposed rule
amendments, all written statements
change from interested persons.
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Commission, and all written
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
communications relating to the
the Proposed Rule Change
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
NASD proposes to amend Rule
those that may be withheld from the
2860(b)(23) (Tendering Procedures for
public in accordance with the
Exercise of Options) to: (1) Simplify the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
manner in which a Contrary Exercise
available for inspection and copying in
Advice (‘‘CEA’’) is submitted; (2) extend
the Commission’s Public Reference
by one hour the cut-off time by which
Room. Copies of the filing also will be
members must submit CEA notices; (3)
available for inspection and copying at
add procedures for exercising a
the principal office of the Exchange. All standardized equity option when a
comments received will be posted
modified close of trading is announced;
without change; the Commission does
and (4) consolidate all provisions
not edit personal identifying
pertaining to the exercise of
information from submissions. You
standardized options contracts into Rule
should submit only information that
2860(b)(23) instead of having additional
you wish to make available publicly. All and overlapping provisions in Rule
submissions should refer to File
11850 (Tendering Procedures for
Number SR–CHX–2006–05 and should
Exercise of Options) as it currently the
be submitted on or before September 8,
case. The text of the proposed rule
2006.
change is available at NASD, at the
For the Commission, by the Division of
Commission, and at www.nasd.com.
Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated
authority.167
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–13618 Filed 8–17–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010–01–P
167 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
18:35 Aug 17, 2006
Jkt 208001
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6).
5 NASD gave the Commission written notice of its
intent to file the proposed rule change on June 16,
2006. See Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii). 17 CFR 240.19b–
4(f)(6)(iii).
PO 00000
Frm 00079
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission,
NASD included statements concerning
the purpose of and basis for the
proposed rule change and discussed any
comments it received on the proposed
rule change. The text of these statements
may be examined at the places specified
in Item IV below. NASD has prepared
summaries, set forth in Sections A, B,
and C below, of the most significant
aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
NASD proposes to amend Rule
2860(b)(23) (Tendering Procedures for
Exercise of Options) to conform to
recent changes of the substantially
similar rules of the Options Exchanges.6
The proposed rule change presents no
novel issues.
The proposed rule change simplifies
the manner in which a Contrary
Exercise Advice (‘‘CEA’’) is submitted,
extends by one hour the cut-off time by
which members must submit CEA
notices, and adds procedures for
exercising a standardized equity option
when a modified close of trading is
announced. The proposed rule change
also consolidates all provisions
pertaining to the exercise of
standardized options contracts into Rule
2860(b)(23) instead of having additional
and overlapping provisions in Rule
11850 (Tendering Procedures for
Exercise of Options) as is currently the
case.
The provisions in Rule 2860(b)(23)
apply only to members that are not also
members of the exchange on which the
option is listed and traded, so-called
‘‘access firms.’’ 7 Inasmuch as access
firms are not members of an options
exchange, it is necessary that the NASD
rule subject such firms and customers of
such firms to the same requirements for
CEAs as customers and firms that are
members of an options exchange.
Currently, Rule 2860(b)(23)(A)
generally requires that members cannot
accept instructions to exercise a
6 See Rule 980 of the American Stock Exchange;
Rule 1042 of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange; Rule
6.24 of the NYSE Arca (formerly the PCX); Rule
11.1 and related Regulatory Circulars RG03–41 and
RG 03–54 of the Chicago Board Options Exchange;
Rule 1100 of the International Securities Exchange;
and Chapter VII Section 1 of the Boston Options
Exchange (collectively referred to as the ‘‘Options
Exchanges’’).
7 See Rule 2860(b)(1)(A)(ii).
E:\FR\FM\18AUN1.SGM
18AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 160 (Friday, August 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47836-47850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13618]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-54301; File No. SR-CHX-2006-05]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc,;
Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change and Amendment No. 1 Thereto
to Implement a New Trading Model
August 10, 2006.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on February 2, 2006, the Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc. (``CHX'' or
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II,
and III below, which Items have been prepared by the CHX. On August 10,
2006, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule
change.\3\ The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments
on the proposed rule change, as amended, from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\3\ Amendment No. 1 replaces and supersedes the original filing
in its entirety.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The CHX proposes to amend its rules to implement a new trading
model that provides the opportunity for entirely automated executions
to occur within a central matching system accessible by all Exchange
participants. The new model also would end the Exchange's operation of
a physical trading floor and is intended to comply with the
requirements of Regulation NMS (``Reg. NMS'').\4\ The text of this
proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web site at https://
www.chx.com/rules/proposed_rules.htm, in the Commission's Public
Reference Room, and on the Commission's Web site at https://www.sec.gov.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ 17 CFR 242.600, et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the CHX included statements
concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The CHX has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections A,
B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
Through this proposed rule change, the Exchange seeks to implement
a new trading model that allows its participants to interact in a
fully-automated matching system. In this model, the Exchange would no
longer operate a physical trading floor where on-floor specialists,
brokers and market makers seek execution of their orders. Instead, the
Exchange would operate an automated system where its participants--from
any location--could submit orders for immediate execution. The Exchange
believes that this new model provides an opportunity for its
participants and their customers to receive efficient, low-cost
executions, while giving the Exchange enhanced capabilities for
surveilling its participants' trading activities.
In this new model, the Exchange anticipates that most of its
participants would continue to be ``off-Exchange'' order-sending firms
that would simply send orders to the Matching System for execution.
These firms would not be required to register with the Exchange to act
in any specific capacity other than as trading participants.\5\ The
Exchange would, however, allow participant firms to register in two
special categories--to operate as proprietary market makers on the
Exchange or to act as institutional brokers. Market makers could choose
to post two-sided quotations and trade for their proprietary accounts.
