Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Options Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Suspend Certain Provisions in Rule 7170 Regarding Obvious Errors During Limit Up-Limit Down States in Securities That Underlie Options Traded on the Exchange on a Pilot Basis, 23323-23327 [2013-09098]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 75 / Thursday, April 18, 2013 / Notices
Dollar Index in accordance with ISE
Rule 2013.
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Surveillance and Capacity
The Exchange represents that it has an
adequate surveillance program in place
for options traded on the Dollar Index,
and intends to apply those same
program procedures that it applies to
the Exchange’s other options
products.22 Further, options on the
Dollar Index will be covered by the
Exchange’s existing surveillance system
architecture and processes.
Additionally, the Exchange will have
access to information sharing resources
in its capacity as a member of the
Intermarket Surveillance Group. The
Exchange represents that it has the
necessary system capacity to support
additional quotations and messages that
will result from the listing and trading
of options on the Dollar Index.23
III. Discussion and Commission
Findings
The Commission finds that the
proposed rule change is consistent with
the requirements of the Act and the
rules and regulations thereunder
applicable to a national securities
exchange.24 Specifically, the
Commission finds that the proposed
rule change is consistent with Section
6(b)(5) of the Act,25 which requires,
among other things, that the rules of a
national securities exchange be
designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, to
promote just and equitable principles of
trade, to remove impediments to and
perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and a national market
system and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest.
The Commission believes that the
listing and trading of options on the
Dollar Index will provide additional
trading opportunities for investors in an
index that reflects U.S. Dollar
fluctuations against a basket of four
highly liquid currencies (the euro,
British pound, Japanese yen, and the
Australian dollar). Investors will be able
to trade this product through their
existing broker-dealer on the Exchange
and will be able to benefit from any
investor safeguards incorporated into
the Exchange’s rules.
In addition, the Commission believes
that allowing options on the Dollar
Index to trade in penny ($0.01)
22 See
Notice, supra note 3, 78 FR at 13720.
id.
24 In approving this proposed rule change, the
Commission has considered the proposed rule’s
impact on efficiency, competition, and capital
formation.
25 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
23 See
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increments is appropriate and
consistent with the Act.26 First, the spot
currencies on which the Dollar Index is
based are quoted in small increments,
often less than a penny. Furthermore,
there is a considerable amount of
liquidity in the spot foreign currency
markets for the individual currency
pairs, and those markets generally
exhibit low volatility both for the
individual currency pairs as well as the
Dollar Index. These factors support
allowing options on the Dollar Index to
be quoted and traded in penny
increments. Quoting in penny
increments may allow market makers to
quote more competitively and with
narrower spreads than they otherwise
might be able to do with an artificially
larger minimum increment, which
could benefit investors.
The Exchange has represented that it
has an adequate surveillance program in
place for options on the Dollar Index
and intends to apply the same
procedures for surveillance that it
applies to its other index options.27 The
options also will be subject to the
trading halt procedures applicable to
index options traded on the Exchange.28
The Commission notes the Exchange’s
representations that it has the necessary
systems capacity to support the trading
of options on the Dollar Index.29
The proposed listing standards
require the current value of the Dollar
Index to be widely disseminated at least
once every 15 seconds by one or more
major market data vendors during the
time options on the index are traded on
the Exchange. The Exchange, moreover,
has represented that the total number of
components in the Dollar Index will not
decrease from the number of
components in the Dollar Index at the
time of its initial listing.30
The Commission notes that the
Exchange proposes to apply its existing
index rules regarding the listing of new
series and additional series to options
on the Dollar Index. Specifically,
exercise prices will be required to be
reasonably related to the value of the
underlying index and generally must be
within 30% of the current index
value.31
In addition, the Exchange has stated
that options on the Dollar Index would
be subject to the same rules that govern
26 Though options on the Dollar Index fall under
the Exchange’s index options rules and not its FX
Options rules, the Commission notes that options
on the Exchange’s FX Options are quoted in penny
increments on the Exchange.
27 See supra note 22.
28 See supra note 11.
29 See supra note 23.
30 See supra note 7.
31 See ISE Rule 2009(c)(3) and (4).
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23323
all Exchange index options, including
rules that are designed to protect public
customer trading.32
The Commission believes that the
Exchange’s proposed position and
exercise limits, strike price intervals,
margin, and other aspects of the
proposed rule change are appropriate
and consistent with the Act. The
Commission notes that the proposed
position limits for the Dollar Index are
equal to or lower than the position
limits for individual foreign currency
options on the four currency pairs
comprising the Dollar Index.33 In
addition, the margin level required for
trading options on the Dollar Index is
identical to the highest margin required
for a component foreign currency as
determined in accordance with ISE Rule
1202(d).34
IV. Conclusion
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,35 that the
proposed rule change (SR–ISE–2013–
14), be, and hereby is, approved.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.36
Kevin M. O’Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013–09065 Filed 4–17–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–69368; File No. SR–BOX–
2013–20]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX
Options Exchange LLC; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of
Proposed Rule Change To Suspend
Certain Provisions in Rule 7170
Regarding Obvious Errors During Limit
Up-Limit Down States in Securities
That Underlie Options Traded on the
Exchange on a Pilot Basis
April 12, 2013.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’
or ‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4
thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that
on April 8, 2013, BOX Options
Exchange LLC (the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed
with the Securities and Exchange
32 See
supra note 21.
supra note 17. The same limits that apply
to positions limits apply equally to
exercise limits for options on the Dollar Index.
See supra note 18.
34 See ISE Rule 1202(e).
35 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
36 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
33 See
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23324
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 75 / Thursday, April 18, 2013 / Notices
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the
proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II and III below, which Items
have been prepared by the Exchange.
