Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Modifying Its Quote Mitigation Plan and Amending Rule 6.86, 62983-62985 [2014-24948]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Notices and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. All submissions should refer to File No. SR–BYX–2014–027. 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 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing will also 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 No. SR–BYX–2014– 027 and should be submitted on or before November 12, 2014. ‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3 notice is hereby given that, on October 2, 2014, NYSE Arca, Inc. (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NYSE Arca’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the selfregulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.21 Kevin M. O’Neill, Deputy Secretary. A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change [FR Doc. 2014–24944 Filed 10–20–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES [Release No. 34–73362; File No. SR– NYSEArca–2014–117] Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Modifying Its Quote Mitigation Plan and Amending Rule 6.86 October 15, 2014. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) 1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). U.S.C.78s(b)(1). I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of the Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to modify its quote mitigation plan and to amend Rule 6.86 (Firm Quotes). The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange’s Web site at www.nyse.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. 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 those statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts of such statements. 1. Purpose The Exchange is proposing to modify its quote mitigation plan and to amend Rule 6.86 (Firm Quotes). As discussed below, the Exchange believes the modified quote mitigation plan will adequately accommodate the number of quotations sent to the Exchange and the message traffic that the Exchange sends to the Options Price Reporting Authority (‘‘OPRA’’). Rule 6.86 In connection with the adoption of the Penny Pilot Program, the Exchange adopted a quote mitigation plan designed to reduce the number of quotations generated by the Exchange for all options traded on the Exchange, 21 17 2 15 1 15 3 17 VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:05 Oct 20, 2014 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 U.S.C. 78a. CFR 240.19b–4. Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 62983 not just issues included in the Penny Pilot Program.4 The current plan reduces the number of messages the Exchange sends to OPRA by only submitting quote messages for ‘‘active’’ series. Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86 defines active series as: (i) The series has traded on any options exchange in the previous 14 calendar days; or, (ii) the series is solely listed on the Exchange; or (iii) the series has been trading ten days or less, or; (iv) the Exchange has an order in the series. Alternatively, the Exchange may define a series as active on an intraday basis if: (i) The series trades at any options exchange; (ii) the Exchange receives an order in the series; or (iii) the Exchange receives a request for quote from a Customer in that series. The Exchange believes it no longer needs the quote mitigation provided by Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86 because rules adopted since Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86 provide sufficient quote mitigation. Current Market Structure and Controls on the Exchange In 2010, the Exchange incorporated select provisions of the Options Listing Procedures Plan (‘‘OLPP’’) in Rule 6.4A as a quote mitigation strategy.5 The OLPP is a national market system plan that, among other things, sets forth procedures governing the listing of new options series. From the OLPP, the Exchange incorporated in Rule 6.4A, ‘‘applied uniform standards to the range of options series exercise (or strike) prices available for trading on the [Exchange] as a quote mitigation strategy.’’ 6 In approving the OLPP provisions subsequently incorporated in Rule 6.4A, the Commission indicated that ‘‘adopting uniform standards to the range of options series exercise (or strike) prices available for trading on the [Exchange] should reduce the number of option series available for trading, and thus should reduce increases in the options quote message traffic because market participants will not be submitting quotes in those series.’’ 7 One year after adopting select provisions of the OLPP, the Exchange refined the quoting obligations 4 See Securities and Exchange Release No. 55156 (January 23, 2007), 72 FR 4759 (January 23, 2007) (SR–NYSEArca–2006–73). 5 See Securities and Exchange Release No. 61977 (April 23, 2010), 75 FR 22884 (April 30, 2010) (SR– NYSEArca–2010–30). See also OLPP, available at, https://www.theocc.com/clearing/industry-services/ olpp.jsp. 6 Rule 6.4A codified Amendment No. 3 to the OLPP. See Securities and Exchange Release No. 60531 (August 19, 2009) 74 FR 43173 (File No. 4– 443). See also Rule 6.4A. 7 Id., 74 FR at 43174. E:\FR\FM\21OCN1.SGM 21OCN1 62984 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Notices mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES applicable to Market Makers as a quote mitigation strategy.8 Specifically, the Exchange adopted Commentary .01 to Rule 6.37B, which states that Lead Market Makers’ and Market Makers’ continuous quoting obligations ‘‘shall not apply to Market Makers with respect to adjusted option series, and series with a time to expiration of nine months or greater, for options on equities and Exchange Traded Fund Shares, and series with a time to expiration of twelve months or greater for Index options.’’ 