Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed Income Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing of Request To Extend the Pilot Program for Certain Government Securities Division Rules Relating to the GCF Repo® Service, 29828-29833 [2014-11964]
Download as PDF
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
29828
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 100 / Friday, May 23, 2014 / Notices
employees have had no, and will not
have any future, involvement in the
Covered Persons’ activities in any
capacity described in section 9(a) of the
Act; and (iv) because the personnel of
the Applicants (other than certain
personnel of CSAG who were not
involved in any of the Applicants’ Fund
Service Activities) did not have any
involvement in the Conduct,
shareholders of the Funds and ESCs
were not affected any differently than if
those Funds and ESCs had received
services from any other non-affiliated
investment adviser or principal
underwriter.
5. Except as discussed above,
Applicants have agreed that neither they
nor any of the other Covered Persons
will employ any of the current or former
employees of CSAG or any Covered
Person who previously have been or
who subsequently may be identified by
CSAG or any U.S. or non-U.S. regulatory
or enforcement agencies as having been
responsible for the Conduct in any
capacity without first making a further
application to the Commission pursuant
to section 9(c). Applicants also have
agreed that each Applicant (and any
Covered Person that acts in any capacity
described in section 9(a) of the Act) will
adopt and implement policies and
procedures reasonably designed to
ensure compliance with the terms and
conditions of the order granted under
section 9(c). In addition, CSAG has
agreed to comply in all material respects
with the material terms and conditions
of the Plea Agreement and the material
terms of the Federal Reserve Order and
the DFS Order, and CS Group has
agreed to comply in all material respects
with the material terms and
undertakings of the Commission
Settlement.
6. Applicants further represent that
the inability of CSAM, CSAML, CSHG,
and CSSU to continue providing Fund
Service Activities would result in
potential hardships for both the Funds
and the ESCs and their shareholders.
Applicants state that they will distribute
written materials, including an offer to
meet in person to discuss the materials,
to the board of trustees of the Funds,
including the directors who are not
‘‘interested persons,’’ as defined in
section 2(a)(19) of the Act, of such
Funds, and their independent legal
counsel as defined in rule 0–1(a)(6)
under the Act, regarding the Plea
Agreement, any impact on the Funds,
and the application. The Applicants
will provide the Funds with all
information concerning the Plea
Agreement and the application that is
necessary for the Funds to fulfill their
VerDate Mar<15>2010
20:09 May 22, 2014
Jkt 232001
disclosure and other obligations under
the federal securities laws.
7. Applicants also state that, if CSAM,
CSAML, CSHG, and CSSU were barred
from providing Fund Service Activities
to the Funds and the ESCs, the effect on
their business and employees would be
severe.
8. Applicants state that certain of the
Applicants and their affiliates have
received exemptive orders under section
9(c), as described in greater detail in the
application.
Applicants’ Conditions
Applicants agree that any order
granted by the Commission pursuant to
the application will be subject to the
following conditions:
1. Any temporary exemption granted
pursuant to the application will be
without prejudice to, and shall not limit
the Commission’s rights in any manner
with respect to, any Commission
investigation of, or administrative
proceedings involving or against,
Covered Persons, including, without
limitation, the consideration by the
Commission of a permanent exemption
from section 9(a) of the Act requested
pursuant to the application or the
revocation or removal of any temporary
exemptions granted under the Act in
connection with the application.
2. Except as set out in the second
paragraph of Section IV.E of the
application, neither the Applicants nor
any of the other Covered Persons will
employ any of the current or former
employees of CSAG or any Covered
Person who previously have been or
who subsequently may be identified by
CSAG or any U.S. or non-U.S. regulatory
or enforcement agencies as having been
responsible for the Conduct in any
capacity without first making a further
application to the Commission pursuant
to section 9(c).
3. Each Applicant and Covered Person
will adopt and implement policies and
procedures reasonably designed to
ensure that they will comply with the
terms and conditions of the requested
orders within 60 days of the date on
which any permanent order is granted
or, with respect to condition 4, such
later date as may be contemplated by
the Federal Reserve Order, the DFS
Order, or the Commission Settlement, as
applicable.
4. CSAG will comply in all material
respects with the material terms and
conditions of the Plea Agreement and
with the material terms of the Federal
Reserve Order and the DFS Order, and
CS Group will comply in all material
respects with the material terms and
undertakings of the Commission
Settlement.
PO 00000
Frm 00090
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
5. Applicants will provide written
notification to the Chief Counsel of the
Commission’s Division of Investment
Management, with a copy to the Chief
Counsel of the Commission’s Division of
Enforcement, of a material violation of
the terms and conditions of the
requested orders within 30 days of
discovery of the material violation.
Temporary Order
The Commission has considered the
matter and finds that the Applicants
have made the necessary showing to
justify granting a temporary exemption.
Accordingly
It is hereby ordered, pursuant to
section 9(c) of the Act, that the
Applicants and the other Covered
Persons are granted a temporary
exemption from the provisions of
section 9(a), effective forthwith, solely
with respect to the Guilty Plea, subject
to the representations and conditions in
the application, until the date the
Commission takes final action on their
application for a permanent order.
By the Commission.
Kevin M. O’Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014–11929 Filed 5–22–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–72184; File No. SR–FICC–
2014–02]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed
Income Clearing Corporation; Notice of
Filing of Request To Extend the Pilot
Program for Certain Government
Securities Division Rules Relating to
the GCF Repo® Service
May 19, 2014.
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 May 5,
2014, the Fixed Income Clearing
Corporation (‘‘FICC’’ or the
‘‘Corporation’’) filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
changes3 as described in Items I, II and
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
3 The Commission temporarily approved the
changes that are the subject of this filing in 2011,
and renewed this temporary approval most recently
in 2013. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 70068
(July 30, 2013), 78 FR 47453 (August 5, 2013) (SR–
FICC–2013–06). Thus, while the Exhibit 5 attached
to this filing is marked to indicate that new text is
being added to the rulebook of FICC’s Government
2 17
E:\FR\FM\23MYN1.SGM
23MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 100 / Friday, May 23, 2014 / Notices
III below, which Items have been
prepared by FICC. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule changes
from interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The proposed rule changes consist of
modifications to the Rulebook of the
Government Securities Division
(‘‘GSD’’) in connection with the GCF
Repo® service.4
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission,
FICC 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. FICC 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.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
(i) Purpose of the Proposed Rule Change
FICC is seeking the Commission’s
approval to extend the current pilot
program (the ‘‘2013 Pilot Program’’) that
is currently in effect for the GCF Repo®
service. FICC is requesting that the 2013
Pilot Program be extended for one year
following the Commission’s approval of
the present filing.5
By way of background, on July 12,
2011, FICC submitted a rule filing to the
Commission (SR–FICC–2011–05)
proposing to make certain changes to its
GCF Repo service in order to comply
with the recommendations that had
been made by the Task Force on
Triparty Reform (‘‘TPR’’), an industry
group formed and sponsored by the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York.6
Services Division (‘‘GSD’’), this text already appears
in the GSD’s rulebook pursuant to the
Commission’s prior approvals. The current filing
seeks the Commission’s approval to retain this text
in the GSD’s rulebook for one additional year.
4 GCF Repo is a registered trademark of FICC/
DTCC.
5 If FICC determines to change the parameters of
the service during the one-year Pilot Program
extension period, it will submit a rule filing to the
Commission. If FICC seeks to extend the Pilot
Program beyond the one-year period or proposes to
make the Pilot Program permanent, it will also
submit a rule filing to the Commission.
6 The main purpose of the TPR was to develop
recommendations to address the risk presented by
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:44 May 22, 2014
Jkt 232001
Because the GCF Repo service operates
as a triparty mechanism, FICC was
requested to incorporate changes to the
GCF Repo service to align the service
with the other TPR recommended
changes for the overall triparty market.
The rule change described in SR–
FICC–2011–05 was proposed to be run
as a pilot program for one year starting
from the date on which the filing was
approved by the Commission (the ‘‘2011
Pilot Program’’).7 Throughout 2011 and
the earlier half of 2012, FICC
implemented a portion of the rule
changes that were included in SR–
FICC–2011–05. As the expiration date of
the 2011 Pilot Program approached,
FICC elected to have certain aspects of
the 2011 Pilot Program continue,
however, FICC also proposed to make
certain modifications to the 2011 Pilot
Program. As a result, on June 8, 2012,
FICC submitted a rule filing for the 2012
Pilot Program (SR–FICC–2012–05).8 On
June 5, 2013, FICC then submitted a rule
filing to extend the Pilot Program for an
additional year (SR–FICC–2013–06)9.