The Commission is publishing this
notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule from interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend
IM–7080–1 (Trading Conditions During
Limit State or Straddle State) to permit
the Exchange to suspend certain
provisions in BOX Rule 7170 (Obvious
and Catastrophic Errors) during limit
up-limit down states in securities that
underlie options traded on the Exchange
on a pilot basis. The text of the
proposed rule change is available from
the principal office of the Exchange, at
the Commission’s Public Reference
Room and also on the Exchange’s
Internet Web site at https://
boxexchange.com.
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
self-regulatory organization 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 self-regulatory organization has
prepared summaries, set forth in
Sections A, B, and C below, of the most
significant aspects of such statements.
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to amend
IM–7080–1 (Trading Conditions During
Limit State or Straddle State) to permit
the Exchange to suspend certain
provisions in BOX Rule 7170 (Obvious
and Catastrophic Errors) during limit
up-limit down states in securities that
underlie options traded on the Exchange
on a pilot basis. This is a competitive
filing that is based on a proposal
recently submitted by International
Securities Exchange, LLC (‘‘ISE’’) and
approved by the Commission.3
Background
On May 31, 2012, the Commission
approved the Plan to Address
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 69329
(April 5, 2013) (SR–ISE–2013–22).
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Extraordinary Market Volatility (the
‘‘Plan’’),4 which establishes procedures
to address extraordinary volatility in
NMS Stocks. The procedures provide
for market-wide limit up-limit down
requirements that prevent trades in
individual NMS Stocks from occurring
outside of specified Price Bands. These
limit up-limit down requirements are
coupled with Trading Pauses to
accommodate more fundamental price
moves. The Plan procedures are
designed, among other things, to protect
investors and promote fair and orderly
markets.5
BOX is not a participant in the Plan
because it does not trade NMS Stocks.
However, BOX trades options contracts
overlying NMS Stocks. Because options
pricing models are highly dependent on
the price of the underlying security and
the ability of options traders to effect
hedging transactions in the underlying
security, the implementation of the Plan
will impact the trading of options
classes traded on the Exchange.
Specifically, under the Plan, upper and
lower price bands will be calculated
based on a reference price for each NMS
Stock.6 When one side of the market for
an individual security is outside the
applicable price band, the national best
bid or national best offer will be
disseminated with a flag identifying it
as non-executable (i.e., a ‘‘Straddle
State’’). When the other side of the
market reaches the applicable price
band, such national best bid or offer will
be disseminated with a flag identifying
it as a Limit State Quotation.7 If trading
for a security does not exit a Limit State
within 15 seconds, a Trading Pause will
be declared by the Primary Listing
Exchange.8 The Trading Pause will last
at least five minutes9 and will end when
4 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67091 (May
31, 2012), 77 FR 33498 (June 6, 2012) (File No.
4–631) (‘‘Plan Approval Order’’).
5 Id. at 33511 (Preamble to the Plan).
6 The reference price equals the arithmetic mean
price of eligible reported transactions for the NMS
Stock over the immediately preceding five-minute
period. See Section I(T) of the Plan.
7 See Section I(D) of the Plan. The Limit State will
end when the entire size of all Limit State
Quotations are executed or cancelled.
8 See Section VII(A) of the Plan. The Primary
Listing Exchange is the market on which an NMS
Stock is listed. If an NMS Stock is listed on more
than one market, the Primary Listing Exchange is
the market on which the security has been listed the
longest. See Section I(O) of the Plan. A trading
pause may also be declared when the national best
bid (offer) is below (above) the lower (upper) price
band and the security is not in a Limit State, and
trading in that security deviates from normal
trading characteristics. See Section VII(A)(2) of the
Plan.
9 A Trading Pause may last longer than 5 minutes
if, for example, the Primary Market declares a
Regulatory Halt, or if there is a significant order
imbalance. See Section VII(B) of the Plan. If the
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the Primary Listing Exchange
disseminates a Reopening Price.10
Proposal
When the national best bid (offer) for
a security underlying an options class is
non-executable, the ability for options
market participants to purchase (sell)
shares of the underlying security and
the price at which they may be able to
purchase (sell) shares will become
uncertain, as there will be a lack of
transparency regarding the availability
of liquidity for the security.11 This
uncertainty will be factored into the
options pricing models of market
professionals, such as options market
makers, which will likely result in
wider spreads and less liquidity at the
best bid and offer for the options class.
Accordingly, during a Limit State, the
Exchange will automatically reject all
incoming orders that do not contain a
limit price to protect them from being
executed at prices that may be vastly
inferior to the prices available
immediately prior to or following a
Limit State or Straddle State.12 Such unpriced orders include Market Orders
and BOX-Top Orders, which become
market orders when the stop price is
elected. The Exchange will also cancel
any resting Market Orders and BOX-Top
Orders.
The Exchange proposes to exclude
transactions executed during a Limit
State or Straddle State from certain
provisions in BOX Rule 7170, on a oneyear pilot basis. This will not include
Rule 7170(e) and (f), which specify
when a trade resulting from an
erroneous print or quote in the
underlying security may be adjusted or
busted.
The remaining provisions in BOX
Rule 7170 provide a process by which
a transaction may be busted or adjusted
Primary Listing Exchange does not report a
Reopening Price within ten minutes after the
declaration of a trading Pause and has not declared
a Regulatory Halt, all trading centers may begin
trading the security. Id.
10 The Reopening Price is the price of a
transaction that reopens trading on the Primary
Listing Exchange following a Trading Pause or a
Regulatory Halt, or, if the Primary Listing Exchange
reopens with quotations, the midpoint of those
quotations. The Exchange notes that under BOX
Rule IM–7080–11 (IM–7080–12 as of 4/7), trading
on the Exchange is halted whenever trading in the
underlying security has been paused by the primary
listing market. Accordingly, the Exchange need not
adopt any rule changes to address this aspect of the
Plan.
11 See Letter to Boris Ilyevsky, Managing Director,
ISE, from Thomas Price, Managing Director,
Securities Industry and Financial Markets
Association, dated October 4, 2012 (‘‘SIFMA
Letter’’).