Any customer order would be accepted off the Exchange and a market
maker could then choose whether or not to enter the order in the
Exchange's Matching System or submit the order to a different venue. In
contrast, any customer orders accepted by institutional brokers would
be deemed to be on the Exchange when accepted. These market makers and
institutional brokers would operate on the Exchange, even if they are
not physically located on a single trading floor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Since its demutualization in February 2005, the Exchange has
not had ``members.'' Instead, a broker-dealer that seeks to effect
transactions directly on the Exchange must become an Exchange
``participant.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because the Exchange is taking this opportunity to modernize many
of its long-standing procedures and rules, the implementation of the
new trading model will result in changes to virtually
[[Page 47837]]
every section of the Exchange's rule book. The most significant changes
can be found in new CHX Article 20 of the Exchange's rules, which
describes the operation of the Exchange's central matching system. CHX
Article 16 details the new role of market makers on the Exchange, and
CHX Article 17 describes the role and responsibilities of the
Exchange's institutional brokers. Changes to other sections of the
rules are designed to eliminate obsolete provisions--including those
that relate to the operation of a physical trading floor--and to update
other responsibilities to reflect the more automated trading that is
the hallmark of the Exchange's new model. The Exchange has also made an
effort to better organize the rules. After describing the provisions of
new CHX Articles 20, 16 and 17, this submission will review each of the
other sets of proposed rule changes beginning with CHX Article 1.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Throughout its rule book, the Exchange is replacing the
Roman numerals currently used to identify each of its articles with
an easier-to-understand Arabic number.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
a. The Matching System
The Exchange's Matching System would be the core facility of the
Exchange. It would provide the only means for the display of orders and
a central point for the execution of orders. On one hand, the Matching
System is simply an extension of the operation of the Exchange's
electronic book to all securities traded on the Exchange.\7\ On the
other hand, this Matching System would provide a much more robust
platform for the interaction of orders than is possible on the Exchange
today.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 52094 (July 21,
2005), 70 FR 43913 (July 29, 2005) (approving the electronic book
for the trading of securities not assigned to a specialist firm).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Trading hours. The Matching System would operate a regular
trading session and a late trading session each day.\8\ The regular
trading session ordinarily would begin immediately after the primary
market for a security opens its market and would end at 3 p.m. each day
for all securities except specified exchange-traded funds, which would
trade until 3:15 p.m.\9\ The second trading session--the late trading
session--would begin immediately after the close of the first session
and would end at 3:30 p.m.\10\ Two senior officers of the Exchange
could decide to open the Exchange for trading if the primary market
announces that it will not open or will open later than usual, or if
the primary market has not opened within 15 minutes after its normal
operating time.\11\ Special rules apply to the trading hours for
securities listed exclusively on the Exchange.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 1(b).
\9\ All times referenced in this filing are expressed in Central
Time.
\10\ These sessions are similar to the trading sessions that
occur on the Exchange today, except that the late trading session in
the new model (unlike the extended session under the current rules,
in which the MAX system is not operational) would be a fully
automated trading session. See CHX Article IX, Rule 10(b).
\11\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 1, Interpretation and Policy .03.
If these officers decide to open one or more NYSE-listed, Amex-
listed or other listed securities (other than Nasdaq-listed
securities) when the primary market for these securities is not
trading, the Matching System will cancel all pending opening cross
orders in affected securities and, at the opening time selected by
these officers, will then accept all other orders and match them as
provided by the Matching System rules. If these officers decide to
open one or more Nasdaq-listed securities when the primary market
for these securities is not trading, the Matching System will: (a)
If the decision is made before 8:30 a.m., execute all opening cross
orders in affected securities as if the primary market had opened
and then accept all other orders and match them as provided by the
Matching System rules; or (b) if the decision is made on or after
8:30 a.m., cancel all pending opening cross orders in affected
securities and, at the opening time selected by the Exchange
officers, then accept all other orders and match them as provided by
the Matching System rules.
\12\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 1, Interpretation and Policy .04
(confirming that the regular trading session for these securities
would begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Access to the Matching System. Exchange participants could route
orders to the Matching System through any communications line approved
by the Exchange.\13\ To the extent that the Exchange participates in
the Intermarket Trading System (``ITS'') Plan or any other linkage
plan, ITS commitments and other intermarket orders could be sent to the
Matching System through those linkages.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(a)(1).
\14\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(a)(2). So long as it is required
by the OTC/UTP Plan, the Exchange would also provide telephonic
access to NASD market makers. See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(a)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Eligible orders--basic requirements. The Exchange's Matching
System would only accept day orders; orders designated good-till-
canceled would not be accepted.\15\ Similarly, except for immediate-or-
cancel market orders or specially-designated cross orders, the Matching
System would only accept limit orders and orders for regular-way
settlement.\16\ Orders could be submitted as round lots, odd lots or
mixed lots, except that orders in securities that only trade in
specific share size increments must be submitted only in those share
sizes.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(2).
\16\ See CHX Article 20, Rules 4(a)(1), 4(a)(3) and 4(a)(7). A
special type of order--a non-regular way cross order--could be
submitted for execution and non-regular way settlement. See CHX
Article 20, Rule 4(b)(15).
\17\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(4).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Except for any types of cross and cross with size orders (described
later in this filing), the Matching System would only accept orders
that comply with the sub-penny requirements of Reg. NMS set out in Rule
612 \18\ and that do not exceed any size and/or price limitations
imposed by the Exchange to help eliminate erroneous transactions or
orders and transactions that cannot be processed by the Exchange's
systems.\19\ Because cross and cross with size orders essentially are
sub-penny executions (rather than orders), these transactions could be
submitted to the Matching System in sub-penny increments down to
$0.000001.\20\ Importantly, however, the Matching System would not
allow any type of cross or cross with size order (except a midpoint
cross, a cross that executes at the midpoint of the NBBO or a cross
with size) (i) Priced at or above $1.00, to execute at a price less
than $.01 better than any order on the same side of the Matching
System, or (ii) priced under $1.00, to execute at a price less than
$.0001 better than any order on the same side of the Matching
System.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ 17 CFR 242.612.
\19\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(6). The Exchange intends to
develop a set of parameters that would be used to identify orders
that either appear to be erroneous (based on their relationship to
current market conditions) or that exceed the Exchange's systems
capabilities (such as orders priced higher than a very high dollar
level or those for a very large number of shares). These orders
would be rejected to permit the continued effective operation of the
Matching System.