9 Because there are no Market Maker quoting obligations associated with adjusted options series, there is a reduction in quote traffic that is sent to OPRA. Indeed, in approving Commentary .01 to Rule 6.37B, the Commission noted, ‘‘. . . the Exchange’s proposal would reduce the burden on market makers to submit continuous quotes that the Exchange may not submit to OPRA.’’ 10 The Exchange believes that reliance on the OLPP, via Rule 6.4A, together with the refined Market Maker quoting obligations, pursuant to Commentary .01 to Rule 6.37B, is sufficient as a quote mitigation strategy and obviates the need for Rule 6.86. The Exchange believes that limiting the number of series listed on the Exchange is preferable to suppressing quotes of inactive series, as required under current Rule 6.86, because all quotes sent by Market Makers are actionable even if not displayed. The Exchange believes that both its own systems capacity and OPRA’s systems capacity are more than sufficient to accommodate any additional increase in quote traffic that might be sent to OPRA as a result of the deletion of Rule 6.86. The Exchange has already successfully conducted testing to ensure that its internal systems are equipped to handle any increase in quote traffic as a result of the proposed rule change. Further, the Exchange continually assesses its capacity needs and ensures that the capacity that it requests from OPRA is not only sufficient but also compliant with the requirements established in the OPRA Capacity Guidelines.11 In submitting its 8 See Securities and Exchange Release No. 65573 (October 14, 2011), 76 FR 65305 (October 20, 2011) (SR–NYSEArca–2011–59). 9 An ‘‘adjusted series’’ is ‘‘an option series wherein, as a result of a corporate action by the issuer of the underlying security, one option contract in the series represents the delivery of other than 100 shares of underlying stock or Exchange-Traded Fund Shares.’’ See Commentary .01 to Rule 6.37B. 10 See supra n. 8, 76 FR at 65306. 11 See the OPRA Capacity Guidelines, available here, https://www.opradata.com/pdf/ capacity_guidelines.pdf. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:05 Oct 20, 2014 Jkt 235001 capacity requests, the Exchange has factored in the impact on capacity if all series currently subject to Rule 6.86 were to become active and therefore sent to OPRA.12 In addition, the Exchange has in place the following measures that it believes serve as additional safeguards against excessive quoting: —Monitoring: The Exchange actively monitors the quotation activity of its Market Makers. When the Exchange detects that a Market Maker is disseminating an unusual number of quotes, the Exchange contacts that Market Maker and alerts it to such activity. Such monitoring may reveal that the Market Maker may have internal system issues or has incorrectly set system parameters that were not immediately apparent. Alerting a Market Maker to the heightened levels of activity will usually result in a change that reduces the number of quotes sent to the Exchange by the Market Maker. —New Listings: The Exchange has a business plan with respect to the listing of options on new underlying securities that is designed to help ensure that any new listings are sufficiently active to avoid listing options on underlying securities that generate quote volume without the offsetting benefit of trading volume.13 —Ratio Threshold Fees: The Exchange imposes a ratio fee that is designed to encourage the efficient use of orders.14 In connection with the foregoing, the Exchange proposes to amend paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of Rule 6.86 to delete references to the ‘‘Quote Mitigation Plan,’’ which refer to the plan set forth in Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86. In addition, the Exchange proposes to delete Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86 in 12 OPRA has delegated certain functions pertaining to planning the capacity of the OPRA System to an Independent System Capacity Advisor (‘‘ISCA’’) that ‘‘may provide less than all of the capacity that has been requested if it determines (a) that the capacity requests of one or more of the parties are unreasonable, or (b) that it is not reasonable to develop or maintain a System that has capacity sufficient to satisfy the requests of the parties.’’ See id. The Exchange has never been informed by the ISCA that the capacity it has requested cannot be met for any reason, including because the ISCA had deemed the request to be unreasonable. Thus, the Exchange believes that any increase in quote traffic that might be sent to OPRA as a result of the current proposal should not impact any other exchange’s capacity at OPRA. 13 See NYSE Arca Options Listing Policy Statement, available at, https://www.nyse.com/pdfs/ TraderNoticeArcaLOPSChanges092713.pdf. 14 See NYSE Arca Options Fee Schedule, available at, https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/ nyse/markets/arca-options/NYSE_Arca_Options_ Fee_Schedule.pdf. PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 its entirety, as it contains a discussion of the current quote mitigation plan. Implementation The Exchange will announce the implementation date of the proposed rule change by Trader Update to be published no later than 60 days following the effective date of this filing. The implementation date will be no later than 60 days following the issuance of the Trader Update. 