12 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 69186
(March 20, 2013), 78 FR 18413 (March 26, 2013)
(SR–BOX–2013–12).
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when the execution price of a
transaction deviates from the option’s
theoretical price by a certain amount.
Under these provisions, the theoretical
price is the national best bid price for
the option with respect to a sell order
and the national best offer for the option
with respect to a buy order.13 As
discussed above, during a Limit State or
Straddle State, options prices may
deviate substantially from those
available prior to or following the limit
state. The Exchange believes these
provisions would give rise to much
uncertainty for market participants as
there is no bright line definition of what
the ‘‘theoretical value’’ should be for an
option when the underlying NMS stock
has an unexecutable bid or offer or both.
Determining ‘‘theoretical value’’ in such
a situation would be often times very
subjective as opposed to an objective
determination, giving rise to additional
uncertainty and confusion for investors.
Accordingly, the Exchange does not
believe that the approach employed
under Rule 7170, which by definition
depends upon a reliable national best
bid and offer in the option, is
appropriate during a Limit State or
Straddle State.14
After careful consideration, the
Exchange believes the application of the
current provisions in Rule 7170 would
be impracticable given the lack of a
reliable national best bid or offer in the
options market during Limit States and
Straddle States, and produce
undesirable effects. Pursuant to Rule
7170, market participants have five
minutes (in the case of a Market Maker)
and 20 minutes (in the case of a nonMarket Maker Options Participant) to
notify the Exchange to review a
transaction as an obvious error under
7170(g)(1) and Participants have until
8:30 a.m. the following day to request
that the Exchange review a trade as a
catastrophic error under Rule
7170(h)(1).15 The Exchange believes that
during periods of extraordinary
13 Rule 7170 provides that if there are no quotes
from other options exchanges for comparison
purposes, the theoretical price will be determined
by designated personnel in the MRC. However,
given that options market makers and other
industry professionals will have difficulty pricing
options during Limit States and Straddle States, the
Exchange does not believe it would be reasonable
for BOX personnel to derive theoretical prices to be
applied to transactions executed during such
unusual market conditions.
14 See SIFMA Letter, supra note 11 (requesting
that exchange obvious error rules that reference
theoretical prices be reviewed to ensure that
options exchange officials do not have the
discretion to cancel executions of limit orders and
stop limit orders during a limit or straddle state).
15 For transactions in expiring options series that
take place on expiration Friday, a Participant must
notify MOC by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on that same
day. See Rule 7170(h)(1).
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18:54 Apr 17, 2013
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volatility, the review period for
transactions under the obvious error and
catastrophic error provisions would
allow market participants to re-evaluate
a transaction that occurred during a
Limit State or Straddle State at a later
time, which is potentially unfair to
other market participants and would
discourage market participants from
providing liquidity during Limit States
or Straddle States. For example, 20
minutes after a transaction that occurs
during extraordinary volatility that
triggers a Limit State or Straddle State
the market could look drastically
different from a price and liquidity level
The Exchange believes that market
participants should not be able to
benefit from the time frame to review
their transactions in these situations.
Suspending application of certain
provisions in Rule 7170 would mitigate
two of the undesirable aspects described
above—(i) the moral hazard associated
with granting a second look to trades
that went against the market participant
after market conditions have changed
and (ii) gaming the obvious error rule to
retroactively adjust market maker quotes
by adjusting the execution price at a
later time.
The Exchange notes that there are
additional protections in place outside
of the Obvious and Catastrophic Error
Rule that will continue to safeguard
customers. First, SEC Rule 15c3–5
requires that, ‘‘financial risk
management controls and supervisory
procedures must be reasonably designed
to prevent the entry of orders that
exceed appropriate pre-set credit or
capital thresholds, or that appear to be
erroneous.’’16 Secondly, the Exchange
has price checks applicable to limit
orders that reject limit orders that are
priced sufficiently far through the
NBBO that it seems likely an error
occurred. The requirements placed
upon broker dealers to adopt controls to
prevent the entry of orders that appear
to be erroneous, coupled with Exchange
functionality that filters out orders that
appear to be erroneous, serve to sharply
reduce the incidence of errors arising
from situations where, for example, a
participant mistakenly enters an order
to pay $20 for an option offered at $2.
The Exchange also notes that pursuant
to BOX Rule 7230(e), the Exchange may
compensate Options Participants for
losses resulting directly from the
malfunction of the Exchange’s systems,
and that this protection is independent
from the provisions in BOX Rule 7170.
Accordingly, the Exchange believes it is
16 See
Securities and Exchange Act Release No.
63241, 75 FR 69791 (November 15, 2010) (S7–03–
10).
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23325
appropriate to eliminate any potential
protection applying the obvious error
rule might provide during Limit and
Straddle States, as its application may
produce inequitable results.
The Exchange notes that Rule 15010
(Order Protection) will continue to
apply during Limit and Straddle States.
Accordingly, only orders identified as
Intermarket Sweep Orders will trade
through protected bids and offers during
Limit and Straddle States, and as a
result, the only trades that would
potentially have been reviewed under
Rule 7170 during Limit and Straddle
States are those involving Intermarket
Sweep Orders. The Exchange believes
that this is an additional factor that
supports its proposal to suspend certain
provisions in Rule 7170 during Limit
and Straddle States.
The Exchange proposes to review the
operation of this proposal during the
one-year pilot period from the operative
date and analyze the impact of the Limit
and Straddle States accordingly.17 In
this respect, the Exchange notes that its
current obvious error rule does not
contain a provision that permits the
Exchange to review trades on its own
motion. The Exchange believes that in
normal market conditions, such a
provision is not necessary and
undermines the objective nature of the
rule. However, during the pilot period,
the Exchange will evaluate whether
adopting such a provision for reviewing
trades during Limit and Straddle states
is necessary and appropriate.