\20\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(7)(b), confirming that cross
and cross with size orders can be submitted in sub-penny increments,
whether the orders are priced less than or at or above $1.00. The
Exchange represents that it understands that it will need to obtain
exemptive relief from the requirements of Reg. NMS to permit these
executions to occur and will work with Commission staff to obtain
that relief.
\21\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(a)(7)(b). The Exchange
represents that it has imposed this requirement based on input from
Commission staff that it is required for any market operated by a
national securities exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Order types and conditions. The Matching System would accept a
wide variety of order types and conditions, which are set out in CHX
Article 20, Rule 4(b). Some of the more routine order types would
include immediate or cancel (``IOC'') limit and market orders, fill or
kill (``FOK'') orders, sell short and short exempt orders, reserve size
orders, time in force orders and cancel on halt orders.\22\ As required
by Reg. NMS, IOC
[[Page 47838]]
orders would be executed against any orders at or better than the
Exchange's best bid or offer (``BBO''), including any reserve size or
other undisplayed orders at or better than that price.\23\ Reserve size
orders would permit a participant to identify a portion of an order to
be displayed and a portion that should remain undisplayed, and to
provide an instruction that the displayed portion should be refreshed
to the original display quantity whenever the displayed share size
falls below a specific threshold.\24\ Time in force orders would be
eligible for execution within a specified time period, with any
unexecuted balance to be immediately cancelled when this period
expires.\25\ Cancel on halt orders would be automatically cancelled by
the Matching System if a trading halt or suspension is declared on the
Exchange in that security.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(12) (IOC orders); Rule
4(b)(13) (IOC market orders); Rule 4(b)(11) (FOK orders); Rule
4(b)(20) (sell short orders); Rule 4(b)(21) (short exempt orders);
Rule 4(b)(19) (reserve size orders); Rule 4(b)(22) (time in force
orders); and Rule 4(b)(3) (cancel on halt orders).
\23\ See CHX Article 20, Rules 4(b)(12) (IOC orders) and
4(b)(13) (IOC market orders).
\24\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(19).
\25\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(22). The Matching System
initially would permit participants to identify any time period of a
minute or a multiple of a minute as the ``time in force'' for a
particular order. In later upgrades to the Matching System,
participants would be allowed to identify an order's ``time in
force'' in seconds.
\26\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Matching System also would accept several different types of
cross transactions, including a basic cross, a cross with size, a cross
with satisfy, a cross with yield, a midpoint cross, an opening cross
and a non-regular way cross. A basic cross transaction would be an
order to buy and sell the same security at a specific price that is
better than the Exchange's displayed BBO and, where required by the ITS
Plan, another linkage plan or Reg. NMS, equal to or better than the
NBBO.\27\ A cross with size would be a cross for at least 5,000 shares
and for a value of $100,000 that is at a price equal to or better than
the Exchange's displayed BBO (and, where required by the ITS Plan,
another linkage plan, or Reg. NMS, equal to or better than the NBBO),
where the size of the cross transaction is larger than the largest
order displayed on the Exchange at that price.\28\ A cross with satisfy
is designed to provide a participant with an efficient mechanism for
clearing out displayed orders in the Matching System that would
otherwise have time priority (or displayed bids or offers in other
market centers that would otherwise have price priority) and then
effecting a cross transaction at that price.\29\ A cross with yield is
a similar order type, which would automatically yield interest on the
buy, sell or either side of the order to any order already displayed in
the Matching System at the same or better price.\30\ And, finally, as
their names suggest, an opening cross is a cross transaction that would
be specifically designated to be executed at the opening price; a non-
regular way cross would be designated for non-regular way settlement;
and a midpoint cross would execute at the midpoint between the
NBBO.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(4). A cross may represent
interest of one or more Exchange participants, trading for a
proprietary account. This order or transaction type is already
permitted in the Exchange's electronic book. See CHX Article XXA,
Rule 2.
\28\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(6). A cross with size is
already permitted in the Exchange's electronic book and is similar
to the type of transaction that can take place on the Exchange's
trading floor. See CHX Article XXA, Rule 2; CHX Article XX, Rule 23.
The proposed definition of a cross with size transaction would
reduce the required number of shares in the order to 5,000 shares
from 25,000 shares, mirroring similar requirements in the floor
trading rules of other markets. See Boston Stock Exchange Rules,
Chapter II, Section 18; Philadelphia Stock Exchange Rule 126(h). At
the same time, the definition would be changed to also require that
a cross must have a value of $100,000. The Exchange represents that
it has imposed this requirement based on input from Commission staff
that it is required for any market operated by a national securities
exchange and based on an assurance from Commission staff that all
national securities exchanges would be required to impose a similar
requirement. The proposed definition of a cross with size
transaction also would confirm that this order could represent
interest of one or more participants of the Exchange.
\29\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(5). With this order type, a
participant would send: (A) An instruction to execute a cross
transaction at a specific price; and (B) an instruction (i) To
execute orders already displayed in the Matching System at their
limit prices (up to a specified number of shares) against a
specified party to the extent necessary to allow the cross
transaction to occur and/or (ii) to route outbound orders or
commitments to other market centers to the extent necessary to
prevent an improper trade-through. If a cross with satisfy is sent
with a share size that is too small to satisfy orders in the
Matching System or bids or offers in other markets, as applicable,
the order would be automatically cancelled. Once the satisfying
execution has occurred (or, for orders or commitments sent to other
market centers, those orders or commitments have been sent), the
cross would be executed at a price that is better than the best bid
or offer to be displayed in the Matching System and, for securities
listed on NYSE, Amex and any exchange other than Nasdaq (and for
Nasdaq-listed securities, when Reg. NMS is implemented in those
issues), equal to or better than the NBBO.