Because the latest extension is now
approaching its expiry date, FICC is
seeking the Commission’s approval to
extend the Pilot Program for an
additional year while the final phase of
the tri-party reform is put in to place.10
Background: Description of the GCF
Repo Service and History
(1) Creation of the GCF Repo Service
The GCF Repo service allows GSD
dealer members to trade general
collateral repos11 throughout the day
without requiring intra-day, trade-fortrade settlement on a delivery-versuspayment (DVP) basis. The service allows
the dealers to trade such general
triparty repo transactions due to the current
morning reversal or ‘‘unwind’’ process and to move
to a process by which transactions are collateralized
all day.
7 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–65213
(August 29, 2011), 76 FR 54824 (September 2,
2011)(SR–FICC–2011–05).
8 See Securities Exchange Release No. 34–67621
(August 8, 2012); 77 FR 48572 (August 14, 2012)
(SR–FICC–2012–05)
9 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
70068 (July 30, 2013) 78 FR 47453 (August 5, 2013)
(SR–FICC–2013–06)
10 The final phase includes the development
interactive messages for the interbank collateral
substitution automation. If FICC determines to
change the parameters of the service during the oneyear Pilot Program extension period, it will submit
a rule filing to the Commission. If FICC seeks to
extend the Pilot Program beyond the one-year
period or proposes to make the Pilot Program
permanent, it will also submit a rule filing to the
Commission.
11 A general collateral repo is a repo in which the
underlying securities collateral is nonspecific,
general collateral whose identification is at the
option of the seller. This is in contrast to a specific
collateral repo.
PO 00000
Frm 00091
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
29829
collateral repos, based on rate and term,
throughout the day with inter-dealer
broker netting members on a blind basis.
Standardized, generic CUSIP numbers
have been established exclusively for
GCF Repo processing and are used to
specify the acceptable type of
underlying Fedwire book-entry eligible
collateral, which includes Treasuries,
Agencies and certain mortgage-backed
securities.
The GCF Repo service was developed
as part of a collaborative effort among
GSCC (FICC’s predecessor), its two
clearing banks (The Bank of New York
Mellon (‘‘BNY’’) and JPMorgan Chase
Bank, National Association (‘‘Chase’’))—
and industry representatives. GSCC
introduced the GCF Repo service on an
intra-clearing bank basis in 1998.12
Under the intrabank service, dealers
could only engage in GCF Repo
transactions with other dealers that
cleared at the same clearing bank.
(2) Creation of the Interbank Version of
the GCF Repo Service
In 1999, GSCC expanded the GCF
Repo service to permit dealer
participants to engage in GCF Repo
trading on an inter-clearing bank basis,
meaning that dealers using different
clearing banks could enter into GCF
Repo transactions (on a blind brokered
basis).13 Because dealer members that
participate in the GCF Repo service do
not all clear at the same clearing bank,
introducing the service as an interbank
service necessitated the establishment of
a mechanism to permit after-hours
movements of securities between the
two clearing banks to deal with the fact
that GSCC would likely have
unbalanced net GCF securities and cash
positions within each clearing bank
(that is, it is likely that at the end of GCF
Repo processing each business day, the
dealers in one clearing bank will be net
funds borrowers, while the dealers at
the other clearing bank will be net funds
lenders). To address this issue, GSCC
and its clearing banks established, and
the Commission approved, a legal
mechanism by which securities would
‘‘move’’ across the clearing banks
without the use of the securities
Fedwire.14 (Movements of cash do not
present the same issue because the cash
Fedwire is open later than the securities
Fedwire.) Therefore, at the end of the
12 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
40623 (October 30, 1998) 63 FR 59831 (November
5, 1998) (SR–GSCC–98–02).
13 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
41303 (April 16, 1999) 64 FR 20346 (April 26, 1999)
(SR–GSCC–99–01).
14 See id. for a detailed description of the clearing
bank and FICC accounts needed to effect the afterhour movement of securities.
E:\FR\FM\23MYN1.SGM
23MYN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
29830
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 100 / Friday, May 23, 2014 / Notices
day, after the GCF net results are
produced, securities are pledged via a
tri-party-like mechanism and the
interbank cash component is moved via
Fedwire. In the morning, the pledges are
unwound, that is, funds are returned to
the net funds lenders and securities are
returned to the net funds borrowers.
The following simplified example
illustrates the manner in which the GCF
Repo services works on an interbank
basis:
Assume that Dealer B clears at BNY
and Dealer C clears at Chase. Further
assume that: (i) outside of FICC, Dealer
B engages in a triparty repo transaction
with Party X to obtain funds and seeks
to invest such funds via a GCF Repo
transaction, (ii) outside of FICC, Dealer
C engages in a DVP repo with Party Y
to buy securities and seeks to finance
these securities via a GCF Repo
transaction, and (iii) Dealer B and
Dealer C enter into a GCF Repo
transaction (on a blind basis via a GCF
Repo broker) and submit the trade
details to FICC.
At the end of ‘‘Day 1’’, GCF Repo
collateral must be allocated, i.e., Dealer
B must receive the securities. However,
the securities that Dealer B is to receive
are at Chase and the securities Fedwire
is closed. The after-hours movement
mechanism permits the securities to be
‘‘sent’’ to Dealer B as follows: FICC will
instruct Chase to allocate to a special
FICC clearance account at Chase
securities in an amount equal to the net
short securities position.
FICC has established on its own books
and records two ‘‘securities accounts’’
as defined in Article 8 of the New York
Uniform Commercial Code, one in the
name of Chase (‘‘FICC Account for
Chase’’) and one in the name of BNY
(‘‘FICC Account for BNY’’). The FICC
Account for Chase is comprised of the
securities in FICC’s special clearance
account maintained by BNY (‘‘FICC
Special Clearance Account at BNY for
Chase’’), and the FICC Account for BNY
is comprised of the securities in FICC’s
special clearance account maintained by
Chase (‘‘FICC Special Clearance
Account at Chase for BNY’’).15 The
establishment of these securities
accounts by FICC in the name of the
clearing banks enables the bank that is
in the net long securities position to
‘‘receive’’ securities by pledge after the
close of the securities Fedwire. Once the
clearing bank has ‘‘received’’ the
securities by pledge, it can credit them
15 FICC has appointed Chase as its agent to
maintain FICC’s books and records with respect to
the BNY securities account, and FICC has
appointed BNY as its agent to maintain FICC’s
books and records with respect to the Chase
securities account.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:44 May 22, 2014
Jkt 232001
by book-entry to a FICC GCF Repo
account at that clearing bank and then
to the dealers that clear at that bank that
are net long the securities in connection
with GCF Repo trades.
In our example, Chase, as agent for
FICC, will transmit to BNY a description
of the securities in the FICC Special
Clearance Account at Chase for BNY.
Based on this description, BNY will
transfer funds equal to the funds
borrowed position to the FICC GCF
Repo account at Chase. Upon receipt of
the funds by Chase, Chase will release
any liens it may have on the FICC
Special Clearance Account at Chase for
BNY, and FICC will release any liens it
may have on FICC Account for BNY
(both of these accounts being comprised
of the same securities). BNY will credit
the securities in the FICC Account for
BNY to FICC’s GCF Repo account at
BNY, and BNY will further credit these
securities to Dealer B, who, as noted, is
in a net long securities position. In the
morning of ‘‘Day 2,’’ all securities and
funds movements occurring on Day 1,
are reversed (‘‘unwind’’).
(3) Issues with Morning Unwind Process
In 2003, FICC shifted the GCF Repo
service back to intrabank status only.16
By that time, the service had grown
significantly in participation and
volume. However, with the increase in
use of the interbank service, certain
payments systems risk issues arose from
the inter-bank funds settlements related
to the service, namely, the large
interbank funds movement in the
morning. FICC shifted the service back
to intrabank status to enable
management to study the issues
presented and identify a satisfactory
solution for bringing the service back to
interbank status.