Additionally, the Exchange represents
that it will conduct its own analysis
concerning the elimination of the
obvious error rule during Limit and
Straddle States and agrees to provide
the Commission with relevant data to
assess the impact of this proposed rule
change. As part of its analysis, the
Exchange will evaluate (1) the options
market quality during Limit and
Straddle States, (2) assess the character
of incoming order flow and transactions
during Limit and Straddle States, and
(3) review any complaints from
members and their customers
concerning executions during Limit and
Straddle States. The Exchange also
agrees to provide to the Commission
data requested to evaluate the impact of
the elimination of the obvious error
rule, including data relevant to
assessing the various analyses noted
above. The Exchange notes that these
proposed changes are consistent with
the views of the Securities Industry and
17 During the pilot, the Exchange will provide the
Commission with data regarding the how Limit and
Straddle States affect the quality of the options
market.
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 75 / Thursday, April 18, 2013 / Notices
Financial Markets Association’s
(‘‘SIFMA’’) Listed Options Trading
Committee.18
Specifically, the Exchange agrees to
provide the following data to the
Commission to help evaluate the impact
of the proposal. At least two months
prior to the end of the pilot period the
Exchange shall provide an assessment
that evaluates the statistical and
economic impact of Straddle States on
liquidity and market quality in the
options markets; and assess whether the
lack of obvious error rules in effect
during the Straddle and Limit States is
problematic. On a monthly basis, the
Exchange shall provide both the
Commission and public a dataset
containing the data for each Straddle
and Limit State in optionable stocks.19
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the
proposal is consistent with the
requirements of Section 6(b) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’),20 in general, and Section 6(b)(4)
of the Act,21 in particular, in that it is
designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, to
promote just and equitable principles of
trade, to foster cooperation and
coordination with persons engaged in
facilitating transactions in securities, to
remove impediments to and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market
and a national market system, and, in
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
18 Id.
19 The dataset will include the options for each
underlying security that reaches a straddle state and
meets the following conditions: the option is more
than 20% in the money (strike price remains < 80%
of last stock trade price for calls and strike price
remains > 120% of last stock trade price for puts
when the straddle or limit state is reached); the
option has at least 2 trades during the straddle or
limit state; and any of the top 10 options (as ranked
by overall contract volume on that day) that meet
the conditions above. For each of those options
affected the data record will contain the stock
symbol, option symbol, time at the start of the
straddle or limit state, an indicator for whether it
is a straddle or limit state. For activity on the
Exchange the data record will contain the executed
volume, time-weighted quoted bid-ask spread, timeweighted average quoted depth at the bid, timeweighted average quoted depth at the offer, high
execution price, low execution price, number of
trades for which a request for review for error was
received during straddle or limit states, an indicator
variable for whether those options outlined above
have a price change exceeding 30% during the
underlying stock’s straddle or limit state compared
to the last available option price as reported by
OPRA before the start of the straddle or limit state
(1 if observe 30% and 0 otherwise), and another
indicator variable for whether the option price
within five minutes of the underlying stock leaving
straddle or limit state (or halt if applicable) is 30%
away from the price before the start of the straddle
or limit state.
20 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
21 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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18:54 Apr 17, 2013
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general to protect investors and the
public interest.
The Exchange believes that it is
necessary and appropriate in the
interest of promoting fair and orderly
markets to exclude transactions
executed during a Limit State or
Straddle State from the provision of
BOX Rule 7170. The Exchange believes
the application of the current rule will
be impracticable given the lack of a
reliable national best bid or offer in the
options market during Limit States and
Straddle States, and that the resulting
actions (i.e., busted trades or adjusted
prices) may not be appropriate given
market conditions. This change would
ensure that limit orders that are filled
during a Limit State or Straddle State
would have certainty of execution in a
manner that promotes just and equitable
principles of trade, removes
impediments to, and perfects the
mechanism of a free and open market
and a national market system. Moreover,
given that options prices during brief
Limit States or Straddle States may
deviate substantially from those
available shortly following the Limit
State or Straddle State, the Exchange
believes giving market participants five
minutes (in the case of a Market Maker)
and 20 minutes (in the case of a nonMarket Maker Options Participant) to reevaluate a transaction would create an
unreasonable adverse selection
opportunity that would discourage
participants from providing liquidity
during Limit States or Straddle States.
In this respect, the Exchange notes that
by rejecting market orders and
cancelling pending market orders, only
those orders with a limit price will be
executed during a Limit State or
Straddle State. Therefore, on balance,
the Exchange believes that removing the
potential inequity of busting or
adjusting executions occurring during
Limit States or Straddle States
outweighs any potential benefits from
applying Rule 7170 during such
unusual market conditions.
Additionally, as discussed above, there
are additional pre-trade protections in
place outside of the Obvious and
Catastrophic Error Rule that will
continue to safeguard customers.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule change will impose
any burden on competition not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act. In this regard
and as indicated above, the Exchange
notes that the rule change is being
proposed as a competitive response to a
filing submitted by ISE that was recently
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Sfmt 4703
approved by the Commission.22 The
Exchange does not believe that the
proposal will have any impact on
competition among exchanges or market
participants on the Exchange, as the
proposal provides that transactions
executed during such states will not be
reviewed pursuant to provisions in Rule
7170.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received from
Members, Participants, or Others
The Exchange has neither solicited
nor received comments on the proposed
rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule
change does not significantly affect the
protection of investors or the public
interest, does not impose any significant
burden on competition, and, by its
terms, does not become operative for 30
days from the date on which it was
filed, or such shorter time as the
Commission may designate, it has
become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 23 and Rule 19b–
4(f)(6) thereunder.24
The Exchange has requested that the
Commission waive the 30-day operative
delay. The Commission believes that
waiver of the operative delay is
consistent with the protection of
investors and the public interest
because the proposal is substantially
similar to those of other exchanges that
have been approved by the Commission
to exclude transactions executed during
a Limit State or Straddle State from
certain provisions of the obvious error
rules.25 Further, the Commission notes
that the Plan, to which these rules
relate, was implemented on April 8,
2013. Therefore, the Commission
designates the proposal operative upon
filing.26
At any time within 60 days of the
filing of the proposed rule change, the
Commission summarily may
temporarily suspend such rule change if
22 See
supra note 3.