A cross with satisfy may represent interest of one or more
participants of the Exchange but, to the extent that it represents
interest of the participant sending the order to the Matching
System, the participant would not be eligible to satisfy existing
bids or offers in the Matching System at a price that is better than
the cross price and could only satisfy bids or offers in other
markets at a price that is better than the cross price if the cross
is for at least 10,000 shares or has a value of at least $200,000 (a
``block size order'') or is for the account of an institutional
customer (as that term is defined in CHX Article 8, Rule 11,
Interpretation and Policy .03) and the participant's customer has
specifically agreed to that outcome.
\30\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(7). This order would have:
(A) An instruction to execute a cross transaction at a specific
price; and (B) an instruction to yield interest on the buy, sell or
either side of the order (as specified in the order) to any order
already displayed in the Matching System at the same or better
price, to the extent necessary to allow the cross transaction to
occur. The cross would be executed at a price that is better than
the best bid or offer to be displayed in the Matching System and,
for securities listed on NYSE, Amex and any exchange other than
Nasdaq (and for Nasdaq-listed securities, when Reg. NMS is
implemented in those issues), equal to or better than the NBBO.
\31\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(16) (opening cross); Rule
4(b)(15) (non-regular way cross); and Rule 4(b)(14) (midpoint
cross). As described later in this submission, opening cross orders
would execute immediately after the primary market opens in a
security, at the opening price. For securities listed on NYSE, Amex
and any exchange other than Nasdaq, the opening price would be the
primary market opening price. For Nasdaq-listed securities (except
in the case of an initial IPO), the opening price would be the
midpoint of the first unlocked, uncrossed market that occurs on or
after 8:30 a.m. For Nasdaq-listed securities on the date of an IPO,
the opening price would be the Nasdaq opening price. Opening cross
orders would not be accepted in securities exclusively listed on the
Exchange and would not be accepted if any part of the sell side of
the order is marked as a sell short order. A midpoint cross would be
executed at the midpoint of the NBBO, but if the NBBO is locked at
the time a midpoint cross is received, the midpoint cross would
execute at the locked NBBO. If the NBBO is crossed at the time a
midpoint cross is received, the midpoint cross would be
automatically cancelled.
A non-regular way settlement cross would execute without regard
to the NBBO or any other orders the Matching System and could
represent the interest of one or more participants in the Exchange.
Any non-regular way cross that is for cash settlement must be
received by the Matching System by 2 p.m. or such other time that
may be established by the Exchange and communicated to participants
from time to time. The Matching System would not accept one-sided
orders for non-regular way settlement. The only way to effect a non-
regular way transaction within the Matching System would be through
a non-regular way cross. Exchange participants currently may execute
orders for non-regular way settlement, both on the floor of the
Exchange and in the Exchange's electronic book. See CHX Article XX,
Rule 9; CHX Article XXA, Rule 2(c)(5).
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The Matching System also would accept several order types that are
specifically contemplated by Reg. NMS.\32\ For example, the Matching
System would accept benchmark orders which meet the requirements of
Rule 611(b)(7) of Reg. NMS. Initially, the Exchange would limit
submission of benchmark orders to the Exchange's institutional
brokers.\33\ The Matching
[[Page 47839]]
System would also accept BBO intermarket sweep orders (``BBO ISOs''),
which would execute against orders at the Exchange's BBO, without
regard to whether the execution would trade through another market's
protected quotation.\34\ If a BBO ISO is marked as ``immediate or
cancel,'' any remaining balance in the order would be automatically
cancelled. If a BBO ISO is not marked as ``immediate or cancel,'' any
remaining balance in the order would be placed in the Matching System
and displayed, without regard to whether that display would lock or
cross another market center.\35\ Two other Reg. NMS-related orders--an
outbound ISO and a price-penetrating ISO--would also be accepted by the
Exchange's Matching System.\36\
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\32\ These order types--and other expressly-identified
provisions--take effect with the implementation of Rule 611 of Reg.
NMS. 17 CFR 242.611. The Exchange will use February 5, 2007 (the
``Trading Phase Date'') as the effective date for these provisions.
See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53829 (May 18, 2006), 71 FR
30038 (May 24, 2006) (setting new compliance dates for Rules 610 and
611).
\33\ The Exchange initially has limited the use of this order
type to its institutional brokers to ensure that the Exchange can
determine whether or not the requirements of Rule 611(b)(7) Reg. NMS
have been met. See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(2). A benchmark order
may execute at any price, without regard to the protected NBBO and
may represent interest of one or more Exchange participants.
\34\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(1). These orders are executed
based on the premise that the participant routing the order to the
Matching System has already satisfied the protected quotations of
other market centers. See CHX Article 20, Rule 6(c)(3).
\35\ These orders are displayed based on the premise that the
participant routing the order to the Matching System has already
satisfied the quotations of other markets so that the display of the
order would not lock or cross those markets.
\36\ An outbound ISO would allow an Exchange participant to ask
the Exchange to execute an order on the Exchange without regard to
the protected quotations at other markets while simultaneously
routing ISOs to those other markets to execute against their
protected quotations. See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(17). A price-
penetrating ISO would operate much like a basic ISO, except that it
would allow a participant to execute through displayed and
undisplayed interest, at multiple price points, on the Exchange. See
CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(18).
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Finally, the Matching System would accept do-not-display and do not
route orders. A do not route order, as its name implies, would be
executed or displayed within the Matching System and could not be
routed to another market center.\37\ A do-not-display order would be an
order, for at least 1,000 shares when entered, that should not be
displayed in whole or in part, but that would remain eligible for
execution within the Matching System.\38\
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\37\ As further described in the section relating to the
prevention of trade-throughs, a do not route order would be
immediately cancelled if its execution would improperly trade
through the ITS BBO or another market's protected quotations. Any
types of cross, IOC or FOK orders would deemed to have been received
with a ``do not route'' condition because these orders either are
immediately executed in the Matching System or cancelled. See CHX
Article 20, Rule 4(b)(10).
\38\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(9). A do-not-display order
could receive that designation because a customer specifically
instructed a participant not to display the order or because a
participant decided that its own order should not be displayed. As
described later in this submission, a do-not-display order would be
ranked, at any given price point, behind displayed orders (and any
odd-lot and mixed-lot orders at the price) and behind the
undisplayed portions of any reserve size orders. These completely
undisplayed orders would both allow a participant to fulfill a
customer's instructions and to otherwise keep trading interest
hidden, but to remain within the Matching System where the orders
could be executed against inbound orders seeking liquidity.