(4) The NFE Filing and Restoration of
Service to Interbank Status
In 2007, FICC submitted a rule filing
to address the issues raised by the
interbank morning funds movement and
return the GCF Repo service to
interbank status (the ‘‘2007 NFE
Filing’’).17 The 2007 NFE Filing
addressed these issues by using a hold
against a dealer’s ‘‘net free equity’’
(‘‘NFE’’) at the clearing bank to
collateralize its GCF Repo cash
obligation to FICC on an intraday
basis.18
16 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
48006 (June 10, 2003), 68 FR 35745 (June 16, 2003)
(SR–FICC–2003–04).
17 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
57652 (April 11, 2008), 73 FR 20999 (April 17,
2008) (SR–FICC–2007–08).
18 NFE is a methodology that clearing banks use
to determine whether an account holder (such as a
PO 00000
Frm 00092
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
The 2007 NFE Filing replaced the Day
2 morning unwind process with an
alternate process, which is currently in
effect. Specifically, in lieu of making
funds payments, the interbank dealers
grant to FICC a security interest in their
NFE-related collateral equal to their
prorated share of the total interbank
funds amount. FICC, in turn, grants to
the other clearing bank (that was due to
receive the funds) a security interest in
the NFE-related collateral to support the
debit in the FICC account at the clearing
bank. The debit in the FICC account
(‘‘Interbank Cash Amount Debit’’)
occurs because the dealers who are due
to receive funds in the morning must
receive those funds at that time in
return for their release of collateral. The
debit in the FICC account at the clearing
bank gets satisfied during the end of day
GCF Repo settlement process.
Specifically, that day’s new activity
yields a new interbank funds amount
that will move at end of day—however,
this amount gets netted with the amount
that would have been due in the
morning, thus further reducing the
interbank funds movement. The NFE
holds are released when the interbank
funds movement is made at end of day.
The 2007 NFE Filing did not involve
any changes to the after-hours
movement of securities occurring at the
end of the day on Day 1. Using our
simplified example:
On the morning of Day 2, Dealer C
who needs to return funds in the
unwind, instead of returning the funds
in the morning, grants to FICC a security
interest in Dealer C’s NFE-related
collateral equal to its funds movement
(we have assumed only one GCF Repo
transaction took place in this simplified
example). FICC, in turn, grants BNY
(that was due to receive the funds) a
security interest in the NFE-related
collateral to support the debit in the
FICC account at BNY. As noted above,
the debit in FICC’s account at BNY
arises because, under the current
processing, Dealer B must receive its
funds during the morning unwind. The
FICC debit is then satisfied during the
end of day GCF Repo settlement
process.
As part of the 2007 NFE Filing, FICC
imposed certain additional risk
management measures with respect to
the GCF Repo service. First, FICC
imposed a collateral premium (called
‘‘GCF Premium Charge’’) on the GCF
Repo portion of the Clearing Fund
dealer) has sufficient collateral to enter a specific
transaction. NFE allows the clearing bank to place
a limit on its customer’s activity by calculating a
value on the customer’s balances at the bank. Bank
customers have the ability to monitor their NFE
balance throughout the day.
E:\FR\FM\23MYN1.SGM
23MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 100 / Friday, May 23, 2014 / Notices
deposits of all GCF participants to
further protect FICC in the event of an
intra-day default of a GCF Repo
participant. FICC requires GCF Repo
participants to submit a quarterly
‘‘snapshot’’ of their holdings by asset
type to enable Risk Management staff to
determine the appropriate Clearing
Fund premium. Members who do not
submit this required information by the
deadlines established by FICC are
subject to fine and an increased Clearing
Fund premium, as with all other
instances of late submission of required
information.
Second, the 2007 NFE Filing
addressed the situation where FICC
becomes concerned about the volume of
interbank GCF Repo activity. Such a
concern might arise, for example, if
market events were to cause dealers to
turn to the GCF Repo service for
increased funding at levels beyond
normal processing. The 2007 NFE Filing
provides FICC with the discretion to
institute risk mitigation and appropriate
disincentive measures in order to bring
GCF Repo levels to a comfortable level
from a risk management perspective.19
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
2011 Pilot Program—Proposed Changes
to the GCF Repo Service to Implement
the TPR’s Recommendations
In SR–FICC–2011–05, FICC proposed
the following rule changes with respect
to the GCF Repo service to address the
TPR’s Recommendations:
(1) (a) To move the Day 2 unwind
from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., (b) to move
the NFE process20 from morning to a
time established by the Corporation as
announced by notice to all members21,
19 Specifically, the 2007 NFE Filing introduced
the term ‘‘GCF Repo Event’’, which will be declared
by FICC if either of the following occurs: (i) the GCF
interbank funds amount exceeds five times the
average interbank funds amount over the previous
ninety days for three consecutive days; or (ii) the
GCF interbank funds amount exceeds fifty percent
of the amount of GCF Repo collateral pledged for
three consecutive days. FICC reviews these figures
on a semi-annual basis to determine whether they
remain adequate. FICC also has the right to declare
a GCF Repo Event in any other circumstances
where it is concerned about GCF Repo volumes and
believes it is necessary to declare a GCF Repo Event
in order to protect itself and its members. FICC will
inform its members about the declaration of the
GCF Repo Event via important notice. FICC will
also inform the Commission about the declaration
of the GCF Repo Event.
20 No other changes are being proposed to the
NFE process that was in place by the 2007 NFE
Filing; the risk management measures that were put
in place by the 2007 NFE Filing remain in place
with the present proposal.
21 SR–FICC–2011–05 noted that the possible time
range would be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to coincide with
the collateral substitution mechanism that was
being developed between FICC and its clearing
banks. In rule filing SR–FICC–2012–05, FICC
clarified that the 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. proposed
time range in SR–FICC–2011–05 referred to the
clearing bank hold on the FICC interest in the NFE
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:44 May 22, 2014
Jkt 232001
(c) to move the cut-off time of GCF Repo
submissions from 3:35 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.,
and (d) to move the cut-off time for
dealer affirmation or disaffirmation from
3:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
(2) To establish rules for intraday GCF
Repo collateral substitutions (i.e., SR–
FICC–2011–05 stated that with respect
to interbank GCF Repo transactions, the
substitution process will only permit
cash as an initial matter to
accommodate current processing
systems, however, as noted below, the
substitution process will permit cash
and/or securities).
During the term of the 2011 Pilot
Program, FICC implemented the
proposed changes referred to in
subsections 1(c) and 1(d) above and
during the term of the 2012 Pilot
Program, FICC implemented the
proposed changes referred to in
subsections 1(a), 1(b) and 2 above.
(1) Proposed Change Regarding the
Morning Unwind and Related Rule
Changes
The TPR recommended that the Day
2 unwind for all triparty transactions be
moved from the morning to 3:30 p.m.
The TPR made this recommendation in
order to achieve the benefit of reducing
the clearing banks’ intraday exposure to
the dealers. As stated, because the GCF
Repo service is essentially a triparty
mechanism, the TPR requested that
FICC accommodate this time change.
For the GSD rules, this necessitated a
change to the GSD’s ‘‘Schedule of GCF
Timeframes.’’ Specifically, the 7:30 a.m.
time in the Schedule was deleted and
the language therein was moved to a
new time of 3:30 p.m.
Because the Day 2 unwind moved
from the morning to 3:30 p.m. and
because the NFE process established by
the 2007 NFE Filing is tied to the
moment of the unwind, the NFE process
also was required to move. During 2012,
when the systems processing for the triparty reform effort continued on the part
of the clearing banks, the unwind
moved to 3:30 p.m. and the funds
continued to move between the two
clearing banks at 5:00 p.m.; the NFE
hold which applies to dealers moved to
between 3:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Because the NFE process is a legal
process and not an operational process,
it is not reflected on the Schedule of
GCF Timeframes and therefore no
(i.e., as part of the NFE process, FICC grants to the
other clearing bank (that was due to receive the
funds) a security interest in the NFE—related
collateral to support the debit in the FICC account
at the clearing bank). At present, given the move of
the NFE process (as discussed in more detail
below), this proposed time range has now moved
from 8:00am to 3:30pm.
PO 00000
Frm 00093
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
29831
change to the Schedule was required to
accommodate the move of the NFE
process. A change was needed in
Section 3 of GSD Rule 20 to delete the
reference to the ‘‘morning’’ timeframe
on Day 2 with respect to the NFE
process and to add language referencing
‘‘at the time established by the
Corporation.’’