2. Statutory Basis The proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act 15 in general and furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act 16 in particular in that it should promote just and equitable principles of trade, serve to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, and protect investors and the public interest. The Exchange believes that the proposed modifications to the quote mitigation plan, including the continued reliance on Rule 6.4A and Commentary .01 to Rule 6.37B, together with the other safeguards mentioned above, would promote just and equitable principles of trade, serve to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market as it would increase transparency and enhance price discovery as all Market Maker quotes would be reflected in the market. Specifically, the Exchange believes that deleting Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86 will remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system because it will enable all actionable Market Maker quotes to be displayed, including in inactive series. The Exchange believes this would also protect investors and the public interest because available Market Maker liquidity in all series would be publicly displayed, thereby putting investors on notice of such liquidity. The Exchange further believes that the market structure initiatives adopted in recent years serve to reduce the potential for excessive quoting because the OLPP limits the number of series eligible to be listed, which reduces the number of series for which a Market Maker would be obligated to quote, and therefore reduces quote traffic. As discussed above, the Exchange believes that both its own systems capacity and OPRA’s systems capacity are more than sufficient to accommodate any additional increase in 15 15 16 15 E:\FR\FM\21OCN1.SGM U.S.C. 78f(b). U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 21OCN1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Notices quote traffic that might be sent to OPRA as a result of the proposed rule change. 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 that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. Specifically, as discussed above, the Exchange believes that any increase in quote traffic that might be sent to OPRA as a result of the proposed rule change should not impact any other exchange’s capacity at OPRA.17 C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the proposed rule change. 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 (i) as the Commission may designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will: (A) By order approve or disapprove the 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: All submissions should refer to File Number SR–NYSEArca–2014–117. 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 such 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– NYSEArca–2014–117, and should be submitted on or before November 12, 2014. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.18 Kevin M. O’Neill, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 2014–24948 Filed 10–20–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Electronic Comments [Release No. 34–73359; File No. SR–BATS– 2014–047] • 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–NYSEArca–2014–117 on the subject line. Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Changes Related to Fees for Use of BATS Exchange, Inc. Paper Comments • Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. October 15, 2014. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on October 18 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 1 15 17 See supra n. 12. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:05 Oct 20, 2014 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 62985 6, 2014, BATS Exchange, Inc. (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BATS’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II and III below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of the Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange filed a proposal to amend the fee schedule applicable to Members 3 and non-members of the Exchange pursuant to BATS Rules 15.1(a) and (c). Changes to the fee schedule pursuant to this proposal are effective upon filing. The text of the proposed rule change is available at the Exchange’s Web site at https://www.batstrading.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. 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 Exchange 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 Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts 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 modify the ‘‘Options Pricing’’ section of its fee schedule effective immediately, in order to modify pricing charged by the Exchange’s options platform (‘‘BATS Options’’) for orders routed away from the Exchange and executed at various away options exchanges. The Exchange currently charges certain flat rates for routing to other options exchanges that have been placed into groups based on the approximate cost of routing to such venues. The grouping of away options exchanges is based on the cost of 3 A Member is defined as ‘‘any registered broker or dealer that has been admitted to membership in the Exchange.’’ See Exchange Rule 1.5(n). E:\FR\FM\21OCN1.SGM 21OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 203 (Tuesday, October 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62983-62985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24948]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-73362; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2014-117]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing 