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5. Ranking of orders in the Matching System. As described in CHX
Article 20, Rule 8, all orders received by the Matching System would be
ranked by price, time of receipt and, for round-lot orders, any display
instructions received with the orders. Specifically, orders received by
the Matching System would be ranked as follows:
a. Orders that are eligible for display, as well as mixed-lot and
odd lot orders. Limit orders that are eligible to be displayed,
including the displayed portion of reserve size orders, and all odd-lot
and mixed-lot orders would be ranked together, at each price point, in
time priority.\39\
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\39\ For the most part, executions in the Matching System would
occur on a ``share-for-share'' basis, regardless of whether the
incoming or resting orders were round-lot, mixed-lot or odd-lot
orders. The one exception to this share-for-share matching is in the
handling of ITS commitments or linkage plan orders, which would only
be matched in round-lot increments, for the full amount of round-lot
shares available at the price reflected in the NBBO. See CHX Article
20, Rule 8(e)(9). Any remaining portion of the ITS commitment or
linkage plan order would then be automatically cancelled.
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b. Orders that are displayed in part, where a portion is not
displayed. At each price point, the undisplayed portions of reserve
size orders would be ranked together in time priority and would be
ranked after any displayed orders (and any odd-lot and mixed-lot
orders) at that price.
c. Completely undisplayed orders. Orders that are received with a
do-not-display instruction would be ranked together, at each price
point, in time priority and would be ranked after any other orders at
that price.
Changes to an order's size or price, or its displayed portion,
could impact its ranking within the Matching System. For example, when
the displayed portion of a reserve size order is refreshed with new
volume, the displayed portion of the order would receive a new ranking
based on the time at which it was refreshed.\40\ Similarly, if a
participant increases the number of shares in a fully-displayed order,
that order would receive a new ranking based on the time at which these
shares were added to the order.\41\ Any change in the price of an order
would result in a new price and time ranking for the order, based on
the time of the price change.\42\ Finally, any change to the display
instruction associated with an order would result in a new ranking for
the order based on the time that the new instruction was received.\43\
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\40\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(b)(4). Any remaining undisplayed
portion of the order would continue to be ranked at the price and
time at which it was originally received.
\41\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(b)(5). Any reduction in the
number of shares in an order, however, would not change its ranking
within the Matching System.
\42\ Id.
\43\ Id.
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6. Display of orders within the Matching System. All orders that
are eligible for display would be immediately and publicly displayed
through the processes set out in the appropriate transaction reporting
plan for each security when they constitute the best round-lot bid or
offer in the Matching System for that security. In addition, the
Matching System would aggregate all shares, including odd-lot orders
and the odd-lot portions of mixed-lot orders, at a single price point,
and then round that total share amount down to the nearest round-lot
amount for display purposes.\44\ The undisplayed portion of a reserve
size order and any other orders received with a do-not-display
instruction would not be eligible for display.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\44\ This aggregation and rounding process would apply for
display purposes only; all orders would retain their rankings for
execution purposes as described in CHX Article 20, Rule 8(b)(1)
through (5). However, as noted in CHX Article 20, Rule 8(g), the
Matching System would report each round-lot transaction that occurs
within the Matching System, including executions of resting odd-lot
orders that have been aggregated into one or more round-lots for
display purposes, to the appropriate consolidated reporting system.
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The Exchange believes that its disseminated quotations would
constitute automated quotations under the definition set out in Rule
600(b)(3) of Reg. NMS.\45\ The Exchange's proposed rules confirm that
each order submitted to the Matching System must be a firm order and
cannot be identified as a ``manual'' quotation.\46\
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\45\ As required by Rule 600(b)(3) of Reg. NMS in its definition
of ``automated quotations,'' the Exchange's Matching System is
designed to accept IOC orders; to immediately and automatically
execute an IOC order against the displayed BBO, up to its full size;
to immediately and automatically cancel any unexecuted portion of
the IOC order without routing the order elsewhere; to immediately
and automatically transmit a response to the order-sending
participant indicating the action taken on the order; and to
immediately and automatically update the BBO to reflect any change
that occurred as a result of the execution.
\46\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 3(a).
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7. Opening of the regular trading session. Immediately after the
primary market opens, the Matching System would execute all opening
cross orders, then start accepting and matching orders as provided in
CHX Article 20, Rule 8(d).\47\ If the primary market in a
[[Page 47840]]
security other than a Nasdaq-listed security opens with a quote, but
has not reported a trade for 30 seconds following the dissemination of
the initial quote, the Matching System would cancel all opening cross
orders, and then start accepting and matching all other orders.\48\
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\47\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(d).
\48\ Id. This provision would apply only to securities other
than Nasdaq-listed securities. As noted above, Nasdaq-listed
securities would open based on the first unlocked, uncrossed market
that occurs on or after 8:30 a.m.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Automated matching of orders. With certain exceptions
specifically set out in CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e), and subject to the
provisions relating to the prevention of trade throughs that are set
out in CHX Article 20, Rule 5, incoming orders would be matched against
one or more orders in the Matching System, in the order of their
ranking, at the price of each resting order, for the full amount of
shares available at that price or for the size of the incoming order,
if smaller.\49\ If an order could not be immediately matched or matched
in full when received (and it is not designated as an order type that
should be immediately cancelled), it or its residual portion would be
placed in the Matching System and ranked as described above.\50\
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\49\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(d)(1).