(2) Proposed Change Regarding Intraday
GCF Repo Securities Collateral
Substitutions
As a result of the time change of the
unwind (i.e., the reversal on Day 2 of
collateral allocations established by
FICC for each netting member’s GCF net
funds borrower positions and GCF net
funds lender positions on Day 1) to 3:30
p.m., the provider of GCF Repo
securities collateral in a GCF Repo
transaction on Day 1 no longer has
possession of such securities at the
beginning of Day 2. Therefore, during
Day 2 prior to the unwind of the Day 1
collateral allocations, the provider of
GCF Repo securities collateral (in our
simple example, Dealer C) needs a
substitution mechanism for the return of
its posted GCF Repo securities collateral
in order to make securities deliveries for
utilization of such securities in its
business activities. (In our example,
Dealer C may need to return the
securities to Party Y depending upon
the terms of their transaction.) In the
2012 Pilot Program, FICC established a
substitution process for this purpose in
conjunction with its clearing banks. The
language for the substitution mechanism
was added to Section 3 of GSD Rule 20.
It provides that all requests for
substitution for the GCF Repo securities
collateral must be submitted by the
provider of the GCF Repo securities
collateral (i.e., Dealer C) by the
applicable deadline on Day 2 (the
‘‘substitution deadline’’).22
Substitutions on Intrabank GCF Repos
If the GCF Repo transaction is
between dealer counterparties effecting
the transaction through the same
clearing bank (i.e., on an intra-clearing
bank basis and in our example Dealer C
and other dealers clearing at Chase), on
Day 2 such clearing bank will process
each substitution request of the provider
of GCF Repo securities collateral (i.e.,
Dealer C) submitted prior to the
substitution deadline promptly upon
22 As noted in SR–FICC–2012–05, FICC will
establish such deadline prior to the implementation
of the changes to this service in conjunction with
the clearing banks and the Federal Reserve in light
of market circumstances. As noted in Important
Notice GOV088.12, once delivery has been made to
GSD on the new obligations for that business day,
no substitutions will be permitted for the remainder
of the day.
E:\FR\FM\23MYN1.SGM
23MYN1
29832
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 100 / Friday, May 23, 2014 / Notices
receipt of such request. The return of
the GCF Repo securities collateral in
exchange for cash and/or eligible
securities of equivalent value can be
effected by simple debits and credits to
the accounts of the GCF Repo dealer
counterparties at the clearing agent bank
(i.e., in our example, Chase). Eligible
securities for this purpose will be the
same as what is currently permitted
under the GSD rules for collateral
allocations, namely, Comparable
Securities,23 (ii) Other Acceptable
Securities,24 or (iii) U.S. Treasury bills,
notes or bonds maturing in a time frame
no greater than that of the securities that
have been traded (except where such
traded securities are U.S. Treasury bills,
substitution may be with Comparable
Securities and/or cash only).
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Substitutions on Interbank GCF Repos
For a GCF Repo that was processed on
an interbank basis and to accommodate
a potential substitution request, FICC
initiates a debit of the securities in the
account of the lender through the FICC
GCF Repo accounts at the clearing bank
of the lender and the FICC GCF Repo
account at the clearing bank of the
borrower (‘‘Interbank Movement’’). This
Interbank Movement is done so that a
borrower who elects to substitute
collateral will have access to the
collateral for which it is substituting.
The Interbank Movement occurs in the
morning, though the clearing banks and
FICC have the capability to have the
Interbank Movement occur at any point
during the day up until 2:30 p.m.
During the 2012 Pilot Program, FICC
and the clearing banks implemented a
change to unwind the intrabank GCF
Repo transactions at 3:30 p.m.
In the example above, the GCF Repo
securities collateral will be debited from
the securities account of the receiver of
the collateral (i.e., Dealer B) at its
clearing bank (i.e., BNY), and from the
FICC Account for BNY. If a substitution
request is received by the clearing bank
23 The GSD rules define ‘‘Comparable Securities’’
as follows: The term ‘‘Comparable Securities’’
means, with respect to a security or securities that
are represented by a particular Generic CUSIP
Number, any other security or securities that are
represented by the same Generic CUSIP Number.
24 The GSD rules define ‘‘Other Acceptable
Securities’’ as follows:
The term ‘‘Other Acceptable Securities’’ means,
with respect to:
(an) adjustable-rate mortgage-backed security or
securities issued by Ginnie Mae, any fixed-rate
mortgage-backed security or securities issued by
Ginnie Mae, or (an) adjustable-rate mortgage-backed
security or securities issued by either Fannie Mae
or Freddie Mac: (a) any fixed-rate mortgage-backed
security or securities issued by Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac, (b) any fixed-rate mortgage-backed
security or securities issued by Ginnie Mae, or (c)
any adjustable-rate mortgage-backed security or
securities issued by Ginnie Mae.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:44 May 22, 2014
Jkt 232001
(i.e., Chase) of the provider of GCF Repo
securities collateral, prior to the
substitution deadline at a time specified
in FICC’s procedures,25 that clearing
bank will process the substitution
request by releasing the GCF Repo
securities collateral from the FICC GCF
Repo account at Chase and crediting it
to the account of the provider of GCF
Repo securities collateral (i.e., Dealer C).
All cash and/or securities substituted
for the GCF Repo securities collateral
being released will be credited to FICC’s
GCF Repo account at the clearing bank
(i.e., Chase).
Simultaneously, with the debit of the
GCF Repo securities collateral from the
account at the clearing bank (i.e., BNY)
of the original receiver of GCF Repo
securities collateral (i.e., Dealer B), for
purposes of making payment to the
original receiver of securities collateral
(i.e., Dealer B), such clearing bank will
effect a cash debit equal to the value of
the securities collateral in FICC’s GCF
Repo account at such clearing bank and
will credit the account of the original
receiver of securities collateral (i.e.,
Dealer B) at such clearing bank with
such cash amount. (This is because
when Dealer B is debited the securities,
Dealer B must receive the funds.) In
order to secure FICC’s obligation to
repay the balance in FICC’s GCF Repo
account at such clearing bank (i.e.,
BNY), FICC will grant to such clearing
bank a security interest in the cash and/
or securities substituted for the GCF
securities collateral in FICC’s GCF repo
account at the other clearing bank (i.e.,
Chase).
Using the example from above,
assume the Dealer C submits a
substitution notification—it requires the
securities collateral that has been
pledged to Dealer B and will substitute
cash and/or securities. BNY will debit
the securities from Dealer B’s account
and the relevant liens will be released
so that the securities are in FICC’s
account at Chase. Chase will credit the
securities to Dealer C’s account and the
cash and/or securities that Dealer C uses
for its collateral substitution will be
credited by Chase to FICC’s account at
Chase. From Dealer B’s perspective,
when BNY debits the securities from
Dealer B’s account, Dealer B is supposed
to receive the funds—but as noted, the
25 Rule filing SR–FICC–2012–05 noted that this
timeframe would also be established in consultation
with the clearing banks and the Federal Reserve. At
that time, the parties were considering whether to
have the substitution process be accomplished in
two batches during the day depending upon the
time of submission of the notifications for
substitution. The clearing banks, however,
developed a real-time substitution mechanism for
both tri-party and GCF collateral making batch
processing unnecessary.
PO 00000
Frm 00094
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
funds are at Chase. BNY will credit the
funds to Dealer B’s account and debit
FICC’s account at BNY.
At this point in our example, FICC is
running a credit at Chase and a debit at
BNY. In order to secure FICC’s debit at
BNY, FICC will grant a security interest
in the funds in the FICC account at
Chase.
For substitutions that occur with
respect to GCF Repo transactions that
were processed on an inter-clearing
bank basis, FICC and the clearing banks
permit cash and/or securities for the
substitutions. The proposed rule change
provided FICC with flexibility in this
regard by referring to FICC’s procedures.
As noted above, each of the abovereferenced changes were approved in
connection with SR–FICC–2011–0526,
SR–FICC–2012–0527, and SR–FICC–
2013–0628. FICC proposes to extend the
pilot program reflecting these changes
for an additional one year. The changes
referenced above are reflected in Exhibit
5.