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
24 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b–
4(f)(6)(iii) requires the Exchange to give the
Commission written notice of the Exchange’s intent
to file the proposed rule change, along with a brief
description and text of the proposed rule change,
at least five business days prior to the date of filing
of the proposed rule change, or such shorter time
as designated by the Commission. The Exchange
has satisfied this requirement.
25 See, e.g., supra note 3.
26 For purposes only of waiving the 30-day
operative delay, the Commission has considered the
proposed rule’s impact on efficiency, competition,
and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
23 15
E:\FR\FM\18APN1.SGM
18APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 75 / Thursday, April 18, 2013 / Notices
it appears to the Commission that such
action is necessary or appropriate in the
public interest, for the protection of
investors, or otherwise in furtherance of
the purposes of the Act.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
2013–20 and should be submitted on or
before May 9, 2013.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.27
Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
[FR Doc. 2013–09098 Filed 4–17–13; 8:45 am]
Electronic Comments
Issuance of a Presidential Permit
Authorizing the State of Michigan to
Construct, Connect, Operate, and
Maintain at the Border of the United
States a Bridge Linking Detroit,
Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
Number SR–BOX–2013–20 on the
subject line.
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary,
Securities and Exchange Commission,
100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC
20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–BOX–2013–20. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if email is used. To help the
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549, on official
business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change;
the Commission does not edit personal
identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make
available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR–BOX–
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:54 Apr 17, 2013
Jkt 229001
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 8278]
The Department of State
issued a Presidential Permit to the State
of Michigan on April 11, 2013,
authorizing the permitee to construct,
connect, operate and maintain at the
border of the United States a bridge
linking Detroit, Michigan and Windsor,
Ontario. In making this determination,
the Department provided public notice
of the proposed amendment (77 FR
7951, July 11, 2012), offered the
opportunity for comment and consulted
with other federal agencies, as required
by Executive Order 11423, as amended.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh
Rubin, Canada Border Affairs Officer,
via email at WHACanInternal@state.gov,
by phone at 202 647–2256 or by mail at
Office of Canadian Affairs—Room 1329,
Department of State, 2201 C St., NW.,
Washington, DC 20520. Information
about Presidential permits is available
on the Internet at https://www.state.gov/
p/wha/rt/permit/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
following is the text of the issued
permit:
By virtue of the authority vested in
me as Under Secretary of State for
Economic Growth, Energy, and the
Environment, including those
authorities under Executive Order
11423, 33 FR 11741, as amended by
Executive Order 12847 of May 17, 1993,
58 FR 29511, Executive Order 13284 of
January 23, 2003, 68 FR 4075, and
Executive Order 13337 of April 30,
2004, 69 FR 25299; and Department of
State Delegation of Authority 118–2 of
January 26, 2006; having considered the
environmental effects of the proposed
action consistent with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (83
Stat. 852; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
other statutes relating to environmental
SUMMARY:
27 17
PO 00000
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
Frm 00124
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
23327
concerns; having considered the
proposed action consistent with the
National Historic Preservation Act (80
Stat. 917, 16 U.S.C. 470f et seq.); and
having requested and received the views
of various of the federal departments
and other interested persons; I hereby
grant permission, subject to the
conditions herein set forth, to the State
of Michigan (hereinafter referred to as
‘‘permittee ’’) to construct, connect,
operate, and maintain a new
international bridge (the New
International Trade Crossing) between
Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor,
Ontario, Canada.
The term ‘‘facilities’’ as used in this
permit means the bridge and any land,
structure, or installations appurtenant
thereto, at the location set forth in the
Preferred Alternative in the ‘‘Detroit
River International Crossing (DRIC),
Wayne County, Michigan, Final
Environmental Impact Statement and
Final Section 4(f) Evaluation’’ by the
U.S. Department of Transportation,
Federal Highway Administration and
Michigan Department of Transportation,
dated November 21, 2008, the Record of
Decision of the Federal Highway
Administration dated January 14, 2009,
and the application for a Presidential
permit submitted by the State of
Michigan dated June 18, 2012.
The term ‘‘United States facilities’’ as
used in this permit means that part of
the facilities in the United States.
This permit is subject to the following
conditions:
Article 1. (1) The United States
facilities herein described, and all
aspects of their operation, shall be
subject to all the conditions, provisions,
and requirements of this permit and any
amendment thereof. This permit may be
terminated at the will of the Secretary
of State or the Secretary’s delegate or
may be amended by the Secretary of
State or the Secretary’s delegate at will
or upon proper application therefore.
The permittee shall make no substantial
change in the location of the United
States facilities or in the operation
authorized by this permit until such
changes have been approved by the
Secretary of State or the Secretary’s
delegate.
(2) The construction, operation and
maintenance of the United States
facilities shall be in all material respects
as described in the permitee’s June 18,
2012, application for a Presidential
Permit (the ‘‘Application’’).
Article 2. (1) The standards for, and
the manner of, the construction,
operation, and maintenance of the
United States facilities shall be subject
to inspection and approval by the
representatives of appropriate federal,
E:\FR\FM\18APN1.SGM
18APN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 75 (Thursday, April 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23323-23327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09098]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-69368; File No. SR-BOX-2013-20]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Options Exchange LLC; Notice
of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To
Suspend Certain Provisions in Rule 7170 Regarding Obvious Errors During
Limit Up-Limit Down States in Securities That Underlie Options Traded
on the Exchange on a Pilot Basis
April 12, 2013.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'' or ``Exchange Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice
is hereby given that on April 8, 2013, BOX Options Exchange LLC (the
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange
[[Page 23324]]
Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II and III below, which Items have been prepared by the
Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments
on the proposed rule from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend IM-7080-1 (Trading Conditions During
Limit State or Straddle State) to permit the Exchange to suspend
certain provisions in BOX Rule 7170 (Obvious and Catastrophic Errors)
during limit up-limit down states in securities that underlie options
traded on the Exchange on a pilot basis. The text of the proposed rule
change is available from the principal office of the Exchange, at the
Commission's Public Reference Room and also on the Exchange's Internet
Web site at https://boxexchange.com.