\50\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(d)(2). Orders that would be
immediately cancelled, if not executed, include FOK orders and IOC
limit and market orders. See CHX Article 20, Rules 4(b)(11) through
(13).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following order types would be subject to specific executions
within the Matching System:
a. Benchmark orders. Benchmark orders, which are cross transactions
submitted by institutional brokers that meet the requirements of Rule
611(b)(7) of Reg. NMS, would execute at any price, without regard to
the NBBO and may represent the interest of one or more participants of
the Exchange.\51\
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\51\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(1) and Rule 4(b)(2). A
benchmark order is defined in Rule 611(b)(7) of Reg. NMS as an order
that is executed at a price that was not based, directly or
indirectly, on the quoted price of the security at the time of
execution and for which the material terms were not reasonably
determinable at the time the commitment to execute the order was
made.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. Cross and cross with size orders. Cross and cross with size
orders would be automatically executed if they meet the requirements
set out in Rule 4(b)(4) and (6) respectively, but would be immediately
and automatically cancelled if they do not meet these requirements.\52\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\52\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
c. Cross with satisfy orders. In executing this order type, the
Matching System first would determine whether the order contains a
share size that is sufficient to satisfy orders in the Matching System
or bids or offers in other markets, as applicable. If this requirement
is not met, the cross with satisfy would be automatically
cancelled.\53\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\53\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(4).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the order meets this requirement, the Matching System then would
satisfy existing orders in the Matching System or send orders or
commitments to other market centers to satisfy bids or offers, as
necessary to prevent a trade-through and, before updating the
Exchange's quotes, would execute the cross at a price that is better
than the best bid or offer to be displayed in the Matching System and,
for securities listed on NYSE, Amex or any other exchange other than
Nasdaq (and for Nasdaq-listed securities, when Reg. NMS is implemented
in those issues), equal to or better than the NBBO. In doing so, the
Matching System would determine whether the Participant that sent the
order to the Matching System is attempting to satisfy bids or offers in
the Matching System at a price that is better than the cross price and,
if so, would not allow those executions to occur, but would instead
allocate the better prices to the customer, not to the Participant
sending the order to the Matching System.
d. Cross with yield orders. When the customer order that is part of
a cross with yield order is eligible for an immediate execution because
it is at a price better than the currently displayed best bid or offer
in the Matching System, the cross with yield order would be
automatically executed by matching the participant as principal against
the customer order; provided, however, that if there is any order
already displayed in the Matching System at the same price as (or
better than) the participant's interest, that order or those orders
would be matched against the customer order in place of the
participant's interest as necessary to exhaust the customer order
interest.\54\ If the customer order that is part of a cross with yield
order is not eligible for an immediate execution because it is not
better than the currently displayed bid or offer in the Matching
System, the cross with yield order would be immediately and
automatically cancelled.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\54\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
e. Midpoint cross. A midpoint cross order would be immediately
executed at the midpoint between the NBBO. If the NBBO is locked at the
time the order is received, the midpoint cross would be executed at the
locked market price, unless the order could be executed in subpenny
increments. If the NBBO is crossed at the time the order is received,
the midpoint cross would be immediately and automatically
cancelled.\55\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\55\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(14).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
f. Non-regular way cross orders. These orders would be
automatically executed without regard to either the NBBO or any orders
for regular way settlement that might be in the Matching System.\56\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\56\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 4(b)(15).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
g. Sell short orders. Sell short orders (including odd lot orders)
would be displayed and executed only when permissible under the
provisions of Rule 10a-1 (``Short Sale Rule'') and Regulation SHO.\57\
When a sell short order cannot be executed or displayed at its limit
price under the provisions of the Short Sale Rule and Regulation SHO,
the order would be automatically repriced (without violating its limit
price) to the next available price at which it can be executed or
displayed.\58\
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\57\ Because there is no exemption from the requirements of the
Short Sale Rule or Reg. SHO for odd lots executed within a system
such as the Matching System, odd lot orders would be treated as all
other orders in determining whether they could be executed under the
Short Sale Rule and Reg. SHO.
\58\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
h. Do not display orders. A do-not-display order would be executed
as provided in CHX Rule 8(d), but would be immediately and
automatically cancelled if, at any point, the order would prevent the
execution of an inbound order because the do-not-display order has
crossed the NBBO.\59\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\59\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
i. Inbound ITS commitment or linkage plan order. An inbound ITS
commitment or linkage plan order, if it is priced at or better than the
current Exchange-displayed BBO (or if it is marked ``market''), would
be automatically matched, in round-lot increments, against the order(s)
at the price reflected in the BBO (or at a better undisplayed price),
for the full amount of round-lot shares available at that price, and
any remaining portion of the ITS commitment or linkage plan order would
be automatically cancelled.\60\ An inbound ITS commitment marked as a
``block'' trade would be automatically matched, in round-lot
increments, at the price reflected in the ITS commitment, against the
order(s) in the Matching System, in regular price-time priority.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\60\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(e)(7). The Exchange believes
that this handling of ITS commitments and linkage plan orders is
consistent with the ITS Plan and the current draft of the linkage
plan that might replace the ITS Plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
j. Trades in locked markets. Trades would continue to be executed
in the Matching System when the NBBO is
[[Page 47841]]
crossed; provided however, that (i) If the ITS Plan requires that the
Matching System route the inbound order to another market for
execution, the Matching System would do so or, if the order is marked
``do not route,'' the Matching System would automatically cancel the
order; and (ii) once Reg. NMS is implemented in a security, the
Matching System would only execute orders in that security up to (but
not beyond) the first uncrossed NBBO.\61\
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\61\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and Policy
.01(e).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Prevention of trade-throughs and other order routing. The
Exchange's Matching System would prevent the execution of all or a part
of an inbound order for at least a round lot if the execution would
cause an improper trade-through of another ITS market or if, when Reg.
NMS is implemented for a security, the execution of all or a part of
the order would be improper under Reg. NMS Rule 611.\62\ Inbound odd
lot orders and odd lot crosses would be eligible for execution on the
Exchange, even if they would trade through other markets' bids and
offers.