(ii) Statutory Basis for the Proposed
Rule Change
The proposed rule change is
consistent with the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
‘‘Act’’) and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder because it will
align the GCF Repo service with
recommendations being made by the
TPR to address risks in the triparty
market overall and therefore will serve
to further safeguard the securities and
funds for which FICC is responsible.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
FICC does not believe that the
proposed rule change will have any
negative impact, or impose any burden,
on competition.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received from
Members, Participants, or Others
Written comments relating to the
proposed rule changes have not yet been
solicited or received. FICC will notify
the Commission of any written
comments received by FICC.
D. Advance Notices Filed Pursuant to
Section 806(e) of the Payment, Clearing
and Settlement Supervision Act
(a) Not applicable.
(b) Not applicable.
26 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–65213
(August 29, 2011) 76 FR 54824 (September 2, 2011)
27 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–67277
(June 20, 2012) 77 FR 38108 (June 26, 2012)
28 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–70068
(July 30, 2013) 78 FR 47453 (August 5, 2013)
E:\FR\FM\23MYN1.SGM
23MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 100 / Friday, May 23, 2014 / Notices
(c) Not applicable.
(d) Not applicable.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 45 days of the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register or within such longer period
up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may
designate if it finds such longer period
to be appropriate and publishes its
reasons for so finding, or (ii) as to which
the self-regulatory organization
consents, the Commission will:
(A) by order approve or disapprove
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
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–
FICC–2014–02 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number
SR–FICC–2014–02. 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 of submission.
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 such filing also will be
available for inspection and copying at the
principal office of FICC and on FICC’s Web
site at https://www.dtcc.com/∼/media/Files/
Downloads/legal/rule-filings/2014/ficc/SRFICC%202014-02.ashx. All comments
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:44 May 22, 2014
Jkt 232001
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 the File Number
SR–FICC–2014–02 and should be submitted
on or before June 13, 2014.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.29
Kevin M. O’Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014–11964 Filed 5–22–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[File No. 500–1]
China Green Lighting Limited, China
Kangtai Cactus Bio-Tech, Inc., Gemco
Minerals, Inc., Perfectenergy
International Limited, and Rodobo
International, Inc.; Order of
Suspension of Trading
May 21, 2014.
China Green Lighting Limited (CIK
No. 1421378) is a delinquent Colorado
corporation located in Jiangshan City,
China with a class of securities
registered with the Commission
pursuant to Exchange Act Section 12(g).
China Green Lighting Limited is
delinquent in its periodic filings with
the Commission, having not filed any
periodic reports since it filed a Form
10–Q for the period ended September
30, 2011, which reported a net loss of
$1,252,940 for the prior nine months. As
of May 8, 2014, the company’s stock
(symbol ‘‘CHGL’’) was quoted on OTC
Link (previously, ‘‘Pink Sheets’’)
operated by OTC Markets Group, Inc.
(‘‘OTC Link’’), had three market makers,
and was eligible for the ‘‘piggyback’’
exception of Exchange Act Rule 15c2–
11(f)(3). It appears to the Securities and
Exchange Commission that there is a
lack of current and accurate information
concerning the securities of China Green
Lighting Limited because it has not filed
any periodic reports since the period
ended September 30, 2011.
China Kangtai Cactus Bio-Tech, Inc.
(CIK No. 1017699) is a revoked Nevada
corporation located in Harbin, China
with a class of securities registered with
the Commission pursuant to Exchange
Act Section 12(g). China Kangtai Cactus
Biotech, Inc. is delinquent in its
periodic filings with the Commission,
having not filed any periodic reports
since it filed a Form 10–Q for the period
ended September 30, 2011. As of May
29 17
PO 00000
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
Frm 00095
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
29833
8, 2014, the company’s stock (symbol
‘‘CKGT’’) was quoted on OTC Link, had
eight market makers, and was eligible
for the ‘‘piggyback’’ exception of
Exchange Act Rule 15c2–11(f)(3). It
appears to the Securities and Exchange
Commission that there is a lack of
current and accurate information
concerning the securities of China
Kangtai Cactus Biotech, Inc. because it
has not filed any periodic reports since
the period ended September 30, 2011.
Gemco Minerals, Inc. (CIK No.
1338118) is a Florida corporation
located in Langley, British Columbia,
Canada, with a class of securities
registered with the Commission
pursuant to Exchange Act Section 12(g).
Gemco Minerals, Inc. is delinquent in
its periodic filings with the
Commission, having not filed any
periodic reports since it filed a Form
10–Q for the period ended November
30, 2009, which reported a net loss of
$3,394,046 since the company’s August
21, 1997 inception. As of May 8, 2014,
the company’s stock (symbol ‘‘GMML’’)
was quoted on OTC Link, had three
market makers, and was eligible for the
‘‘piggyback’’ exception of Exchange Act
Rule 15c2–11(f)(3). It appears to the
Securities and Exchange Commission
that there is a lack of current and
accurate information concerning the
securities of Gemco Minerals, Inc.
because it has not filed any periodic
reports since the period ended
November 30, 2009.
Perfectenergy International Limited
(CIK No. 1345432) is a revoked Nevada
corporation located in Shanghai, China
with a class of securities registered with
the Commission pursuant to Exchange
Act Section 12(g). Perfectenergy
International Limited is delinquent in
its periodic filings with the
Commission, having not filed any
periodic reports since it filed a Form
10–K for the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2011, which reported a
net loss of $7,627,177 for the prior
eleven months. As of May 8, 2014, the
company’s stock (symbol ‘‘PFGY’’) was
quoted on OTC Link, had six market
makers, and was eligible for the
‘‘piggyback’’ exception of Exchange Act
Rule 15c2–11(f)(3). It appears to the
Securities and Exchange Commission
that there is a lack of current and
accurate information concerning the
securities of Perfectenergy International
Limited because it has not filed any
periodic reports since the period ended
September 30, 2011.
Rodobo International, Inc. (CIK No.
1177274) is a revoked Nevada
corporation located in Harbin, China
with a class of securities registered with
the Commission pursuant to Exchange
E:\FR\FM\23MYN1.SGM
23MYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29828-29833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11964]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-72184; File No. SR-FICC-2014-02]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed Income Clearing Corporation;
Notice of Filing of Request To Extend the Pilot Program for Certain
Government Securities Division Rules Relating to the GCF Repo[supreg]
Service
May 19, 2014.
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 May 5, 2014, the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (``FICC'' or the
``Corporation'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule changes\3\ as described in Items I,
II and
[[Page 29829]]
III below, which Items have been prepared by FICC. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule changes
from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\3\ The Commission temporarily approved the changes that are the
subject of this filing in 2011, and renewed this temporary approval
most recently in 2013. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 70068
(July 30, 2013), 78 FR 47453 (August 5, 2013) (SR-FICC-2013-06).
Thus, while the Exhibit 5 attached to this filing is marked to
indicate that new text is being added to the rulebook of FICC's
Government Services Division (``GSD''), this text already appears in
the GSD's rulebook pursuant to the Commission's prior approvals. The
current filing seeks the Commission's approval to retain this text
in the GSD's rulebook for one additional year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The proposed rule changes consist of modifications to the Rulebook
of the Government Securities Division (``GSD'') in connection with the
GCF Repo[supreg] service.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ GCF Repo is a registered trademark of FICC/DTCC.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, FICC 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. FICC 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.
(i) Purpose of the Proposed Rule Change
FICC is seeking the Commission's approval to extend the current
pilot program (the ``2013 Pilot Program'') that is currently in effect
for the GCF Repo[supreg] service. FICC is requesting that the 2013
Pilot Program be extended for one year following the Commission's
approval of the present filing.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ If FICC determines to change the parameters of the service
during the one-year Pilot Program extension period, it will submit a
rule filing to the Commission. If FICC seeks to extend the Pilot
Program beyond the one-year period or proposes to make the Pilot
Program permanent, it will also submit a rule filing to the
Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
By way of background, on July 12, 2011, FICC submitted a rule
filing to the Commission (SR-FICC-2011-05) proposing to make certain
changes to its GCF Repo service in order to comply with the
recommendations that had been made by the Task Force on Triparty Reform
(``TPR''), an industry group formed and sponsored by the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York.\6\ Because the GCF Repo service operates as a
triparty mechanism, FICC was requested to incorporate changes to the
GCF Repo service to align the service with the other TPR recommended
changes for the overall triparty market.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ The main purpose of the TPR was to develop recommendations
to address the risk presented by triparty repo transactions due to
the current morning reversal or ``unwind'' process and to move to a
process by which transactions are collateralized all day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rule change described in SR-FICC-2011-05 was proposed to be run
as a pilot program for one year starting from the date on which the
filing was approved by the Commission (the ``2011 Pilot Program'').\7\
Throughout 2011 and the earlier half of 2012, FICC implemented a
portion of the rule changes that were included in SR-FICC-2011-05. As
the expiration date of the 2011 Pilot Program approached, FICC elected
to have certain aspects of the 2011 Pilot Program continue, however,
FICC also proposed to make certain modifications to the 2011 Pilot
Program. As a result, on June 8, 2012, FICC submitted a rule filing for
the 2012 Pilot Program (SR-FICC-2012-05).\8\ On June 5, 2013, FICC then
submitted a rule filing to extend the Pilot Program for an additional
year (SR-FICC-2013-06)\9\. Because the latest extension is now
approaching its expiry date, FICC is seeking the Commission's approval
to extend the Pilot Program for an additional year while the final
phase of the tri-party reform is put in to place.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-65213 (August 29,
2011), 76 FR 54824 (September 2, 2011)(SR-FICC-2011-05).