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 self-regulatory organization
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 self-regulatory organization
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
The Exchange proposes to amend IM-7080-1 (Trading Conditions During
Limit State or Straddle State) to permit the Exchange to suspend
certain provisions in BOX Rule 7170 (Obvious and Catastrophic Errors)
during limit up-limit down states in securities that underlie options
traded on the Exchange on a pilot basis. This is a competitive filing
that is based on a proposal recently submitted by International
Securities Exchange, LLC (``ISE'') and approved by the Commission.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 69329 (April 5,
2013) (SR-ISE-2013-22).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background
On May 31, 2012, the Commission approved the Plan to Address
Extraordinary Market Volatility (the ``Plan''),\4\ which establishes
procedures to address extraordinary volatility in NMS Stocks. The
procedures provide for market-wide limit up-limit down requirements
that prevent trades in individual NMS Stocks from occurring outside of
specified Price Bands. These limit up-limit down requirements are
coupled with Trading Pauses to accommodate more fundamental price
moves. The Plan procedures are designed, among other things, to protect
investors and promote fair and orderly markets.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67091 (May 31, 2012), 77
FR 33498 (June 6, 2012) (File No. 4-631) (``Plan Approval Order'').
\5\ Id. at 33511 (Preamble to the Plan).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOX is not a participant in the Plan because it does not trade NMS
Stocks. However, BOX trades options contracts overlying NMS Stocks.
Because options pricing models are highly dependent on the price of the
underlying security and the ability of options traders to effect
hedging transactions in the underlying security, the implementation of
the Plan will impact the trading of options classes traded on the
Exchange. Specifically, under the Plan, upper and lower price bands
will be calculated based on a reference price for each NMS Stock.\6\
When one side of the market for an individual security is outside the
applicable price band, the national best bid or national best offer
will be disseminated with a flag identifying it as non-executable
(i.e., a ``Straddle State''). When the other side of the market reaches
the applicable price band, such national best bid or offer will be
disseminated with a flag identifying it as a Limit State Quotation.\7\
If trading for a security does not exit a Limit State within 15
seconds, a Trading Pause will be declared by the Primary Listing
Exchange.\8\ The Trading Pause will last at least five minutes\9\ and
will end when the Primary Listing Exchange disseminates a Reopening
Price.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ The reference price equals the arithmetic mean price of
eligible reported transactions for the NMS Stock over the
immediately preceding five-minute period. See Section I(T) of the
Plan.
\7\ See Section I(D) of the Plan. The Limit State will end when
the entire size of all Limit State Quotations are executed or
cancelled.
\8\ See Section VII(A) of the Plan. The Primary Listing Exchange
is the market on which an NMS Stock is listed. If an NMS Stock is
listed on more than one market, the Primary Listing Exchange is the
market on which the security has been listed the longest. See
Section I(O) of the Plan. A trading pause may also be declared when
the national best bid (offer) is below (above) the lower (upper)
price band and the security is not in a Limit State, and trading in
that security deviates from normal trading characteristics. See
Section VII(A)(2) of the Plan.
\9\ A Trading Pause may last longer than 5 minutes if, for
example, the Primary Market declares a Regulatory Halt, or if there
is a significant order imbalance. See Section VII(B) of the Plan. If
the Primary Listing Exchange does not report a Reopening Price
within ten minutes after the declaration of a trading Pause and has
not declared a Regulatory Halt, all trading centers may begin
trading the security. Id.
\10\ The Reopening Price is the price of a transaction that
reopens trading on the Primary Listing Exchange following a Trading
Pause or a Regulatory Halt, or, if the Primary Listing Exchange
reopens with quotations, the midpoint of those quotations. The
Exchange notes that under BOX Rule IM-7080-11 (IM-7080-12 as of 4/
7), trading on the Exchange is halted whenever trading in the
underlying security has been paused by the primary listing market.
Accordingly, the Exchange need not adopt any rule changes to address
this aspect of the Plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposal
When the national best bid (offer) for a security underlying an
options class is non-executable, the ability for options market
participants to purchase (sell) shares of the underlying security and
the price at which they may be able to purchase (sell) shares will
become uncertain, as there will be a lack of transparency regarding the
availability of liquidity for the security.\11\ This uncertainty will
be factored into the options pricing models of market professionals,
such as options market makers, which will likely result in wider
spreads and less liquidity at the best bid and offer for the options
class. Accordingly, during a Limit State, the Exchange will
automatically reject all incoming orders that do not contain a limit
price to protect them from being executed at prices that may be vastly
inferior to the prices available immediately prior to or following a
Limit State or Straddle State.\12\ Such un-priced orders include Market
Orders and BOX-Top Orders, which become market orders when the stop
price is elected. The Exchange will also cancel any resting Market
Orders and BOX-Top Orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ See Letter to Boris Ilyevsky, Managing Director, ISE, from
Thomas Price, Managing Director, Securities Industry and Financial
Markets Association, dated October 4, 2012 (``SIFMA Letter'').
\12\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 69186 (March 20,
2013), 78 FR 18413 (March 26, 2013) (SR-BOX-2013-12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange proposes to exclude transactions executed during a
Limit State or Straddle State from certain provisions in BOX Rule 7170,
on a one-year pilot basis. This will not include Rule 7170(e) and (f),
which specify when a trade resulting from an erroneous print or quote
in the underlying security may be adjusted or busted.