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\62\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 5. At least initially, however,
the Exchange would not apply the ``flickering quote'' exception to
Rule 611 of Reg. NMS (Reg. NMS Rule 611(b)(8)) when determining
whether or not the execution of the order would create an improper
trade-through.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If a participant has submitted a cross with satisfy or an outbound
ISO order and its execution would cause an improper trade through, the
Matching System would execute the order and simultaneously route
commitments or orders to other markets to satisfy their protected
quotes. In these situations, the Exchange's systems would determine
when, how and where these orders (or commitments) should be routed to
satisfy protected quotes. The Exchange would route these orders (or
commitments), at the participant's election, either through the
Intermarket Trading System (or any later linkage that supersedes ITS)
or through the connectivity provided by a routing services provider
with whom the Exchange has negotiated an agreement.
The Exchange will provide these routing services pursuant to the
terms of three separate agreements, to the extent that they are
applicable to a specific routing decision: (1) An agreement between the
Exchange and each Participant on whose behalf orders will be routed
(``Participant-Exchange Agreement''); (2) an agreement between each
Participant and a specified third-party broker-dealer that will use its
routing connectivity to other markets and serve as a ``give-up'' in
those markets (``Give-Up Agreement''); and (3) an agreement between the
Exchange and the specified third-party broker-dealer (``Routing
Connectivity Agreement'') pursuant to which the third-party broker-
dealer agrees to provide routing connectivity to other markets and
serve as a ``give-up'' for the Exchange's Participants in other
markets. The Exchange will provide these routing services in compliance
with its rules and with the provisions of the Act and the rules
thereunder, including, but not limited to, the requirements of Sections
6(b)(4) and (5) of the Act that the rules of a national securities
exchange provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees
and other charges among its members and issuers and other persons using
its facilities, and not be designed to permit unfair discrimination
between customers, issuers, brokers or dealers. The Routing
Connectivity Agreement will include terms and conditions that enable
the Exchange to comply with these obligations.
In addition to these routing services, the Exchange is developing a
functionality that would, in all other situations where the execution
of an inbound round lot order, in whole or in part, would cause a
trade-through, (a) Route the order to another venue, according to each
participant's instructions, or (b) if the order is marked ``do not
route,'' automatically cancel the order.\63\ The Exchange plans to
supplement this filing, or file a new rule submission, with respect to
this functionality, as soon as possible.
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\63\ There would be one exception to the general rule that an
inbound ``do not route'' order would be cancelled if its execution
would constitute an improper trade-through. If an undisplayed order
is resting in the Matching System and the execution of an inbound
order (that is not an IOC or FOK order) against the undisplayed
resting order would cause an improper trade-through, the resting
order would be cancelled to the extent necessary to allow the
inbound order to be executed or quoted.
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The Exchange has developed an initial series of trade-through
policies and procedures that describe how the Exchange will implement
the provisions of Rule 611 of Reg. NMS.\64\ These procedures describe
the Exchange's clock synchronization practices, as well as its plans
for applying the exceptions to Rule 611 of Reg. NMS.\65\ Among other
things, these procedures confirm that the Exchange would apply the
self-help exception (and disregard another market's quotations for
trade-through purposes) when that market has publicly announced that it
is not disseminating automated quotations (but has not identified those
quotes as manual); or when the Exchange has a reasonable basis for
believing that the other market is experiencing systems problems and
that market (a) Has not responded, within 30 seconds, to an Exchange
inquiry seeking information about possible systems problems, or (b) has
not confirmed, within two minutes after an Exchange inquiry, that it is
not having systems problems.\66\ These procedures also confirm that the
Exchange automatically would place an appropriate modifier on trades
executed pursuant to an exemption from, or exception to, Rule 611 of
Reg. NMS in accordance with specifications approved by the operating
committee of the relevant national market system plan for an NMS
stock.\67\
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\64\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and Policy .01.
The Exchange will further define its policies in more detail over
the next month or so.
\65\ The Exchange's systems will routinely, throughout the
trading day, use processes that capture the time reflected on the
atomic clock operated by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology and will automatically make adjustments to the time
recorded in the Exchange's Matching System to ensure that the period
between the two times does not exceed 500 milliseconds.
\66\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and Policy
.01(d). The Exchange would notify the other market of its use of the
self-help exception by using appropriate technology made available
for intermarket communications from time to time. The Exchange then
would continue to apply this self-help exception until the other
market has provided reasonable assurance to the Exchange (or to the
public) that the problems have been corrected.
\67\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and Policy
.01(h). In addition, if an on-Exchange participant submits an
outbound ISO order (consisting of an order to execute on the
Exchange, coupled with outbound ISOs to execute against protected
quotations of other markets), the Matching System will not execute
the order on the Exchange until it either simultaneously routes ISOs
to other markets or confirms that the participant submitting the
order has simultaneously routed ISOs designed to execute against the
full size of any other market's protected bid or offer, as required
by Rule 600(b)(30) and Rule 611(b)(6) of Reg. NMS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange's initial trade-through policies also describe its
plans for confirming that its own bids and offers qualify as automated
quotations. Specifically, the Exchange would periodically (no less
often than once every five seconds and no more often than once every
second) send a test IOC order to the Matching System to determine
whether the Exchange's Matching System accepts the order and would use
automated monitoring systems to further measure the Matching System's
handling of test IOC orders within the Matching System.\68\ These
[[Page 47842]]
monitoring systems would provide immediate reports to other Exchange
systems for further handling. If these systems receive a report that
gives the Exchange reason to believe that it is not capable of
displaying automated quotations, the Exchange would automatically and
immediately append a ``manual'' identifier to the bids and offers it
makes publicly available.\69\ The Exchange would not remove this
``manual'' identifier until it has determined that its quotations
qualify as automated quotations. It would then notify other markets
that its quotations are automated to ensure that all markets recognize
the Exchange's bids and offers as automated quotations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\68\ These systems would review, in real time, the Matching
System's handling of test IOC orders to determine whether, and
within what time frame, (i) IOC orders are executed against the
displayed quote, up to its full size; (ii) any unexecuted portion of
the IOC order is cancelled; (iii) a confirmation of the action taken
is generated and transmitted from the Matching System to the
monitoring system (to serve as a proxy for a transmission to the
order-sending firm); and (iv) the Matching System transmits a new
bid or offer (as appropriate) to the monitoring system (to serve as
a proxy for a transmission to the appropriate securities information
processor). See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and Policy
.02(a).