\8\ See Securities Exchange Release No. 34-67621 (August 8,
2012); 77 FR 48572 (August 14, 2012) (SR-FICC-2012-05)
\9\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-70068 (July 30,
2013) 78 FR 47453 (August 5, 2013) (SR-FICC-2013-06)
\10\ The final phase includes the development interactive
messages for the interbank collateral substitution automation. If
FICC determines to change the parameters of the service during the
one-year Pilot Program extension period, it will submit a rule
filing to the Commission. If FICC seeks to extend the Pilot Program
beyond the one-year period or proposes to make the Pilot Program
permanent, it will also submit a rule filing to the Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background: Description of the GCF Repo Service and History
(1) Creation of the GCF Repo Service
The GCF Repo service allows GSD dealer members to trade general
collateral repos\11\ throughout the day without requiring intra-day,
trade-for-trade settlement on a delivery-versus-payment (DVP) basis.
The service allows the dealers to trade such general collateral repos,
based on rate and term, throughout the day with inter-dealer broker
netting members on a blind basis. Standardized, generic CUSIP numbers
have been established exclusively for GCF Repo processing and are used
to specify the acceptable type of underlying Fedwire book-entry
eligible collateral, which includes Treasuries, Agencies and certain
mortgage-backed securities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ A general collateral repo is a repo in which the underlying
securities collateral is nonspecific, general collateral whose
identification is at the option of the seller. This is in contrast
to a specific collateral repo.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The GCF Repo service was developed as part of a collaborative
effort among GSCC (FICC's predecessor), its two clearing banks (The
Bank of New York Mellon (``BNY'') and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National
Association (``Chase''))--and industry representatives. GSCC introduced
the GCF Repo service on an intra-clearing bank basis in 1998.\12\ Under
the intrabank service, dealers could only engage in GCF Repo
transactions with other dealers that cleared at the same clearing bank.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-40623 (October
30, 1998) 63 FR 59831 (November 5, 1998) (SR-GSCC-98-02).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Creation of the Interbank Version of the GCF Repo Service
In 1999, GSCC expanded the GCF Repo service to permit dealer
participants to engage in GCF Repo trading on an inter-clearing bank
basis, meaning that dealers using different clearing banks could enter
into GCF Repo transactions (on a blind brokered basis).\13\ Because
dealer members that participate in the GCF Repo service do not all
clear at the same clearing bank, introducing the service as an
interbank service necessitated the establishment of a mechanism to
permit after-hours movements of securities between the two clearing
banks to deal with the fact that GSCC would likely have unbalanced net
GCF securities and cash positions within each clearing bank (that is,
it is likely that at the end of GCF Repo processing each business day,
the dealers in one clearing bank will be net funds borrowers, while the
dealers at the other clearing bank will be net funds lenders). To
address this issue, GSCC and its clearing banks established, and the
Commission approved, a legal mechanism by which securities would
``move'' across the clearing banks without the use of the securities
Fedwire.\14\ (Movements of cash do not present the same issue because
the cash Fedwire is open later than the securities Fedwire.) Therefore,
at the end of the
[[Page 29830]]
day, after the GCF net results are produced, securities are pledged via
a tri-party-like mechanism and the interbank cash component is moved
via Fedwire. In the morning, the pledges are unwound, that is, funds
are returned to the net funds lenders and securities are returned to
the net funds borrowers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-41303 (April 16,
1999) 64 FR 20346 (April 26, 1999) (SR-GSCC-99-01).
\14\ See id. for a detailed description of the clearing bank and
FICC accounts needed to effect the after-hour movement of
securities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following simplified example illustrates the manner in which
the GCF Repo services works on an interbank basis:
Assume that Dealer B clears at BNY and Dealer C clears at Chase.
Further assume that: (i) outside of FICC, Dealer B engages in a
triparty repo transaction with Party X to obtain funds and seeks to
invest such funds via a GCF Repo transaction, (ii) outside of FICC,
Dealer C engages in a DVP repo with Party Y to buy securities and seeks
to finance these securities via a GCF Repo transaction, and (iii)
Dealer B and Dealer C enter into a GCF Repo transaction (on a blind
basis via a GCF Repo broker) and submit the trade details to FICC.
At the end of ``Day 1'', GCF Repo collateral must be allocated,
i.e., Dealer B must receive the securities. However, the securities
that Dealer B is to receive are at Chase and the securities Fedwire is
closed. The after-hours movement mechanism permits the securities to be
``sent'' to Dealer B as follows: FICC will instruct Chase to allocate
to a special FICC clearance account at Chase securities in an amount
equal to the net short securities position.
FICC has established on its own books and records two ``securities
accounts'' as defined in Article 8 of the New York Uniform Commercial
Code, one in the name of Chase (``FICC Account for Chase'') and one in
the name of BNY (``FICC Account for BNY''). The FICC Account for Chase
is comprised of the securities in FICC's special clearance account
maintained by BNY (``FICC Special Clearance Account at BNY for
Chase''), and the FICC Account for BNY is comprised of the securities
in FICC's special clearance account maintained by Chase (``FICC Special
Clearance Account at Chase for BNY'').\15\ The establishment of these
securities accounts by FICC in the name of the clearing banks enables
the bank that is in the net long securities position to ``receive''
securities by pledge after the close of the securities Fedwire. Once
the clearing bank has ``received'' the securities by pledge, it can
credit them by book-entry to a FICC GCF Repo account at that clearing
bank and then to the dealers that clear at that bank that are net long
the securities in connection with GCF Repo trades.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ FICC has appointed Chase as its agent to maintain FICC's
books and records with respect to the BNY securities account, and
FICC has appointed BNY as its agent to maintain FICC's books and
records with respect to the Chase securities account.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In our example, Chase, as agent for FICC, will transmit to BNY a
description of the securities in the FICC Special Clearance Account at
Chase for BNY. Based on this description, BNY will transfer funds equal
to the funds borrowed position to the FICC GCF Repo account at Chase.
Upon receipt of the funds by Chase, Chase will release any liens it may
have on the FICC Special Clearance Account at Chase for BNY, and FICC
will release any liens it may have on FICC Account for BNY (both of
these accounts being comprised of the same securities). BNY will credit
the securities in the FICC Account for BNY to FICC's GCF Repo account
at BNY, and BNY will further credit these securities to Dealer B, who,
as noted, is in a net long securities position. In the morning of ``Day
2,'' all securities and funds movements occurring on Day 1, are
reversed (``unwind'').
(3) Issues with Morning Unwind Process
In 2003, FICC shifted the GCF Repo service back to intrabank status
only.\16\ By that time, the service had grown significantly in
participation and volume. However, with the increase in use of the
interbank service, certain payments systems risk issues arose from the
inter-bank funds settlements related to the service, namely, the large
interbank funds movement in the morning. FICC shifted the service back
to intrabank status to enable management to study the issues presented
and identify a satisfactory solution for bringing the service back to
interbank status.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-48006 (June 10,
2003), 68 FR 35745 (June 16, 2003) (SR-FICC-2003-04).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) The NFE Filing and Restoration of Service to Interbank Status
In 2007, FICC submitted a rule filing to address the issues raised
by the interbank morning funds movement and return the GCF Repo service
to interbank status (the ``2007 NFE Filing'').\17\ The 2007 NFE Filing
addressed these issues by using a hold against a dealer's ``net free
equity'' (``NFE'') at the clearing bank to collateralize its GCF Repo
cash obligation to FICC on an intraday basis.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-57652 (April 11,
2008), 73 FR 20999 (April 17, 2008) (SR-FICC-2007-08).