of Proposed Rule Change Modifying Its Quote Mitigation Plan and 
Amending Rule 6.86

October 15, 2014.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby 
given that, on October 2, 2014, NYSE Arca, Inc. (the ``Exchange'' or 
``NYSE Arca'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 
``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, 
and III below, which Items have been prepared by the self-regulatory 
organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit 
comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C.78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of the 
Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to modify its quote mitigation plan and to 
amend Rule 6.86 (Firm Quotes). The text of the proposed rule change is 
available on the Exchange's Web site at www.nyse.com, at the principal 
office of the Exchange, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.

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 those statements may be examined at 
the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared 
summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most 
significant parts 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 is proposing to modify its quote mitigation plan and 
to amend Rule 6.86 (Firm Quotes). As discussed below, the Exchange 
believes the modified quote mitigation plan will adequately accommodate 
the number of quotations sent to the Exchange and the message traffic 
that the Exchange sends to the Options Price Reporting Authority 
(``OPRA'').
Rule 6.86
    In connection with the adoption of the Penny Pilot Program, the 
Exchange adopted a quote mitigation plan designed to reduce the number 
of quotations generated by the Exchange for all options traded on the 
Exchange, not just issues included in the Penny Pilot Program.\4\ The 
current plan reduces the number of messages the Exchange sends to OPRA 
by only submitting quote messages for ``active'' series. Commentary .03 
to Rule 6.86 defines active series as: (i) The series has traded on any 
options exchange in the previous 14 calendar days; or, (ii) the series 
is solely listed on the Exchange; or (iii) the series has been trading 
ten days or less, or; (iv) the Exchange has an order in the series. 
Alternatively, the Exchange may define a series as active on an 
intraday basis if: (i) The series trades at any options exchange; (ii) 
the Exchange receives an order in the series; or (iii) the Exchange 
receives a request for quote from a Customer in that series.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Securities and Exchange Release No. 55156 (January 23, 
2007), 72 FR 4759 (January 23, 2007) (SR-NYSEArca-2006-73).
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    The Exchange believes it no longer needs the quote mitigation 
provided by Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86 because rules adopted since 
Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86 provide sufficient quote mitigation.
Current Market Structure and Controls on the Exchange
    In 2010, the Exchange incorporated select provisions of the Options 
Listing Procedures Plan (``OLPP'') in Rule 6.4A as a quote mitigation 
strategy.\5\
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    \5\ See Securities and Exchange Release No. 61977 (April 23, 
2010), 75 FR 22884 (April 30, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-30). See also 
OLPP, available at, https://www.theocc.com/clearing/industry-services/olpp.jsp.
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    The OLPP is a national market system plan that, among other things, 
sets forth procedures governing the listing of new options series. From 
the OLPP, the Exchange incorporated in Rule 6.4A, ``applied uniform 
standards to the range of options series exercise (or strike) prices 
available for trading on the [Exchange] as a quote mitigation 
strategy.'' \6\ In approving the OLPP provisions subsequently 
incorporated in Rule 6.4A, the Commission indicated that ``adopting 
uniform standards to the range of options series exercise (or strike) 
prices available for trading on the [Exchange] should reduce the number 
of option series available for trading, and thus should reduce 
increases in the options quote message traffic because market 
participants will not be submitting quotes in those series.'' \7\
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    \6\ Rule 6.4A codified Amendment No. 3 to the OLPP. See 
Securities and Exchange Release No. 60531 (August 19, 2009) 74 FR 
43173 (File No. 4-443). See also Rule 6.4A.