\69\ In the event that the Exchange's systems do not permit the
Exchange to disseminate a ``manual'' identifier, the Exchange would
announce that its quotes are manual over an appropriate
functionality available for communications with other market
centers. See CHX Article 20, Rule 5, Interpretation and Policy
.02(b).
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10. Locking and crossing quotations. An order would not be
displayed on the Exchange if its display would improperly lock or cross
the ITS best bid or offer or, when Reg. NMS is implemented for a
security, if its display would constitute a locking or crossing
quotation.\70\ These otherwise locking or crossing orders would either
be routed to another appropriate market or, if designated as ``do not
route,'' would be automatically cancelled.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\70\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 6(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Clearing the matching system. To ensure that orders on the
Exchange have an appropriate opportunity to interact with each other,
institutional brokers ordinarily would be required to clear the
Matching System before sending an order to another market for
execution.\71\ Any outbound ITS commitments that are seeking liquidity
in another market--whether they represent agency or proprietary
interest--would be required to first clear the displayed and
undisplayed orders in the Exchange's Matching System before being sent
through the ITS System. Outbound ITS commitments (or ISOs) that are
being sent to another market to satisfy its displayed bid or offer,
however, would not be required to clear the Exchange's Matching System
before being sent to the other market.\72\ Additionally, an
institutional broker would not be required to clear the Matching System
if the customer order that is being sent to another market could not be
executed in the Matching System (e.g., the order is a stop or stop
limit order which has not yet been elected).\73\
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\71\ If a customer specifically requests otherwise, an
institutional broker is not required to clear the Matching System.
See CHX Article 20, Rule 7(a). Institutional brokers would be
required to document any directives for special handling of orders
under this rule. See CHX Article 20, Rule 7(b).
\72\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 7(c).
\73\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 7(d).
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12. Trading halts. Under the proposed rules, two senior officers of
the Exchange would be authorized to suspend and restart trading within
a trading session or to halt trading for the remainder of a trading
session, in one or more securities, when the officials believe it is in
the public interest.\74\ If trading in one or more issues is suspended
or halted, the Matching System would not accept any additional orders
and would resume quoting and matching orders only after the end of the
trading halt.\75\ Because the Matching System would not be locked or
crossed when trading is halted, and because it would not accept orders
during the halt, the Matching System would be able to emerge from the
halt without any special reopening process, by simply displaying its
BBO and then accepting and matching orders as provided by the Matching
System rules described above.
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\74\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 1(d). Under the Exchange's current
rules, a trading halt could be declared by the chairman or vice
chairman of the Exchange's Board of Directors, or by its president,
with the prior approval of a director from a participant firm and a
director from the trading floor. The Exchange believes that it no
longer is appropriate or effective to require its directors to
participate in the decisions to suspend or halt trading,
particularly with the automated environment proposed by the new
trading model and the fact that the Exchange will no longer be
operating a trading floor.
\75\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 1, Interpretation and Policy .02.
Participants could cancel orders during the halt.
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13. Cancelling transactions/handling clearly erroneous
transactions. Under the proposed rules, participants that make a
transaction in demonstrable error could agree to cancel and unwind the
transaction, subject to the approval of the Exchange.\76\ The Exchange
also proposes to extend its current electronic book rule for the
handling of clearly erroneous transactions, with a few minor changes,
to the operation of the Matching System.\77\ This rule would allow the
Exchange to review, and potentially modify or cancel, executions where
one party believes that the terms of the transaction were clearly
erroneous when submitted. A related rule relating to systems
disruptions and malfunctions would allow the Exchange to modify or
cancel executions that result from a disruption or malfunction in the
use or operation of the Matching System, or any communications system
associated with the Matching System or when extraordinary market
conditions or other circumstances exist in which the nullification or
modification of transactions may be necessary for the maintenance of a
fair and orderly market or the protection of investors and the public
interest. The proposed rules set out procedures for each of these
reviews, including specific means for participants to appeal the
Exchange's decisions.\78\
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\76\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 9.
\77\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 10; see also CHX Article XXA, Rule
7 (the policy approved for use within the electronic book).
\78\ For example, a participant seeking review of a ``clearly
erroneous'' transaction would be required to notify the Exchange of
the request immediately after the execution by telephone, and within
15 minutes after the execution in writing. The Exchange would
promptly notify the other party to the transaction. Both parties
then would be required to submit information relating to the
disputed transaction, within specified time frames. After reviewing
the transaction, an Exchange official would notify both parties of
his or her decision, in writing; either party could appeal the
decision to a subcommittee of the Exchange's Committee on Exchange
Procedure and, if not satisfied, to the full Committee on Exchange
Procedure. In making his or her decision, the Exchange official
would consider the goals of maintaining a fair and orderly market
and protecting investors and the public interest; if an Exchange
official determines that a transaction was clearly erroneous, he or
she would try to return the parties to the positions that they would
have been in (or positions reasonably similar to those positions) if
the error had not occurred. Similarly, in the event of a disruption
or malfunction that impacts the operation or use of the Matching
System (or in the event of extraordinary market conditions or other
circumstances), an Exchange official could declare transactions void
or modify transactions. Absent extraordinary circumstances, any
Exchange action to void or modify transactions in this manner must
be taken within 30 minutes of detection of the erroneous
transaction, but in no event later than 2 p.m. on the trading day
following the date of the trade at issue. The official would be
required to notify each member involved in the transaction as soon
as practicable after making any decision; decisions could be
appealed using the procedure set out for the review of decisions
addressing clearly erroneous transactions.
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14. The late trading session. The Exchange's Matching System would
begin accepting orders for the late trading session immediately after
the closing of the regular trading session.\79\ Orders for the late
trading session would be matched according to the same process used
during the regular trading session. As noted above, the late trading
session would end at 3:30 p.m.
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\79\ See CHX Article 20, Rule 8(c)(2). Orders for the late
trading session would not be allowed queue before the close of the
regular trading session; they would only be accepted by the Exchange
after the close of the regular trading session.
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