\18\ NFE is a methodology that clearing banks use to determine
whether an account holder (such as a dealer) has sufficient
collateral to enter a specific transaction. NFE allows the clearing
bank to place a limit on its customer's activity by calculating a
value on the customer's balances at the bank. Bank customers have
the ability to monitor their NFE balance throughout the day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 2007 NFE Filing replaced the Day 2 morning unwind process with
an alternate process, which is currently in effect. Specifically, in
lieu of making funds payments, the interbank dealers grant to FICC a
security interest in their NFE-related collateral equal to their
prorated share of the total interbank funds amount. FICC, in turn,
grants to the other clearing bank (that was due to receive the funds) a
security interest in the NFE-related collateral to support the debit in
the FICC account at the clearing bank. The debit in the FICC account
(``Interbank Cash Amount Debit'') occurs because the dealers who are
due to receive funds in the morning must receive those funds at that
time in return for their release of collateral. The debit in the FICC
account at the clearing bank gets satisfied during the end of day GCF
Repo settlement process. Specifically, that day's new activity yields a
new interbank funds amount that will move at end of day--however, this
amount gets netted with the amount that would have been due in the
morning, thus further reducing the interbank funds movement. The NFE
holds are released when the interbank funds movement is made at end of
day. The 2007 NFE Filing did not involve any changes to the after-hours
movement of securities occurring at the end of the day on Day 1. Using
our simplified example:
On the morning of Day 2, Dealer C who needs to return funds in the
unwind, instead of returning the funds in the morning, grants to FICC a
security interest in Dealer C's NFE-related collateral equal to its
funds movement (we have assumed only one GCF Repo transaction took
place in this simplified example). FICC, in turn, grants BNY (that was
due to receive the funds) a security interest in the NFE-related
collateral to support the debit in the FICC account at BNY. As noted
above, the debit in FICC's account at BNY arises because, under the
current processing, Dealer B must receive its funds during the morning
unwind. The FICC debit is then satisfied during the end of day GCF Repo
settlement process.
As part of the 2007 NFE Filing, FICC imposed certain additional
risk management measures with respect to the GCF Repo service. First,
FICC imposed a collateral premium (called ``GCF Premium Charge'') on
the GCF Repo portion of the Clearing Fund
[[Page 29831]]
deposits of all GCF participants to further protect FICC in the event
of an intra-day default of a GCF Repo participant. FICC requires GCF
Repo participants to submit a quarterly ``snapshot'' of their holdings
by asset type to enable Risk Management staff to determine the
appropriate Clearing Fund premium. Members who do not submit this
required information by the deadlines established by FICC are subject
to fine and an increased Clearing Fund premium, as with all other
instances of late submission of required information.
Second, the 2007 NFE Filing addressed the situation where FICC
becomes concerned about the volume of interbank GCF Repo activity. Such
a concern might arise, for example, if market events were to cause
dealers to turn to the GCF Repo service for increased funding at levels
beyond normal processing. The 2007 NFE Filing provides FICC with the
discretion to institute risk mitigation and appropriate disincentive
measures in order to bring GCF Repo levels to a comfortable level from
a risk management perspective.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ Specifically, the 2007 NFE Filing introduced the term ``GCF
Repo Event'', which will be declared by FICC if either of the
following occurs: (i) the GCF interbank funds amount exceeds five
times the average interbank funds amount over the previous ninety
days for three consecutive days; or (ii) the GCF interbank funds
amount exceeds fifty percent of the amount of GCF Repo collateral
pledged for three consecutive days. FICC reviews these figures on a
semi-annual basis to determine whether they remain adequate. FICC
also has the right to declare a GCF Repo Event in any other
circumstances where it is concerned about GCF Repo volumes and
believes it is necessary to declare a GCF Repo Event in order to
protect itself and its members. FICC will inform its members about
the declaration of the GCF Repo Event via important notice. FICC
will also inform the Commission about the declaration of the GCF
Repo Event.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011 Pilot Program--Proposed Changes to the GCF Repo Service to
Implement the TPR's Recommendations
In SR-FICC-2011-05, FICC proposed the following rule changes with
respect to the GCF Repo service to address the TPR's Recommendations:
(1) (a) To move the Day 2 unwind from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., (b)
to move the NFE process\20\ from morning to a time established by the
Corporation as announced by notice to all members\21\, (c) to move the
cut-off time of GCF Repo submissions from 3:35 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and
(d) to move the cut-off time for dealer affirmation or disaffirmation
from 3:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ No other changes are being proposed to the NFE process that
was in place by the 2007 NFE Filing; the risk management measures
that were put in place by the 2007 NFE Filing remain in place with
the present proposal.
\21\ SR-FICC-2011-05 noted that the possible time range would be
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to coincide with the collateral substitution
mechanism that was being developed between FICC and its clearing
banks. In rule filing SR-FICC-2012-05, FICC clarified that the 8:00
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. proposed time range in SR-FICC-2011-05 referred to
the clearing bank hold on the FICC interest in the NFE (i.e., as
part of the NFE process, FICC grants to the other clearing bank
(that was due to receive the funds) a security interest in the NFE--
related collateral to support the debit in the FICC account at the
clearing bank). At present, given the move of the NFE process (as
discussed in more detail below), this proposed time range has now
moved from 8:00am to 3:30pm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) To establish rules for intraday GCF Repo collateral
substitutions (i.e., SR-FICC-2011-05 stated that with respect to
interbank GCF Repo transactions, the substitution process will only
permit cash as an initial matter to accommodate current processing
systems, however, as noted below, the substitution process will permit
cash and/or securities).
During the term of the 2011 Pilot Program, FICC implemented the
proposed changes referred to in subsections 1(c) and 1(d) above and
during the term of the 2012 Pilot Program, FICC implemented the
proposed changes referred to in subsections 1(a), 1(b) and 2 above.
(1) Proposed Change Regarding the Morning Unwind and Related Rule
Changes
The TPR recommended that the Day 2 unwind for all triparty
transactions be moved from the morning to 3:30 p.m. The TPR made this
recommendation in order to achieve the benefit of reducing the clearing
banks' intraday exposure to the dealers. As stated, because the GCF
Repo service is essentially a triparty mechanism, the TPR requested
that FICC accommodate this time change. For the GSD rules, this
necessitated a change to the GSD's ``Schedule of GCF Timeframes.''
Specifically, the 7:30 a.m. time in the Schedule was deleted and the
language therein was moved to a new time of 3:30 p.m.
Because the Day 2 unwind moved from the morning to 3:30 p.m. and
because the NFE process established by the 2007 NFE Filing is tied to
the moment of the unwind, the NFE process also was required to move.
During 2012, when the systems processing for the tri-party reform
effort continued on the part of the clearing banks, the unwind moved to
3:30 p.m. and the funds continued to move between the two clearing
banks at 5:00 p.m.; the NFE hold which applies to dealers moved to
between 3:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Because the NFE process is a legal
process and not an operational process, it is not reflected on the
Schedule of GCF Timeframes and therefore no change to the Schedule was
required to accommodate the move of the NFE process. A change was
needed in Section 3 of GSD Rule 20 to delete the reference to the
``morning'' timeframe on Day 2 with respect to the NFE process and to
add language referencing ``at the time established by the
Corporation.''