The remaining provisions in BOX Rule 7170 provide a process by
which a transaction may be busted or adjusted
[[Page 23325]]
when the execution price of a transaction deviates from the option's
theoretical price by a certain amount. Under these provisions, the
theoretical price is the national best bid price for the option with
respect to a sell order and the national best offer for the option with
respect to a buy order.\13\ As discussed above, during a Limit State or
Straddle State, options prices may deviate substantially from those
available prior to or following the limit state. The Exchange believes
these provisions would give rise to much uncertainty for market
participants as there is no bright line definition of what the
``theoretical value'' should be for an option when the underlying NMS
stock has an unexecutable bid or offer or both. Determining
``theoretical value'' in such a situation would be often times very
subjective as opposed to an objective determination, giving rise to
additional uncertainty and confusion for investors. Accordingly, the
Exchange does not believe that the approach employed under Rule 7170,
which by definition depends upon a reliable national best bid and offer
in the option, is appropriate during a Limit State or Straddle
State.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ Rule 7170 provides that if there are no quotes from other
options exchanges for comparison purposes, the theoretical price
will be determined by designated personnel in the MRC. However,
given that options market makers and other industry professionals
will have difficulty pricing options during Limit States and
Straddle States, the Exchange does not believe it would be
reasonable for BOX personnel to derive theoretical prices to be
applied to transactions executed during such unusual market
conditions.
\14\ See SIFMA Letter, supra note 11 (requesting that exchange
obvious error rules that reference theoretical prices be reviewed to
ensure that options exchange officials do not have the discretion to
cancel executions of limit orders and stop limit orders during a
limit or straddle state).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
After careful consideration, the Exchange believes the application
of the current provisions in Rule 7170 would be impracticable given the
lack of a reliable national best bid or offer in the options market
during Limit States and Straddle States, and produce undesirable
effects. Pursuant to Rule 7170, market participants have five minutes
(in the case of a Market Maker) and 20 minutes (in the case of a non-
Market Maker Options Participant) to notify the Exchange to review a
transaction as an obvious error under 7170(g)(1) and Participants have
until 8:30 a.m. the following day to request that the Exchange review a
trade as a catastrophic error under Rule 7170(h)(1).\15\ The Exchange
believes that during periods of extraordinary volatility, the review
period for transactions under the obvious error and catastrophic error
provisions would allow market participants to re-evaluate a transaction
that occurred during a Limit State or Straddle State at a later time,
which is potentially unfair to other market participants and would
discourage market participants from providing liquidity during Limit
States or Straddle States. For example, 20 minutes after a transaction
that occurs during extraordinary volatility that triggers a Limit State
or Straddle State the market could look drastically different from a
price and liquidity level The Exchange believes that market
participants should not be able to benefit from the time frame to
review their transactions in these situations. Suspending application
of certain provisions in Rule 7170 would mitigate two of the
undesirable aspects described above--(i) the moral hazard associated
with granting a second look to trades that went against the market
participant after market conditions have changed and (ii) gaming the
obvious error rule to retroactively adjust market maker quotes by
adjusting the execution price at a later time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ For transactions in expiring options series that take place
on expiration Friday, a Participant must notify MOC by 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time on that same day. See Rule 7170(h)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange notes that there are additional protections in place
outside of the Obvious and Catastrophic Error Rule that will continue
to safeguard customers. First, SEC Rule 15c3-5 requires that,
``financial risk management controls and supervisory procedures must be
reasonably designed to prevent the entry of orders that exceed
appropriate pre-set credit or capital thresholds, or that appear to be
erroneous.''\16\ Secondly, the Exchange has price checks applicable to
limit orders that reject limit orders that are priced sufficiently far
through the NBBO that it seems likely an error occurred. The
requirements placed upon broker dealers to adopt controls to prevent
the entry of orders that appear to be erroneous, coupled with Exchange
functionality that filters out orders that appear to be erroneous,
serve to sharply reduce the incidence of errors arising from situations
where, for example, a participant mistakenly enters an order to pay $20
for an option offered at $2. The Exchange also notes that pursuant to
BOX Rule 7230(e), the Exchange may compensate Options Participants for
losses resulting directly from the malfunction of the Exchange's
systems, and that this protection is independent from the provisions in
BOX Rule 7170. Accordingly, the Exchange believes it is appropriate to
eliminate any potential protection applying the obvious error rule
might provide during Limit and Straddle States, as its application may
produce inequitable results.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ See Securities and Exchange Act Release No. 63241, 75 FR
69791 (November 15, 2010) (S7-03-10).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange notes that Rule 15010 (Order Protection) will continue
to apply during Limit and Straddle States. Accordingly, only orders
identified as Intermarket Sweep Orders will trade through protected
bids and offers during Limit and Straddle States, and as a result, the
only trades that would potentially have been reviewed under Rule 7170
during Limit and Straddle States are those involving Intermarket Sweep
Orders. The Exchange believes that this is an additional factor that
supports its proposal to suspend certain provisions in Rule 7170 during
Limit and Straddle States.