    \7\ Id., 74 FR at 43174.
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    One year after adopting select provisions of the OLPP, the Exchange 
refined the quoting obligations

[[Page 62984]]

applicable to Market Makers as a quote mitigation strategy.\8\ 
Specifically, the Exchange adopted Commentary .01 to Rule 6.37B, which 
states that Lead Market Makers' and Market Makers' continuous quoting 
obligations ``shall not apply to Market Makers with respect to adjusted 
option series, and series with a time to expiration of nine months or 
greater, for options on equities and Exchange Traded Fund Shares, and 
series with a time to expiration of twelve months or greater for Index 
options.'' \9\ Because there are no Market Maker quoting obligations 
associated with adjusted options series, there is a reduction in quote 
traffic that is sent to OPRA. Indeed, in approving Commentary .01 to 
Rule 6.37B, the Commission noted, ``. . . the Exchange's proposal would 
reduce the burden on market makers to submit continuous quotes that the 
Exchange may not submit to OPRA.'' \10\
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    \8\ See Securities and Exchange Release No. 65573 (October 14, 
2011), 76 FR 65305 (October 20, 2011) (SR-NYSEArca-2011-59).
    \9\ An ``adjusted series'' is ``an option series wherein, as a 
result of a corporate action by the issuer of the underlying 
security, one option contract in the series represents the delivery 
of other than 100 shares of underlying stock or Exchange-Traded Fund 
Shares.'' See Commentary .01 to Rule 6.37B.
    \10\ See supra n. 8, 76 FR at 65306.
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    The Exchange believes that reliance on the OLPP, via Rule 6.4A, 
together with the refined Market Maker quoting obligations, pursuant to 
Commentary .01 to Rule 6.37B, is sufficient as a quote mitigation 
strategy and obviates the need for Rule 6.86. The Exchange believes 
that limiting the number of series listed on the Exchange is preferable 
to suppressing quotes of inactive series, as required under current 
Rule 6.86, because all quotes sent by Market Makers are actionable even 
if not displayed.
    The Exchange believes that both its own systems capacity and OPRA's 
systems capacity are more than sufficient to accommodate any additional 
increase in quote traffic that might be sent to OPRA as a result of the 
deletion of Rule 6.86. The Exchange has already successfully conducted 
testing to ensure that its internal systems are equipped to handle any 
increase in quote traffic as a result of the proposed rule change. 
Further, the Exchange continually assesses its capacity needs and 
ensures that the capacity that it requests from OPRA is not only 
sufficient but also compliant with the requirements established in the 
OPRA Capacity Guidelines.\11\ In submitting its capacity requests, the 
Exchange has factored in the impact on capacity if all series currently 
subject to Rule 6.86 were to become active and therefore sent to 
OPRA.\12\
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    \11\ See the OPRA Capacity Guidelines, available here, https://www.opradata.com/pdf/capacity_guidelines.pdf.
    \12\ OPRA has delegated certain functions pertaining to planning 
the capacity of the OPRA System to an Independent System Capacity 
Advisor (``ISCA'') that ``may provide less than all of the capacity 
that has been requested if it determines (a) that the capacity 
requests of one or more of the parties are unreasonable, or (b) that 
it is not reasonable to develop or maintain a System that has 
capacity sufficient to satisfy the requests of the parties.'' See 
id. The Exchange has never been informed by the ISCA that the 
capacity it has requested cannot be met for any reason, including 
because the ISCA had deemed the request to be unreasonable. Thus, 
the Exchange believes that any increase in quote traffic that might 
be sent to OPRA as a result of the current proposal should not 
impact any other exchange's capacity at OPRA.