(2) Proposed Change Regarding Intraday GCF Repo Securities Collateral
Substitutions
As a result of the time change of the unwind (i.e., the reversal on
Day 2 of collateral allocations established by FICC for each netting
member's GCF net funds borrower positions and GCF net funds lender
positions on Day 1) to 3:30 p.m., the provider of GCF Repo securities
collateral in a GCF Repo transaction on Day 1 no longer has possession
of such securities at the beginning of Day 2. Therefore, during Day 2
prior to the unwind of the Day 1 collateral allocations, the provider
of GCF Repo securities collateral (in our simple example, Dealer C)
needs a substitution mechanism for the return of its posted GCF Repo
securities collateral in order to make securities deliveries for
utilization of such securities in its business activities. (In our
example, Dealer C may need to return the securities to Party Y
depending upon the terms of their transaction.) In the 2012 Pilot
Program, FICC established a substitution process for this purpose in
conjunction with its clearing banks. The language for the substitution
mechanism was added to Section 3 of GSD Rule 20. It provides that all
requests for substitution for the GCF Repo securities collateral must
be submitted by the provider of the GCF Repo securities collateral
(i.e., Dealer C) by the applicable deadline on Day 2 (the
``substitution deadline'').\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ As noted in SR-FICC-2012-05, FICC will establish such
deadline prior to the implementation of the changes to this service
in conjunction with the clearing banks and the Federal Reserve in
light of market circumstances. As noted in Important Notice
GOV088.12, once delivery has been made to GSD on the new obligations
for that business day, no substitutions will be permitted for the
remainder of the day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Substitutions on Intrabank GCF Repos
If the GCF Repo transaction is between dealer counterparties
effecting the transaction through the same clearing bank (i.e., on an
intra-clearing bank basis and in our example Dealer C and other dealers
clearing at Chase), on Day 2 such clearing bank will process each
substitution request of the provider of GCF Repo securities collateral
(i.e., Dealer C) submitted prior to the substitution deadline promptly
upon
[[Page 29832]]
receipt of such request. The return of the GCF Repo securities
collateral in exchange for cash and/or eligible securities of
equivalent value can be effected by simple debits and credits to the
accounts of the GCF Repo dealer counterparties at the clearing agent
bank (i.e., in our example, Chase). Eligible securities for this
purpose will be the same as what is currently permitted under the GSD
rules for collateral allocations, namely, Comparable Securities,\23\
(ii) Other Acceptable Securities,\24\ or (iii) U.S. Treasury bills,
notes or bonds maturing in a time frame no greater than that of the
securities that have been traded (except where such traded securities
are U.S. Treasury bills, substitution may be with Comparable Securities
and/or cash only).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ The GSD rules define ``Comparable Securities'' as follows:
The term ``Comparable Securities'' means, with respect to a security
or securities that are represented by a particular Generic CUSIP
Number, any other security or securities that are represented by the
same Generic CUSIP Number.
\24\ The GSD rules define ``Other Acceptable Securities'' as
follows:
The term ``Other Acceptable Securities'' means, with respect to:
(an) adjustable-rate mortgage-backed security or securities
issued by Ginnie Mae, any fixed-rate mortgage-backed security or
securities issued by Ginnie Mae, or (an) adjustable-rate mortgage-
backed security or securities issued by either Fannie Mae or Freddie
Mac: (a) any fixed-rate mortgage-backed security or securities
issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, (b) any fixed-rate mortgage-
backed security or securities issued by Ginnie Mae, or (c) any
adjustable-rate mortgage-backed security or securities issued by
Ginnie Mae.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Substitutions on Interbank GCF Repos
For a GCF Repo that was processed on an interbank basis and to
accommodate a potential substitution request, FICC initiates a debit of
the securities in the account of the lender through the FICC GCF Repo
accounts at the clearing bank of the lender and the FICC GCF Repo
account at the clearing bank of the borrower (``Interbank Movement'').
This Interbank Movement is done so that a borrower who elects to
substitute collateral will have access to the collateral for which it
is substituting. The Interbank Movement occurs in the morning, though
the clearing banks and FICC have the capability to have the Interbank
Movement occur at any point during the day up until 2:30 p.m. During
the 2012 Pilot Program, FICC and the clearing banks implemented a
change to unwind the intrabank GCF Repo transactions at 3:30 p.m.
In the example above, the GCF Repo securities collateral will be
debited from the securities account of the receiver of the collateral
(i.e., Dealer B) at its clearing bank (i.e., BNY), and from the FICC
Account for BNY. If a substitution request is received by the clearing
bank (i.e., Chase) of the provider of GCF Repo securities collateral,
prior to the substitution deadline at a time specified in FICC's
procedures,\25\ that clearing bank will process the substitution
request by releasing the GCF Repo securities collateral from the FICC
GCF Repo account at Chase and crediting it to the account of the
provider of GCF Repo securities collateral (i.e., Dealer C). All cash
and/or securities substituted for the GCF Repo securities collateral
being released will be credited to FICC's GCF Repo account at the
clearing bank (i.e., Chase).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\ Rule filing SR-FICC-2012-05 noted that this timeframe would
also be established in consultation with the clearing banks and the
Federal Reserve. At that time, the parties were considering whether
to have the substitution process be accomplished in two batches
during the day depending upon the time of submission of the
notifications for substitution. The clearing banks, however,
developed a real-time substitution mechanism for both tri-party and
GCF collateral making batch processing unnecessary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simultaneously, with the debit of the GCF Repo securities
collateral from the account at the clearing bank (i.e., BNY) of the
original receiver of GCF Repo securities collateral (i.e., Dealer B),
for purposes of making payment to the original receiver of securities
collateral (i.e., Dealer B), such clearing bank will effect a cash
debit equal to the value of the securities collateral in FICC's GCF
Repo account at such clearing bank and will credit the account of the
original receiver of securities collateral (i.e., Dealer B) at such
clearing bank with such cash amount. (This is because when Dealer B is
debited the securities, Dealer B must receive the funds.) In order to
secure FICC's obligation to repay the balance in FICC's GCF Repo
account at such clearing bank (i.e., BNY), FICC will grant to such
clearing bank a security interest in the cash and/or securities
substituted for the GCF securities collateral in FICC's GCF repo
account at the other clearing bank (i.e., Chase).
Using the example from above, assume the Dealer C submits a
substitution notification--it requires the securities collateral that
has been pledged to Dealer B and will substitute cash and/or
securities. BNY will debit the securities from Dealer B's account and
the relevant liens will be released so that the securities are in
FICC's account at Chase. Chase will credit the securities to Dealer C's
account and the cash and/or securities that Dealer C uses for its
collateral substitution will be credited by Chase to FICC's account at
Chase. From Dealer B's perspective, when BNY debits the securities from
Dealer B's account, Dealer B is supposed to receive the funds--but as
noted, the funds are at Chase. BNY will credit the funds to Dealer B's
account and debit FICC's account at BNY.
At this point in our example, FICC is running a credit at Chase and
a debit at BNY. In order to secure FICC's debit at BNY, FICC will grant
a security interest in the funds in the FICC account at Chase.
For substitutions that occur with respect to GCF Repo transactions
that were processed on an inter-clearing bank basis, FICC and the
clearing banks permit cash and/or securities for the substitutions. The
proposed rule change provided FICC with flexibility in this regard by
referring to FICC's procedures.
As noted above, each of the above-referenced changes were approved
in connection with SR-FICC-2011-05\26\, SR-FICC-2012-05\27\, and SR-
FICC-2013-06\28\. FICC proposes to extend the pilot program reflecting
these changes for an additional one year. The changes referenced above
are reflected in Exhibit 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-65213 (August 29,
2011) 76 FR 54824 (September 2, 2011)
\27\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-67277 (June 20,
2012) 77 FR 38108 (June 26, 2012)
\28\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-70068 (July 30,
2013) 78 FR 47453 (August 5, 2013)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(ii) Statutory Basis for the Proposed Rule Change
The proposed rule change is consistent with the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the ``Act'') and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder because it will align the GCF Repo
service with recommendations being made by the TPR to address risks in
the triparty market overall and therefore will serve to further
safeguard the securities and funds for which FICC is responsible.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
FICC does not believe that the proposed rule change will have any
negative impact, or impose any burden, on competition.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received from Members, Participants, or Others
Written comments relating to the proposed rule changes have not yet
been solicited or received. FICC will notify the Commission of any
written comments received by FICC.
D. Advance Notices Filed Pursuant to Section 806(e) of the Payment,
Clearing and Settlement Supervision Act
(a) Not applicable.
(b) Not applicable.
[[Page 29833]]
(c) Not applicable.
(d) Not applicable.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period up to 90 days (i) as the
Commission may designate if it finds such longer period to be
appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding, or (ii) as to
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
(A) by order approve or disapprove 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
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-FICC-2014-02 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-FICC-2014-02. 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 of submission. 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 such filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal office of FICC and on FICC's
Web site at https://www.dtcc.com/~/media/Files/Downloads/legal/rule-
filings/2014/ficc/SR-FICC%202014-02.ashx. 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 the File Number SR-FICC-2014-02 and
should be submitted on or before June 13, 2014.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\29\
Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\29\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. 2014-11964 Filed 5-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P