The Exchange proposes to review the operation of this proposal
during the one-year pilot period from the operative date and analyze
the impact of the Limit and Straddle States accordingly.\17\ In this
respect, the Exchange notes that its current obvious error rule does
not contain a provision that permits the Exchange to review trades on
its own motion. The Exchange believes that in normal market conditions,
such a provision is not necessary and undermines the objective nature
of the rule. However, during the pilot period, the Exchange will
evaluate whether adopting such a provision for reviewing trades during
Limit and Straddle states is necessary and appropriate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ During the pilot, the Exchange will provide the Commission
with data regarding the how Limit and Straddle States affect the
quality of the options market.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additionally, the Exchange represents that it will conduct its own
analysis concerning the elimination of the obvious error rule during
Limit and Straddle States and agrees to provide the Commission with
relevant data to assess the impact of this proposed rule change. As
part of its analysis, the Exchange will evaluate (1) the options market
quality during Limit and Straddle States, (2) assess the character of
incoming order flow and transactions during Limit and Straddle States,
and (3) review any complaints from members and their customers
concerning executions during Limit and Straddle States. The Exchange
also agrees to provide to the Commission data requested to evaluate the
impact of the elimination of the obvious error rule, including data
relevant to assessing the various analyses noted above. The Exchange
notes that these proposed changes are consistent with the views of the
Securities Industry and
[[Page 23326]]
Financial Markets Association's (``SIFMA'') Listed Options Trading
Committee.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifically, the Exchange agrees to provide the following data to
the Commission to help evaluate the impact of the proposal. At least
two months prior to the end of the pilot period the Exchange shall
provide an assessment that evaluates the statistical and economic
impact of Straddle States on liquidity and market quality in the
options markets; and assess whether the lack of obvious error rules in
effect during the Straddle and Limit States is problematic. On a
monthly basis, the Exchange shall provide both the Commission and
public a dataset containing the data for each Straddle and Limit State
in optionable stocks.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ The dataset will include the options for each underlying
security that reaches a straddle state and meets the following
conditions: the option is more than 20% in the money (strike price
remains < 80% of last stock trade price for calls and strike price
remains > 120% of last stock trade price for puts when the straddle
or limit state is reached); the option has at least 2 trades during
the straddle or limit state; and any of the top 10 options (as
ranked by overall contract volume on that day) that meet the
conditions above. For each of those options affected the data record
will contain the stock symbol, option symbol, time at the start of
the straddle or limit state, an indicator for whether it is a
straddle or limit state. For activity on the Exchange the data
record will contain the executed volume, time-weighted quoted bid-
ask spread, time-weighted average quoted depth at the bid, time-
weighted average quoted depth at the offer, high execution price,
low execution price, number of trades for which a request for review
for error was received during straddle or limit states, an indicator
variable for whether those options outlined above have a price
change exceeding 30% during the underlying stock's straddle or limit
state compared to the last available option price as reported by
OPRA before the start of the straddle or limit state (1 if observe
30% and 0 otherwise), and another indicator variable for whether the
option price within five minutes of the underlying stock leaving
straddle or limit state (or halt if applicable) is 30% away from the
price before the start of the straddle or limit state.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with the
requirements of Section 6(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(the ``Act''),\20\ in general, and Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\21\ in
particular, in that it is designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable
principles of trade, to foster cooperation and coordination with
persons engaged in facilitating transactions in securities, to remove
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and
a national market system, and, in general to protect investors and the
public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\21\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange believes that it is necessary and appropriate in the
interest of promoting fair and orderly markets to exclude transactions
executed during a Limit State or Straddle State from the provision of
BOX Rule 7170. The Exchange believes the application of the current
rule will be impracticable given the lack of a reliable national best
bid or offer in the options market during Limit States and Straddle
States, and that the resulting actions (i.e., busted trades or adjusted
prices) may not be appropriate given market conditions. This change
would ensure that limit orders that are filled during a Limit State or
Straddle State would have certainty of execution in a manner that
promotes just and equitable principles of trade, removes impediments
to, and perfects the mechanism of a free and open market and a national
market system. Moreover, given that options prices during brief Limit
States or Straddle States may deviate substantially from those
available shortly following the Limit State or Straddle State, the
Exchange believes giving market participants five minutes (in the case
of a Market Maker) and 20 minutes (in the case of a non-Market Maker
Options Participant) to re-evaluate a transaction would create an
unreasonable adverse selection opportunity that would discourage
participants from providing liquidity during Limit States or Straddle
States. In this respect, the Exchange notes that by rejecting market
orders and cancelling pending market orders, only those orders with a
limit price will be executed during a Limit State or Straddle State.
Therefore, on balance, the Exchange believes that removing the
potential inequity of busting or adjusting executions occurring during
Limit States or Straddle States outweighs any potential benefits from
applying Rule 7170 during such unusual market conditions. Additionally,
as discussed above, there are additional pre-trade protections in place
outside of the Obvious and Catastrophic Error Rule that will continue
to safeguard customers.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. In this regard and as indicated
above, the Exchange notes that the rule change is being proposed as a
competitive response to a filing submitted by ISE that was recently
approved by the Commission.\22\ The Exchange does not believe that the
proposal will have any impact on competition among exchanges or market
participants on the Exchange, as the proposal provides that
transactions executed during such states will not be reviewed pursuant
to provisions in Rule 7170.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ See supra note 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received from Members, Participants, or Others
The Exchange has neither solicited nor received comments on the
proposed rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule change does not significantly
affect the protection of investors or the public interest, does not
impose any significant burden on competition, and, by its terms, does
not become operative for 30 days from the date on which it was filed,
or such shorter time as the Commission may designate, it has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \23\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6) thereunder.\24\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\24\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii)
requires the Exchange to give the Commission written notice of the
Exchange's intent to file the proposed rule change, along with a
brief description and text of the proposed rule change, at least
five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule
change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission. The
Exchange has satisfied this requirement.
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The Exchange has requested that the Commission waive the 30-day
operative delay. The Commission believes that waiver of the operative
delay is consistent with the protection of investors and the public
interest because the proposal is substantially similar to those of
other exchanges that have been approved by the Commission to exclude
transactions executed during a Limit State or Straddle State from
certain provisions of the obvious error rules.\25\ Further, the
Commission notes that the Plan, to which these rules relate, was
implemented on April 8, 2013. Therefore, the Commission designates the
proposal operative upon filing.\26\
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\25\ See, e.g., supra note 3.
\26\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay,
the Commission has considered the proposed rule's impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C.
78c(f).
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At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule
change if
[[Page 23327]]
it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change 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 email to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please
include File Number SR-BOX-2013-20 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-BOX-2013-20. This file
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help
the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available
for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File Number SR-BOX-2013-20 and should be
submitted on or before May 9, 2013.
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\27\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\27\
Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-09098 Filed 4-17-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P