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    In addition, the Exchange has in place the following measures that 
it believes serve as additional safeguards against excessive quoting:

--Monitoring: The Exchange actively monitors the quotation activity of 
its Market Makers. When the Exchange detects that a Market Maker is 
disseminating an unusual number of quotes, the Exchange contacts that 
Market Maker and alerts it to such activity. Such monitoring may reveal 
that the Market Maker may have internal system issues or has 
incorrectly set system parameters that were not immediately apparent. 
Alerting a Market Maker to the heightened levels of activity will 
usually result in a change that reduces the number of quotes sent to 
the Exchange by the Market Maker.
--New Listings: The Exchange has a business plan with respect to the 
listing of options on new underlying securities that is designed to 
help ensure that any new listings are sufficiently active to avoid 
listing options on underlying securities that generate quote volume 
without the offsetting benefit of trading volume.\13\
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    \13\ See NYSE Arca Options Listing Policy Statement, available 
at, https://www.nyse.com/pdfs/TraderNoticeArcaLOPSChanges092713.pdf.
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--Ratio Threshold Fees: The Exchange imposes a ratio fee that is 
designed to encourage the efficient use of orders.\14\
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    \14\ See NYSE Arca Options Fee Schedule, available at, https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/arca-options/NYSE_Arca_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf.

    In connection with the foregoing, the Exchange proposes to amend 
paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of Rule 6.86 to delete references to the 
``Quote Mitigation Plan,'' which refer to the plan set forth in 
Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86. In addition, the Exchange proposes to 
delete Commentary .03 to Rule 6.86 in its entirety, as it contains a 
discussion of the current quote mitigation plan.
Implementation
    The Exchange will announce the implementation date of the proposed 
rule change by Trader Update to be published no later than 60 days 
following the effective date of this filing. The implementation date 
will be no later than 60 days following the issuance of the Trader 
Update.
2. Statutory Basis
    The proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act 
\15\ in general and furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the 
Act \16\ in particular in that it should promote just and equitable 
principles of trade, serve to remove impediments to and perfect the 
mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, and 
protect investors and the public interest.
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    \15\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \16\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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    The Exchange believes that the proposed modifications to the quote 
mitigation plan, including the continued reliance on Rule 6.4A and 
Commentary .01 to Rule 6.37B, together with the other safeguards 
mentioned above, would promote just and equitable principles of trade, 
serve to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and 
open market as it would increase transparency and enhance price 
discovery as all Market Maker quotes would be reflected in the market. 
Specifically, the Exchange believes that deleting Commentary .03 to 
Rule 6.86 will remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a 
free and open market and a national market system because it will 
enable all actionable Market Maker quotes to be displayed, including in 
inactive series. The Exchange believes this would also protect 
investors and the public interest because available Market Maker 
liquidity in all series would be publicly displayed, thereby putting 
investors on notice of such liquidity. The Exchange further believes 
that the market structure initiatives adopted in recent years serve to 
reduce the potential for excessive quoting because the OLPP limits the 
number of series eligible to be listed, which reduces the number of 
series for which a Market Maker would be obligated to quote, and 
therefore reduces quote traffic.
    As discussed above, the Exchange believes that both its own systems 
capacity and OPRA's systems capacity are more than sufficient to 
accommodate any additional increase in

[[Page 62985]]

quote traffic that might be sent to OPRA as a result of the proposed 
rule change.

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 that is not necessary or appropriate 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. Specifically, as discussed 
above, the Exchange believes that any increase in quote traffic that 
might be sent to OPRA as a result of the proposed rule change should 
not impact any other exchange's capacity at OPRA.\17\
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    \17\ See supra n. 12.
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the 
proposed rule change.

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 (i) as the Commission may 
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to 
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to 
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
    (A) By order approve or disapprove the 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-NYSEArca-2014-117 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-NYSEArca-2014-117. 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 such 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-NYSEArca-2014-117, and 
should be submitted on or before November 12, 2014.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\18\
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    \18\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-24948 Filed 10-20-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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